Actor, filmmaker, theater producer, and writer, Vittorio Gassmann is considered as one of the greatest artistic innovators of our time, and a moral reference point for all generations. Born in Genoa in 1922, Gassmann gave up studying law in order to begin at the Silvio D'Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts. In 1943 he appeared in his professional debut in the theater and in 1946 he starred in Jean Cocteau's "The Typewriter", under the tutelage of Luchino Visconti. In these first years of his career, he divided his time between the screen and the stage. Later, in the early sixties, he founded the Mobile Italian Popular Theater in which classical as well as modern performances were staged. After a short period of being under contract with Metro Goldwyn Mayer, he began working with American directors like Robert Altman, most notably in "A Wedding" and "Quintet". Among his best-known films are "Bitter Rice", "Anna", "Mambo" and "The Family".

Gassmann has also made films for television, such as "The Bible", and he has produced more than fifty theatrical works and scores of films in the course of his career. Currently, he directs "La Bottega" Theater School in Florence which has performed in Spain on various occasions. He has also published books of poetry and his autobiography, "A Great Future Behind", has received, among many other honors, the Città Eterna Award from Rome's Municipal Council.

His work has met with international praise on several occasions, and among the honors he has received are the Best Actor Award (1975) at Cannes for "Scent of a woman", a role for which he was also nominated for an Oscar, and the Donostia Award (1988) at the San Sebastián Film Festival. In 1996, Gassmann also received an Italian Golden Globe in recognition of his long professional career. This same year, he shared the bill with Brad Pitt, Dustin Hoffman and Robert de Niro in the film "Sleepers", and in Italy he returned to the stage with "Body and Soul".

He died in Rome on June 29, 2000.