Massimo Troisi began his acting career in the theater and became famous for roles in television series. He is best known for his roles in his own film Ricomincio da tre (1981), and in Michael Radford's The Postman (Il Postino) (1994). The filmmaker Ettore Scola has also made him one of his leading performers, with three consecutive works: Splendor, What time is it? and The Voyage of Captain Fracasse. Heart disease when he had to shoot The Postman. His doctor had advised him not to do the filming to have the operation. He decided to postpone the operation after the shooting, this film being close to his heart. He died of a heart attack, barely twelve hours after the end of filming. He was posthumously nominated for two Oscars and two Golden Globes.
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Biography from TMDB.
- February 19, 1953
- June 4, 1994 (aged 41)
- San Giorgio a Cremano
- Actor, writer and director
- 5 on MovieCove · 22 credits in all
What are Massimo Troisi's films like?
Across a limited sample of 4 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
Light 1 · Serious 2 · Dark 1
A split, not a type: Grounded 2 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 1
Gentle 1 · Charged 3 · Intense 0
Steady 4 · Shifting 0 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 2
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 4 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 1 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 1
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 2 of 4 analyzed roles.
- Heroas Mario in Nothing Left to Do but Cry (1984)
- Mentoras Pulcinella in The Voyage of Captain Fracassa (1990)
- Tricksteras Pulcinella in The Voyage of Captain Fracassa (1990)
- Heroas Mario Ruoppolo in The Postman (1994)
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Massimo Troisi's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 1 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Massimo Troisi's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
22 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Per sempre al Massimo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Il mio amico Massimo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
I magnifici 4 della risata (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
La Smorfia - Prima Parte (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
La Smorfia - Seconda Parte (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
La Smorfia - Terza Parte (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Effetto Smorfia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
The Postman(1994)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
I Thought It Was Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films
What Time Is It? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Splendor (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
The Ways of the Lord are Finite (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Indietro tutta! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1987)
Hotel Colonial(1987)
Midcredits score: 5th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
FF.SS. cioè '...che mi hai portato a fare sopra a Posillipo se non mi vuoi più bene?' (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
Sorry for the Delay (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
No Thanks, Coffee Makes Me Nervous (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Morto Troisi, viva Troisi! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
I'm Starting from Three (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Career shape
Star power in the 99th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 22 titles from 1981 to 2024; peak year 1990.
Film career
Peak 1990 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1981Screen debut· I'm Starting from Three
- 1981First top-billed film· I'm Starting from Three
- 1994Career best· The Postman
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
How do Massimo Troisi's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 95th percentile, the median of all 5; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 87th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 5 titles are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved3
- Universally Panned1
- Crowd Pleaser1
Reviewers score the acting 75/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 92, detractors 47. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Massimo Troisi work with?
People who share at least 2 of Massimo Troisi's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Furio Scarpelli shares the most, 2.
Writers
- Furio ScarpelliShared titles: The Postman (1994), The Voyage of Captain Fracassa (1990)See all 2 shared titles with Furio Scarpelli
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Giuseppe RotunnoShared titles: Hotel Colonial (1987), Nothing Left to Do but Cry (1984)See all 2 shared titles with Giuseppe Rotunno
- Nino BaragliShared titles: Hotel Colonial (1987), Nothing Left to Do but Cry (1984)See all 2 shared titles with Nino Baragli
- Pino DonaggioShared titles: Hotel Colonial (1987), Nothing Left to Do but Cry (1984)See all 2 shared titles with Pino Donaggio
Producers
- Gaetano DanieleShared titles: The Postman (1994), Nothing Left to Do but Cry (1984)See all 2 shared titles with Gaetano Daniele
- Mario Cecchi GoriShared titles: The Postman (1994), The Voyage of Captain Fracassa (1990)See all 2 shared titles with Mario Cecchi Gori
- Vittorio Cecchi GoriShared titles: The Postman (1994), The Voyage of Captain Fracassa (1990)See all 2 shared titles with Vittorio Cecchi Gori
- Mauro BerardiShared titles: Hotel Colonial (1987), Nothing Left to Do but Cry (1984)See all 2 shared titles with Mauro Berardi