Giancarlo Giannini was born on August 1, 1942, in La Spezia, Italy. He lived and studied for ten years in Naples, Italy, where he earned a diploma in electronics.

At 18 he enrolled and made his theatrical debut in the “Silvio D’Amico Academy of Dramatic Art” in Rome. On stage he performed in various plays such as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer's Night Dream and Giovanni Verga’s La lupa and worked with famous Italian director Franco Zeffirelli and actress Anna Magnani.

Giannini made his cinematographic debut in 1965 in the thriller Libido, and two years later had the leading role in a TV mini-series dedicated to Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield.

Ultimately important is Giannini’s collaboration with Italian world-famous director Lina Wertmuller, started in 1966, in several award-winning movies where Giannini appeared as lead actor.

Giannini is also famous thanks to his reputation of great dubber in international movies’ Italian releases: he gave his voice to stars such as Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman.

He also appeared in numerous Hollywood movies such as Ridley Scott’s Hannibal (2001) and Tony Scott’s Man on Fire (2004). His most recent big screen appearance is in Martin Campbell’s Casino Royale, the 21st installment of James Bond series.