Peppino Mazzotta (born 20 May 1971) is an Italian actor, known for playing police officer Giuseppe Fazio in Il commissario Montalbano mystery series based on the character and novels created by Andrea Camilleri. Mazzotta is a native of Domanico (Province of Cosenza).
Career
editBorn in the Calabrian town of Domanico in 1971, Mazzotta attended the Faculty of Architecture at the university of Reggio Calabria, then joined a Drama School at Palmi, and discovered his great acting passion. He later founded in Naples the theatre company Rosso Tiziano (Titian Red) together with five colleagues of the Palmi Academy, with whom he continues to collaborate.[1] In 2003 he created a new theatre company, named Teatri del Sud (Southern Theatres), together with playwright and script-writer Francesco Suriano, who produced plays in the Calabrian dialect. The company closed after three years of activity, due to lack of financial support from the Arts, but Mazzotta is still very active in the regional theatre, especially in the production of Greek plays.[2]
Peppino Mazzotta is best known for portraying police detective Giuseppe Fazio, in the renowned Italian television series Inspector Montalbano, produced and broadcast by RAI since 1999, and based on the detective novels of Andrea Camilleri. The protagonist is Commissario Salvo Montalbano, and Mazzotta plays his loyal, hyper-efficient right-hand man in the fictional town of Vigata, Sicily.
In the summer of 2012, during the Positano Theatre Festival, Mazzotta was awarded the Annibale Ruccello Prize for his theatrical production Radio Argo.[3]
Mazzotta's career is currently divided between theatre, cinema and television, in a busy schedule of engagements and guest appearances. He continues to play Inspector Montalbano's assistant in the new episodes of the Italian TV series.[4]
In autumn 2016 Mazzotta played Bruno Corona, a fictional 'Ndrangheta boss in "Solo" a dramatic television series broadcast by Canale 5 and set in Gioia Tauro, Calabria.
Filmography
editFilms
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Prima del tramonto | Matteo | |
| 2001 | Domenica | Peppino | |
| 2004 | A Children's Story | Luca | |
| 2005 | Che gioia! | Michele Conte | Short film |
| 2007 | Il pugile e la ballerina | Carletto | |
| 2008 | The Speed of Light | Mario | |
| 2009 | Cado dalle nubi | Livio | |
| 2010 | We Believed | Carmine Lopresti | |
| 2011 | Tienimi stretto | Don Masini | |
| La misura del confine | Peppino | ||
| 2014 | Black Souls | Rocco | |
| 2016 | Gramsci 44 | Antonio Gramsci | |
| 2018 | Forgive Us Our Debts | Finance executive | Cameo appearance |
| Aspettando la Bardot | Paolo | ||
| 2021 | Bastardi a mano armata | Michele | |
| A Classic Horror Story | Riccardo | ||
| 2022 | I pionieri | Michele Belfiore | |
| La caccia | Father |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2021 | Inspector Montalbano | Detective Giuseppe Fazio | Main role |
| 2002 | Saint Anthony: The Miracle Worker of Padua | Nuno | Television movie |
| 2004 | Paolo Borsellino | Captain Pellegrini | Television movie |
| 2005 | Distretto di Polizia | Stefano Renda | Episode: "La legge del cuore" |
| 2007 | Il capitano | Peppino Mazzoleni | Main role (season 2) |
| R.I.S. Delitti Imperfetti | Pasquale Esposito | Episode: "A presto, Capitano" | |
| 2008 | Per una notte d'amore | Marco | Television movie |
| 2010 | Crimini | Michele Fallà | Episode: "Niente di personale" |
| Squadra antimafia | Raffaele Cannizzaro | 5 episodes | |
| 2013 | La mia bella famiglia italiana | Totò | Television movie |
| 2016 | Lampedusa - Dall'orizzonte in poi | Lieutenant Ragusa | Docuseries |
| 2016–2018 | Solo | Bruno Corona | Main role |
| 2021 | Cacciatore: The Hunter | Nicola Callipari | Episode: "Ciao nemico" |
Stage credits
edit- La Torre D'Avorio [5]
- Radio Argo, awarded the Premio della Critica, Florence 2011[6]
- Requiescat
- L'arrobbafumu
- Alè Alè Cita
- A cascia 'nfernali
- Tomba di cani
- Illuminato a morte
- Tartuffe
- Il decimo anno
- La bisbetica domata
- La Celestina
- L' agnello del povero
- Molto rumore per nulla
- Giulio Cesare
Notes
edit- ^ Biography on Il Corriere della Sera (in Italian)
- ^ Cf. Interview with Mazzotta of June 9, 2011 (in Italian)
- ^ Cf. News Announcement, on La Repubblica of August 7, 2012. (in Italian)
- ^ Filmography (in Italian)
- ^ News article March 10, 2013
- ^ News October 19, 2011 Archived January 25, 2013, at archive.today
External links
edit- Peppino Mazzotta at IMDb
- From "Le Interviste di Teatro.Org": Il talento vulcanico di Peppino Mazzotta, interprete di “Nzularchia” (Peppino Mazzotta volcanic talent) (in Italian)
- Interview with Mazzotta, on Linking Calabria of June 9, 2011. (in Italian)
- Radio Argo, article on Arteven (in Italian) Accessed November 28, 2012