'Grace' trivia and fun facts

Seventh collaboration

Seventh collaboration between director Paolo Sorrentino and actor Toni Servillo, after L'uomo in più (2001), Le conseguenze dell'amore (2004), Il divo (2008), La gran belleza (2013), Loro (2018), and Fue la mano de Dios (2021).

Umberto Guidoni

Astronaut Umberto Giordani is an obvious nod to Umberto Guidoni, who was both an astronaut and a politician.

Mariano De Santis

The character of President of Italian Republic Mariano De Santis is based upon various past presidents: the most obvious is Sergio Mattarella, who, as of 2026, is President; a widower, he has a daughter that accompanies him in official situations; he once pardoned a murderer who had killed his wife, affected by Alzheimer's disease. He's also very appreciated by Italian people, like De Santis is in the movie.

Sandro Pertini

De Santis also reminisces Sandro Pertini (the most beloved President), Oscar Luigi Scalfaro (of demo-christian descent), and Francesco Cossiga, who, like the protagonist, used to have a nickname related to construction: while in the movie De Santis is called "Cemento Armato" ("Hard Concrete"), in real history Cossiga was called "il Picconatore" ("the Pickaxe Worker").

Jep Gambardella

During the interview with the director of Vogue, the President says that when he was young he would have liked to be like those who wear red jackets over white trousers. This is a reference to Jep Gambardella, the character played by Servillo himself in the film The Great Beauty (2013) by the same director of this film, Paolo Sorrentino.

Guè Pequeno

Guè Pequeno plays himself here.

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