Giorgio Cantarini

Who is Giorgio Cantarini?

Giorgio Cantarini is an Italian actor who, to date, has appeared in two Academy Award winning films: 1997's Life Is Beautiful and 2000's Gladiator.

Raised in Orvieto, Italy, Giorgio Cantarini is born to Giuseppe Cantarini and Giovanna Martini. The couple separated after Giorgio's fifth birthday. His family nickname is "Gio".

Giorgio made his film debut in the 1997 Roberto Benigni directed comedy-drama Life is Beautiful, playing Benigni's four year old son 'Giosuè Orefice', who is sent with his Jewish-Italian father to a German concentration camp during World War II. The film won three Academy Awards. In 1998, Giorgio was awarded alongside his castmates of Life Is Beautiful with a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.And in the same year he won the Young Artist Award.

His second film appearance was in the 2000 Ridley Scott-directed period action/drama Gladiator. Giorgio was cast as the son of Oscar winner Russell Crowe's character 'Maximus'. The film would win five Oscars at the 73rd Academy Awards.

In 2001, Giorgio appeared in the Hallmark Hall of Fame American television film adaptation of author Eric Newby's autobiographical novel Love and War in the Apennines as 'Slavko'. The film was shot on location in Italy.