Gian Maria Volonté
Gian Maria Volonté | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 6 December 1994 Florina, Greece | (aged 61)
Other names | John Wells Johnny Wels |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1957–1994 |
Partner(s) | Carla Gravina Armenia Balducci Angelica Ippolito (1977–his death) |
Children | Giovanna Gravina Mauriel Morejon |
Relatives | Claudio Camaso (brother) |
Website | www |
Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor and activist. He is best known for his roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (1964), El Indio in Leone's For a Few Dollars More (1965), El Chuncho Munoz in Damiano Damiani's A Bullet for the General (1966) and Professor Brad Fletcher in Sergio Sollima's Face to Face (1967).
He had notable roles in high-profile social dramas depicting the political and social stirrings of Italian and European society in the 1960s and 1970s, including four films directed by Elio Petri – We Still Kill the Old Way (1967), Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970), The Working Class Goes to Heaven (1971), and Todo modo (1976). He is also recognized for his performances in Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Cercle Rouge (1970), Giuliano Montaldo's Sacco & Vanzetti (1971) and Giordano Bruno (1973), and Francesco Rosi's Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979).[1]
Among other accolades, Volonté won two David di Donatello Awards and three Nastro d'Argento Awards. He won the Best Actor Award at the 36th Cannes Film Festival for The Death of Mario Ricci (1983), and the Silver Bear at the 37th Berlin International Film Festival for The Moro Affair (1986). Director Francisco Rosi said that he "stole the soul of his characters".[2]
Early life
Volonté was born in Milan,[3] but grew up in Turin.[4] His father Mario was a fascist officer from Saronno (province of Varese), who in 1944 was in command of the Brigata Nera of Chivasso, near Turin.[3] His mother, Carolina Bianchi, belonged to a wealthy Milanese industrial family, and his younger brother Claudio was an actor as well.[3] He went to Rome to train for an acting career at the Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico, obtaining a degree in 1957.[3][5]
Career
Volonté made his debut in 1960 in
Volonté's performances as memorable but neurotic characters, or as a gifted leader of brigands or revolutionaries, together with the unexpected, worldwide success of the films, gave him international fame. Volonté had already played comedies, including
In 1968, Volonté won a Silver Ribbon as best actor for
In 1983 he won the award for
Personal life
Volonté was a strong political activist and known for his pro-
Death
Volonté died from a heart attack[11] at the age of 61 in 1994 at Florina, Greece, during the filming of Ulysses' Gaze. Volonté's grave is in a small cemetery on the Sardinian island of La Maddalena, according to his wishes.[11]
Selected filmography
- Under Ten Flags (1960, directed by Duilio Coletti) as Samuel Braunstein
- Girl with a Suitcase (1961, directed by Valerio Zurlini) as Piero Benotti
- Journey Beneath the Desert (1961, directed by Edgar G. Ulmer) as Tarath
- Hercules and the Conquest of Atlantis (1961, directed by Vittorio Cottafavi) as Re di Sparta
- On the Tiger's Back (1961, directed by Luigi Comencini) as Papaleo
- A Man for Burning (1962, directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani and Valentino Orsini) as Salvatore
- The Four Days of Naples (1962, directed by Nanni Loy) as Stimolo (uncredited)
- Noche de verano (1963, directed by Jorge Grau) as Alberto Suárez
- Il terrorista (1963, directed by Gianfranco De Bosio) as Braschi, l'ingeniere
- A Fistful of Dollars (credited as "Johnny Wels") (1964, directed by Sergio Leone) as Ramón Rojo
- The Magnificent Cuckold (1965, directed by Antonio Pietrangeli) as The Councillor
- For a Few Dollars More (1965, directed by Sergio Leone) as El Indio
- Seasons of Our Love (1966, directed by Florestano Vancini) as Leonardo Varzi
- Wake Up and Die (1966, directed by Carlo Lizzani) as Inspector Moroni
- L'armata Brancaleone (1966, directed by Mario Monicelli) as Teofilatto dei Leonzi
- La strega in amore (1966, directed by Damiano Damiani) as Fabrizio
- A Gangstergirl (1966, directed by Frans Weisz)
- A Bullet for the General (1967, directed by Damiano Damiani) as El Chuncho Munoz
- We Still Kill the Old Way (1967, directed by Elio Petri) as Prof. Paolo Laurana
- Faccia a faccia (1967, directed by Sergio Sollima) as Professor Brad Fletcher
- The Seven Cervi Brothers (1968, directed by Gianni Puccini)
- Bandits in Milan (1968, directed by Carlo Lizzani) as Pietro 'Piero' Cavallero
- Summit (1968, directed by Giorgio Bontempi )
- The Bandit (1969, directed by Carlo Lizzani) as Gramigna
- Under the Sign of Scorpio (1969, directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani) as Renno
- Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970, directed by Elio Petri) as "Il Dottore", the Police Inspector
- Wind from the East (1970, directed by Jean-Luc Godard and the Dziga Vertov Group) as Le ranger nordiste
- Many Wars Ago (1970, directed by Francesco Rosi) as Lt. Ottolenghi
- Le Cercle Rouge (1970, directed by Jean-Pierre Melville) as Vogel
- Sacco e Vanzetti (1971, directed by Giuliano Montaldo) as Bartolomeo Vanzetti
- The Working Class Goes to Heaven (1971, directed by Elio Petri) as Lulù Massa
- The Mattei Affair (1972, directed by Francesco Rosi) as Enrico Mattei
- The Assassination (1972, directed by Yves Boisset) as Sadiel
- Sbatti il mostro in prima pagina (1972, directed by Marco Bellocchio) as Bizanti
- Lucky Luciano (1973, directed by Francesco Rosi) as Charles 'Lucky' Luciano
- Giordano Bruno (1973, directed by Giuliano Montaldo) as Giordano Bruno
- The Suspect (1975, directed by Francesco Maselli) as Emilio
- Miguel Littín) as Gregorio
- Todo modo(1976, directed by Elio Petri) as M.
- Io ho paura(1977, directed by Damiano Damiani) as Brigadiere Ludovico Graziano
- Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979, directed by Francesco Rosi) as Carlo Levi
- Ogro (1979, directed by Gillo Pontecorvo) as Izarra
- Stark System (1980, directed by Armenia Balducci) as Stark
- The Lady of the Camellias (1981, directed by Mauro Bolognini) as Plessis
- La Certosa di Parma (1982, TV miniseries, directed by Mauro Bolognini) as Count Mosca
- La Mort de Mario Ricci (1983, directed by Claude Goretta) as Bernard Fontana
- Il caso Moro (1986, directed by Giuseppe Ferrara) as Aldo Moro
- Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1987, directed by Francesco Rosi) as Dr. Cristo Bedoya
- Un ragazzo di Calabria(1987, directed by Luigi Comencini) as Felice
- The Abyss (1988, directed by André Delvaux) as Zénon
- Pestalozzi's Mountain (1989, directed by Peter von Gunten) as Pestalozzi
- Tre colonne in cronaca (1990, directed by Carlo Vanzina) as Alberto Landolfi
- Open Doors (1990, directed by Gianni Amelio) as Judge Vito Di Francesco
- Una storia semplice (1991, directed by Emidio Greco) as Carmelo Franzò
- Funes, a Great Love (1993, directed by Raúl de la Torre) as Bergama
- Banderas, the Tyrant (1993, directed by José Luis García Sánchez) as Santos Banderas (final film role)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Gian Maria Volonté Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ISBN 9788884402691.
- ^ a b c d "Gian Maria Volonté anniversary, 20 years after the death of the actor a memory with his 10 best performances". huffingtonpost.it. 5 December 2014. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "Italian cinema: Gian Maria Volonté's 90th anniversary". wetheitalians.com. 20 May 2023.
- ^ "Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico". accademiasilviodamico.it. 2018.
- ^ Farino, Ernest (August 2020). "A Fistful of Pasta: The Italian Westerns of Sergio Leone". RetroFan (10). United States: TwoMorrows Publishing: 63.
- ^ "Berlinale: 1987 Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
- ^ Schwartz, Dennis (5 August 2019). "It's a solid film, but I expect more from the great Delvaux". Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews. Dennis Scwartz Movie Reviews. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- ^ "Gian Maria Volonte (1933–94)". Historical Materialism. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Scalzone: 'Mi Fece Scappare Dall' Italia'". La Repubblica. 7 December 1994. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
- ^ a b Tagliabue, John (7 December 1994). "Gian Maria Volonte Dies at 61; A Prize-Winning Italian Actor". The New York Times.