Actors
Franco Nero – King Matthias II
Having interpreted characters from a multitude of nationalities, Russian to Mexican and Egyptian to American, Franco Nero remains one of the outstanding actors in the international community with over 150 feature films, and few mini-series for TV to his credit. In Bathory, Nero interprets the Hungarian King Matthias II who takes a stand in the judgment of Elizabeth Bathory, a fellow noblewoman viciously accused of murder at the turn of the 16th century.
As a young adult Nero organized amateur theatre productions in his provincial hometown in the northern Italian region of Parma. He acted in some of the plays as well, sang chorus in the local opera and had a jazz band named Gli Uragani. After briefly studying economics in Milan, Nero returned to acting at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano, but it was a move to Rome in the early '60s that provoked his entry into the world of feature film. "I wasn't sure about my career choice, so I tried a lot of different positions, including assistant photographer," remembers Nero.
He began accepting roles in Italian movies and, ironically while working as an assistant in the St. Laurentis studio, the photographer asked him if he could take a picture of him. The photo was eventually seen by the director John Houston which inspired him to cast Nero for the role of 'Abel' in The Bible: In The Beginning. More prominent roles followed in the popular Italian-produced westerns of the time such as the coffin dragging hero in Sergio Corbucci's Django, the local prospector fighting to free his border town from a sadistic gun-slinger in Lucio Fulci's Massacre Time, and a sheriff in pursuit of his father's killer in Ferdinando Baldi's Goodbye Texas.
His first English-language role came in 1967 as 'Lancelot of the Lake' in Joshua Logan's Camelot, opposite Vanessa Redgrave. Camelot won 3 Oscars and 3 Golden Globes, and Nero received a Golden Globe nomination as Most Promising Male Newcomer.
Throughout the late '60s and '70s he worked with great directors such as Elio Petri, Damiano Damiani, Carlo Lizzani, Marco Bellocchio, Claude Chabrol. Many of Nero's roles were in political or crime genre films, some taking opposition to the Italian justice system. During this time, he made as many as four films a year, most notably: in The Battle of the River Neretva, director Velijko Bulajic's WWII epic chronicle of courage starring Sergi Bondarchuk and Yul Brynner; reteaming with director Sergio Corbucci in his comic western The Mercenary, with Jack Palance; opposite Catherine Deneuve in Tristana, Luis Bunel's spellbinding character-study of a young woman turned mistress; as the humiliated businessman out for revenge in the crime drama Street Law; in Sahara Cross, the contemporary action-thriller about oil prospectors in the Tunisian desert; and joining the ensemble cast of military experts in Force 10 From Navarone, Guy Hamilton's WWII adventure film.
The early '80's saw Nero re-team with actor/director Sergi Bondarchuk when cast as the American reporter 'John Reed' in 10 Days That Shook the World and Mexico In Flames, a pair of films that look at the Mexican and Russian revolutions in the early 20th century. Other roles from this period include the white ninja in Enter the Ninja, and 'Carabinieri Matucci' in The Salamander, a political thriller directed by Peter Zinner. Nero also ventured a more risky role as the gay lieutenant in Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Querelle. Notable mini-series roles from the same period include 'Crespi' in Wagner, a panoramic look at the composer's life, and 'Arbaces' in The Last Days of Pompei.
Nero was the terrorist 'General Esperanza' opposite Bruce Willis in Renny Harlin's 1990 sequel Die Hard 2, and director Gabor Koltay cast Nero as 'Arpad,' the Magyar chief and first ruler of Hungary in the mid-90s film The Conquest, which recounts the late 9th century passage of his seven tribes across the Carpathian mountains. With over 80 roles from the mid 1980's to the present, Nero reflects on his career and says, "I enjoy taking risks." "I speak several languages and I've worked with people from many nationalities throughout the world," which has certainly enriched the wide range of roles he's brought to life.
In a previous collaboration with Slovak director Juraj Jakubisko, Nero played Bakchus in Post Coitum. In this sexy, tragic-comedy, Nero is a 50 year-old Czech photographer and conflicted 'family man' who can't say no to pleasure.
Nero has also produced several films and recently produced, directed, wrote and starred in Forever Blues, a film about jazz that received several awards in Italy, including The Fellini Award.
In addition to film and television, Nero has appeared in the theatre in Dennis Horn's Innocent in Rome, George Cukor's Viva l'Italia, and Tonino Pulci's Come le Foglie to name a few. He also devotes time to participate in benefit events for theatre.
Nero has a son, Carlo Gabriel, with former long-time partner Vanessa Redgrave and actively works in an orphanage near Rome.
Film character
King Matthias II has only an episodic part in the film. Erzsebet meets him at social events. During her husband's life, she meets the king for the first time – and the king witnesses her sacrificing from love to Caravaggio. As a widow, she meets him again – at the ball at royal court. Palatine Thurzo bribes a gipsy fortune-teller, who, in the presence of the king, warns her of committing the alleged crimes and predicts her a tragic fate…