Raoul Bova was born in a Roman white collar family, his father was an employee and his mother a housewife. He has two sisters who he is close to. His passion in his youth was swimming and he became a champion at 16. He performed his military duty in the "Bersaglieri" and he studied at the ISEF but didn't finish in order to begin an acting career. His first role was in "Una storia italiana", a TV movie, and his debut in cinema was in "Piccolo grande amore" by Carlo Vanzina. He quickly became a star in Italy. But tired of being always considered a sex symbol unable to play deep roles, he started shooting movies a little more complex like "Rewind" where he plays a terrorist, "I cavalieri che fecero l'impresa" where he plays the role of a medieval man whose soul is possessed by the devil, or "La frontiera" where he plays an Austrian officer, or saint Frances in "Francesco". And finally a great Italian-Turkish director, Ferzan Ozpetek, gave him the role of Lorenzo in "Facing Windows", his most complicated and introverted character that he portrayed with application and passion, becoming a respected young actor rather than a sex symbol. In private life Bova is a happy husband and father, very close to his wife and their children Alessandro Leon and Francesco.
Appeared with Madonna in a 1999 Max Factor commercial, directed by Alek Keshishian, starring make-up artist Sarah Monzani. He was a swimming champion with S.S. Lazio team of Rome, the oldest and most important sport club in Europe. Performed his military duty in the "Bersaglieri". He collects ethnic wood-carved sculptures. He studied at the Italian Institute of Physical Education. At age 16 he won the Italian swimming championship of the 100 meters backstroke competing for the team S.S. Lazio. Ex-boyfriend of actress Romina Mondello. His wife, Chiara Giordano, is a veterinarian. He was born in Rome and considers himself a real Roman that couldn't live somewhere else, but his parents are from southern Italy, his father is from Reggio Calabria and his mother from Naples. His father is an employee from the Italian airplane company Alitalia and his mother is an housewife. Prepares for his role in "Una fiamma sul ghiaccio" by reading the book "Thecurious incident of the dog in the night-time" by Mark Haddon and studying with the Roman psychologist Arturo Mona. Lost 14 kilos to portray Saint Francis in "Francesco" and named his second son, Francesco (b. 2001), after this Saint. Was named Raoul after his great grandfather. Before becoming an actor, he took an exam to enter in the "Carabinieri", the Italian military police but was refused. Ironically, he portrays a carabiniere in the TV movie "Ultimo". Sometimes plays soccer with the "Nazionale Italiana attori" in charity matches. Made a nude artistic calendar in 2000 for the Italian magazine Max. He's a supporter of the charity project "Vento e sole" (wind and sun) with the Nobel award-winner, Rigoberta Menchú. The project's goal is to develop an ecological system of electrification for the third-world countries, especially in Guatemala. Likes cooking with his father. Bova is a typical surname from Calabria. Says his lucky number is 14. Has two dogs: Jackie and Ofelia. Has been the face of "Giorgio Armani eyewear" and of "Gap". Is good friends with Giorgio Armani. Studied acting at the school "Beatrice Bracco" in Rome. Studied acting with Michael Margotta in Rome, Italy Performed acting on stage in Rome in 3 plays: "Mexico and clouds", "Macbeth clan" and "Cold blooded animals". Shares birthday with Romane Bohringer, Emmanuelle Beart, Halle Berry, Wim Wenders, David Hallyday, Steve Martin and Magic Johnson. Italian citizen. Supporter and face of ecologist organization "ForPlanet". Nearly drowned in the sea as a child. To get over this trauma, he started to follow swimming lessons and became a champion at 16. First son Alessandro Leon is born on the 29th January 2000. Has 2 sisters: Tiziana and Daniela. Mother is Rosa and father is Giuseppe. Married his girlfriend three months after the birth of their first son Alessandro, and the child was baptized on the same day of the marriage, near Perugia, in Italy. Has 2 little nieces: Flaminia and Beatrice. Favorite writers are Paulo Coelho and Luis Sepúlveda. Had a dog named Marilou when he was a child. Favorite actors are Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Daniel Day-Lewis, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Paul Newman and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Favorite singers are Laura Pausini, Jovanotti and Pino Daniele. His mother-in-law is one of the most famous divorce lawyers in Italy.