Gian Maria Volonté

Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor and activist, remembered for his versatility as a performer, his outspoken left-wing leanings, and fiery temper on- and off-screen. He is perhaps most famous outside Italy 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).
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 (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 Francesco Rosi's Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979).
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".
Early life
Volonté was born in Milan, but grew up in Turin. 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. His mother, Carolina Bianchi, belonged to a wealthy Milanese industrial family, and his younger brother Claudio was an actor as well. 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.
Career
Volonté made his debut in 1960 in Sotto dieci bandiere, directed by Duilio Coletti. Just four years later, he played "Ramón Rojo" in A Fistful of Dollars (1964), and "El Indio" in For a Few Dollars More (1965), both for cash reasons as he considered the two films to be generic exploitation entertainment and was more interested in projects with a political message. Both films were directed by the then-unknown Sergio Leone, and Volonté's roles in them would bring him his greatest recognition from American audiences. He played Carlo Levi in Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979), which was based on Levi's autobiographical account of his years in internal exile in Aliano, Southern Italy, in the 1930s. Volonté played the memorable role of the Bandito-turned-guerrilla, El Chuncho, in A Bullet for the General (1966).
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 A cavallo della tigre (1961) by Luigi Comencini, and confirmed his versatility in L'armata Brancaleone (1966). However, he found his main dimension in dramatic roles for Banditi a Milano (1968), by Carlo Lizzani, Sbatti il mostro in prima pagina (1972) by Marco Bellocchio, La Classe operaia va in paradiso (1972) by his friend Elio Petri, and Il sospetto (1975) by Francesco Maselli.
In 1968, Volonté won a Silver Ribbon as best actor for A ciascuno il suo, also directed by Elio Petri. Volonté received the same award for two other performances: Petri's Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto (1971, winner of an Academy Award as best foreign film), considered by many to be his finest; and in The Abyss (1989).
In 1983 he won the award for Best Actor at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival for La Mort de Mario Ricci. Four years later, at the 37th Berlin International Film Festival, he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor for Il caso Moro. In 1988 Volonté starred in the Cannes Film Festival Official Selection, The Abyss, as a physician-alchemist. The film was directed by André Delvaux from Marguerite Yourcenar's famous novel of the same name. In 1990, Volonté was named Best European Actor for Porte aperte. In 1991, at the 48th Venice International Film Festival, he won the Golden Lion for career achievement.
Personal life
Volonté was a strong political activist and known for his pro-communist leanings. In 1981, he helped Oreste Scalzone to flee from capture in Italy to Denmark. He was the partner of Italian actress Carla Gravina for almost 10 years after they met when they played Romeo and Juliet in a theatre production in 1960. The two had a daughter Giovanna, born in the early 1960s. Actress Angelica Ippolito was his companion from 1977 until his death in 1994.
Death
Volonté died from a heart attack at the age of 61 in 1994 at Florina, Greece, during the filming of Ulysses' Gaze, directed by Theo Angelopoulos. Actor Erland Josephson replaced him in the role. Volonté's grave is in a small cemetery on the Sardinian island of La Maddalena, according to his wishes.
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
(1968, directed by )
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
Letters from Marusia (1976, directed by 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
(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
External links
Giovanni Savastano: "Gian Maria Volonté. Recito dunque sono" Edizioni Clichy, 2018
1933 births
1994 deaths
20th-century Italian male actors
Italian male film actors
Male actors from Milan
Male Spaghetti Western actors
Male Western (genre) film actors
Accademia Nazionale di Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico alumni
Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor winners
European Film Awards winners (people)
David di Donatello winners
Nastro d'Argento winners
Silver Bear for Best Actor winners
Italian communists
Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement recipients