Italian actor Franco Nero, star of cult spaghetti western Django and innumerable other cinema milestones including Luis Bunuel's The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, on Thursday night got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame saying he might yet return to his most iconic role as the Western sharpshooter with the magnetic gaze.
Nero, 84, former partner of Vanessa Redgrave whom he met on the set of Camelot in 1967 and who had a cameo in Quentin Tarantino's Western rejig Django Unchained in 2012, told ANSA "I feel great, light, happy." From collaborations with masters like Tarantino, Django directior Sergio Corbucci, and Buñuel to his long artistic and personal partnership with Oscar winner Redgrave, Nero's career has spanned genres, continents, and generations.
His latest honour seals over sixty years of cinema and more than 200 films shot in Europe and the United States.
Visibly moved, Nero unveiled the iconic tile with his name in brass on a red and black 'terrazzo' background.
"When I arrived in Hollywood, 60 years ago, I walked down this sidewalk and dreamed: who knows if one day my name will be among these cinema greats.
And that day has come", said the man who was born Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero in Parma on November 23, 1941.
He arrived in Los Angeles to play Lancelot in Joshua Logan's musical 'Camelot,' starring Richard Harris as King Arthur and Redgrave as Guinevere.
He started a long, on-off relationship with her, had a son by her, and eventually married her in 2006.
He dated actresses Catherine Deneuve, Goldie Hawn and Ursula Andress in the 1970s.
After Django, filmed when he was just 25, otther memorable films followed, such as Damiano Damiani's 'The Day of the Owl' (1968), Buñuel's 'Discreet Charm...' (1972), Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 'Querelle de Brest' (1982), and more recently, 'Die Hard 2' in 1990.
"This place celebrates dreams," Nero continued.
"Dreaming is free and it's the most beautiful thing in the world. I still do it and I know the future holds many more roles for me. It's not over yet!" Among his wishes, he confided, is also a possible return to Django: "It's a beautiful project, with a great director, I hope it comes to fruition." The actor dedicated the star to his mother.
"She's dead, poor thing, but she's watching me from up there," he said, blowing a kiss to the sky, his legendary ice-blue eyes shining.
A few minutes earlier, director Julian Schnabel, who directed him on the set of 'Miral' in 2010, stepped onto the small stage set up on the sidewalk.
"It was a great pleasure working with my dear friend, the great actor and philanthropist Franco Nero", said the American artist and maker of Before Night Falls and The Diving Bell And The Butterfly.
The ceremony was held during the eleventh edition of Filming Italy - Los Angeles, founded and directed by Tiziana Rocca, one of the promoters of the nomination, who remarked: "It's a great satisfaction to see the third Italian star awarded thanks to our festival. After Gina Lollobrigida in 2018 and Giancarlo Giannini in 2023, today it's the turn of the great Franco Nero: a truly deserved recognition." Deputy Minister of Culture Lucia Borgonzoni sent a congratulatory note: "Nero has spanned generations and diverse styles, bringing with him a unique Italian style, which, however, his country has not recognized for too long. Precisely for this reason, the Ministry of Culture has supported this nomination and the well-deserved recognition. This star is an achievement that recognizes not only an extraordinary career, but the quintessentially Italian ability to pursue a dream, if one truly believes in it." The new star is located at 1611 Vine Street, just steps from the intersection with Hollywood Boulevard, where the first studios of the golden age of cinema opened in the 1920s.
This is star number 2,835, the 17th dedicated to an Italian artist and the third to an Italian male actor.
Before Nero, it was awarded to Rudolph Valentino in 1960 and Giancarlo Giannini three years ago.
The next star for Italy will be lit in October, for the late Carlo Rambaldi, the creator of the E.T. puppet.
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