بیوگرافی
Edoardo Cicorini (born August 7, 1967), widely known as Edoardo Costa, is an Italian actor, entrepreneur, and former model. He launched his career in the early 1990s as a model for the agency Why Not. Seeking new challenges, he studied acting in Paris, Milan, and at The Actors Studio in Los Angeles. He soon appeared on several American TV series, including Baywatch, Arliss, and The Bold and the Beautiful.
Costa appeared in various independent American films before landing his first major feature role as the terrorist Emerson in Live Free or Die Hard, the final installment of the Die Hard series, starring alongside Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. His first significant role in an American film was in the upcoming drama Kiddie Ride, directed by Harold Guskin and featuring James Gandolfini and Famke Janssen.
He continues to work in both the U.S. and Italy, exploring theater with productions like Bread Love Fantasy and Very Old Man, performing alongside Italian acting legend Marcello Mastroianni (known for Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita). He has also been involved in numerous Italian soap operas, TV series, films, and reality shows.
Born in Varese, northern Italy, Costa is the son of Rosangela, an employee at the local electric company, and Pietro Cicorini, who owned a transport business. He is the eldest of two siblings, with a sister named Monica. Costa studied philosophy at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and served as a Carabinieri during his military service in the mid-1980s. It was during this period that a modeling scout discovered him at a local Milanese restaurant bar.
His modeling career took him to Paris, Moscow, Los Angeles, and Tokyo, where he appeared in print and TV commercials for brands such as Giorgio Armani, Laura Biagiotti, Versace, Tissot, Cerruti, Diet Coke, and Toyota. In 1999, he transitioned to acting with a role in a popular Italian TV series, followed by appearances in additional television programs and Italian films.
In 2007, Costa took over Beatrice International Models, a modeling agency with a 40-year history, comparable to Ford Models, Elite, and Next. The agency’s former models include Iman and Stephanie Seymour. This venture elevated Costa’s international profile. The agency also initiated a formal partnership with The National Eating Disorders Association and its CEO, Dr. Lynne Grefe, aiming to be the first international modeling agency to collaborate on raising awareness and prevention of eating disorders that have long affected the industry. That same year, Costa founded The Actor's Academy Milano. Drawing from his time at The Actors Studio, he established one of Europe’s first schools to exclusively recruit Lifetime Members of The Actors Studio and instructors from the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, all specializing in method acting based on Constantin Stanislavski’s system. The academy has hosted acclaimed actors such as Academy Award winner Martin Landau and Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke. Gary Swanson, an early teacher on Inside the Actor's Studio hosted by James Lipton and personally selected by an executive committee including the late Paul Newman, Ellen Burstyn, and Arthur Penn, has played a key role in the academy’s development.
Costa began his philanthropic efforts in the mid-1990s while still modeling. Through a friendship with Quincy Jones, he has supported projects in Afghanistan, Brazil, and Africa. Costa credits Nelson Mandela with inspiring him to deepen his involvement in charitable work.
