Adolfo Celi

Adolfo Celi was an Italian film actor and director. He was born on 27 July 1922 in Curcuraci, Messina, Sicily, and appeared in almost 100 films, specializing as international villains. Celi gained fame for various roles, but is primarily remembered for his portrayal of Emilio Largo in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball. He later went on to spoof his Thunderball role in the movie OK Connery (aka Operation Double 007), playing opposite Sean Connery's brother, Neil Connery. Celi migrated to Brazil, leaving the Italian film industry, where he co-founded the Teatro Brasileiro de Comédia together with Paulo Autran and Tônia Carrero in São Paulo. His career in South America blossomed, where he found success on stage in Argentina and Brazil, and directed three films in the 1950s, including the Brazilian hit Tico-Tico no Fubá in 1952. The actor was also multilingual, fluent in Sicilian, Italian, English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese. Celi left his last mark on the 1981 BBC serial The Borgias, playing Rodrigo Borgia, despite having a thick Sicilian accent that proved hard to understand for some viewers.