Roberto Benigni

Roberto Benigni born October 27 1952 Misericordia Arezzo Italy Italian actor and director known for his comedic work most notably La vita è bella 1997 Life Is Beautiful for which he won an Academy Award for best actor Benigni was the son of a poor tenant farmer who had worked in a German forcedlabour camp during World War II The elder Benigni used humour in retelling his experiences which helped shape his sons comedic skill Benigni briefly attended a Jesuit seminary in Florence and after a stint as a magicians assistant he joined an underground theatre group in the late 1960s