Leonardo Maltese (born 28 October 1997) is an Italian-English actor and singer.
Biography
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. In 2020 he launched his first single, Tourmalet, and his first EP, Salmoni, under the stage name of Leo Fulcro. He released his first album in 2021, entitled Il Mondo che Cambia.
He made his acting debut in 2022, when he played Ettore Tagliaferri in the film by Gianni Amelio Lord of the Ants. 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". For his performance he was awarded the New Talent Award.
In 2023, he played Edgardo Mortara as a young man in Marco Bellocchio's film Kidnapped, presented at the Cannes Film Festival. 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. He also poirtrayed the stylist Gianni Versace in Mimmo Calopresti's film, Gianni Versace: L'Imperatore dei sogni.
In 2024 Maltese played Giacomo Leopardi in the tv serie Leopardi - Il poeta dell'infinito directed by Sergio Rubini. That year he also released his second EP, Boy on Earth. The following year he portrays Ragusìn in L'Abbaglio, set to be realised January 16, 2025, directed by Roberto Andò.
Studio albums
2021: Il Mondo Che Cambia
EPs
2020: Salmoni
2024: Boy on Earth
Singles
2020: Tourmalet
2020: Ti Scriverei
2021: Babilonia
2021: Incubo
2021: Tutto Bene
2022: Scegli Me
2023: Yin e Yang
2023: La Mappa
2024: Spy Kids (feat. GIOVAPIÙGIOVA)
2024: Everyday
David di Donatello
2023: Italian revelation for Lord of the Ants and Kidnapped
Nastro d'argento
2023: Guglielmo Biraghi award for Kidnapped
Venice Film Festival
2022: Imaie Talent Award for Lord of the Ants