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Giorgio Cantarini (December 5, 1992) is an Italian child actor who, to date, has appeared in two Academy Award winning films: 1997`s Life Is Beautiful (Italian: La vita è bella) and 2000`s Gladiator. Born and raised in Florence, Italy, Giorgio Cantarini is an only child born to Rimazio and La Tina Cantarini. The couple separated and subsequently divorced shortly after Giorgio`s fifth birthday. His family nickname is "Gio". Cantarini made his film debut in the 1997 Roberto Benigni directed comedy-drama Life is Beautiful, playing Benigni`s five year old son `Giosué Orefice`, who is sent with his Jewish-Italian father to a German concentration camp during World War II. The film won three Academy Awards. In 1998, Cantarini was awarded alongside castmates of Life Is Beautiful with the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

His second film appearance was in the 2000 Ridley Scott-directed period action/drama Gladiator. Cantarini was cast as the son of Oscar winner Russell Crowe`s character `Maximus`. The film would win five Oscars at the 73rd Academy Awards. In 2001, Cantarini appeared in the Hallmark Hall of Fame American television film adaptation of author Eric Newby`s autobiographical novel Love and War in the Apennines (retitled In Love and War) as `Slavko`. The film was shot on location in Italy. In 2005 Cantarini competed in Ballando con le Stelle, the Italian reality television version of the series Dancing With The Stars. Cantarini currently resides in Florence, Italy with his father for the majority of the year and lives in Los Angeles, California, USA during the summer months with his mother.

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