Marcello Mastroianni
One of the producers of La Dolce Vita initially suggested Paul Newman for the role of Marcello Rubini, but director Federico Fellini thought that the American actor was too "beautiful" for the role. Fellini then pivoted to Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni, who he felt was "the face of normal." But Mastroianni was embarrassed by Fellini's public comments and requested to read the script for the film before agreeing to perform the role. After Fellini gave Marcello the script, he quickly agreed.
Though Mastroianni made his acting debut at 14 in 1939, he never seriously pursued acting until the early 1950s. And he never saw any real and sustained success until the 1959 films Big Deal on Madonna Street and La Dolce Vita.
Anita Ekberg
Swedish-American film star Anita Ekberg plays Sylvia Rank, a Swedish-American film star. Despite being born in Sweden, Ekberg worked primarily in Italy, where she became very famous thanks to La Dolce Vita. Prior to arriving in Italy, though, Ekberg worked in America, where she was called "Paramount's Marilyn Monroe" and appearing in films like Blood Alley and War and Peace. In Fellini's La Dolce Vita, she is portrayed as a Marilyn Monroe type of figure, who is unattainable and beautiful. Her beauty created one of the most iconic scenes in cinema history in the Trevi Fountain.
Reflecting on the legacy and importance of La Dolce Vita many years after the film's release, Ekberg remarked that “La Dolce Vita has not lost the power to fascinate, stimulate and provoke, and it remains a work of moral force and a visual delight.”
Anouk Aimée
French actress Anouk Aimée plays Maddalena in La Dolce Vita, a beautiful and wealthy heiress. Prior to the release of La Dolce Vita, Aimée stared in a dozen or so modestly successful French films. However, after Fellini's film, Aimée's star rose substantially.
Yvonne Furneaux
Yvonne Furneaux plays Emma, Marcello Rubini's fiancée. Before starring in La Dolce Vita, Furneaux was in a few modestly successful French and British films, including 1959's The Mummy starring Peter Cushing (perhaps best-known for Star Wars: A New Hope). Her star rose substantially—but less so than her co-stars—after the release of La Dolce Vita.
