Tomas Milian

Tomas Milian (born Tomás Quintín Rodríguez-Varona Milián Salinas de la Fé y Álvarez de la Campa; 3 March 1933 – 22 March 2017) was a Cuban-born actor and singer with American and Italian citizenship, known for the emotional intensity and humor he brought to starring roles in European genre films.
A student of Lee Strasberg's, Milian studied method acting at the Actors Studio in New York City. In Italy, he was discovered by director Mauro Bolognini and appeared in supporting roles in several drama films during the late 1950s and early 1960s, including Bad Girls Don't Cry (1959) and as Raphael in Carol Reed's The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965). Throughout the late-1960s and early-1970s, Milian established himself as a dynamic leading actor in a series of Spaghetti Western films, most notably The Big Gundown (1966), Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot! (1967), as well as Sergio Corbucci's parody of the genre The White, the Yellow, and the Black (1975). Dennis Hopper also cast Milian in his 1971 art-house film, The Last Movie.
Following a decline in the popularity of Spaghetti Westerns, Milian transitioned to roles in poliziottesco films. After receiving acclaim for his performance as a psychotic killer in Almost Human (1974), he made appearances in Emergency Squad (1974), The Tough Ones (1976) and The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist (1977). After returning to the United States in 1985, Milian continued to perform supporting roles in film productions, including JFK (1991), Amistad (1997), Traffic (2000) and The Lost City (2005).
Biography
Milian was born in Havana as the son of a Cuban general. His father was arrested, jailed, and later committed suicide on December 31, 1946. Milián then decided to leave Cuba and pursue his wishes of being an actor. He settled in the United States to study at New York's Actors Studio and later became an American citizen. In 1969, he became a naturalized Italian citizen.
Career
After starting a career in the United States, Milian went to Italy in 1958 to take part in a theatre festival in Spoleto. He eventually decided to relocate to Italy, where he lived for over 25 years, becoming a very successful performer. His first film part in Italy was in the 1959 picture La notte brava. Although his voice was usually dubbed due to his accent, Milián performed his lines in Italian (or in English, depending on the film). He initially starred in arthouse movies and worked with directors such as Mauro Bolognini and Luchino Visconti.
After five years of making what he deemed "intellectual" movies, Milián was unhappy with his contract with producer Franco Cristaldi and thought of going back to the United States. Needing money to start over, he took the opportunity to star as a bandit in a Spaghetti Western called The Bounty Killer. The film boosted his career, and ultimately resulted in his staying in Italy. He became a star of the Spaghetti Western genre, where he often played Mexican bandits or revolutionaries, roles in which he spoke in his real voice. He starred in The Ugly Ones (1966), The Big Gundown (1966), Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot! (1967), Face to Face (1967), Run, Man, Run (1968), Death Sentence (1968), Tepepa (1969), Compañeros (1970), Sonny and Jed (1972), Life Is Tough, Eh Providence? (1972) and Four of the Apocalypse (1975).
As the Spaghetti Westerns dwindled, Milián remained a star in many genre films, playing both villains and heroes in various polizieschi movies. He starred with Barbara Bouchet in the giallo Don't Torture a Duckling. In addition to his role in Almost Human (1974) and appearances in Emergency Squad (1974), The Tough Ones (1976) and The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist (1977), he also appeared in two film series - Bruno Corbucci's Nico Giraldi series (1976-1984, beginning with The Cop in Blue Jeans) and Umberto Lenzi's Er Monnezza films (1976-1980, beginning with Free Hand for a Tough Cop). His other films during this period include the giallo Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) and the non-genre films The Last Movie (1971), Luna (1979), Identification of a Woman (1982) and Monsignor (1982).
He later turned to comedy, playing the recurrent characters of petty thief Monnezza and Serpico-like police officer Nico Giraldi in a variety of crime-comedy pictures. Although his voice was dubbed most of the time by Ferruccio Amendola, Milián wrote his own lines in Roman slang. Milián's inventive use of romanesco (Roman dialect) made him a cult performer in Italy. Bruno Corbucci, the director of many of these films commented, "At the cinemas as soon as Tomás Milián appeared on the screen, when he made a wisecrack and in the heaviest situations, then it was a pandemonium, it was like being at the stadium." As Milián used similar makeups and accents in portraying both characters, Monnezza and Nico were occasionally confused by Italian audiences, who sometimes referred erroneously to them both as Monnezza, or Er Monnezza (Da trash in Roman slang ), and still closely associate Milián with these performances.
Milián also appeared in non-genre pictures, such as Bernardo Bertolucci's La Luna, for which he won a Nastro d'Argento for Best supporting Actor, and Michelangelo Antonioni's Identification of a Woman.
As he grew older, Milián decided to go back to the United States. He appeared in Sydney Pollack's Havana, Steven Spielberg's Amistad, Steven Soderbergh's Traffic as well as Andy García's The Lost City, about Revolutionary Cuba. He has also played many roles on stage. In 2005, he portrayed Generalisimo Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina in the film version of Mario Vargas Llosa's novel The Feast of the Goat.
Milian was found dead from a stroke at his home in Miami on 22 March 2017.
On October 11, 2017 he received the Leone in Memoriam award at the 7º Almería Western Film Festival. It was picked up by his friend Luis Santeiro.
Filmography
Decoy, Ep. "Fiesta at Midnight" (1958, Michael Gordon) as Juan Ortega
The Millionaire, Ep. "The Louise Benton Story" (1959, James Sheldon) as Second Sailor
Bad Girls Don't Cry (1959, Mauro Bolognini) as Moretto
Il bell'Antonio (1960, Mauro Bolognini) as Edoardo
Silver Spoon Set (1960, Francesco Maselli) as Alberto De Matteis
The Mishap (1961, Alberto Lattuada) as Thomas Plemian
A Day for Lionhearts (1961, Nanni Loy) as Gino Migliacci
Day by Day, Desperately (1961, Alfredo Giannetti) as Dario Dominici
Boccaccio '70 (1962, Luchino Visconti) as Conte Ottavio
Disorder (1962, Franco Brusati) as Bruno
La banda Casaroli (1962, Florestano Vancini) as Gabriele Ingenis
Ro.Go.Pa.G., "La ricotta" (1963, Pier Paolo Pasolini) as Centurione
Mare matto (1963, Renato Castellani) as Efsio
I Kill, You Kill (1965, Gianni Puccini) as Lorenzo Berti
Time of Indifference (1965, Francesco Maselli) as Michele
The Camp Followers (1965, Valerio Zurlini) as Lt. Gaetano Martino
The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965, Carol Reed) as Raphael
Madamigella di Maupin (1966, Mauro Bolognini) as Chevalier d'Albert
I soldi (1965, Gianni Puccini) as Bob
The Ugly Ones (1966, Eugenio Martin) as José Gómez
The Big Gundown (1967, Sergio Sollima) as Cuchillo Sanchez
Face to Face (1967, Sergio Sollima) as Beau Bennet
Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot! (1967, Giulio Questi) as The Stranger
Bandits in Milan (1968, Carlo Lizzani) as Comissario Walter Basevi
Death Sentence (1968, Mario Lanfranchi) as O'Hara
Run, Man, Run! (1968, Sergio Sollima) as Cuchillo Sanchez
A Fine Pair (1968, Francesco Maselli) as Roger
Tepepa (1969, Giulio Petroni) as Jesus Maria "Tepepa" Moran
Beatrice Cenci (1969, Lucio Fulci) as Olimpio Calvetti
Where Are You Going All Naked? (1969, Pasquale Festa Campanile) as Manfredo
Compañeros (1970, Sergio Corbucci) as El Vasco
Viva Cangaceiro (1970, Giovanni Fago) as Espedito
The Cannibals (1970, Liliana Cavani) as Emone
The Designated Victim (1971, Maurizio Lucidi) as Stefano Augenti
The Last Movie (1971, Dennis Hopper) as the Priest
Ripped Off (1972, Franco Prosperi) as the Stranger
Sonny and Jed (1972, Sergio Corbucci) as Jed Trigado
Don't Torture a Duckling (1972, Lucio Fulci) as Andrea Martelli
Counselor at Crime (1973, Alberto De Martino) as Thomas Accardo
Life Is Tough, Eh Providence? (1972, Giulio Petroni) as Provvidenza
Emergency Squad (1974, Stelvio Massi) as Tomas Ravelli
Almost Human (1974, Umberto Lenzi) as Giulio Sacchi
Silent Action (1975, Sergio Martino) as Rienzi
Syndicate Sadists (1975, Umberto Lenzi) as Rambo
The White, the Yellow, and the Black (1975, Sergio Corbucci) as Sakura
Four of the Apocalypse (1975, Lucio Fulci) as Chaco
(1975, Yves Boisset)
Sex with a Smile (1976, Sergio Martino) as Cavaliere Marelli
The Tough Ones (1976, Umberto Lenzi) as Vincenzo Moretto
The Cop in Blue Jeans (1976, Bruno Corbucci), as Nico Giraldi
The Twist (1976, Claude Chabrol) as The Detective
Hit Squad (1976, Bruno Corbucci), as Nico Giraldi
Young, Violent, Dangerous (1976, Romolo Guerrieri) as the Commissioner
The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist (1977, Umberto Lenzi) as Luigi Maietto
Free Hand for a Tough Cop (1977, Umberto Lenzi) as Sergio Marazzi
Brothers Till We Die (1977, Umberto Lenzi) as Sergio Marazzi/The Hunchback
Destruction Force (1977, Stelvio Massi) as Sergio Marazzi
Squadra antitruffa (1977, Bruno Corbucci), as Nico Giraldi
Little Italy (1978, Bruno Corbucci), as Nico Giraldi
The Gang That Sold America (1979, Bruno Corbucci), as Nico Giraldi
Assassinio sul Tevere (1979, Bruno Corbucci), as Nico Giraldi
La Luna (1979, Bernardo Bertolucci) as Giuseppe
Winter Kills (1979, William Richert) as Frank Mayo
Il lupo e l'agnello (1980, Francesco Massaro) as Cuckoo
Delitto a Porta Romana (1980, Bruno Corbucci), as Nico Giraldi
Manolesta (1981, Pasquale Festa Campanile) as Gino Quirino
Crime at the Chinese Restaurant (1981, Bruno Corbucci), as Nico Giraldi
Uno contro l'altro, praticamente amici (1981, Bruno Corbucci) as Quinto Cecione
Delitto sull'autostrada (1982, Bruno Corbucci), as Nico Giraldi
Identification of a Woman (1982, Michelangelo Antonioni) as Niccolò
Monsignor (1982, Frank Perry) as Father Francisco
Cat and Dog (1982, Bruno Corbucci) as Tony Roma
Crime in Formula One (1983, Bruno Corbucci), as Nico Giraldi
Cop in Drag (1984, Bruno Corbucci), as Nico Giraldi
King David (1985, Bruce Beresford) as Akiss
The Equalizer, "Reign of Terror" (1985, Richard Compton) as Immanuel Pena
Miami Vice, "Bought and Paid For" (1985, John Nicolella) as Octavio Arroyo
Salome (1986, Claude d'Anna) as Herod II
The Equalizer, "Shadow Play" (1987, Russ Mayberry) as Duran
Distant Lights (1987, Aurelio Chiesa) as Bernardo Bernardi
Cat Chaser (1989, Abel Ferrara) as Andres DeBoya
Massacre Play (1989, Damiano Damiani) as Clem Da Silva
Drug Wars: The Camarena Story (1990, Brian Gibson) as Florentino Ventura
Revenge (1990, Tony Scott) as Cesar
Havana (1990, Sydney Pollack) as Colonel Menocal
Money (1991, Steven Hilliard Stern) as Robert Zarra
JFK (1991, Oliver Stone) as Leopoldo
Frannie's Turn (1992, various) as Joseph Escobar
Murder, She Wrote, "Day of the Dead" (1992, Anthony Shaw) as Enrico Montejano
Nails (1992, John Flynn) as Pedro Herrara
Screenplay, "Bitter Harvest" (1992, Simon Cellan Jones) as Ramon Cires
Love, Honor & Obey: The Last Mafia Marriage (1993, John Patterson) as Joe Profaci
Marilyn & Bobby: Her Final Affair (1993, Bradford May) as Calro Rossi
The Burning Season (1994, John Frankenheimer) as Darli Alves
The Cowboy Way (1994, Gregg Champion) as Manny Huerta
Fools Rush In (1997, Andy Tennant) as Tomas Fuentes
Oz (1997, various) as Ricardo Alvarez
Amistad (1997, Steven Spielberg) as Ángel Calderón de la Barca y Belgrano
The Yards (2000, James Gray) as Manuel Sequeira
Law & Order (2000, Christopher Misiano) as Colonel Emilio Pantoya
For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story (2000, Joseph Sargent) as Sosa
Traffic (2000, Steven Soderbergh) as General Arturo Salazar
The Hire: Ambush (short, 2001, John Frankenheimer)
Washington Heights (2002, Alfredo De Villa) as Eddie
The Lost City (2005, Andy García) as Don Federico Fellove
The Feast of the Goat (2005, Luis Llosa) as Rafael Leonidas Trujillo
Tomas Milian: Acting on Instinct (2013, Ozzy Inguanzo) as himself
Fugly! (2014, Alfredo De Villa) as Gramps
References
Further reading
Giorgio Navarro, Fabio Zanello, Tomas Milian. Er cubbano de Roma, Molino, 1999; .
Max Serio, Tomas Milian: The Tough Bandit, the Rough Cop and the Filthy Rat in Italian Cinema, Mediane, 2009; .
Gordiano Lupi, Tomas Milian, il trucido e lo sbirro, Profondo Rosso Editore, 2011; .
External links
Tomás Milián official site
Tomás Milián interview
Tomas Milian in The Designated Victim – TCM's Movie Morlocks
1933 births
2017 deaths
Bisexual male actors
American male film actors
American male voice actors
Cuban emigrants to Italy
Cuban emigrants to the United States
Italian male film actors
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
Male actors from Miami
Male Spaghetti Western actors
Male actors from Havana
Nastro d'Argento winners
Hispanic and Latino American male actors
Cuban bisexual people
Italian bisexual people
Cuban LGBT actors
Italian LGBT actors
LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people
American bisexual actors
LGBT people from Florida