Camera Cafe/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Given Camera Cafe is set in an unnamed, yet large business company, it's obvious there are many workers lurking inside it, and that's not even counting the one-time characters played by guest stars.


As with the main article, this refers to (as of now) the Italian version of this Canadian/French format. Let's rock.

The main duo

Paolo Bitta

"Talkin' 'bout me?!"

Paolo Bitta.

The Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist of the show alongside Luca, Paolo is a bit of a buffoon, and he doesn't have many interests outside either campers, Alfa Romeos and the like. However, his overall simple-mindedness is a foil to the way he treats his Butt Monkey co-workers. Think about him as a Jerk Jock of sorts, though Andrea is better at that.


Played by Paolo Kessisoglu.

Luca Nervi

Luca Nervi.

"Now that will piss our bosses off!"

The other Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist, Luca is the leader of the company's trade union and, as such, he's in charge of the organization of strikes. He's proud to be a Communist, but he doesn't quite stick to the ideals implied by that. As greedy as he is, however, he also has some redeeming abilities—namely, he's generally smarter and more classy than Paolo, though every time the two have a plan, it's likely to backfire. His flaws are somewhat punished by the... er, unfaithfulness shown by his girlfriend. Karma's a bitch, indeed.


Played by Luca Bizzarri.


Supporting characters

Silvano Rogi

Silvano.

"TOH-GOH!" ("AWESOME!")

The company's nerdy and goofy accountant and the show's resident Butt Monkey. Very shy, he's not able to overcome the others' bossy attitudes unless someone's screwing with his personal hobbies he loves the most. Other than being a goody-goody know-it-all, Silvano is also known for his semi-relationship with the ugliest woman in the company (Patti), another reason for being made fun of.

(seasons 1-5)


Played by Alessandro Sampaoli.

Patrizia "Patti" D'Imporzano

Patti.

Simply known as "Cesso" (Toilet), Patti is the flat-out ugliest one in the company. She's still a maiden despite her age in a platonic relationship with Silvano.

Eager to work and kind to everyone, despite waiting for the right person to lose her virginity with (Silvano), she's actually willing to settle with pretty much anyone else.

As of season 5, she's pregnant. Silvano is heavily implied to be the other one involved. (seasons 1-5)

Played by Debora Villa.

Luca: "Is Patti short for Pattumiera?" ("pattumiera" is the Italian word for "garbage bin")

Augusto Stanislao Maria De Marinis (a.k.a. the director, Mr. De Marinis)

Augusto De Marinis.

"You're a MORON!"

The director in charge of the company as a whole. Highly conservative and, although not explicitly, rightist, he doesn't think about Luca as an actual "menace".

Despite he's far from being a Big Bad, he's still a despicable character, given the bossy way he acts towards the workers. This, unless there's someone somewhat "stronger" than him. (seasons 1-5)

Played by Renato Liprandi.

Olmo Ghesizzi

Olmo with Anna.

The overweight computer expert. Single father of a little kid, Olmo is a bit of a nerd and his interests include videogames and anything related to fantasy and science fiction. Despite his weight he has also a passion for surf and extreme sports. (seasons 1-5)

Played by Carlo Giuseppe Gabardini.

Alessandra "Alex" Costa

Alex.

Alex is Luca's so-called, self-appointed girlfriend. A relatively minor character in the show, this secretary has actually slept with pretty much everyone in the company. She's also a stoner, and none of her brothers has an honest life in any way. (seasons 1-5)

Played by Sabrina Corabi.

Andrea Pellegrino

Andrea (the bald one), when he's not beating up anybody (yet).

Andrea is Mr. De Marinis' personal driver, and he's pretty much exactly as violent as the stereotypical bodyguard he looks like: he delivers a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown almost every single time he's featured in a sketch. (seasons 1-5)

Played by Paolo Bufalino.

Giuseppe "Pippo" Lo Cascio

Pippo.

The homosexual office boy. Luca's and Paolo's favorite Butt Monkey when Silvano isn't around. A very common Running Gag is someone (usually Paolo) ordering Pippo to go to the bathroom, to get rid of him. (seasons 1-5)

Played by Massimo Costa.

Wanda Sordi

Wanda with Paolo.

A naive, submissive elderly woman, who is still on stage despite being working in the company for several years. Generally treated badly by everyone, she has always hard work to do, usually physically painful for a person of her age. (seasons 1-5)

Played by Margherita Fumero.

Vittorio Ubbiali

Vittorio.

"Ah, if it isn't that little communist bastard with his tall, brainless pal!"

The psychotic, neurotic, lunatic guard who's always threatening people with his gun. (seasons 1-5)

Played by Riccardo Magherini.

Guido Geller

One of the few moments you'll see this man laughing, although in this case it doesn't match the situation, nor it is good to hear. Patti, we share your pain.

"A long time ago, in an ancient region named Gu..."

A post-merger character, the most important and the most feared. Everyone fears him, including De Marinis. He's the calm, serious, impassible man who's always carrying that small red notebook. Being in charge of human resources, he can examine workers' every single movement...and write their name in the notebook whenever he decides they do something wrong or stupid. And it happens. Always. (seasons 4-5)

Played by Roberto Accornero.

Gloria

From left to right: Luca, Gloria and Geller.

She is the beautiful yet extremely dim-witted new secretary of the company. (season 5)

Played by Desy Luccini.

Lucrezia Orsini

Lucrezia.

A new manager of the company who has an obsessive crush on Paolo. (season 5)

Played by Roberta Nanni.

Characters who left the show

Ilaria Tanadale

Ilaria.

The second most important person in the company, next to De Marinis, Ilaria is the strict Marketing director. While powerful and respected, she has basically no life outside of her workplace and is considered by everyone a bitter middle-aged woman. (seasons 1-4)

Played by Claudia Barbieri.

Gaia De Bernardi

Gaia.

Vice Marketing Manager of the company, Gaia is a smart, beautiful, successful woman whose eternal competition with Ilaria is well known by everyone. Almost all the guys lust after Gaia, especially Paolo who considers her the perfect dream girl.

(seasons 1-4)

Played by Roberta Garzia.

Giovanna Caleffi

Giovanna with Luca and Paolo

The young, sexy switchboard operator. Unambitious and not career oriented, Giovanna is your typical pretty and friendly girl, but still able to use her natural beauty to her advantage, whenever she needs something. (seasons 1-4)

Played by Giovanna Rei.

Anna Murazzi

Anna.

An unlucky, not very bright secretary. After being dumped by her abusive husband, she's now a single mother of two little kids always struggling with money and looking for a man. (seasons 1-2)

Played by Giorgia Cardaci.

Jessica

Jessica.

The athletic yet elegant british manager. The only foreigner out of the regular characters. (seasons 1-2)

Played by Jessica Polsky.

Emma Missale

Emma.

The new secretary arrived in season 3 after Anna's departure. Sort of a Replacement Scrappy although she doesn't have much in common with Anna. Luca seems to have a bit of crush on her but she isn't fond of him at all. (seasons 3-4)

Played by Linda Gennari.

Maria Eleonora Baù

Maria Eleonora with Luca.

Introduced in the "merger period", Maria Eleonora is an extremely cultured and competent young woman, object of Luca's unrequited affections. She's a nice, likable person but at the same time neurotic and annoying because of her obsessive perfectionism. (season 4)

Played by Cecilia Cinardi.

Michele Carminati

"FOR TOM WEIL!"

Carminati and his co-workers.

The main Digitex salesperson and Paolo's worst enemy, he is the most famous member of "Team Carminati" and strongly believes in the importance of the group work, thanks to the theories of Tom Weil, a fictional philosopher idolized by him and his co-workers. (season 4)

Played by Fabrizio Careddu.

  • Always Someone Better: Carminati (and his team) is a more successful salesperson than Paolo, who was formerly known for being the best one in his company. Then it came the merger of the 2 companies...
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: in season 5.
  • Goldfish Poop Gang: Carminati and his boys (team Carminati).
  • Keet
  • Last-Name Basis
  • Nice Guy: one of the nicest on the show.
  • The Rival
  • Sitcom Arch Nemesis: Paolo sees him as this but not the other way around.
  • True Companions: again, Carminati and his boys.
    • This trope backfires in one episode, when he actually does the "Tom Weil test" by falling on his back deliberately: his team must be ready to catch him before he falls on the nails on the floor. Unfortunately for him, he does this while delivering a Rousing Speech about his belief in the importance of teamwork, which ends with his "For Tom Weil!", which his co-workers are basically programmed to answer with a "hip hip, hooray!", complete with a re-enactment of The Three Musketeers' well-known Stab the Sky (see the page picture for True Companions) with their pens, by that point of the episode. Cue him falling on his back, and on the nails as well (which promptly stab him).
  • Wide-Eyed Idealist: to the extreme.

Caterina Farini

Caterina.

A young, attractive girl who works in the company's nursery. She hates her job and always looks aloof and annoyed with everyone. (season 4)

Played by Elena Santarelli.

Luca: "So one of these days, do you wanna go out with me?"
Caterina: "I'm sorry, one of these days I'm busy."
Luca: ""What? Are you busy every day?!"
Caterina: "No, just the one you were thinking of. What a coincidence, right? "


Other minor characters

Sergio

The company's psychologist (season 1)

Played by Ernesto Mahieux.

Nadia

The company's psychologist (seasons 2-3)

Played by Carla Signoris.

Chiara De Marinis

The director's despotic daughter. (seasons 1-2)

Played by Luciana Littizzetto.

Elisabetta "Titti" D'Imporzano

Patti's attractive sister. (season 1)

Played by Claudia Gerini.

Mauro Cestelli

The company's not so honest doctor. (season 2)

Played by Paolo Pierobon.

Anselmo Pedone

A shy, awkward Butt Monkey who has stuttering problems. "A extremely unbereable person" if you ask Luca. Basically another Silvano with a speech impediment. (seasons 2-3)

Played by Massimo Ranieri.

Luca: (mocking him)"He's not stupid. He's st-st-stu-stupid."

Roberto

A new employee with no experience, who (unlike the other people) worships Paolo and considers him his hero. Him main goal is trying to be like him in every way. Paolo, on the other hand, considers him just an annoyance. (season 3)

Played by Michele Alhaique.

Vasile Rovinescu

A Digitex (the rival company) employee who hates Luca and Paolo with a passion. (season 3)

Played by Dino Abbrescia.

Gustavo

Vasile's friend known for his extreme good luck. (season 3)

Played by Massimo Tomassoni.

Giuseppe "Ciccio Riccio" Ricciuti

Temporarily on stage, Giuseppe is a short-lived character on the sitcom and a total nutcase. (season 3)

Played by Federico Bonaconza

Carlotta Russo

Luca and Alex's wedding planner. (season 5)

Played by Lucia Ocone.

  • Ascended Extra: Lucia Ocone was supposed to appear as a special guest in just one episode. The cast enjoyed working with her so much that the writers added more episodes with her character involved.

Valeria Bitta

Paolo's wife, just as "loyal" as him in their relationship. Possibly the most well known unseen character.

Jonathan Bitta

Paolo's oldest son, still with childish behaviour, but somewhat the most decent family member.

Brad Bitta

Paolo's youngest son. "The shortest serial killer in the world" according to his proud father.

Pino and Budello

Paolo's infamous best friends (other than Luca of course), just as uncultured and thoughtless as him and known for their illegal stuff.

  • The Alcoholic: Pino known for his "grappa" (a alcoholic drink similar to Whisky) and possibly Budello as well (since the three of them always go to the same bar).
  • The Brute: Budello. According to Paolo he could kick Andrea's ass any time.
  • Delinquents: both of them.
  • The Ghost
  • Grease Monkey: Pino.
  • Only Known by Their Nickname: weirdly enough just Pino, whose actual name is Odoacre Maria. "Budello" on the other hand is his real name, but even Paolo isn't exactly sure if it's the first or the last name.
  • Terrible Trio: they form one with Paolo.

Alessandra "Sandra" Rogi

Silvano's mom.

Back to Camera Cafe
  1. ↑ Basically, it's about runing a decades-long friendship between Luca and his pen-friend, only to date someone else the same night.
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Camera_Cafe/Characters?oldid=1795803"