Giancarlo Giannini was first seen in the 1965 Italian black and white film ‘Libido’ directed by Ernesto Gastaldi and Vittorio Salerno. He went on to star in films like ‘Rita the Mosquito’ (1966), ‘I criminali della metropoli’ (1967), ‘Don't Sting the Mosquito’ (1967), ‘Arabella’ (1967), ‘Anzio’ (1968), ‘Fräulein Doktor’ (1969), ‘The Secret of Santa Vittoria’ (1969), ‘The Pizza Triangle’ (1970), ‘Black Belly of the Tarantula’ (1971), ‘Hector the Mighty’ (1972), ‘The Seduction of Mimi’ (1972), and ‘La prima notte di quiete’ (1972). In 1973, he starred in the Lina Wertmüller-directed film, ‘Love and Anarchy.’ Giannini played the role of Antonio Soffiantini 'Tunin' in the film which earned him the ‘Best Actor Award’ at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival. He next appeared in films: ‘It Was I’ (1973), ‘The Sensual Man’ (1973), ‘How Funny Can Sex Be?’ (1973), ‘Drama of the Rich’ (1974), ‘The Beast’ (1974), ‘Swept Away’ (1974), and ‘The Immortal Bachelor’ (1975). Giannini received an Academy Award nomination for his performance as ‘Pasqualino Frafuso’ in the 1975 Italian-language film ‘Seven Beauties’ directed by Lina Wertmüller. The film currently holds an approval rating of 68% on Rotten Tomatoes. He was next seen in films such as ‘The Innocent’ (1976), ‘A Night Full of Rain’ (1978), ‘Lovers and Liars’ (1979), ‘Good News’ (1979), ‘Lili Marleen’ (1981), ‘My Darling, My Dearest’ (1982), and ‘Where's Picone?’ (1984).
In 1984, he starred as ‘Victor Marchand’ in the American romantic comedy-thriller film ‘American Dreamer’ directed by Rick Rosenthal. The film was panned by critics and was a commercial failure. Giannini continued to star in films like ‘Fever Pitch’ (1985), ‘Saving Grace’ (1986), ‘The Rogues’ (1987), ‘Snack Bar Budapest’ (1988), ‘New York Stories’ (1989), ‘Blood Red’ (1989), ‘Dark Illness’ (1990), ‘The Amusements of Private Life’ (1990), ‘Once Upon a Crime’ (1992), ‘Giovanni Falcone’ (1993), ‘Like Two Crocodiles’ (1994), ‘A Walk in the Clouds’ (1995), ‘Celluloide’ (1996), ‘The Elective Affinities’ (1996), ‘The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca’ (1996), ‘Mimic’ (1997), ‘The Dinner’ (1998), ‘The Room of the Scirocco’ (1998), ‘Milonga’ (1999), ‘Una noche con Sabrina Love’ (2000), and ‘Viper’ (2000). In 2000, he portrayed ‘Emperor Shaddam IV’ in the three-part science fiction television miniseries ‘Frank Herbert's Dune’ directed by John Harrison. The series won 2 Primetime Emmy Awards in 2001. He next appeared in films: ‘Hannibal’ (2001), ‘CQ’ (2001), ‘I Love You Eugenio’ (2002), ‘Ciao America’ (2002), ‘Darkness’ (2002), ‘The Council of Egypt’ (2002), ‘Five Moons Square’ (2003), ‘Man on Fire’ (2004), ‘Raul: Straight to Kill’ (2005), and ‘Tirant lo Blanc’ (2006).
In 2006, he portrayed ‘René Mathis’ in the spy film and the twenty-first installment of the ‘James Bond series,’ ‘Casino Royale,’ directed by Martin Campbell. The film opened to widespread acclaim and performed well at the box office, grossing over $616.5 million on a budget of $150 million. He continued to star in films such as ‘Bastardi’ (2008), ‘Quantum of Solace’ (2008), ‘La bella società’ (2010), ‘Omamamia’ (2012), ‘Ti ho cercata in tutti i necrologi’ (2013), ‘Promakhos’ (2014), ‘On Air: Storia di un successo’ (2016), ‘The Neighborhood’ (2017), ‘Tulipani, Love, Honour and a Bicycle’ (2017), ‘The Catcher Was a Spy’ (2018), and ‘Magical Nights’ (2018). He was last seen playing the role of ‘Verrocchio’ in the historical drama series ‘Leonardo’ in 2021.
