Roberto Remigio Benigni is an Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film director. He gained international recognition for writing, directing, and starring in the Holocaust comedy drama film Life Is Beautiful (1997), for which he received the Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best International Feature Film. Benigni was the first actor to win the Best Actor Academy Award for a non-English language performance.
Benigni made his acting debut in 1977's Berlinguer, I Love You, which he also wrote, and which was directed by Giuseppe Bertolucci. Benigni's directorial debut was the 1983 anthology film Tu mi turbi, which was also the acting debut of his wife, Nicoletta Braschi. He continued directing and also starring in the comedic films Nothing Left to Do But Cry (1984), The Little Devil (1988), Johnny Stecchino (1991), The Monster (1994), the award-winning film Life Is Beautiful (1997), Pinocchio (2002, as the title character), and The Tiger and the Snow (2005).
Benigni acted in the Jim Jarmusch films Down by Law (1986), Night on Earth (1991), and Coffee and Cigarettes (2003).