Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor. He is perhaps most famous outside of Italy for his roles as the main villain in Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars (credited in the USA as “Johnny Wels”) and For a Few Dollars More.
In Italy and much of Europe, he was notable for his 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 (1971), 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) and Giuliano Montaldo’s Sacco & Vanzetti (1971).
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Gian Maria Volonté Biography / Wiki
| Name | Gian Maria Volonté |
| Also Know | Johnny Wels, Gian-Maria Volonte, Джан ÐœÐ°Ñ€Ð¸Ñ Ð’Ð¾Ð»Ð¾Ð½Ñ‚Ðµ |
| Gender | Male |
| Known For | Acting |
| Place of Birth | Milano, Lombardia, Italy |
| Date of Birth | 1933-04-09 |
| Age(as in 2022) | 61 |
| Deathday | 1994-12-06 |
Gian Maria Volonté Acting Movies
| Movie Name | Character | Release Date | Overview |
| Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion | Dottore | 1970-10-16 | Rome, Italy. After committing a heinous crime, a senior police officer exposes evidence incriminating him because his moral commitment prevents him fr… |
| Christ Stopped at Eboli | Carlo Levi | 1979-02-23 | In the fascist Italy of 1935, a painter trained as a doctor is exiled to a remote region near Eboli. Over time, he learns to appreciate the beauty and… |
| Open Doors | Giudice Vito Di Francesco | 1990-03-29 | Tommaso Scalia is a man who commits three murders: he killed his superior who sacked him, he kills the man who replaced him, and he kills his own wife… |
| A Bullet for the General | Chuncho Munos / ‘El Chuncho’ | 1967-01-13 | El Chuncho’s bandits rob arms from a train, intending to sell the weapons to Elias’ revolutionaries. They are helped by one of the passengers, Bill Ta… |
| The Mattei Affair | Enrico Mattei | 1972-01-26 | Enrico Mattei helped change Italy’s future, first as freedom-fighter against the Nazis, then as an investor in methane gas through a public company,… |
| Il caso Moro | Aldo Moro | 1986-11-20 | On March 16, 1978, far-left terrorists of the Red Brigades kidnap Aldo Moro, leader of the Christian Democracy, the ruling party in Italy since the en… |
| Face to Face | Professor Brett Fletcher | 1967-11-23 | History Professor Brad Fletcher heads west for his health, but falls in with Soloman Bennett’s outlaw gang. Fascinated by their way of life, Fletcher … |
| The Abyss | Zenone | 1988-05-13 | In the sixteenth century, Spain occupies Flanders, an Inquisition enforces the faith. Aging writer and philosopher, Zénon Ligre, comes to Bruges usin… |
| Operation Ogre | Izarra | 1979-09-28 | Spain, 1973. Dictator Francisco Franco has ruled the country since 1939 with an iron fist; but he is now a very old and sick man. The future of the we… |
| Giordano Bruno | Giordano Bruno | 1973-11-29 | Fleeing from his enemies in the Catholic Church, the free thinking philosopher, poet and scientist Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) has found some protectio… |
| One Way or Another | M. | 1976-04-30 | Set during a retreat of Christian Democrat politicians who practice spiritual exercises together, it is an allegory of corrupted power. Disturbing, cl… |
| Sacco & Vanzetti | Bartolomeo Vanzetti | 1971-03-16 | Boston, 1920. Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are charged and unfairly tried for murder on the basis of their anarchic politic… |
| Slap the Monster on Page One | The Managing Editor of ‘Il Giornale’ | 1972-10-19 | 1972, Milan. Just a few days before the general elections, a young girl from an esteemed family is raped and murdered. Bizanti, editor-in-chief of a c… |
| The Working Class Goes to Heaven | Lulù Massa | 1971-09-17 | A conscientious factory worker gets his finger cut off by a machine. The accident causes him to become more involved in political and revolutionary gr… |
| I Am Afraid | Brigadiere Ludovico Graziano | 1977-10-06 | During a wave of political violence in Italy, a policeman who’s already survived an assassination is assigned to act as a bodyguard to a morally uprig… |
| A Boy from Calabria | Felice | 1987-09-11 | Like many uninsightful fathers, Nicola is very ambitious and hardworking and perceives himself to be a failure. He has persuaded himself that the only… |
| Lucky Luciano | Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano | 1973-10-19 | Lucky Luciano is one of the bosses of the Mafia. He orders the slaughter of 40 other responsibles, therefore becoming the only boss. But a few years l… |
| A Simple Story | Carmelo Franzò | 1991-09-12 | In a sicilian town a mysterious death happens: suicide or murder?… |
| The Suspect | Emilio | 1975-02-21 | Fascism has forced the leadership of the Italian Communist Party to settle in Paris. In Italy arrests of militants are decimating the organization, so… |
| The Death of Mario Ricci | Bernard Fontana | 1983-05-25 | Gian-Maria Volonte stars as a TV newscaster who journeys to a remote alpine village to interview a famed malnutrition expert. Upon his arrival, Volont… |
| The Bandit | Gramigna | 1969-01-29 | Gramigna and his father are robbed of their field by Baron Nardò. The Baron lets the field to Assunta and Gemma, the secret lover of Gramigna. Gemma … |
| The Terrorist | Giuliana | 1963-10-25 | War drama inspired by real life events of the Italian partisan Otello Pighin…. |
| The Seven Cervi Brothers | Aldo Cervi | 1968-02-16 | The story of the Cervi family. Rural farmers brought up to be idealogically opposed to fascism during the era of Mussolini’s rule of Italy and World W… |
| Tirano Banderas | Tirano Banderas | 1993-11-19 | In Santa Fe de Tierra Firme, an imaginary Latin American country, the indigenous dictator Santos Banderas rules with an iron fist. A group of rebels t… |
| A Man for Burning | Salvatore | 1962-10-26 | Political activist Salvatore returns to his native Sicily and stirs up trouble among the peasants, urging them to confront the Mafia and demand the ri… |
| Bandits in Milan | Piero Cavallero | 1968-03-29 | A detective is assigned to head a manhunt for four violent bank robbers…. |
| Pestalozzis Berg | Pestalozzi | 1989-03-17 | It is difficult these days to imagine that elementary school education was instituted by anyone at all. In fact, Swiss experimental educator Johann He… |
| La tenda in piazza | Self (voice) (uncredited) | 1972-02-19 | The film recounts the struggle of the factory workers of five Italian factories, Cagli, Coca Cola, Filodont, Luciani and Metalfer. A montage of interv… |
| Summit | 1968-10-16 | In the late 60s of the twentieth century, a wave of revolutionary sentiments spread across Europe. A newspaper correspondent tries to reflect what is … | |
| Apollon: una fabbrica occupata | Narrator (voice) | 1969-04-20 | The film documents the trade union battle of the workers of the Apollon printing house in Rome, occupied for a few months after the management decided… |
| Stark System | Stark | 1980-03-14 | Armenia Balducci’s feature film debut, featuring Gian Maria Volontè as Stark, a cop-movie actor that falls prey to paranoia because he fears his late… |
| Timber Cutting | Guglielmo | 1963-09-18 | With the participation of the inhabitants of Tirli (GR). RAI television film, based on a short story (1954) by Carlo Cassola and scripted by Marcello … |
| Wind from the East | Le ranger nordiste | 1970-08-19 | A politically oriented film in which images suggestive of a mock western are accompanied by an attack on all cinematic conventions to date and a debat… |
| Letters from Marusia | Gregorio | 1975-12-26 | Chronicle of the repression that a foreign company exerts on the miners of a small nitrate town in Chile, whose workers decide to claim their most ess… |
| Tre colonne in cronaca | Alberto Landolfi | 1990-03-09 | A Roman newspaper, directed by Landolfi (Volonte) comes up against the ambitions of Mr Spano and a financier Lombard, this Leporino (Ackland). The ide… |
| Under the Sign of Scorpio | Renno | 1969-04-04 | An island has been decimated by a volcanic eruption and the few survivors escape to a nearby island. Led by Rutolo, they know that their new home is e… |
| The Four Days of Naples | Stimolo | 1962-11-16 | The film shows the history of the Neapolitan popular revolt against the invading Germans, during the second world war. During the four days in Naples … |
| We Still Kill the Old Way | Professore Paolo Laurana | 1967-02-24 | A leftist professor wants the truth about two men killed during a hunting party; but the mafia, the Church and corrupt politicians don’t want him to l… |
| Documenti su Giuseppe Pinelli | Self / Reenactor (uncredited) | 1970-01-01 | The film examines the death of the anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli, who fell from the fourth floor of the police headquarters in Milan December 15, 1969, a… |
| Un attore contro – Gian Maria Volonté | Self (archive footage) | 2005-10-29 | A portrait of the famous italian actor and political activist Gian Maria Volonté…. |
| Investigation of a Citizen Named Volonté | Self (archive footage) | 2004-01-12 | Documentary on actor Gian Maria Volonté… |
| Caravaggio | Caravaggio | 1967-10-15 | A miniseries about Caravaggio’s life…. |
| La strada più lunga | Michele | 1965-11-24 | Michele, a bourgeois intellectual, adhered to fascism for years. After fighting in Ethiopia, Spain, Albania and Greece, he returns home after 8 Sep… |
| Lady of the Camelias | Plessis | 1981-02-26 | A young girl from the provinces, comes to Paris with one goal: to become a part of the rich bourgeoisie. To achieve this she will use her unique beaut… |
| Funes, un gran amor | El tano Bérgami | 1993-04-01 | A group of musicians, prostitutes, gamblers, and laborers, react to the arrival of a tango pianist at a saloon…. |
| For a Few Dollars More | El Indio | 1965-12-18 | Two bounty hunters are in pursuit of “El Indio,” one of the most wanted fugitives in the western territories, and his gang…. |
| Le Cercle Rouge | Vogel | 1970-10-19 | When French criminal Corey gets released from prison, he resolves to never return. He is quickly pulled back into the underworld, however, after a cha… |
| The Witch | Fabrizio | 1966-09-16 | A historian goes to a castle library to translate some ancient erotic literature. While there he discovers what he believes to be supernatural forces … |
| Many Wars Ago | Lt. Ottolenghi | 1970-09-17 | Time after time, soldiers of the Italian Army are forced to leave their mountain trenches in attempts to storm an enemy fortress, always with the same… |
| Wake Up and Die | Inspector Moroni | 1966-04-06 | A petty hoodlum pulls jewellery store heists in broad daylight. The cop on his tail knows he has accomplices and focuses on the gangster’s girl friend… |
| Chronicle of a Death Foretold | Dr. Cristo Bedoya | 1987-05-08 | This suspenseful Italian crime drama is set in a Colombian river town and chronicles the series of events that led up to murder. Based on a novel by d… |
| A Fistful of Dollars | Ramón Rojo | 1964-01-18 | The Man With No Name enters the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among the three Rojo brothers and sheriff John Baxter. … |
| Reflections on a Political Cinema | Interviewee | 1978-07-05 | This documentary addresses the challenges facing the Italian film industry in 1978 by focusing on the television productions of Francesco Rosi’s CHRIS… |
| On the Tiger’s Back | Papaleo | 1961-12-20 | An inept thief wants to escape prison and return to his family, but two of his prison mates also want out…. |
| The Assassination | Sadiel | 1972-10-11 | Sadiel, rebel leader in a North African state, takes refuge in Switzerland in the aftermath of a coup. Aware of the threat posed by Sadiel, the ruthle… |
| Gangster Girl | Jascha | 1966-10-13 | A successful young writer is in search of his true destiny. Is it the life with his wife and typewriter in Amsterdam or the offers to go to the dreamw… |
| For Love and Gold | Teofilatto dei Leonzi | 1966-04-07 | A group of rogues steal a scroll granting its bearer the property of the land of Aurocastro in Apulia, a province in the south of Italy. They elect a … |
| Ipotesi sulla morte di G. Pinelli | 1970-01-01 | After a wave of arrests in 1969, Italian anarchist Giuseppe Pinelli allegedly falls out of a police building window while being interrogated. The circ… | |
| Zénon the Rebel | Self (archive footage) | 2019-12-11 | … |
| Seasons of Our Love | Leonardo Varzi | 1966-03-25 | Vittorio is a 40-year-old journalist who reaches a mid-life crisis. His wife nags him constantly for ignoring her and their child. After his mistress … |
| The Magnificent Cuckold | Assessore | 1964-10-19 | The Magnificent Cuckold is about a hat tycoon who is ecstatically, if not hungrily, in love with his youthful wife. It is all blissful, that is, until… |
| Girl with a Suitcase | Piero Benotti | 1961-02-09 | Lorenzo, who’s 16 and born to a wealthy family in Parma, tries to make things right toward a showgirl, Aida, whom his older brother has mistreated. In… |
| Journey Beneath the Desert | Tarath | 1961-05-05 | A helicopter crashes in the desert, and the crew winds up in the underground city of Atlantis and get mixed up in a slave revolt…. |
| Under Ten Flags | Samuel Braunstein | 1960-09-15 | “Under Ten Flags” is a WWII movie loosely based on the true story of the German navy commerce raider Atlantis, a converted Auxilliary Cruiser, and he… |
| Hercules and the Captive Women | Re di Sparta | 1961-08-19 | King Androcles of Thebes commands a ship in search of a threat to Greece, predicted by an atmospheric oracle. Hercules is part of the crew, but the st… |
| Spanish Western | The Indian (archive footage) | 2015-05-04 | A vindication of the role of the technicians and artists who made spaghetti western genre possible, and a walk through the landscapes that made it pos… |
Gian Maria Volonté Directing Movies
| Movie Name | Job | Release Date | Overview |
| La tenda in piazza | Director | 1972-02-19 | The film recounts the struggle of the factory workers of five Italian factories, Cagli, Coca Cola, Filodont, Luciani and Metalfer. A montage of interv… |
Writing
| Movie Name | Job | Release Date | Overview |
| Stark System | Writer | 1980-03-14 | Armenia Balducci’s feature film debut, featuring Gian Maria Volontè as Stark, a cop-movie actor that falls prey to paranoia because he fears his late… |
Other Info
| Movie Name | Job | Release Date | Overview |
| Ulysses’ Gaze | In Memory Of | 1995-10-12 | “A,” a Greek filmmaker living in exile in the United States, returns to his native Ptolemas to attend a special screening of one of his extremely cont… |
Credit: TMDB
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