It was weird. Seeing Shia LaBeouf in a friar’s habit, beard grown out, looking like he’d actually spent months praying in a dusty Italian monastery—well, that’s because he basically did. When Abel Ferrara announced he was making a movie about the early years of Francesco Forgione, the man the world would eventually know as Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, people weren't sure what to expect. This wasn't going to be a Hallmark Channel saint biopic. It was never going to be "safe." To understand the cast of Padre Pio film, you have to understand that Ferrara doesn’t just hire actors; he hires people willing to live in the dirt for a while.
Shia LaBeouf isn't just the lead. He's the soul of the thing. But he’s surrounded by a mix of European stalwarts and relatively fresh faces that ground the movie in a very specific, very bloody moment in Italian history. We’re talking about San Giovanni Rotondo in 1920. WWI is over, but the air is thick with socialism, brewing fascism, and a whole lot of hungry peasants.
Shia LaBeouf as the Stigmatist
Let's be real: Shia’s career has been a rollercoaster. Before this, he was better known for performance art and tabloid headlines than for religious drama. But for the cast of Padre Pio film, Ferrara needed someone who understood suffering. Or at least, someone who could act like they were being torn apart by internal demons. LaBeouf famously converted to Catholicism during the making of this movie, spending time with Capuchin friars at the Old Mission Santa Inés in California. He wasn't just reading lines; he was trying to figure out how a man deals with the weight of the world’s sins on his shoulders while the literal devil is supposedly whispering in his ear.
His performance is internal. It’s quiet. Then it’s loud. He captures that specific, agonizing period in 1918 to 1920 when Pio was first receiving the stigmata—those mysterious wounds on his hands and feet.
There’s this one scene where he’s praying, and you can see the sweat. It doesn't feel like movie makeup. It feels like a guy who hasn't slept in three days because he’s terrified of what’s coming next. Shia didn't just play a saint; he played a guy who was desperately trying not to fail at being one. It’s the centerpiece of the film, but it’s only half the story.
The Supporting Players: More Than Just Background
While Shia is doing his thing in the monastery, the rest of the cast of Padre Pio film is busy portraying a town on the brink of a revolution. This is where Ferrara’s casting gets really interesting. He didn’t fill the screen with recognizable Hollywood faces. Instead, he used actors who look like they belong to the land.
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Marco Leonardi: The Revolutionary Weight
Marco Leonardi is a legend in Italian cinema. You probably remember him from Cinema Paradiso or Like Water for Chocolate. In Padre Pio, he plays Gerardo, a character who represents the local struggle. While the friars are praying, the people are starving. Leonardi brings a weary, grounded energy that contrasts sharply with LaBeouf’s spiritual intensity. It’s a reminder that while miracles are happening on the hill, blood is being spilled in the streets.
Asia Argento: A Ferrara Constant
You can’t have an Abel Ferrara movie without Asia Argento. It’s a rule. Or it feels like one. She plays a "Tall Man" in a dream sequence—a sort of manifestation of Pio’s spiritual trials. It’s a small, surreal role, but Argento’s presence adds that layer of "Ferrara weirdness" that keeps the movie from becoming a standard biopic. Her daughter, Anna Lou Castoldi, is also in the film, playing a young woman who seeks confession. It’s a family affair in the strangest way possible.
Why the Local Actors Stole the Show
A huge chunk of the cast of Padre Pio film consists of non-professional or local Italian actors. This was a deliberate choice. Ferrara filmed on location in Puglia, and he wanted the faces of the villagers to look authentic. You see it in the eyes of the men playing the returning soldiers. These aren't people who spent four hours in a trailer. They have the weathered skin and the "thousand-yard stare" that fits a town about to experience the first massacre of the rise of Fascism in Italy.
Vincenzo Crea plays Luigi Avellino, and he’s fantastic. He embodies the youthful hope that gets crushed by the political machinery of the time. This isn't just a movie about a saint; it's a movie about a massacre. On October 14, 1920, thirteen people were killed during a protest in San Giovanni Rotondo. The film weaves this political tragedy with Pio’s spiritual one. If the cast didn't feel "real," that political B-plot would have fallen flat. Instead, it feels like a documentary that accidentally caught a miracle on camera.
The Real Names Behind the Roles
To get specific, here is who filled the boots of the most critical figures in this 1920s landscape:
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- Shia LaBeouf as Padre Pio: The tortured center of the storm.
- Cristina Chiriac as Giovanna: A mother caught in the crossfire of the local elections.
- Brando Pacitto as Renato: Representing the socialist movement that challenged the status quo.
- Salvatore Ruocco as Vincenzo: A brutal presence representing the old guard and the brewing violence.
- Luca Lionello as Silvestro: A veteran actor who brings a lot of gravitas to the clerical side of the story.
It’s worth noting that Luca Lionello actually played Judas in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. The man knows his way around a biblical epic.
The Director’s Vision: Abel Ferrara’s "Guerilla" Casting
Abel Ferrara doesn't do "normal" auditions. He looks for a vibe. For the cast of Padre Pio film, he needed people who could handle his improvisational style. He’s the guy who made Bad Lieutenant. He’s not looking for polished perfection. He wants the grit.
Shia LaBeouf mentioned in interviews that Ferrara would sometimes just start rolling and tell them to live in the space. That’s why the dialogue feels so lived-in. When you watch the friars eating together, they aren't just "acting" like they're having lunch. They are actually sharing a meal in a cold, stone room. This approach makes the supernatural elements—like when Pio is wrestling with a demonic presence—feel much more jarring because the rest of the movie is so grounded in reality.
Fact vs. Fiction: Who Were These People?
People often ask if the characters in the town were real. The answer is: mostly. While some are composites, the leaders of the socialist movement and the carabinieri involved in the 1920 massacre are based on the historical record. The film does a great job of showing that Padre Pio wasn't living in a vacuum. He was in a place where the church was often seen as the ally of the rich landowners (the latifondisti), which put the friars in a very awkward position during the labor strikes.
The cast of Padre Pio film had to navigate this tension. You have the friars who are largely disconnected from the political strife, and then you have the villagers who are literally dying for a fair wage.
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Is This Movie for Everyone?
Probably not. If you want a movie that lists every miracle Padre Pio ever performed, go watch the 2000 TV movie starring Sergio Castellitto. It’s great, and it covers his whole life.
But if you want to see a specific, hallucinatory window into a man’s soul during his most formative years, Ferrara’s film is the one. The cast reflects that. They aren't there to be likable. They are there to be truthful. Shia LaBeouf’s portrayal is polarizing, but that’s exactly what Padre Pio was in real life. People either thought he was a living saint or a total fraud. There was no middle ground.
How to Approach the Movie Now
If you’re planning to watch it, or maybe re-watch it, don't just focus on Shia. Look at the faces of the background actors in the town square. Look at the way the sunlight hits the stone in the monastery. The cast of Padre Pio film was chosen to blend into the scenery, not to stand out against it.
Actionable Next Steps for Enthusiasts
- Read the Letters: If Shia’s performance intrigued you, look up the actual letters Padre Pio wrote to his spiritual directors (Padre Benedetto and Padre Agostino) between 1910 and 1922. That’s where the dialogue for his "tormented" scenes comes from.
- Research the 1920 Massacre: To understand why the "political" half of the movie exists, Google the "San Giovanni Rotondo massacre of 1920." It’s a piece of history that often gets scrubbed out of the religious hagiographies, but Ferrara puts it front and center.
- Watch "The Kingdom": If you liked the gritty, European feel, check out other films by the supporting cast, particularly Marco Leonardi’s later work. It gives you a sense of the "Neorealism" vibe Ferrara was chasing.
- Listen to the Soundscape: Pay attention to the silence. The cast does a lot of their best work when they aren't saying anything at all. In a world of loud blockbusters, this film uses quiet as a weapon.
The film is a strange beast. It’s a religious biopic that feels like a war movie. It’s a political drama that feels like a horror film. But mostly, it’s a character study of a man trying to find God in a world that was rapidly losing its mind. The cast of Padre Pio film didn't just make a movie; they recreated a moment in time that most people would rather forget. And honestly, that’s why it’s worth your time.