According to Italian media reports, actor Enzo Staiola, who starred in the classic film "The Bicycle Thief" directed by Vittorio De Sica, died in Rome on June 4 local time at the age of 85.
Enzo Staiola at the press conference for the documentary We Are Not Just... Bicycle Thieves: The New Realism at the Venice Film Festival in 2013.
In this Italian neo-realist masterpiece released in 1948, Enzo Staiola played the young protagonist Bruno Ricci, which left a deep impression on audiences all over the world. The film was adapted from the novel of the same name, and was set in Rome, where all industries were declining after World War II, telling the story of a father and son who were searching for a stolen bicycle.
Antonio Ricci, the father played by Lamberto Maggiorani, finally found a job posting posters, but unexpectedly, his bicycle was stolen on the first day of work, making it difficult for him to continue his work and life. So he and his son Bruno began to look for a bicycle all over the city. In the end, he was really helpless and stole someone else's bicycle. Unexpectedly, he was caught red-handed, which made him ashamed as a father.
"The Bicycle Thief" tells the story of a father and son who search for a stolen bicycle.
The Bicycle Thief won the Honorary Oscar in 1950 (the Best Foreign Language Film Award at the time), and two years later ranked first in the "Greatest Film of All Time" selection organized by the British magazine Sight and Sound. Its classic status has been established since the day it was born. In accordance with the principles of neo-realist films, the film was shot entirely on location, and the two leading actors were non-professional actors. Just like Maggiorani, who played his father, was originally a worker, Enzo Staiola, who was only eight years old at the time, had no acting experience at all.
The two leading actors of the film, Lamberto Maggiolani and Enzo Staiola, are both amateurs with no acting experience.
Enzo Staiola was born on November 15, 1939, in an ordinary Roman working-class family. In 2023, he recalled the first time he met director De Sica in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. "When I was going home from school, I suddenly found a car following me, driving very slowly," Staiola explained, "and then a gentleman with silver hair and well-dressed clothes got out of the car. He asked me, 'What's your name?' I was silent. He continued, 'Can't you speak?' 'I don't want to speak.' I answered him. Because my mother always told me not to talk to unfamiliar people. As a result, De Sica followed me all the way home. My parents recognized him at a glance-he was a famous actor before he became a director. That day, he sat in our house and tried to convince my parents to let me act in his new film. But they didn't agree."
Steola's eyes touched director De Sica.
Later, it was his uncle who took the initiative and took little Enzo to the set. He was self-taught and his performance was natural and smooth, which was also the key to the touching effect of "The Bicycle Thief". According to director De Sica, he first liked him and drove along with him because he found that the little boy's walking posture was very distinctive; after a closer look, he found that his eyes were very expressive, and through his eyes, he could reflect the urgency of his father's desperate search for a bicycle.
However, De Sica did not work with him again after "Bicycle Thief". "He was like that; he found you, dug you, and then it was over," Steola said in an interview.
In the following years, Enzo Staiola starred in many Italian films as a child star, and had wonderful rivalry with Italian national treasures Anna Magnani and Gina Lollobrigida in "Volcano" and "Old Times". In 1954, he played a waiter in "Barefoot Angels", a co-production between Italy and the United States. He did not have many roles, but he was able to share the stage with Hollywood stars Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner, which also left him with many unforgettable memories.
As an adult, Steola decided to quit acting and became a math teacher after graduation, and then worked at the Rome Land Registry until retirement. "Being an actor is quite troublesome," he told the reporter of La Repubblica. "When I was a child, I couldn't play with my friends much because I was worried about getting injured and leaving scars on my face. If that happened, I wouldn't be able to make movies. Later, I felt a little bored myself. Making movies takes too much time."
