Gian Maria Volonte


Actor

About

Also Known As
John Wells, Johnny Wells
Birth Place
Italy
Born
April 09, 1933
Died
December 06, 1994
Cause of Death
Heart Attack

Biography

Thoughtful, stage-trained leading man who appeared in a couple of classic "spaghetti westerns" in the mid-1960s and gained worldwide fame as the title character of Elio Petri's "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion" (1970). A committed leftist, Volonte appeared in subsequent Petri outings such as "The Working Class Goes to Heaven" (1973) and a number of films by Francesco Rosi. He ...

Biography

Thoughtful, stage-trained leading man who appeared in a couple of classic "spaghetti westerns" in the mid-1960s and gained worldwide fame as the title character of Elio Petri's "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion" (1970). A committed leftist, Volonte appeared in subsequent Petri outings such as "The Working Class Goes to Heaven" (1973) and a number of films by Francesco Rosi. He gave a finely nuanced portrayal of exiled, anti-fascist writer Carlo Levi in Rosi's "Christ Stopped at Eboli" (1979). Volonte's handful of English-language credits included films (in which he was billed as "John Wells") such as "For Your Eyes Only" (1981) and "Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan" (1984),

Life Events

1957

Stage debut in Racine's "Phedre"

1960

Film debut, "Sotto Dieci Bandiere/Under Ten Flags"

Bibliography