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Teenage star Marco Leonardi: Fan mail from all over the world for Cinema Paradiso”!
“Cinema Paradiso” star Marco Leonardi receives fan mail worldwide, even 30 years after the film’s release. His new film celebrated its premiere in Hof.
Teenage star Marco Leonardi: Fan mail from all over the world for Cinema Paradiso”!
Hof (dpa) - Over 30 years after the triumphant theatrical release of the classic “Cinema Paradiso”, the magic remains unbroken! Marco Leonardi, the charming teenage star who played the role of little Salvatore “Toto” di Vita, continues to receive admiring fan mail from all over the world. “To this day I receive loving messages for Toto from all over the world, even from Russia and Arabia,” enthuses the 52-year-old Italian actor at the Hof Film Festival. Today his new film “Il mio posto e qui” celebrated its premiere in Germany and is once again causing a stir!
Success across borders
The role of Toto catapulted Leonardi to international heights. In the early 1990s, he met Hollywood director Robert Rodriguez while he was filming in Mexico. "A young guy came to the set to get to know the actor from 'Cinema Paradiso,'" Leonardi said. This led to an appearance in Rodriguez's action film "Sometime in Mexico" (2003). Leonardi says about Rodriguez: “I never thought he would have a career. I never thought he would make it in Hollywood!
In his new work, Leonardi can now play an impressive role: he embodies a homosexual in the Second World War. The cult film had an unexpected influence during filming: "When I kissed my acting partner, it wasn't played well," he admitted. "I said to him: 'We kiss, we have to lose ourselves a little.'" With the feeling of love that Toto had for Elena, he was finally able to perfect the scene.
“Cinema Paradiso” itself tells the loving story of a Sicilian village and its cinema, which is run by a blind projectionist – a timeless masterpiece that has captured the hearts of viewers for generations!