Ferrara and Chris Zois. Personal life Ferrara is married to Cristina Chiriac and they have a daughter, Anna. He was previously married to Nancy Ferrara. Ferrara has two adopted children: Endira and Lucy. He was also in a relationship with actress Shanyn Leigh. Ferrara lives in Rome, Italy. He moved there following the 9/11 attacks because it was easier for him to find financing for his movies in Europe. Raised Catholic, Ferrara started describing himself as Buddhist in 2007. When asked if he had converted, Ferrara responded, Ferrara said in 2020 that Buddhism "is a practice for me, not a religion." In 2022, he stated he considered Padre Pio his "spirituality model." Influences Artists and filmmakers who influenced Ferrara's work include "the Stones and Dylan...DaVinci, Stanley Kubrick, Woody Allen and all of the great New York film makers." He has also credited Pier Paolo Pasolini and Rainer Werner Fassbinder as influences. Filmography Short film Feature films Acting roles Documentary films Television TV movies Music video Recurring collaborators Ferrara has recast many of the same actors in his movies, most notably Christopher Walken, Harvey Keitel and Willem Dafoe. Other actors he has recast include Annabella Sciorra and Matthew Modine as well as character actors such as Victor Argo, Paul Calderón and Giancarlo Esposito. David Caruso is another one of Ferrara's frequent film collaborators. Ms .45 (1981) star Zoë Lund collaborated with Ferrara again on Bad Lieutenant (1992), which she co-wrote. Gretchen Mol has worked with Ferrara twice. Forest Whitaker starred in Ferrara's movies Mary (2005) and Body Snatchers (1993). Beginning with The Driller Killer in 1979 through The Projectionist in 2019, Ferrara most frequently works with Ken Kelsch as his cinematographer. Awards and nominations References External links Guardian interview, 5 August 2010 Nicky's Film sound design and remix contest 1951 births Living people People from the Bronx People from Peekskill, New York American Roman Catholics American expatriates in Italy American people of Italian descent American people of Irish descent American pornographic film directors Film directors from New York City Horror film directors State University of New York at Purchase alumni Postmodernist filmmakers