Checco Zalone
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Checco Zalone | |
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 Zalone in 2008 | |
| Born | Luca Pasquale Medici 3 June 1977 Bari, Italy |
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| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
Luca Pasquale Medici[1] (born 3 June 1977), known as Checco Zalone (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkekko ddzaˈloːne]; modelled on the Italianised Barese insult che cozzalone!, lit. 'What a boor!'), is an Italian comedian, actor, showman, singer, musician, cabaret performer, screenwriter, director and film producer. He co-wrote and starred in the five highest-grossing Italian films in Italy headed by Quo Vado?
Biography and career
[edit | edit source]Zalone was born in Bari. The pseudonym Checco Zalone recalls the local expression Che cozzalone! meaning "What a boor!" During his teens, he was very fond of video games and spent most of his afternoons indoors. He graduated from the scientific high school Sante Simone in Conversano; he later enrolled at the University of Bari, where he graduated in law. In the meantime, he competed as a deputy police inspector and INAIL in Rimini, but was rejected.[citation needed]
After being a regular in many editions of the Canale 5 variety show Zelig, he became famous in 2006 thanks to the song "Siamo una squadra fortissimi" (meaning "we are a very strong team" in broken Italian), celebrating the Italian team just before the 2006 FIFA World Cup.[1] In 2009, he co-wrote and starred in Cado dalle nubi, co-written by Gennaro Nunziante, who also directed.
In 2011, he again co-wrote and starred in What a Beautiful Day, also co-written and directed by Nunziante. It opened with a record Italian opening weekend of $9.4 million[2] and became the highest-grossing Italian film of all-time in Italy, grossing €43.4 million,[3] surpassing Roberto Benigni's Life Is Beautiful.[4] Life Is Beautiful retained the worldwide record for an Italian film with $70 million worldwide.[4]
In 2013, he and Nunziante followed it up with Sole a catinelle, which surpassed it with an opening record of €19.2 million and a total gross of €51.9 million.[3][5][6]
In January 2016, his and Nunziante's next film Quo Vado? set another opening weekend record grossing over €22m (£16.5m) over the three-day holiday weekend[5][7][8] and went on to become the highest grossing Italian film of all time[9] with €65.3 million, second only to Avatar in Italy with €65.7 million.[9] In the same year, Zalone was the Italian spokesperson for a fundraising campaign for spinal muscular atrophy research.[10][11] His and Nunziate's films are currently the second, third, fifth and sixth highest-grossing films in Italy.
On 30 April 2021, Zalone released the video of his song "La vacinada" (meaning "The vaccinated woman" in pseudo-Spanish), starring English actress Helen Mirren. In the song, Zalone jokes about the fact that, in times of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is safer to have an affair with someone who has already been vaccinated against the corona virus, and therefore the best option is an older partner, as the elderly were vaccinated first.[12]
In 2022, he performed a medley at the Sanremo Music Festival.
Filmography
[edit | edit source]Films
[edit | edit source]| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Cado dalle nubi | Himself | Also writer |
| 2011 | What a Beautiful Day | ||
| 2013 | Sole a catinelle | ||
| 2016 | Quo Vado? | ||
| 2020 | Tolo Tolo | Also writer and director | |
| 2025 | Buen Camino | Also writer and editor |
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Zalone, Checco, in Treccani, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. 15 March 2011 (in Italian).
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External links
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- 1977 births
- Living people
- Musicians from Bari
- Italian male singer-songwriters
- 21st-century Italian singer-songwriters
- Italian male comedians
- 21st-century Italian musicians
- Italian male film actors
- 21st-century Italian male actors
- Italian comedy musicians
- Italian male screenwriters
- 21st-century Italian screenwriters
- 21st-century Italian male singers
- Male actors from Bari