| Other Names: | Paolo Paolo Di Pietro |
| Birth Date: | 8 November 1986 |
| Birth Place: | Milan, Italy |
| Occupation: | Tarento, Actor, Singer, Lyricist |
| Website: | https://www.instagram.com/paolojapan/ |
Paolo Andrea Di Pietro (born November 8, 1986), better known mononymously in Japan as, is an Italian singer and actor living and working in Japan (Gaikokujin tarento).[1] He has appeared in a variety of Japanese commercials, TV shows and films. He also lent his singing voice to anime and video game soundtracks of internationally known franchises such as Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy and Genshin Impact.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
He was born on November 8, 1986, in Milan. He started studying guitar at the age of 10 and singing at the age of 16. In 2006, he began studying opera at the Milan Conservatory. He also went to the University of Milan and majored in English and Japanese language and culture. He graduated from the same university and moved to Japan in 2014.
Under the guidance of the tenor Angelo Lo Forese and the bass Bonaldo Giaiotti he won his very first vocal competition in 2012 and had his operatic debut in the same year as the title role in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro.In 2013 he performed the role of Daland from Wagner's The Flying Dutchman in over 20 famous Italian theaters such as Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti and Teatro Comunale di Bologna. In 2015 he had his operatic debut in Japan as Colline in Puccini's La bohème for the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs.[7] In 2019 he performed for the first time in the United States, at Carnegie Hall in New York City.[8]
In 2018 he passed the audition for the Japanese TV Commercial for a product called AirPay by Recruit, acting beside Joe Odagiri. The comedic commercial, his first on screen job, soon went viral in Japan and became a still ongoing series.[1] In 2019 he appeared in episodes 31 and 32 of the TV Program "KAT-TUN no Sekai Ichi Tame ni Naru Tabi Plus" on the Paravi streaming service[9] and once the program moved to TBS Television, he became a regular guest until the program ended in 2021.[10] In 2020 he performed the singing role of the "Ketchup Demon" next to Naomi Watanabe and Yūki Iwai from Haraichi in the live comedy program "Owarai no Hi - Oto Neta Fes", the character went viral on Japanese Twitter, reaching rank 1 in Twitter trends.[11] Currently, he is active as an actor, voice actor, narrator, musician and lyricist in various media such as TV commercials, TV shows, movies, anime and video games.[12] [13] [14]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Memoirs of a Murderer | Opera Singer | Performance of Non più andrai | |
| 2023 | We're Millennials. Got a Problem? International | Achille |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Two Homelands (Futatsu no Sokoku) | Ronnie | TV special | |
| 2019 | Totsuzen Desu ga Pinchi desu | Bruno Rossi | Season 3, episodes 12 & 13 | |
| 2019 | Time Limit Investigator (Jikou Keisatsu) | FBI Colleague | Season 3, episode 6 | |
| 2020 | Yell | Singer | Episode 1 | |
| 2020 | Peep Time (Dareka ga Miteiru) | R. Bruce (Baseball Player) | Episode 5 | |
| 2021 | She Was Pretty (Kanojo wa Kirei Datta) | James Taylor | Episode 5 | |
| 2022 | Sensuikan Cappellini-go no Boken | Sensuikan Cappellini-gō no Bōken | Angelo | TV special, main cast[15] [16] |
| 2022 | Maison Häagen-Dazs: 8 Happy Stories | Bear | Voice, regular main cast[17] | |
| 2022 | Game Of Spy | The Man with the Eyepatch | Episode 1[18] | |
| 2022 | TV Panelist | Season 21, episode 1[19] | ||
| 2022 | Businessman Thomas | Harold | Episode 3[20] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | BBK/BRNK The Gentle Giants of the Galaxy | Insert song "Liberetto" and others | ||
| 2018 | Various insert songs | |||
| 2018 | Various insert songs | |||
| 2020-2022 | Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai | Insert songs "Vearn, The Dark King", “Vearn, the True Dark King”, “Sovereign Supreme”, “Absolute Strength - The Way of Combat” | ||
| 2021 | Otoppe | Ending song "Bonso Waltz"[21] | ||
| 2022 | Thermae Romae Novae | Opening song "Tōgyūshi no Uta: Onsen Manner no Aria",[22] lyricist for opening and all insert songs, Latin language supervisor[23] | ||
| 2022 | Various insert songs | |||
| 2022 | Episode 11 insert song "Into the Cemetery" | |||
| 2023 | Dead Mount Death Play | Various insert songs |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Various insert songs | |||
| 2021 | Knights of Sidonia Love Woven in the Stars | Various insert songs | ||
| 2024 | Various insert songs | |||
| 2024 | Overlord The Sacred Kingdom | Various insert songs |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Honor of Kings | Insert song "Brethren of Blades" | ||
| 2019 | A Certain Magical Index: Imaginary Fest | Italian Assassin | ||
| 2021 | Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade | Insert songs "The Happy Turtle Jingle ft. Old Snapper" and "Extravagant Turtle Flyer Fanfare" | ||
| 2022 | Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster[24] | Draco | French and Italian vocals | |
| 2023 | Genshin Impact | Promotional song “Polumnia Omnia (Performance Version)” | ||
| 2024 | Final Fantasy VII Rebirth | Insert song “With Pain and Spite Made Black”, Latin translation | ||
| 2024 | ORE’N | Various insert songs |
| Year | Title | Artist | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | DVD "Himitsu" | Foreigner who loves Samurai | Direct to video short film | ||
| 2019 | Night Groovin | QoN | Main actor | ||
| 2019 | DVD/STAGE VIDEO "LIVE TOUR 2019 ~XV~" | Danny's Father, Bass Player | Short film used in live tour | ||
| 2019 | Ai Dake Ga Subete / What Do You Want? (Mitazono Version) | Guitarist | |||
| 2021 | Helpless Romantic | Main actor | |||
| 2023 | Polumnia Omnia (Performance Version) | Main singer | Genshin Impact Sumeru Vol. 2 OST Album Promotional MV | ||
| 2023 | Genshin Concert 2023 - Melodies of an Endless Journey - Scenic Vistas | Singer of Polumnia Omnia | Online Concert | ||
| 2023 | Genshin Concert Tour - Melodies of an Endless Journey | Singer of Rhapsodia Roscida and Polumnia Omnia | Live concert, filmed in Osaka |