Francesco Quinn

Francesco Quinn was born in Rome, Italy to actor Anthony Quinn and his wife Iolanda Addolori. His parents met in Verona on the set of the Dino De Laurentiis’ epic film, ”Barabbas,” where Iolanda was Anthony’s costumer. She followed him onto another film, working for months on David Lean’s “Laurence of Arabia” in Morocco. It was during this time that Francesco was conceived. Life with his father was full of travel and culture set among the most influential and interesting people in the world. It is no wonder that Francesco speaks four languages. Raised in both Bel Air and the Italian countryside town of Ariccia, 26 kilometers from Rome, Francesco learned the values of many ethnicities and social backgrounds.

His upbringing included his two grandmothers: on his mother’s side, a woman from Venice, Italy who had had nine children with a one-legged war hero during the Fascist regime; on his father’s side, a woman who had fought in the Mexican revolution alongside Pancho Villa, where she met her Irish husband-to-be during a battle outside the town of Chihuahua, Mexico. Francesco’s schooling was multilingual and multicultural; he plays the same guitar he first learned to play at the Conservatory of Rome. Quinn says his pedigree allows him to portray a variety of ethnic roles, similar to his father.

In the Oscar nominated short “The Tonto Woman,” Quinn plays a traveling Mexican horse thief who finds compassion for a woman left in the desert by her own husband for having been taken as a slave by the Indians.

Francesco's first appearance on screen was as Marcus Vinicius in the dramatic series "Quo Vadis?" in 1985, which starred Klaus Maria Brandauer and Max von Sydow. His second appearance as Rhah, a raspy-voiced nefarious figure often in the shadows, in the Academy Award-winning “Platoon,” was his most memorable and a role for which he received much recognition. Directed by Oliver Stone, the film starred Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe and Tom Berenger.

After such an amazing beginning, Francesco quickly landed roles in the popular television series “Miami Vice,’ the film “Priceless Beauty” with Diane Lane, and the historical drama “Stradivari” alongside his famous father. He also took a lead role in the war drama “Casablanca Express,” starring Donald Pleasence.

As the 90s began, Quinn reunited with his father twice, as well as taking the lead in the crime drama “Murder Blues” alongside Brad Dourif, the television series “Red Shoe Diaries” and “Young Indiana Jones,” the action thriller “Deadly Rivals” and the Chuck Norris film “Top Dog.” Other projects include the docudrama “Cannes Man” which featured Johnny Depp, Jon Cryer, Benicio Del Toro and Dennis Hopper, among a star-studded cast, and the television film “Rough Riders” co-starring Sam Elliot, Tom Berenger and R. Lee Ermey.

On television Quinn is most known for his work on the cutting-edge daytime drama, “The Young and Restless.” This stint led to a number of guest-starring appearances on such prime time series as “The Fugitive,” “Crossing Jordan” and “JAG.” Quinn was an audience favorite in the espionage thriller “24”starring Kiefer Sutherland in which he had a recurring role as terrorist Syed Ali.

He returned to film, and among other projects, he performed in the action drama “Cut Off,” starring Malcolm McDowell, “Afghan Knights” with Michael Madsen, “The Pledge,” starring Luke Perry and Quentin Tarantino’s production of “Hell Ride,” starring Michael Madsen, Dennis Hopper, Keith Carradine and Larry Bishop.

Quinn completed work on the new series “The Glades.” He continues his work in Italy on several projects: “Roma Nuda/ C'era la Malavita,” a series about the darker side of 1970s Rome; “Aurelio Zen,” adapted from the novels of Michael Dibdin for the BBC/Mediaset; and the popular series “Il Commissario Manara” for RAI Italian television.

Quinn is raising three children with his Italian wife Valentina whom he calls his guardian angel and cultural guide. Valentina is an accomplished artist and international fashion designer who holds two masters degrees. She created her own design studio, Florence Atelier International, which is based in Los Angeles.

Paramount Pictures