Nicola Acunzo
I'm an actor by vocation, a politician by passion.
I was born in Varese to a Neapolitan father and a mother from Cosenza. At the age of 6, I moved to Battipaglia, in the province of Salerno, my city. During the years of my acting training I share the stage with Vincenzo Salemme and interpret the texts of Plauto, Miller, Feydeau working alongside performers such as Renato De Carmine, Nando Gazzolo, Glauco Mauri, and others. In 2005 the fundamental meeting with Maestro Mario Monicelli, who directs me in “The desert roses”, which gives rise to the subsequent collaboration with Michele Placido in “The great dream” and “Vallanzasca – The angels of evil”.
Always passionate about politics, in 1994 – at the age of 19 – I became the municipal councilor of my city, the youngest in Italy. In 2018 I was elected Deputy of the Republic. Today I keep on working with passion and intensity for environmental protection, and the promotion of the culture and the young talents to build a better future.
A life between cinema and theater
Acting was my calling right away. I moved to Rome in 1998 to pursue this dream, combining my studies in Literature with my work on the stage. A journey that has led me to make important experiences also in the USA starting from 2014. To date, I have taken part as an actor in more than fifty different productions including cinema, theater, and television. In 2013 I wrote, directed, and produced the short film “Il Silenzio di Lorenzo”, dedicated to the story of Lorenzo Rago, mayor of the city of Battipaglia who died in 1953 by the “Lupara Bianca”, whose crime never received justice.
Do you have a new and stimulating art project you want to tell me about? Drop a message!
Awards
los angeles - usa - 2016
Best Leading Actor
United International Flm Fest di Los Angeles 2016 – per il cortometraggio ‘CONSURGO’
Whashintong - usa - 2014
Premio eccellenza italiana per il cinema 2014
ITALIA- 2013
Premio "Talento Campano" - CortoDino Film Festival
for the short film "Il silenzio di Lorenzo"
italia 2010
Premio Penisola Sorrentina
for "Vallanzasca - Gli angeli del male" in the role of Rosario Lo Piccolo
italia 2009
Premio Flaiano
for "Il Grande Sogno" by Michele Placido
Showreel
Political and social commitment
My passion for politics and social commitment comes from afar: I was school representative in high school, had experience in dialogue and mediation of interests while working as a condominium administrator, I was elected as city councilor – the youngest in Italy ! – with a civic list in my city in 1994. Elected Deputy in 2018, I am currently a member of the Culture Commission of the Chamber of Deputies and President of the Parliamentary Intergroup “Cinema and Performing Arts”. In 2022 I received the National Delegation to the “Live Cinema and Entertainment” sector in the Culture Department of the Forza Italia party.
Environmental protection and cultural promotion are the central themes of my commitment to national institutions and my land, the Piana del Sele. The stamp that the Ministry for Economic Development issued – at my request – for the centenary of the historic “Ati / Farina” tobacco factory in Battipaglia is dedicated to my city and the enhancement of historical memory. My parliamentary activity is accessible on the website of the Chamber of Deputies and OpenPolis, the videos of my speeches on my Facebook Page.
Promoting young talents
My experience in the entertainment world, combined with that gained in the institutions, pushes me every day to work to promote young talents. On 11 December 2019 I see a great dream come true: the establishment of the World Day of Italian Cinema, which took place through the unanimous approval by the joined Committees III (Foreign and Community Affairs) and VII (Culture, Science and Education) of my resolution no. 7-000225. The resolution commits the cultural institutes and the Italian embassies to give worldwide visibility to the works of the new authors and to celebrate the great masters of our cinema. From 2020 – the year of the first edition – the “Giornata” promotes the five short films nominated for the David di Donatello Awards all over the world.