Leonardo Maltese

Maltese was born in Ravenna from a Sicilian father and an English mother. After studying in England he moved to Rome to attend the Accademia teatrale di Roma Sofia Amendolea.^[2][3] In 2020 he launched his first single, Tourmalet, and his first EP, Salmoni, under the stage name of Leo Fulcro.^[4] He released his first album in 2021, entitled Il Mondo che Cambia.^[5]

He made his acting debut in 2022, when he played Ettore Tagliaferri in the film by Gianni Amelio Lord of the Ants.^[6][7][8] The film, presented in competition at the 79th Venice International Film Festival, tells the story of the writer Aldo Braibanti, played by Luigi Lo Cascio, protagonist of the so-called "Braibanti case".^[9][10] For his performance he was awarded the New Talent Award.^[11][12][13]

In 2023, he played Edgardo Mortara as a young man in Marco Bellocchio's film Kidnapped, presented at the Cannes Film Festival.^[14] At the 2023 Nastri d'argento awards ceremony, he won the Guglielmo Biraghi Award for his performance in the films Lord of the Ants and Kidnapped.^[15][16][17] He also poirtrayed the stylist Gianni Versace in Mimmo Calopresti's film, Gianni Versace: L'Imperatore dei sogni.^[18][19][20]

In 2024 Maltese played Giacomo Leopardi in the tv serie Leopardi - Il poeta dell'infinito directed by Sergio Rubini.^[21][22][23] That year he also released his second EP, Boy on Earth.^[24] The following year he portrays Ragusìn in L'Abbaglio, set to be realised January 16, 2025, directed by Roberto Andò.^[25][26][27]

• David di Donatello
  • 2023: Italian revelation for Lord of the Ants and Kidnapped^[28]
• Nastro d'argento
  • 2023: Guglielmo Biraghi award for Kidnapped^[29]
• Venice Film Festival
  • 2022: Imaie Talent Award for Lord of the Ants^[30]