Giacomo Poretti

Giacomo Poretti, born Giacomino Poretti on 26 April 1956 in Villa Cortese, is an Italian actor, comedian, film director, and screenwriter, best known as a member of the comedy trio Aldo, Giovanni e Giacomo. Born into a working-class family, he developed a passion for theater from a young age. He abandoned his studies to become a surveyor and worked as a metalworker and nurse at the hospital in Legnano, also dedicating himself to cabaret and politics with Proletarian Democracy.

In 1983, Poretti graduated from the theatrical school in Busto Arsizio and made his stage debut, forming the cabaret duo "Hansel e Strüdel" with his girlfriend Marina Massironi. In 1985 he met Aldo Baglio and Giovanni Storti, and they founded the trio Aldo, Giovanni e Giacomo in 1991. He became extremely popular for the character Tafazzi, created with Carlo Turati and portrayed on Mai dire Gol from 1995; the name entered common language. In the late 1990s and early 2000s the trio released hit films that broke box office records, including Three Men and a Leg (1997), That's Life (1998), Ask Me If I'm Happy (2000), and The Legend of Al, John and Jack (2002).

In the 2010s, Poretti began collaborating with La Stampa as a columnist. In 2013 his autobiography Alto come un vaso di gerani was published, and in 2015 his first novel, Al paradiso è meglio credere, was released. Since 2019 he has directed the Teatro Oscar in Milan, and in 2022 he created the podcast PoretCast. He received the Ambrogino d'oro award.