>Asia Argento

Actor, Filmmaker

Asia Argento is an Italian actress and film director, known for her controversial dramatic roles and her intense acting style. She was born in Rome on 20 September 1975 into a family of actors, moviemakers and musicians: Argento is the daughter of filmmaker Dario Argento and the actress Daria Nicolodi as well as the granddaughter of the film producer Salvatore Argento and Futurist composer Alfredo Casella. She began her career at a young age, starring in her father's production of the horror film ‘Demons 2’ in 1986 at the age of eleven. Her compelling portrayal of a young girl, sexually abused by her father in Michele Placido's L'Amiche del Cuore (1992) won Argento rave reviews at the Cannes film festival and Argento continued her success when she went on to win the first of her two prestigious David Di Donatello awards for her portrayal of a young paraplegic in Carlo Verdone's ‘Perdiamoci Di Vista! (Let's Not Keep in Touch!)’ (1994). Her second was for her role as a self discovering teen in ‘Travelling Companion.’ In her twenty years of acting, Argento has worked with many leading directors including Nanni Moretti, Patrice Chéreau, Abel Ferrara and Sofia Coppola, as well as recently directing her own features. Her directorial debut, ‘Scarlet Diva’ (2000), was a semi-autobiographical portrait of a jaded young international starlet.

Selected Films

Marie Antoinette, Sofia Coppola, 2006 (Kirsten Dunst, Marianne Faithfull)
The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, Asia Argento, 2000
XXx, Rob Cohen, 2002 (Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson)
Scarlet Diva, Asia Argento, 2000
B. Monkey, Michael Radford, 1998 (Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jared Harris)
Traveling Companion, Peter Del Monte, 1996 (Michel Piccoli, Silvia Cohen)
Perdiamoci Di Vista!, Carlo Verdone, 1994 (Aldo Maccione, Carlo Verdone)
L’Amiche del Cuore, Michele Placido, 1992
Palombella Rossa, Nanni Moretti, 1989 (Nanni Moretti, Silvio Orlando)
The Church, Dario Argento, 1989
Demons 2, Dario Argento, 1986