Best known for his roles in dozens of Italian comedies throughout the 1990s and 2000s, actor and director Massimo Ceccherini could have easily followed in the footsteps of his artist father if it wasn't for his father's encouragement to try his hand at performing. Ceccherini's partnership with fellow comedian Alessandro Paci was the root of his success as a performer; the duo brought their witty act to television as recurring guests on the 1995 variety show "Aria fresca." That same year, Ceccherini began his long-running collaboration with actor-director Leonardo Pieraccioni in "I laureati," a romantic comedy following four college friends searching for love in Florence. Pieraccioni has since cast Ceccherini in every one of his films except the 1999 comedy "Il pesce innamorato." Eager to bring his own creative vision to life, Ceccherini wrote and directed three comedies in the late '90s and early 2000s, including "Picasso Face" and "Lucignolo," both starring Ceccherini and his longtime partner Alessandro Paci. 2006 was a unique year for the comedian; he was kicked off the "Survivor"-esque reality show "L'isola dei famosi" ("The island of the famous") after an explicit outburst towards another contestant. But Ceccherini brought his career to a new high point in the late 2000s with the successful revival of his 1998 three-man theatre show "Fermi tutti questo è uno spettacolo, Pinocchio," a vulgar spoof of the classic fable starring old friends Paci and Carlo Monni.