Just last year, the 25th anniversary of the Oscar-winning film “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso” was celebrated. The 1988 classic, directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, is one of the most acclaimed Italian films of all time. One of the characters who is most fondly remembered by the audience is that of Totò, the main character, as a young boy, played beautifully by Salvatore “Totò” Cascio, who was eight years old at the time.
But whatever happened to Cascio? Did he continue his career in movies? Not quite. He did star in a few movies, including Tornatore's “Everybody's Fine”, alongside Marcello Mastroianni, but never really became a full-time actor. Cascio, who is now 34, is still living in his hometown of Palazzo Adriano in Sicily, close to where the film was shot, where he opened and runs two supermarkets, as well as a restaurant and B&B named L'Oscar dei Sapori.
In an interview with the Guardian last year, Cascio said that he does not mind being remembered just for his role in “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso”: "When you start out as a child star, the transition to adult actor is a difficult one. As a child, you act in a very natural, spontaneous way – you're just playing around. But as you get older, acting begins to seem like something you need to study; it becomes like work. I never really wanted to be an actor. I'm very happy for Cinema Paradiso to be my calling card."
Watch these great clips from the movie [you can get the film in our shop]:
