Italian actor and director Andrea di Stefano began his career with a critically acclaimed performance in “The Prince of Homburg” (1997), directed by Marco Bellocchio. He went on to star in movies such as Dario Argento’s “The Phantom of the Opera” (1998), “Almost Blue” (2000), and “Angela” (2002). Di Stefano also had roles in the movies “Sacred Heart” (2005) and “The Life of Pi” (2012). He made his screenwriting and directorial debut with “Escobar: Paradise Lost” (2014), starring Benicio del Toro in the lead role. Staying within the crime thriller genre, Di Stefano directed the likes of Rosamund Pike, Ana de Armas, and Clive Owen in “The Informer” (2019) before going on to write and direct “Last Night of Amore” (2023), starring Pierfrancesco Favino. He teamed up with Favino again for the movie “Il Maestro” (2025), a sports drama about a struggling tennis prodigy.