Born in Vlădești, Argeș County, he graduated high school in Câmpulung in 1967 and Bucharest's Caragiale Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography in 1971. He made his theatrical debut a year before graduating, at the Bulandra Theater, in Truman Capote's The Grass Harp. His screen debut came in Dan Pița's Nunta de piatră (1972); he would later appear in the same director's Filip cel Bun (1975). Other directors with whom he has worked include Alexandru Tatos (Mere roșii, 1975; Secvențe, 1982; and Secretul armei secrete, 1988), Virgil Calotescu (Buletin de București, 1982; and Căsătorie cu repetiție, 1985), Nae Caranfil (Asfalt Tango, 1996; and Filantropica, 2002) and Cătălin Mitulescu (The Way I Spent the End of the World, 2006). In all, he has appeared in more than sixty films. Diaconu worked with Lucian Pintilie both in film (the 19...