Renato Scarpa

Renato Scarpa — Biography

Renato Scarpa was one of Italian cinema's dependable supporting actors, appearing in close to 85 productions over roughly half a century. He turned up both in Nanni Moretti's recurring ensemble and in major productions outside Italy. He is best remembered as Cardinal Gregori in We Have a Pope (2011), for Moretti's The Son's Room and Mia Madre, and as the telegrapher in Il Postino (1994).

His film career began in 1969, and in its early years he took small roles across nearly every Italian genre, among them Delitto d'amore (1974, as a doctor), Il giocattolo (1979) and Uomini e no (1980). He also appeared in Dario Argento's horror film Suspiria (1977), Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973) and Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999).

Later he joined Moretti again for We Have a Pope and Mia Madre (2015), played Anselmo Vitali in Diaz – Don't Clean Up This Blood (2012), Pius XI in Trilussa – Storia d'amore e di poesia (2013) and Mario in Tommaso (2016). He died in Rome on 30 December 2021, aged 82.