[4] At the Teatro di Genova he starred in the roles of Tuzenbach in Chekhov's Three Sisters and Jean in Strindberg's Miss Julie, both under the direction of Otomar Krejča.

In the coming years, he also starred in such theatrical productions as L'infelicità senza desideri and Piccoli equivoci at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto.

[2] He appeared in many films including Sembra morto...ma è solo svenuto directed by Felice Farina, Piccoli equivoci by Ricky Tognazzi and Stasera a casa di Alice by Carlo Verdone.

In the late 1980s, Castellitto appeared in several Italian television miniseries, including Un siciliano in Sicilia (1987), Cinque storie inquietanti (1987), Piazza Navona (1988), Cinéma (1988), and Come stanno bene insieme (1989).

[5] Success arrived with the films La famiglia, L'ultimo bacio, Caterina in the Big City, My Mother's Smile, Mostly Martha, and especially with Don't Move, written by his wife Margaret Mazzantini.