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Tony Nardi

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Tony Nardi
Born
Antonio Luigi Nardi

(1958-06-21) 21 June 1958 (age 67)[1]
Carolei, Calabria, Italy
Alma materUniversity of Toronto (M.A., 2016)[2]
Occupation(s)Actor, playwright, stage director
Years active1978–present

Antonio Luigi Nardi (born June 21, 1958[1]) is an Italian-Canadian actor, playwright, and theatre director based in Toronto.[3][4] Fluent in four languages; he has appeared in French, Italian and English-language productions, including over 60 plays and 70 films and television series. He won the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role twice, for The Saracen Woman (which he co-wrote)[5] and My Father's Angel, with three additional nominations.[6]

His series of monologues, Two Letters...And Counting!, was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play and earned Nardi a nomination for the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre long list.[7] He has worked with Théâtre français de Toronto, Persephone Theatre, Great Canadian Theatre Company, and the Stratford Festival.[8] He has also taught Acting and Directing courses at the University of Toronto and York University.[9]

Early life

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Nardi was born in Carolei, Calabria in 1958, and moved to Canada as a child. He was raised in a multilingual environment, and is fluent in French, English, Italian and Calabrian.[10]

Acting

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Nardi made his stage debut in a 1978 production of Solzhenitsyn, directed by Alexander Hausvater. Since then, he has performed in over 60 plays including For Those in the Peril on the Sea, Sandinista, Nineteen Eighty-Four, La Storia Calvino, A Flea in Her Ear and The Lesson.

He received a Montreal Gazette Critic's Award in 1979 for his role in an adaptation of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, a Dora Mavor Moore Award for Artistic Excellence – Collective – in 1985 for La Storia Calvino, garnered a Dora Award nomination in 2001 for his role in A Flea in Her Ear, and a Dora Award in 2002 for Outstanding Performance for his role in The Lesson. In 2007 he received a Best Actor Thespis Award for Two Letters.

His movie roles include Caffè Italia, Montréal, Concrete Angels, Cruising Bar, The Saracen Woman (La Sarrasine), An Imaginary Tale, Mr. Aiello (La Déroute), My Father's Angel, Almost America, Corbo and Kiss Me Like a Lover (Embrasse-moi comme tu m'aimes), and his TV credits include Rossini's Ghost, Galileo: On the Shoulders of Giants, Bonanno: A Godfather's Story, Almost America, Il Duce Canadese and Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis.

A four-time Genie Award nominee, he has won twice for Best Actor for roles in The Saracen Woman (La Sarrasine) (1992)[11] and My Father's Angel (2001), for which he had also received a Best Actor award at the Sonoma Wine and Country Film Festival in 2000. He received the Guy L’Écuyer Award for his role in La Déroute in 1998. In 2010, the year marking the 30th Genie Awards, he made the Academy's 30th Anniversary Top 10 list in the Lead Actor category in Canadian cinema – a ranking based on the number of wins and nominations over the 30-year period.

In television, he received a Gemini Award nomination in 2006 for his role in Il Duce Canadese and a Best Actor Award at the Geneva International Film Festival, Tous Écrans/All Screens, in 1999, for his role in Ken Finkleman's Foolish Heart.

Writing

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Nardi is co-author with Vincent Ierfino of the play La Storia dell'Emigrante. Written in Calabrian, English and French, the play was the first in Canada (on record) written by an Italian-Canadian and addressing an Italian-Canadian reality. In 1982 La Storia dell'Emigrante received the first James Bullet Award for Best Original Canadian play at the Ontario Multicultural Theatre Festival.

A Modo Suo: A Fable, written in Calabrian in 1990, received a Dora Award nomination for Best Play. An English translation was published in its entirety in the Canadian Theatre Review in 2000.

He collaborated on the screenplays for La Sarrasine and La Déroute.

Two Letters (2006), two theatrical monologues based on two actual letters sent to a film/television producer and two theatre critics,[12][13][14] received a 2007 Dora Award Nomination for Outstanding New Play. "...And Counting!" - a postmortem of "Two Letters" and journey into the state of culture and funding in Canada[15] was presented in 2008 in Toronto and Montreal, at Factory Theatre and McGill University, respectively and in 2010 at the Festival TransAmeriques in Montreal. In 2008 he was nominated for a Siminovitch Prize in Theatre for playwriting.[16]

"Letter One", "Letter Two", and "...And Counting!" were filmed in front of a live audience and released respectively in 2011, 2013 and 2014.[17] "Letter One" was screened at Les Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois in Montreal in 2011,[18] at Hot Docs in Toronto in 2012 and the Italian Contemporary Film Festival at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2012.[19] "Letter Two" was screened at the Italian Contemporary Film Festival at TIFF in 2013.[20] "...And Counting!" was screened at the 2014 Italian Contemporary Italian Film Festival at TIFF.[21]

In 2013, "Two Letters...And Counting!" was published by Guernica Editions (Essential Drama Series). https://guernicaeditions.com/pages/authors In 2015 "Two Letters...And Counting!" was nominated for a Patrick O'Neill Scholarly Award. . https://www.cdtps.utoronto.ca/people/directories/graduate-students/tony-nardi In 2024 A Modo Suo (A Fable) was published (in English and in Calabrian) in the anthology "Canadian Plays of Italian Heritage" edited by Anna Migliarisi and co-published by Guernica Editions and constitutional lawyer Rocco Galati. https://guernicaeditions.com/products/canadian-plays-of-italian-heritage

Academia

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Nardi began teaching acting and directing courses in Autumn of 2017. He has instructed courses at the University of Toronto and University of Toronto Scarborough, and directed courses at York University.[9] He is a PhD candidate in Performance at the University of Toronto,[2] specializing in “the impact of cultural background and first language on performance in Canadian theatre, film and TV."

Honors

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In 1992, Nardi received the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal, awarded to Canadians for significant contribution to their fellow citizens, to their community, or to Canada.

In 2001, Nardi received a "Toronto Italian Filmfest Award for Major Contribution to Italian-Canadian Cinema" at the Toronto Italian Film Festival (Frank. A. Caruso, co-founder and head programmer)

In 2002, Nardi was included in "Canadian Who's Who," "the standard reference source of contemporary Canadian biographies, listing 13,000 notable Canadians selected on merit alone."

In June 2017, Nardi received a "Special Achievement Award" at the Italian Contemporary Film Festival (ICFF) in Toronto.

Personal life

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Nardi lived in Montreal with Janne Mortil,[22] his former partner, in 1999-2000.[23]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Director Notes
1981 Gas Plant Manager Les Rose
1982 Deux super-dingues Toto Claudio Castravelli
1983 Videodrome Man at Conference David Cronenberg Uncredited
1985 Caffè Italia, Montréal Various characters Paul Tana [24]
1987 Concrete Angels Sal Carlo Liconti
1988 Kalamazoo Pasquale Globenski André Forcier
Dreams Beyond Memory Commercial Director Andrzej Markiewicz
1989 Cruising Bar Marcello Robert Ménard
Speaking Parts Eddy Atom Egoyan
Brown Bread Sandwiches Rogero Carlo Liconti
1990 An Imaginary Tale Toni André Forcier
1991 The Adjuster Motel Manager Atom Egoyan
1992 The Saracen Woman Giuseppe Moschella Paul Tana Also screenwriter
1993 Les Amoureuses Nino Johanne Prégent
1994 Operation Golden Phoenix Saul “The Lawyer” Silverstein Jalal Merhi
1996 La bruttina stagionata Ian Anna Di Francisca
1998 Mr. Aiello Joe Aiello Paul Tana Also screenwriter
1999 My Father's Angel Ahmed Davor Marjanovic
2000 Cold Blooded Vidal Randy Bradshaw
2001 Almost America Vincenzo De Vito Antonio Frazzi
Andrea Frazzi
2008 Adoration Principal Rollis Atom Egoyan
2011 Another Silence Tony Santiago Amigorena
Man on the Train Loco Mary McGuckian
2012 Havana 57 Capt. Calzado Jim Purdy
2013 The Resurrection of Tony Gitone Mario Jerry Ciccoritti
2014 The Big Fat Stone Victor Rossi Frank D'Angelo
Corbo Nicola Corbo Mathieu Denis
2015 No Deposit Det. Vincent Scartelli Frank D'Angelo
Sicilian Vampire Little Anthony
Born to Be Blue Nicholas Robert Budreau
2016 Kiss Me Like a Lover Élio André Forcier
2017 The Neighborhood Shorty Frank D'Angelo
Hochelaga, Land of Souls Mario Ricci François Girard
2018 The Joke Thief Francis Sellano Frank D'Angelo
Bella Ciao! Arnaldo Carolyn Combs
2019 The Last Big Save Guy Bouche Frank D'Angelo
Making a Deal with the Devil Merant
From the Vine Marcello Sean Cisterna
Mafia Inc. Zizi “Z” Zippo Daniel Grou
2021 Perpetual Motion Carabinieri Carlo Liconti [25]

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1987-93 Street Legal Schultz / Phil Carrera 2 episodes
1990-93 E.N.G. Regossi / Frank Berman 2 episodes
1994 Side Effects Peter Episode: “The Great Chendini”
1997 Kung Fu: The Legend Continues Alvin Barnes Episode: “May I Talk With You”
Viper Pete Episode: “Manhunt”
1998 Da Vinci's Inquest François 4 episodes
1999 Foolish Heart Judge James Schneller 2 episodes
2001 Foreign Objects Bureaucrat Episode: “The Award”
2003 Platinum Nick Tashijan Main cast; Season 1
2004 The Newsroom Patrick Episode: “Slow Burn”
2007 Intelligence Nick Jordan 7 episodes
2009-10 Cra$h & Burn Lindo Recurring role; Season 1
2011 Flashpoint Cary McCarty Episode: “A Day in the Life”
2011-12 King Chief Paul Graci Main role; Seasons 1-2
2013 Motive Father Noel Barnett Episode: “Fallen Angel”
Played Chief Inspector Episode: “Cops”

TV films and miniseries

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Year Title Role Notes
1993 Embrasse-moi, c'est pour la vie Jean-René
Armen and Bullik Spicuzza
1996 Rossini's Ghost Duke Cesarini
1997 In the Presence of Mine Enemies Emmanuel
1998 Loss of Faith Victor
1999 Bonanno: A Godfather's Story Joseph Bonanno (ages 35–61)
2002 Escape from the Newsroom Producer
2004 Il Duce Canadese Angelo Alvaro
2006 Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis John Ciaccia
2011 Galileo: On the Shoulders of Giants Michelangelo
2015 Pirate's Passage Immigration Officer (voice)
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe Johnny Hyde

Awards and nominations

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Institution Year Category Nominated work Result
Action On Film International Film Festival 2016 Outstanding Cast Performance - Feature The Red Maple Leaf Won
2018 Best Supporting Actor The Joke Thief Nominated
Canadian Screen Awards 2016 Best Supporting Actor Corbo Nominated
Gala Québec Cinéma 2016 Best Supporting Actor Nominated
2017 Kiss Me Like a Lover Nominated
Gemini Award 2006 Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Miniseries Il Duce Canadese Nominated
Genie Awards 1988 Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Concrete Angels Nominated
1992 Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role The Saracen Woman Won
1999 Mr. Aiello Nominated
2001 My Father's Angel Won
Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma 1998 Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Mr. Aiello Won
Wine Country Film Festival 2000 Best Actor My Father's Angel Won[a]

Notes

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  1. ^ Tied with Brendan Fletcher for My Father's Angel.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia - Nardi, Tony". www.canadiantheatre.com. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Tony Nardi | University of Toronto - Academia.edu". utoronto.academia.edu. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  3. ^ "Bio |". May 8, 2014. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  4. ^ "Tony Nardi - Premier Rôle Agency". premierrole.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  5. ^ "Interview with Paul Tana". offscreen.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  6. ^ "Tony Nardi". Archived from the original on November 30, 2020.
  7. ^ "26 playwrights on 2008 Siminovitch long list". Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  8. ^ "Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia - Nardi, Tony". www.canadiantheatre.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Security Verification | LinkedIn". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  10. ^ "e-TALENTA". www.e-talenta.eu. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  11. ^ "Sarrasine, La – Film de Paul Tana". Films du Québec (in French). Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  12. ^ "Mavor's torch still burns". rabble.ca. October 9, 2008. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  13. ^ Fiorito, Joe (February 21, 2007). "Nardi's aim: Art with a point". Toronto Star. p. D2. ProQuest 1349016608. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  14. ^ "The gutsiest role this actor will ever play". Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  15. ^ "Tony Nardi: Lonely Voice in Canada's Cultural Wilderness. - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  16. ^ "TWO LETTERS... And Counting! - Guernica Editions". www.guernicaeditions.com. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  17. ^ "Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Toronto". March 3, 2016. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  18. ^ Couture, Philippe (June 5, 2010). "FTA-OFFTA: Colère noire et mix-off". Voir.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  19. ^ "Letter One | ICFF – Italian Contemporary Film Festival". archive.is. June 25, 2014. Archived from the original on June 25, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  20. ^ "Letter Two | ICFF – Italian Contemporary Film Festival". archive.is. June 25, 2014. Archived from the original on June 25, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  21. ^ "Letter Three | ICFF – Italian Contemporary Film Festival". archive.is. June 25, 2014. Archived from the original on June 25, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  22. ^ Lamey, Mary (November 5, 1999). "The little condos that couldn't: Buyer fights developers of Darcy McGee project over defects". The Gazette. Montreal. p. C1. ProQuest 433540723.
  23. ^ Michael, Posner (March 19, 2001). "Acting, Italian-Canadian Style". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. p. R3. ProQuest 1125667655.
  24. ^ "Caffè Italia, Montréal". Cinema Public. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  25. ^ Perpetual Motion (2021). Retrieved October 9, 2025 – via www.cinemaclock.com.
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