‘The Equalizer 3’ and ‘Ford v Ferrari’ Actor Dies of Bladder Cancer: Remo Girone Was 76

Italian actor Remo Girone has died. He was 76.

The actor was battling bladder cancer when he died Friday at his home in Monte Carlo, according to the Italian publication La Repubblica.

He is best known worldwide for his starring role as a mob boss in the crime drama series La Piovra, although Americans likely know him for a few different roles.

In 2002, he appeared in Heaven, a romantic thriller starring Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi. The film was intended to be the first in a planned trilogy, but cinema legend Krzysztof Kieślowski (who co-wrote the film) died before he could even finish the first.

More recently, Girone appeared in 2016’s Live By Night, a crime drama written, directed, produced by and starring Ben Affleck. He plays one of the film’s main antagonists.

His final major roles on screen were in James Mangold’s 2019 sports drama Ford v Ferrari, as antagonist Enzo Ferrari opposite Matt Damon and Christian Bale, and in the 2023 action flick The Equalizer 3, where he plays a doctor also named Enzo who comes to the rescue of Denzel Washington’s protagonist Robert McCall.

Girone was one of Italy’s best-known actors, and he was presented with a lifetime achievement award in 2021 at the Venice Film Festival.

He is survived by his wife, fellow actor Victoria Zinny, and his two stepchildren.