Favino was born in Rome, Italy. He has appeared in more than forty European films and television series' since the early 1990s, including Gabriele Muccino's The Last Kiss, Gianni Amelio's The Keys to the House, Giuseppe Tornatore's The Unknown Woman and Ferzan Özpetek's Saturn in Opposition. In 1999 he starred in the HBO film Excellent Cadavers, adaptation of Alexander Stille's novel of the same name. He received the David di Donatelloaward - Italian equivalent of the Oscar - in 2006 for his role in the crime film Romanzo Criminale, directed by Michele Placido.