Into His Hands: Luca Argentero between Medical Drama, Personal Branding and Social Engagement

Abstract

The Covid-19 crisis had a positive impact on the popularity and the bankability of Luca Argentero, leading actor of the successful RAI series Doc-Nelle tue mani. The role of Andrea Fanti, a doctor ready to do anything for the good of his patients, and the contemporary paternity – narrated on social media platforms – have allowed Argentero to rise to the status of an ideal male, expression of those values ​​- spirit of sacrifice, altruism and empathy - represented by doctors during periods of lockdown. The eight million viewers who followed Doc-Nelle tue mani testify how Argentero – celebrity with 2 million Instagram followers – manage to embody models of behavior and collective feelings. The goal of this article is to analyze social engagement activities of Luca Argentero during the Covid-19 crisis, in order to known whether this celebrity, through the character of Doc, contributed to raise public health awareness among his Instagram and Twitter followers.