The Child Star From One of the Greatest Movies of All Time Has Died: Enzo Staiola Was 85

One of the greatest child actors of all time, Enzo Staiola, has died. He was 85.

His passing was reported last Wednesday by the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. No cause of death was given.

Staiola is best known for starring in the 1948 drama Bicycle Thieves at nine years old. In the Oscar-winning film, a poor father (Lamberto Maggiorani) searches for his stolen bike alongside his son (Staiola); if he does not find the bicycle, he will be unable to make it to work and will subsequently lose his job. It is often considered one of the greatest films ever made.

In a 2023 interview with La Repubblica, he recalled his first encounter with Bicycle Thieves director Vittorio De Sica, who noticed him as Staiola was walking home from school.

“I was coming back from school and at a certain point I noticed this big car following me at walking pace,” Staiola said. “Then this gentleman with gray hair, all dressed up, got out and asked me: ‘What’s your name?’, and I was silent. And he said: ‘But don’t you talk?’ ‘I don’t feel like talking,’ I replied. My mother always told me not to be too familiar if someone stopped us… But De Sica followed me home. My parents recognized him right away. He was a famous actor.”

In subsequent years, Staiola appeared in many other films from famous directors, like when he acted alongside Humphrey Bogart in Joseph L Mankiewicz’s 1954 film The Barefoot Contessa. His last on-screen role was in 1977, where he starred in the giallo (thriller/horror) film The Pyjama Girl Case.

Later on in life, though, he regretted becoming a movie star and opted to instead become a math teacher.

“In the end, it was a real pain in the ass,” he said of his acting career. “As a kid I could never play with my friends because if I made a mark on my face I couldn’t make movies anymore. Then it was also a bit boring, the times of cinema are very long.”