Arditi was the name adopted by Italian Army elite storm troops of World War I. The name derives from the Italian verb Ardire ("to dare") and translates as "The Daring Ones".

Reparti d'assalto (Assault Units) were formed in the summer of 1917 by Colonel Bassi, and were assigned the tactical role of shock troops, breaching enemy defenses in order to prepare the way for a broad infantry advance. The Arditi were not units within infantry divisions, but were considered a separate combat arm.

The Reparti d'assalto were successful in bringing in a degree of movement to what had previously been a war of entrenched positions. Their exploits on the battlefield were exemplary and they gained an illustrious place in Italian military history. They were demobilized by 1920.

The name Arditi was also used by the supporters (often war veterans) of Gabriele D'Annunzio, during his occupation of Fiume in 1919-20. Their use of a uniform with black shirts and black fez was taken up by Benito Mussolini's paramilitary forces, called, in fact, Blackshirts.

Yasmina Reza (born 1 May 1959 or 1960 in Paris) is a French playwright, actress, novelist and screenwriter best known for her plays 'Art' and God of Carnage.

Reza's parents were both of Jewish origin, her father Iranian of Russian descent (whose family left Moscow after the Bolsheviks came to power), her mother Hungarian.

At the beginning of her career, Reza acted in several new plays as well as in plays by Molière and Marivaux.

In 1987 she wrote Conversations after a Burial, which won the Molière Award, the French equivalent of the Laurence Olivier Award or the Tony Award, for Best Author. Following this, she translated Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" for Roman Polanski and was nominated for a Molière Award for Best Translation.

Her second play, Winter Crossing, won the 1990 Molière Award for Best Fringe Production, and her next play, The Unexpected Man, enjoyed successful productions in England, France, Scandinavia, Germany and New York.

In 1995, 'Art' premiered in Paris and went on to win the Molière Award for Best Author. Since then it has been produced worldwide and translated and performed in over 30 languages. The London production, produced by David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers, received the 1996–97 Laurence Olivier Award and Evening Standard Award. It also won the Tony Award for Best Play. Life X 3 has also been produced in Europe, North America and Australia. Screenwriting credits include See You Tomorrow, starring Jeanne Moreau and directed by Reza's then-partner Didier Martiny.

Pierre Arditi was born on 1 December 1944 in Paris, child of the French painter Georges Arditi (fr), from Marseille, and a Belgian mother. He is an award-winning French film and stage actor. He is the brother of French actress Catherine Arditi.

Being born before 1967 from a Belgian mother married to a foreign citizen, he is a famous example of non-transmission of Belgian citizenship by mother's blood.

He has often played romantic, womanizing roles, similar to those played by Marcello Mastroianni.

In 1987 he won a César Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role in Mélo, and in 1994, a César Award for Best Actor for his role in Smoking/No Smoking.

Although his work has primarily been in French film and theater, Arditi is known in the Anglophone world as the French voice of Christopher Reeve. Arditi dubbed Christopher Reeve on the French-language version of the three first Superman movies by Richard Donner and Richard Lester (See the French Wikipedia article on Pierre Arditi for more information). Because of the added footage in the DVD Special Edition of Donner's Superman, the movie had to be re-dubbed with a different voice actor, much to the chagrin of the generation of moviegoers who had grown up with the original soundtrack and identified Superman's voice with Arditi's. He also provided the French voice for Reeve in the comedy/whodunit Deathtrap. Finally, he was the voice of the documentary serie Untamed Africa, written and produced by Frederic Lepage.

Fabrice Luchini (born 1 November 1951) is a French stage and film actor.

Fabrice Luchini was born in Île-de-France, Paris, into an Italian immigrant family, who were fruit and vegetable vendors. He grew up around the neighbourhood of Goutte d'Or in Paris's 18th arrondissement. When he was 13, his mother apprenticed him to a hairdresser in a trendy parlor on Avenue Matignon, where he would take the name of the hairdresser's son, Fabrice, in place of his real name, Robert. At the same time he developed a great interest for literature (Balzac, Flaubert, Proust). His passion for soul music (James Brown) made him a regular of discothèques. This is where he met Philippe Labro, who gave him his first role in Tout peut arriver in 1969. He then studied acting under Jean-Laurent Cochet. However, it was his collaboration with Éric Rohmer that would make him popular for Le Genou de Claire in 1970, in which he played a small role as an adolescent. He appeared in Rohmer's Perceval le Gallois, and Les Nuits de la pleine lune, and in films directed by Nagisa Oshima, Pierre Zucca, Claude Lelouch, Cedric Klapisch, Édouard Molinaro.

Pierre Vaneck (15 April 1931; Lang Son, Vietnam – 31 January 2010) was a French actor.

Son of a Belgian officer, Pierre Vaneck passed his youth to Antwerp before continuing at 17 years, of the studies of medicine in Paris. Then it followed studies of dramatic art with the courses Rene Simon and the Theater Academy, the class of Henri Rollan. It earned its living while working in a saddler and the evening, it recited poems of François Villon in cabarets. It began on the boards in 1952 in "the three musketeers" with the role from Louis XIII. With the cinema, it found its first great role in film of Julien Duvivier, "Marianne of my youth" in 1955.

Pierre Vaneck was first a man of the theatre and television. The general public knew Veneck especially for his television role as father of Fabien Cosma, as well as in many serials (spring tides, the Garonne…). Vaneck died on Sunday 31 January 2010 during a cardiac operation. He was married to Sophie Becker, daughter and sister of Jacques Becker and Jean Becker. His grandchildren, Aurélie and Thibaud Vaneck, are two actors featured in the televised series "Plus Belle la Vie" which plays on France 3 Chanel.