Biography

His stark naked performance in the title role of Nelson Pereira dos Santos' "Como Era Gostoso Meu Francês" caused many battles with Brazilian censorship, which delayed the film considerably and caused the director/producer to lose a huge amount of money.

Son of actor Manfredo Colassanti.

Brother of famous poet and writer Marina Colassanti. They came to Rio de Janeiro as children, in 1947, with their father Manfredo (later an actor himself), to escape from the harsh conditions of post-war Italy. They were installed in the huge propriety of wealthy Brazilian entrepreneur Henrique Lage in Rio, who had married their aunt, the internationally famous Italian mezzo-soprano Gabriela Besanzoni. The mansion, surrounded by a huge park with luxurious vegetation as well as an aquarium, is now known as Parque Lage and opened to public visitation. The mansion has also been extensively used as film location for various Brazilian productions, most notoriously in Glauber Rocha's "Terra em Transe" and Joaquim Pedro de Andrade's "Macunaíma".

He was assistant cameraman for famous newsreel "Cinema 100" when he auditioned for the title role of "El Justicero", a film by Nelson Pereira dos Santos, winning the part -- he had never acted before in his life.

He was one of the first semi-professional surfers in Rio in the early 1960s and has directed videos about underwater fauna.