Raoul Bova was born on 14th August 1971 in Rome, Italy. At the age of 21 he joined the Italian Army and performed his military duty in the Bersaglieri corps. He enrolled in the ISEF, the Italian Institute of Physical Education, but dropped out to pursue a career in acting. He studied at the school Beatrice Bracco in Rome and also studied acting with Michael Margotta. He was married in March 2000 to Chiara Giordano. They have two children, Alessandro Leon and Francesco. He quickly became a star in Italy. But tired of being always considered a sex symbol unable to play deep roles, he started shooting movies a little more complex like "Rewind" where he plays a terrorist, "I cavalieri che fecero l'impresa" where he plays the role of a medieval man whose soul is possessed by the devil, or "La frontiera" where he plays an Austrian officer, or saint Frances in "Francesco".