Sergio Castellitto

n the eve of the new millennium, Italy's Mediaset television empire agreed to produce a film on the life and times of Padre Pio, the 20th century Capuchin friar who remains an integral part of the country's Catholic identity.

The year 2000 not only marked the start of a new century but also coincided both with Padre Pio's beatification — his official elevation to sainthood — and a Vatican Jubilee year, in which believers are invited to make a faith-affirming pilgrimage to Rome.

Mindful of the circumstances, the Padre Pio producers sought a highly recognizable and reassuring actor in the role of the visionary friar.

They picked Sergio Castellitto.

Castellitto cowrote "Non ti muovere" with his wife.

Considered among the best and most acclaimed Italian actors of his generation, the Rome-born Castellitto began his career in 1981. Since then, he has made more than 70 films covering a wide range of genres, regularly preferring drama to comedy — unlike many Italian mainstream stars.

His performances in 2004's "Non ti muovere" ("Don't Move") and the 1993 "Il grande cocomero" ("The Big Watermelon") earned him David of Donatello awards for best actor, the Italian equivalent of the Oscars. In 2006, he was also named best actor at the Venice Film Festival for his work in director Gianni Amelio's "La stella che non c'è" ("The Missing Star").

He has also been active in French cinema, both as an actor and also as a judge at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2008, he was cast as a villain in "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," a big-budget Hollywood fantasy film (The New York Times hailed his "malignant grandeur" in the role of Miraz.)

After the Padre Pio role in 2000, Castellitto began increasing his level of involvement in filmmaking. He directed as well as starred in "Non ti muovere," a controversial film about a hard-knocks love affair between an Albanian immigrant woman (played by Penélope Cruz) and an affluent Rome surgeon (Castellitto). The film, which husband and wife co-authored, was based on the novel of the same name by Castellitto's wife, Margaret Mazzanetini. In 2002 the film won Italy's top literary honor, the Strega Prize.

As King Miraz

Though "Non ti muovere" met with mixed reviews — a rape scene involving the Cruz character generated controversy in the U.S. and UK — most critics praised its production values and pacing. "It is a beautifully made film — decorously composed, meticulously acted, cleanly photographed," wrote New York Times cultural and movie critic A.O. Scott. Some said the film confirmed Castellitto as the heir to the late Marcello Mastroianni, Fellini's favorite actor.

Castellitto has already enlisted Cruz to work on the film version of his wife's latest novel, "Venuto al mondo" ("Into the World"), a project still in its early stages. "It's set in Rome and Sarajevo and will be filmed in two languages," he says. "I'll have a small role."

Castellitto's close creative kinship with his wife is an anomaly on an Italian film scene, where tumultuous personal lives often dominate tabloid headlines. Rome fixture Castellitto and Mazzantini — born in Dublin to an Italian father and an Irish mother — married in 1987. They have four children. "She basically gave up acting to be with me," says Castellitto. "She then found her vocation as a writer." They are working parents.

Castellitto recently completed work on another husband-wife project, the Tuscany-set family drama "La bellezza del somaro," scheduled for Italian released at Christmas.

Wearing a dapper blue suit and white oxford shirt ("I think all actors should have a signature style. I always wear blue"), Castellitto met with Katie McGovern in his large and airy film studio in the posh Parioli district of Rome. These are excerpts from their conversation.

You've been married for 23 years and have four children, which you agree is outside the norm. But why? Why is the Italian birth rate so low? Particularly in a country where family is so important.

Western birth rates are generally low. There are cultural and psychological reasons. Women often don't want to give up other aspects of their lives, including their careers. Families themselves are together less often.

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