Gian Maria Volonté

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Gian Maria Volonté

Gian Maria Volonté (born April 9, 1933 in Milan , † December 6, 1994 in Florina , Greece ) was an Italian actor .

Life

Volonté (often also written Volontè ) completed an acting training at the Accademia d'Arte Drammatica in Rome . He appeared as Prince Myshkin in an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's The Idiot in 1959 and was successful a year later as Romeo in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet . He made his film debut in 1960 in Duilio Coletti's Sotto dieci bandiere . He gained notoriety through the role of the opponent of Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone 's first spaghetti western For a Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More. Sergio Leone didn't like working with him because Volonté had a theatrical urge. He therefore had him repeat recordings several times, so that Volonté's theatricality subsided. Nevertheless, he hired Volonté in his first two westerns as an opponent because he had excellent acting talent. His role as bandit Chuncho in Damiano Damiani's Kill Amigo (¿Quien sabe?) Is just as unforgettable .

Since the late 1960s, Volonté was active in left-wing political films. Under his friend, director Elio Petri , Volonté had prominent roles as a worker in La classe operaia va in paradiso (1971) and as a corrupt politician in Todo modo (1976). He played in socially critical films by Francesco Rosi and Giuliano Montaldo , but also in Jean-Luc Godard's political western Vento dell'est (1970).

At the 1972 Cannes Film Festival , he starred in two films ( The Mattei Case and The Working Class Goes to Paradise ). Both films won the festival's main prize. He himself received the Acting Award at the Cannes International Film Festival in 1983 for his performance in The Death of Mario Ricci . Volonté received the Silver Bear for best actor at the Berlinale 1987 for his portrayal of the politician Aldo Moro in the film Die Affäre Aldo Moro .

Volonte died during the shooting of the film Ulysses' Gaze by Theo Angelopoulos to a heart attack .

In the first copies of the Dollar films, Volonté was shown as Johnny Wells .

Filmography

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Volonté, Gian Maria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian actor
DATE OF BIRTH April 9, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Milan , Italy
DATE OF DEATH December 6, 1994
Place of death Florina , Greece