page_title: Steve Reeves
section_title: Hercules
hierarchical_section_title: Steve Reeves / Career / Hercules
caption_attribution_description: English: Advertising poster for the film Goliath and the Barbarians (1959).
context_page_description: Stephen Lester Reeves was an American professional bodybuilder, actor, and philanthropist. He was famous in the mid-1950s as a movie star in Italian-made sword and sandal films, playing the protagonist as muscular characters such as Hercules, Goliath, and Sandokan. At the peak of his career, he was the highest-paid actor in Europe. Though best known for his portrayal of Hercules, he played the character only twice: in Hercules, and in its 1959 sequel Hercules Unchained. By 1960, Reeves was ranked as the number-one box-office draw in 25 countries around the world.
context_section_description: In Italy, director Pietro Francisci wanted to make a film about Hercules but could not find anyone suitable to play the role. His daughter recommended Reeves on the basis of his appearance in Athena and Francisci offered him the role and a plane ticket to Italy. Reeves at first did not think he was serious but eventually agreed and flew to Italy to make the film. His fee was $10,000.
  Hercules was a relatively low-budget epic based loosely on the tales of Jason and the Argonauts, though inserting Hercules into the lead role.
  The film proved popular in Europe. What made it an international sensation was when US distribution rights were bought by Joe E. Levine who spent over $1 million promoting it, turning the film into a major box-office success, grossing $5 million in the United States in 1959. However this did not happen until Reeves had already made four more films in Europe.
  The first of these was a sequel to Hercules, Hercules Unchained (1959), again directed by Pietro Francisci. Reeves was paid the same fee, although his wage would double from then on. This film was another huge success, being the third most popular film in Britain in 1960. Nonetheless Reeves would not play Hercules again, despite his identification with the role.
  Reeves' third film as star was The White Warrior (1959), based on Hadji Murat, the novel by Leo Tolstoy. He played Hadji Murad, a 19th-century Chechen chieftain who led his warriors in a fight against the invading Russians.
  Reeves was then in Terror of the Barbarians playing Emilio, about the Lombard invasion of Italy. American International Pictures bought US rights and retitled it Goliath and the Barbarians (1959), with Reeves' character renamed "Goliath". The film earned $1.6 million in North America during its initial release where it was double billed with Sign of the Gladiator
caption: Goliath and the Barbarians, a film poster by Reynold Brown
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