Vittorio Gassman studied theatre in his youth and was quite a good basketball player. He debuted on stage in 1943 and soon felt home in all classical theatre works. Since 1946 he also worked at the movies and his first big role there was the criminal in Bitter Rice. This fixed him to his main parts: The ambigous gentleman inflicting pain and pleasure at the same time. He also participated in the Italian comedies and in American movies but the latter with only minor success. As a homage to his passion for the theatre he directed a cinema version of the play Kean: Genius or Scoundrel.


Father of Alessandro Gassman, with Juliette Mayniel in 1965. Founded and ran for years one of the most select acting schools. Became widely popular with Luchino Visconti's theater company, performing in important plays such as Tennessee Williams' "Un tram che si chiama desiderio" (A Streetcar Named Desire) or William Shakespeare's "Rosalinda". Studied acting at the Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica in Rome. Son-in-law of actors Renzo Ricci and Margherita Bagni.