Salvatore Leopoldo "Leo" Gullotta (born 9 January 1946) is an Italian actor, voice actor, comedian and writer. He became known for his role in Café Express (1980), and has won several David di Donatello awards, the first one being for his role in Giuseppe Tornatore's The Professor (1986).
Biography
Salvatore Leopoldo Gullotta was born on 9 January 1946 in Catania, Sicily. Gullotta started his career as an extra in Teatro Massimo Bellini. In his long career as an actor, Gullotta has starred in about 100 films and has participated in numerous shows and drama series for television.
He became widely known for his role in Nanni Loy's Café Express, a Commedia all'italiana hit in 1980. He has worked with director and screenwriter Giuseppe Tornatore at least five times. Gullotta has also starred in many theatrical plays and dramas, and was part of the Il Bagaglino theater company.
Gullotta is also a well-known voice actor; as a voice dubber, he provided the Italian voice of Manny in the first three films of the Ice Age film series, reprising this role in short films and video games. He also dubbed Burt Young in Rocky, Joe Pesci in Once Upon a Time in America, Moonwalker, My Cousin Vinny and The Irishman, and the robot Johnny 5 in Short Circuit. He also became the new Italian voice of Woody Allen after the death of Oreste Lionello in 2009.
In 2010, Gullotta celebrated fifty years of his career.
Other activities
In 2020, along with Francesco Calogero, Gullotta was artistic director of Taormina Film Fest.
Awards
In 1987, Gullotta won his first David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Professor by Giuseppe Tornatore.
In 1997 and 2000, respectively, he won two more David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actor, for the Maurizio Zaccaro films The Game Bag and A Respectable Man.
Gullotta has also won two Silver Ribbons for Best supporting Actor, in 1984 for Where's Picone? by Nanni Loy and in 2001 for Vajont by Renzo Martinelli.
In 2010, he won the Flaiano Prize as stage actor of the year.
Personal life
Gullotta is openly gay. He did not reveal his sexuality to the public until 1995. In 2019, he entered into civil union with the actor and playwright Fabio Grossi, who was his partner of 32 years. He considers himself Roman Catholic.
Selected filmography
- Lo voglio maschio (1971)
- The Nurse on a Military Tour (1977) â Captain Lopez â doctor
- Swindle (1977) â Tarcisio Pollaroli "Er Fibbia"
- Ride bene... chi ride ultimo (1977) â Ifigenia' (segment "Sedotto e violentato)
- Rock 'n' Roll (1978) â Il vigile
- Café Express (1980) â Imbastaro
- Stark System (1980) â Schioppa
- I carabbinieri (1981) â Salvatore Caruso
- L'onorevole con l'amante sotto il letto (1981) â Segretaria Sgarbozzi / Onorevole Sgarbozzi
- L'esercito più pazzo del mondo (1981) â Trasformista
- Teste di quoio (1981) â Carrisi (l'interprete)
- I carabbimatti (1981) â Carabiniere Pasta
- Il paramedico (1982) â Attorney
- Spaghetti House (1982) â Salvatore Manzilla
- Sturmtruppen 2 (tutti al fronte) (1982) â Recluta
- Heads I Win, Tails You Lose (1982) â Walter
- Miss Right (1982) â Benito
- Where's Picone? (1984) â Sgueglia
- Giuseppe Fava: Siciliano come me (1984)
- Mezzo destro mezzo sinistro - 2 calciatori senza pallone (1985) â Juan Carlos Fulgencio
- Il Bi e il Ba (1986) â Gaetano
- The Professor (1986) â Comissario Iervolino
- Grandi magazzini (1986) â Simoni
- Italiani a Rio (1987) â Salvatore Giuffrida
- Tango blu (1987) â Fior da Fiore
- Animali metropolitani (1987) â Don Michele Amitrano
- Cinema Paradiso (1988) â Usher
- Operazione pappagallo (1988)
- Sinbad of the Seven Seas (1989) â Nadir
- Street Kids (1989) â Fortunato Assante
- L'insegnante di violoncello (1989) â Leo
- Everybody's Fine (1990) â Uomo armato sul tetto
- Nel giardino delle rose (1990) â Armando
- Gole ruggenti (1992) â Edoardo Lasagnetta (scriptwriter)
- Agnieszka (1992) â Franco
- Pacco, doppio pacco e contropaccotto (1993) â Il frodatore fiscale conto terzi
- The Escort (1993) â Policeman
- Sì!... Ma vogliamo un maschio (1994)
- Men Men Men (1995) â Tony
- The Star Maker (1995) â Vito
- Selvaggi (1995) â Luigi
- Snowball (1995) â Sidik
- Carogne (1995) â Prandstaller
- Bruno Is Waiting on the Car (1996) â Ziino
- 3 (1996) â Bishop of Pisa
- The Game Bag (1997) â Carlo Gabbiadini
- Io, tu e tua sorella (1997) â Dr. Fabietti
- I corti italiani (1997)
- Gli inaffidabili (1997) â Bostik
- Simpatici & antipatici (1998) â Gigetto
- A Respectable Man (1999) â Giovanni Pandico
- Oltremare (1999)
- Scarlet Diva (2000) â Dr. Vessi
- Territori d'ombra (2001) â Antonio
- Vajont (2001) â Mario Pancini
- In questo mondo di ladri (2004) â Leonardo
- Guardians of the Clouds (2004) â La Rocca
- Il cuore nel pozzo (2005, TV movie) â Don Bruno
- Incidenti (2005) â Giornalista
- Fatti della banda della Magliana (2005) â Il giudice
- Monógamo sucesivo (2006)
- Baarìa (2009) â Liborio
- The Father and the Foreigner (2010) â Santini
- Fantasmi al Valle (2012) â Luigi Pirandello
- Italo (2014) â Narrator (voice)
- It's the Law (2017) â Padre Raffaele
- Sono solo fantasmi (2019)
- Framed! A Sicilian Murder Mystery (2022-)
Voice work
Dubbing
Animation
Live action
Books
References
External links