Massimo Lopez

Massimo Lopez
Lopez in 2015
Born (1952-01-11) 11 January 1952 (age 72)
Ascoli Piceno, Italy
Occupations
  • Actor
  • voice actor
  • television presenter
  • comedian
Years active1975–present
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
RelativesGiorgio Lopez (brother)

Massimo Lopez (born 11 January 1952) is an Italian actor, voice actor, comedian, impressionist and television presenter.[1]

Together with fellow actors Anna Marchesini and Tullio Solenghi, he has been a member of the comic group known as Il Trio (The Trio).[2]

Biography

[edit]

Lopez was born to parents from Naples who were temporarily working in Ascoli Piceno.[3] He started his acting career in 1975, was first cast as a voice actor in 1980, and founded Il Trio in 1982 with Tullio Solenghi and Anna Marchesini: the Trio debuted on Rai Radio 2 with the Hellzapoppin radio show.[4]

Following the great success of Hellzapoppin, the Trio participated in various television programs like Domenica in and the 1986 edition of Fantastico and took part to the Sanremo Music Festival editions of 1986, 1987 and 1989.[5]

In 1990, the Trio reached the peak of success with the parody of Alessandro Manzoni's The Betrothed, which was broadcast on Rai 1 in 5 episodes.[6] Together with Solenghi and Marchesini, Lopez brought on stage two theatrical shows: Allacciare le cinture di sicurezza (Fasten your seat belts) in 1987 and In principio era il trio (In the Beginning, there was the Trio) in 1990.

The Trio dissolved in 1994, due to the will of all three actors to work as soloists,[7] but reunited for one last time in 2008 to celebrate its 25th anniversary with the TV-program Non esiste più la mezza stagione.[4]

In 1998, Lopez made an appearance as a guest star in the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful and in 2005 he hosted Striscia la notizia together with Solenghi.[8] From 2005 to 2011 Lopez acted and sang in the theatre one-man-show Ciao Frankie (Goodbye, Frankie), also performed at the Colony Theatre in Miami, directed by his brother Giorgio Lopez and dedicated to Frank Sinatra, featuring songs, gags and impressions.

As a voice actor, Lopez is known for dubbing voices, such as Robin Williams' in the live action adaption of Popeye, Mike Myers in the second installment of the Austin Powers movies, and Stephen Fry in The Hobbit. In his animated roles, he has been providing the current Italian voice of Homer Simpson in The Simpsons since the death of Tonino Accolla in 2013[9] and has performed the Italian voice of Grand Pabbie in Frozen, Ramon in Happy Feet, Mr. Peabody in Mr. Peabody & Sherman and Lionheart in Zootopia.

On 27 March 2017 Lopez suffered a heart attack while he was performing on stage; he quickly underwent an angioplasty and was transferred to a cardiological rehabilitation center, where he recovered completely and came back on stage two months later.[10]

Personal life

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Lopez is the younger brother of the late actor, voice actor and theatre director Giorgio Lopez, who was the official Italian dubbing artist for Danny DeVito until his death in 2021. He is also the uncle of voice actors Gabriele and Andrea Lopez.

Filmography

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Cinema

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Year Title Role(s)
1982 Odd Squad Pasquale Cutolo
1984 Ladies & Gentlemen Fella
2023 La quattordicesima domenica del tempo ordinario Samuele Nascetti

Television

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Year Title Role(s) Notes
1978 The Venetian Twins Florindo Special
1981 La donna serpente Togrul Special
1984 I veleni dei Gonzaga Charles V Television film
1990 The Betrothed Don Rodrigo / Fra Cristoforo Main role
1998 Professione fantasma Inspector Max Ventura Lead role
1998 The Bold and the Beautiful Guest star
2001 Compagni di scuola Felice Salina Lead role
2002 Max & Tux Max Lead role
2012 Le mille e una notte - Aladino e Sherazade The Genie Miniseries

Voice work

[edit]
Year Title Role(s) Notes
2001 Aida of the Trees Ramfis Animated film
2012 Lightning Strike Pope Benedict XVI Comedy
2021 Una famiglia mostruosa [it] Sirio Comedy horror
Antonio Pinocchio/Narrator Short film[11]

Dubbing

[edit]

Films (Animation, Italian dub)

[edit]
Year Title Role(s) Ref
1999 A Monkey's Tale Sebastian
2006 Happy Feet Ramon
2009 A Town Called Panic Horse
2011 Happy Feet Two Ramon
2013 Turbo Bobby
Justin and the Knights of Valour Blucher
Frozen Grand Pabbie [12]
Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return Cowardly Lion
2014 The Boxtrolls Archiebald Snatcher
Mr. Peabody & Sherman Mr. Peabody
Pudsey the Dog: The Movie Edward the Horse
Rio 2 Eduardo [13]
2015 Strange Magic Stuff
2016 Zootopia Mayor Leodore Lionheart [14]
Ratchet & Clank Captain Qwark
2017 Smurfs: The Lost Village Papa Smurf
2019 Frozen II Grand Pabbie [15]
2021 The Good, the Bart, and the Loki Homer Simpson
Plusaversary
Vivo Andrés
The Boss Baby: Family Business Erwin Armstrong

Films (Live action, Italian dub)

[edit]
Year Title Role(s) Original actor Ref
1980 Popeye Popeye Robin Williams [16]
1981 Game of Death II Lee Chen-chiang Bruce Lee
1982 Night Shift Chuck Lumley Henry Winkler
Angkor: Cambodia Express Andrew Cameron Robert Walker
1988 The Cannibals Viscount d'Aveleda Luís Miguel Cintra
1997 Banzai Mr. Parker John Armstead
1999 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Austin Powers Mike Myers [17]
Dr. Evil
Fat Bastard
2009 A Single Man George Falconer Colin Firth
2012 Houba! On the Trail of the Marsupilami General Pochero Lambert Wilson
2013 Hummingbird Damon Caulfield Danny Webb
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Master of Lake-town Stephen Fry [18]
The Congress Reeve Bobs Don McManus
The Internship Not Professor X Jarion Monroe
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared Allan Karlsson Robert Gustafsson
12 Years a Slave Mr. Parker Rob Steinberg
2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Splinter Tony Shalhoub
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Master of Lake-town Stephen Fry [19]
A Most Wanted Man Tommy Brue Willem Dafoe
22 Jump Street The Ghost Peter Stormare
2015 A Man Called Ove Ove Lindahl Rolf Lassgård
Filip Berg
The Big Short Lawrence Fields Tracy Letts
The Walk Papa Rudy Ben Kingsley
Trumbo Sam Wood John Getz
Mad Max: Fury Road The Bullet Farmer Richard Carter
2016 London Has Fallen Aamir Barkawi Alon Abutbul [20]
Love & Friendship Mr. Johnson Stephen Fry
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Mr. Bennet Charles Dance
Live by Night Ritz Investor Christian Clemenson
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows Splinter Tony Shalhoub
Toni Erdmann Gerald Thomas Loibl
31 Death-Head Torsten Voges
Alice Through the Looking Glass Zanik Hightopp Rhys Ifans [21]
2017 Overdrive Jacomo Morier Simon Abkarian
The Children Act Mark Berner Anthony Calf
The Leisure Seeker Will Spencer Christian McKay
The Disaster Artist Method acting teacher Bob Odenkirk
Gangster Land Abe Bernstein Hal Alpert
2018 Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Fernando Cienfuegos Andy García [22]
The Mule Latón
2020 Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey Jeronicus Jangle Forest Whitaker
2021 The Night House Mel Vondie Curtis-Hall
2023 The Palace Arthur William Dallas III John Cleese
2024 Joker: Folie à Deux Jackie Sullivan Brendan Gleeson

Television (Animation, Italian dub)

[edit]
Year Title Role(s) Notes Ref
1980–1982 The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show Droopy Main cast
Fisherman Sanpei Gyoshin Ayukawa Main cast
1981 Supercar Gattiger Joe Kabuki Main cast
1981–1982 Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds Aramis Main cast
2004–present Peppa Pig Dr. Bear Recurring role
2004–2009 Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends Spiderus Reeves Main cast
2012 Futurama Ben Episode: "The Bots and the Bees"
Larvae Levin Episode: "The Thief of Baghead"
2012–present The Simpsons A9000 Robots 1 episode [23]
Homer Simpson Main cast (season 24–present)
Grampa Simpson (young)
Various characters
2013–2014 Strange Hill High Mr. Abercrombie Main cast
2013–2016 Doc McStuffins Chilly Main cast (season 2-4) [24]
2014 Family Guy Homer Simpson Episode: "The Simpsons Guy"
BoJack Horseman Quentin Tarantulino 2 episodes
2015–2020 New Looney Tunes Cecil Turtle Recurring role
2016–2018 Skylanders Academy Master Eon Main cast
2022 Little Demon Satan Lead role
2023 Digman! Quail Eegan Main cast

Television (Live action, Italian dub)

[edit]
Year Title Role(s) Notes Original actor Ref
1977–1981 Happy Days Myron "Count" Malachi Guest role (season 4) Michael Pataki
Jacques Du Bois 1 episode (season 6) Patrick Gorman
Sergeant Ryan Recurring role Ray Girardin
2012–2018 The Big Bang Theory Stephen Hawking 7 episodes Stephen Hawking
2015 Deadwood Cy Tolliver Main cast Powers Boothe
2015 Once Upon a Time Grand Pabbie Episode: "A Tale of Two Sisters" John Rhys-Davies
2015–2016 Daredevil Ben Urich Main cast (season 1) Vondie Curtis-Hall [25]
Ray Schoonover / Blacksmith 2 episodes (season 2) Clancy Brown
2015–2019 Jane the Virgin Latin Lover Narrator Main cast Anthony Mendez [26]
2016 Game of Thrones Izembaro 3 episodes (season 6) Richard E. Grant

Video games (Italian dub)

[edit]
Year Title Role(s) Ref
2015 Lego Dimensions Homer Simpson

Television

[edit]

With the Trio

[edit]

As soloist

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Massimo Lopez's dubbing contributions". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  2. ^ "Massimo Lopez". MYmovies. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  3. ^ Lualdi, Annalisa (8 May 2005). "MASSIMO LOPEZ L´emigrante di ritorno che sognava il Vomero". La Repubblica. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Lopez, Marchesini e Solenghi: Il ritorno". Corriere della Sera. January 26, 2008. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  5. ^ "Tullio Solenghi: "Quella volta che col Trio facemmo arrabbiare l'Iran..."". Avvenire. October 29, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  6. ^ "I promessi sposi del Trio ci insegnano che la comicità dà profondità alla nostra vita". HuffPost. August 1, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  7. ^ "Tullio Solenghi/ "Bevi qualcosa Pedro!", la biografia: da Paolo Villaggio al ricordo di Anna Marchesini". ilsussidiario.net. October 26, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  8. ^ "Solenghi e Lopez per due settimane al bancone di 'Striscia la notizia'". Messaggero Veneto – Giornale del Friuli. May 1, 2005. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  9. ^ "Massimo Lopez racconta: "Così darò voce a Homer Simpson"". Corriere della Sera. November 22, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  10. ^ "Infarto in scena per Massimo Lopez. Operato d'urgenza, ora sta meglio". Corriere della Sera. March 25, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  11. ^ "Antonio (2021), di Emiliano De Martino" (in Italian).
  12. ^ "Frozen Italian voice cast" (in Italian). Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  13. ^ "Rio 2 Italian voice cast" (in Italian). Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  14. ^ "Zootopia Italian voice cast" (in Italian). Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  15. ^ "Frozen II Italian voice cast" (in Italian). Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  16. ^ "Popeye Italian voice cast" (in Italian). Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  17. ^ "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Italian voice cast" (in Italian). Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  18. ^ "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Italian voice cast". Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  19. ^ "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Italian voice cast" (in Italian). Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  20. ^ "London Has Fallen Italian voice cast" (in Italian). Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  21. ^ "Alice Through the Looking Glass Italian voice cast" (in Italian). Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  22. ^ "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Italian voice cast" (in Italian). Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  23. ^ "The Simpsons Italian voice cast" (in Italian). Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  24. ^ "Doc McStuffins Italian voice cast" (in Italian). Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  25. ^ "Daredevil Italian voice cast" (in Italian). Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  26. ^ "Jane the Virgin Italian voice cast" (in Italian). Antoniogenna.net. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
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Media related to Massimo Lopez at Wikimedia Commons

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