Donald O'Brien (actor)
Encyclopedia
Donal "Donald" O'Brien was a French
-born Italian
film and television actor
of Irish descent. In his near 40-year career, O'Brien appeared in dozens of stage performances and in more than 60 film and television productions.
O'Brien was born in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, raised in both Northern France and Dublin, Ireland with his family, and made his feature film debut in 1953 with Anatole Litvak
's war drama Act of Love
. He studied acting in Dublin and initially joined the Gate Theatre
at age 19 before making the transition to film several years later. O'Brien's performance in The Train (1964), in which he played an SS
Feldwebel
, led to his first breakout role in Grand Prix (1966) starring alongside James Garner
and Eva Marie Saint
.
He was particularly known for his performances in the Spaghetti Western
genre
of the late-1960s and 70s, with memorable roles in Run, Man, Run!
(1968), Four of the Apocalypse
(1975), Keoma
(1976), A Man Called Blade
(1977) and They Died with Their Boots On
(1978), as well as later appearances in Italian horror, post-apocalyptic, and zombie films. In 1980, O'Brien suffered a head injury which left him in a coma for three days and partially paralyzed. Though eventually recovering from his injuries, his mobility was significantly limited for the rest of his life. In spite of this, O'Brien continued to work for another decade in the Italian film industry
, almost exclusively for directors Lucio Fulci
and Joe D'Amato
. His last years included supporting roles in The Name of the Rose
(1986) and The Devil's Daughter
(1991).
on September 15, 1930. His Irish-born father had been a U.S. Army cavalry officer and left the service after being wounded in the Spanish-American War
. His father then returned to Ireland with the pension he received for his military service, sold the family farm and retired to the South of France
where he eventually met and married an English governess
. O'Brien's family moved around during the next few years before settling in the country's northern coast. During the Second World War
, and the Nazi occupation of France, his family fled the country to Dublin, Ireland. It was during this period that one of O'Brien's brothers, among the dozen Irish volunteers serving in the Royal Air Force
, was killed in action
.
Growing up, he was a great admirer of fellow Irishmen William Butler Yeats
and Michael Collins
, the French adventurer André Malraux
, composer Maurice Ravel
, the Italian artist Giorgio de Chirico
, German boxer Max Schmeling
, English actor Sir Laurence Olivier
and especially handicapped WWII ace Douglas Bader
.
in Dublin where he was studying for final exam
. He sat for his matriculation
, for "a first-class ticket" to university
, but failed in mathematics
. Instead of taking classes for another year, he decided instead to join a drama school
. He received leading roles for several local stage performances and, after joining the Dublin Gate Theatre
, was involved with productions headed by Irish dramatist
Micheál Mac Liammóir. O'Brien's profile was significantly raised while with the Gate Theatre, however, he grew dissatisfied with continuously being cast in walk-on roles. He decided to relocate to France where found employment with the US Army in Paris
as an office worker. O'Brien was part of a boxing club while in Dublin and later involved in a fight with a German all-in-wrestler at a cafe
at Place Pigalle
.
In 1953, the 23-year-old O'Brien made his first appearance in a feature film, Anatole Litvak
's war drama Act of Love
, in which he had a brief speaking role. He spent the next few years in France and had minor roles in several other films including The Wretches (1960), Saint Tropez Blues (1961), Dynamite Jack (1961), Tales of Paris (1962) and, in an uncredited role, as an English priest in The Trial of Joan of Arc (1962); he also made his French television debut guest starring on L'inspecteur Leclerc enquête. The following year, he had another brief role as an SS
Feldwebel
in The Train (1964), which so impressed director John Frankenheimer
that he cast O'Brien as a supporting character in Grand Prix (1966), his first breakout role, co-starring James Garner
and Eva Marie Saint
. O'Brien credited Burt Lancaster
with helping himself and other younger actors on the set of The Train.
His later Grand Prix co-star James Garner, however, struck him as,
In between the two projects, he played character roles in several action and war films, mostly French-Italian co-productions, including Weekend at Dunkirk, Passeport diplomatique agent K 8
, La Métamorphose des cloportes
, Three Rooms in Manhattan
, Nick Carter and Red Club, La Vie de chateau and La Ligne de démarcation. O'Brien played an RAF pilot, much like his late brother, in the latter film. He also travelled to Yugoslavia
to work on Jean Dréville
's La Fayette
.
's cult
Spaghetti Western
Run, Man, Run!
with Tomas Milian
. His portrayal of ex-American lawman turned soldier of fortune
Nathaniel Cassidy led to future leading roles in the genre for a number of years. Shortly after filming, he was interviewed in the 1968 television documentary Western, Italian Style. Sollima, according to O'Brien, was "considered to be the intellectual among the Western filmmakers. I enjoyed working with him. He was a very intelligent and gifted man." It was during his years working in Italy that he changed his given name from "Donal" to "Donald", given his film contracts and credits frequently misspelled his name, banks would refuse to cash his checks under his birth name. He ended up having to the embassy to have a new passport issued with "Donald" in parentheses.
By the early-1970s, however, the genre was already starting its slow decline and saw O'Brien, usually a villain
(or occasional anti-hero
), in increasingly low-budget productions such as Giuseppe Vari's The Last Traitor (1971), with Maurice Poli and Dino Strano, Paid In Blood (1971) with Jeff Cameron
, and Sheriff of Rock Springs (1971) with Cosetta Greco
and Richard Harrison
. He made another picture with Jeff Cameron, God Is My Colt .45 (1972), two with William Berger, Kung Fu Brothers in the Wild West (1973) and The Executioner of God (1973), and Six Bounty Killers for a Massacre (1973) with Attilio Dottesio
and Robert Woods
. He later recalled having a somewhat strained relationship with Berger, mostly due to his drug issues, and was given parts originally intended for the older actor when was either unable to perform or had been arrested. O'Brien also starred in one of his first non-western roles, in the Italian horror film Il sesso della strega, as the investigating police inspector.
That same year, O'Brien was asked by Harrison to co-star in his own Spaghetti Western, Two Brothers in Trinity (1973), which was co-directed by Renzo Genta. In the film, O'Brien played devout Mormon missionary
Lester O'Hara, half-brother of Harrison's womanizing amoral character Jesse Smith. The next year, he had supporting role White Fang to the Rescue (1974) and Challenge to White Fang (1974), the latter being his first film with Lucio Fulci
. He was again cast by Fulci in Four of the Apocalypse
(1975). O'Brien had starring roles in the last few "twilight" Spaghetti Westerns, Keoma
(1977), A Man Called Blade
(1977) and Fulci's fourth and final western They Died with Their Boots On
(1978). O'Brien called Fulci one of his most favorite directors to work with and was deeply saddened when learning of his death in a 1996 interview calling him "a truly original human being with a great love for cinema".
's entries of the Emanuelle series, Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals
(1977), as white Safari hunter Donald McKenzie. In the film, he and his wife Maggie, played by another one-time Spaghetti Western star Susan Scott
, encounter Emanuelle (Laura Gemser
) in the Amazon
and join her expedition to find a lost tribe of cannibals. He also played the villainous Nazi commandant in Marino Girolami
's WWII farce Kakkientruppen (1977), police officer Sgt. Stricker in Gianfranco Parolini
's Yeti (1977), mercinary Major Hagerty in Joe D'Amato's Tough To Kill (1978) and as the SS Commander in Enzo G. Castellari
's The Inglorious Bastards (1978). One of O'Brien's co-stars, Bo Svenson
, taught him how to say several lines in German for the film. In 1979, O'Brien starred as an exorcist
the nunsploitation
film Images in a Convent
, another D'Amato picture, which would be the first of many future religious-themed roles.
Over the next year, he appeared in two films by Marino Girolami
. The first was a cameo appearance
in the sex comedy Sesso profondo and the second, a much larger role, in Zombie Holocaust
as the main villain Dr. Obrero. His depiction of the "mad scientist
" became very popular among horror fans and remains one of the most infamous characters in the genre.
He made his return to acting in the 1980s post-apocalyptic films Warriors of the Year 2072
and 2020 Texas Gladiators directed by Lucio Fulci and Joe D'Amato respectively. In D'Amato's film, he played the main villain, the Dark One. The death scene for his character featured an elaborate special effect
scene for the time, in which his skull was "cracked open" by an axe, but the producers felt it was too over the top and cut it from the film. His handicap continued to trouble him over the years, being necessary to use a walking stick
, and as a result his appearances became sporadic during the rest of the decade. In 1986, he played another "mad scientist" in Sergio Martino
's science fiction
film Vendetta dal futuro
. He also played a supporting part, as Pietro d'Assisi, in The Name of the Rose
directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud
that same year. Two years later, he played the mad housekeeper Valkos in Ghosthouse
.
In 1990, O'Brien was cast as a Sicilian baron in Marco Modugno's Il Briganti, among the locations filmed included Hadrian's Villa
, however the film was never released. He had roles in three other films; the historical drama Una vita scellerata, the post-apocalyptic film Flight from Paradise and Ator III: The Hobgoblin
. In Ator III, he played yet another villain, Prince Gunther, opposite Eric Allan Kramer
and Margaret Lenzey. He was also joined by Laura Gemser who played his sister Kriemhild. He was supposed to appear in a somewhat risque cameo for Tinto Brass
' erotic film Paprika
but his scene was lost on the cutting room floor
.
(1991) and Sparrow (1993). As he became more active, however, it was around this time that O'Brien suffered another accident. While walking on a beach with two of his brothers, he attempted a short sprint but fell and was unable to get back up. His brothers were able to get him a hospital where it was discovered that the hip bones on one side of his body were severely damaged due to being overly stressed. In March 1996, he gave a rare interview with Euro Trash Cinema, a popular European exploitation film magazine, in which he discussed his early life and career, former co-stars and his thoughts on the state of the Italian film industry. He made one last film, Honey Sweet Love, in 1999. O'Brien died from a heart attack in Rome on November 29, 2003.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-born Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
film and television actor
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
of Irish descent. In his near 40-year career, O'Brien appeared in dozens of stage performances and in more than 60 film and television productions.
O'Brien was born in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, raised in both Northern France and Dublin, Ireland with his family, and made his feature film debut in 1953 with Anatole Litvak
Anatole Litvak
Anatole Litvak was a Ukrainian-born filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in a various countries and languages...
's war drama Act of Love
Act of Love (1953 film)
Act of Love is a 1953 romantic drama film directed by Anatole Litvak, starring Kirk Douglas and Dany Robin. It is based on the novel The Girl on the Via Flaminia by Alfred Hayes. A Parisian falls in love with an American soldier near the end of World War II.-Plot:Robert Teller visits a seaport in...
. He studied acting in Dublin and initially joined the Gate Theatre
Gate Theatre
The Gate Theatre, in Dublin, was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir, initially using the Abbey Theatre's Peacock studio theatre space to stage important works by European and American dramatists...
at age 19 before making the transition to film several years later. O'Brien's performance in The Train (1964), in which he played an SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
Feldwebel
Feldwebel
Feldwebel is a German military rank which has existed since at least the 18th century with usage as a title dating to the Middle Ages. The word Feldwebel is usually translated as sergeant being rated OR-6 in the NATO rank comparison scale, equivalent to the British Army Sergeant and the US Army...
, led to his first breakout role in Grand Prix (1966) starring alongside James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
and Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint is an American actress who has starred in films, on Broadway, and on television in a career spanning seven decades. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama film On the Waterfront , and later starred in the thriller film North by...
.
He was particularly known for his performances in the Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
of the late-1960s and 70s, with memorable roles in Run, Man, Run!
Run, Man, Run!
Run, Man, Run! is is an Italian Zapata-themed spaghetti western movie. It is the second movie of Sergio Sollima centered on the character of Cuchillo, again played by Tomas Milian, after the two-years earlier successful western The Big Gundown. It is also the final chapter of the...
(1968), Four of the Apocalypse
Four of the Apocalypse
Four of the Apocalypse is a 1975 Spaghetti Western film directed by Lucio Fulci and starring Fabio Testi. It is based on two stories by western writer Bret Harte, "The Luck of Roaring Camp" and "The Outcasts of Poker Flat"....
(1975), Keoma
Keoma (film)
Keoma, also released in various counties under the titles Django Rides Again and The Violent Breed, is a 1976 Spaghetti Western film directed by Enzo G. Castellari and starring Franco Nero and Donald O'Brian...
(1976), A Man Called Blade
Mannaja
Mannaja is an Italian western film from 1977 directed by Sergio Martino. The main role, Blade, is played by Maurizio Merli...
(1977) and They Died with Their Boots On
Silver Saddle
Silver Saddle , also released under the titles The Man in the Silver Saddle and They Died with Their Boots On, is a 1978 Spaghetti Western. It is the third and final western directed by Lucio Fulci and one of the last spaghetti westerns to be produced by a European studio...
(1978), as well as later appearances in Italian horror, post-apocalyptic, and zombie films. In 1980, O'Brien suffered a head injury which left him in a coma for three days and partially paralyzed. Though eventually recovering from his injuries, his mobility was significantly limited for the rest of his life. In spite of this, O'Brien continued to work for another decade in the Italian film industry
Cinema of Italy
The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.-Early years:...
, almost exclusively for directors Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for his directorial work on gore films, including Zombie and The Beyond , although he made films in genres as diverse as giallo, western, and comedy...
and Joe D'Amato
Joe D'Amato
Joe D'Amato, was a prolific Italian filmmaker who directed roughly 200 films, usually at the same time acting as producer and cinematographer, and sometimes providing the script as well...
. His last years included supporting roles in The Name of the Rose
The Name of the Rose (film)
The Name of the Rose is a 1986 film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on the book of the same name by Umberto Eco. Sean Connery is the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Christian Slater is his apprentice Adso of Melk, who are called upon to solve a deadly mystery in a medieval...
(1986) and The Devil's Daughter
The Devil's Daughter (1991 film)
The Devil's Daughter also known as The Sect and Demons 4 is a 1991 Italian horror film co-written and produced by Dario Argento and directed by Michele Soavi. The film stars Kelly Curtis and Herbert Lom.-Plot:Following a 70s set prologue, the film takes place in present day Frankfurt, Germany...
(1991).
Early life
O'Brien was born in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on September 15, 1930. His Irish-born father had been a U.S. Army cavalry officer and left the service after being wounded in the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
. His father then returned to Ireland with the pension he received for his military service, sold the family farm and retired to the South of France
Southern France
Southern France , colloquially known as le Midi is defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Gironde, Spain, the Mediterranean, and Italy...
where he eventually met and married an English governess
Governess
A governess is a girl or woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not on meeting their physical needs...
. O'Brien's family moved around during the next few years before settling in the country's northern coast. During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and the Nazi occupation of France, his family fled the country to Dublin, Ireland. It was during this period that one of O'Brien's brothers, among the dozen Irish volunteers serving in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, was killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
.
Growing up, he was a great admirer of fellow Irishmen William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
and Michael Collins
Michael Collins (Irish leader)
Michael "Mick" Collins was an Irish revolutionary leader, Minister for Finance and Teachta Dála for Cork South in the First Dáil of 1919, Director of Intelligence for the IRA, and member of the Irish delegation during the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations. Subsequently, he was both Chairman of the...
, the French adventurer André Malraux
André Malraux
André Malraux DSO was a French adventurer, award-winning author, and statesman. Having traveled extensively in Indochina and China, Malraux was noted especially for his novel entitled La Condition Humaine , which won the Prix Goncourt...
, composer Maurice Ravel
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
, the Italian artist Giorgio de Chirico
Giorgio de Chirico
Giorgio de Chirico was a pre-Surrealist and then Surrealist Italian painter born in Volos, Greece, to a Genovese mother and a Sicilian father. He founded the scuola metafisica art movement...
, German boxer Max Schmeling
Max Schmeling
Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling was a German boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in the late 1930s transcended boxing, and became worldwide social events because of their national associations...
, English actor Sir Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
and especially handicapped WWII ace Douglas Bader
Douglas Bader
Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader CBE, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, FRAeS, DL was a Royal Air Force fighter ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 20 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared probable and 11 enemy aircraft damaged.Bader joined the...
.
Early stage and film career
In the fall of 1948, O'Brien attended grammar schoolGrammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
in Dublin where he was studying for final exam
Final examination
A final examination is a test given to students at the end of a course of study or training. Although the term can be used in the context of physical training, it most often occurs in the academic world...
. He sat for his matriculation
Matriculation
Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...
, for "a first-class ticket" to university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
, but failed in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. Instead of taking classes for another year, he decided instead to join a drama school
Drama school
A drama school or theatre school is an undergraduate and/or graduate school or department at a college or university; or a free-standing institution ; which specialises in the pre-professional training in drama and theatre arts, such as acting, design and technical theatre, arts administration, and...
. He received leading roles for several local stage performances and, after joining the Dublin Gate Theatre
Gate Theatre
The Gate Theatre, in Dublin, was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir, initially using the Abbey Theatre's Peacock studio theatre space to stage important works by European and American dramatists...
, was involved with productions headed by Irish dramatist
Irish theatre
The history of Irish theatre begins with the Gaelic Irish tradition. Much of the literature in that Celtic language was destroyed by conquest, except for a few manuscripts and fragments, such as the Book of Fermoy...
Micheál Mac Liammóir. O'Brien's profile was significantly raised while with the Gate Theatre, however, he grew dissatisfied with continuously being cast in walk-on roles. He decided to relocate to France where found employment with the US Army in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
as an office worker. O'Brien was part of a boxing club while in Dublin and later involved in a fight with a German all-in-wrestler at a cafe
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
at Place Pigalle
Place Pigalle
The Place Pigalle is a public square located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, between the Boulevard de Clichy and the Boulevard de Rochechouart, near Sacré-Cœur, at the foot of the Montmartre hill...
.
In 1953, the 23-year-old O'Brien made his first appearance in a feature film, Anatole Litvak
Anatole Litvak
Anatole Litvak was a Ukrainian-born filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in a various countries and languages...
's war drama Act of Love
Act of Love (1953 film)
Act of Love is a 1953 romantic drama film directed by Anatole Litvak, starring Kirk Douglas and Dany Robin. It is based on the novel The Girl on the Via Flaminia by Alfred Hayes. A Parisian falls in love with an American soldier near the end of World War II.-Plot:Robert Teller visits a seaport in...
, in which he had a brief speaking role. He spent the next few years in France and had minor roles in several other films including The Wretches (1960), Saint Tropez Blues (1961), Dynamite Jack (1961), Tales of Paris (1962) and, in an uncredited role, as an English priest in The Trial of Joan of Arc (1962); he also made his French television debut guest starring on L'inspecteur Leclerc enquête. The following year, he had another brief role as an SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
Feldwebel
Feldwebel
Feldwebel is a German military rank which has existed since at least the 18th century with usage as a title dating to the Middle Ages. The word Feldwebel is usually translated as sergeant being rated OR-6 in the NATO rank comparison scale, equivalent to the British Army Sergeant and the US Army...
in The Train (1964), which so impressed director John Frankenheimer
John Frankenheimer
John Michael Frankenheimer was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films...
that he cast O'Brien as a supporting character in Grand Prix (1966), his first breakout role, co-starring James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
and Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint is an American actress who has starred in films, on Broadway, and on television in a career spanning seven decades. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama film On the Waterfront , and later starred in the thriller film North by...
. O'Brien credited Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
with helping himself and other younger actors on the set of The Train.
His later Grand Prix co-star James Garner, however, struck him as,
In between the two projects, he played character roles in several action and war films, mostly French-Italian co-productions, including Weekend at Dunkirk, Passeport diplomatique agent K 8
Passeport diplomatique agent K 8
Passeport diplomatique agent K 8 is a 1965 French and Italian spy film thriller directed by Robert Vernay.-Cast:*Roger Hanin ... Mirmont*Christiane Minazzoli ... Eva Dolbry*Lucien Nat ... Professeur Wilkowski*René Dary ... Chef de la D.S.T....
, La Métamorphose des cloportes
La Métamorphose des cloportes
La Métamorphose des cloportes is a 1965 French and Italian crime film comedy directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre.-Cast:*Lino Ventura ... Alphonse Maréchal*Charles Aznavour ... Edmond*Irina Demick ... Catherine Verdier*Maurice Biraud ... Arthur...
, Three Rooms in Manhattan
Three Rooms in Manhattan
Three Rooms in Manhattan is a 1965 French drama film filmed in New York City.-Cast:* Annie Girardot as Kay Larsi* Maurice Ronet as Francois Comte* O.E...
, Nick Carter and Red Club, La Vie de chateau and La Ligne de démarcation. O'Brien played an RAF pilot, much like his late brother, in the latter film. He also travelled to Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
to work on Jean Dréville
Jean Dréville
Jean Dréville was a French film director. He directed 45 films between 1928 and 1969.-Selected filmography:* Autour de L'Argent * A Cage of Nightingales * Return to Life...
's La Fayette
La Fayette (film)
La Fayette is a 1961 French-Italian biographical film directed by Jean Dréville and starring Pascale Audret, Jack Hawkins and Orson Welles. The film depicts the life of Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette, in particular his role in the American War of Independence.-Cast:* Pascale Audret -...
.
Leading man in Spaghetti Westerns
In 1967, O'Brien was brought to Italy to star in Sergio SollimaSergio Sollima
Sergio Sollima is an Italian former film director and script writer.Like many Italian cult directors, Sollima started his career by directing mostly sword and sandal movies that were very popular in the early 1960s. After the genre's popularity quickly died out, Sollima was among the first ones to...
's cult
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
Run, Man, Run!
Run, Man, Run!
Run, Man, Run! is is an Italian Zapata-themed spaghetti western movie. It is the second movie of Sergio Sollima centered on the character of Cuchillo, again played by Tomas Milian, after the two-years earlier successful western The Big Gundown. It is also the final chapter of the...
with Tomas Milian
Tomas Milian
Tomás Milián is a Cuban-American actor best known for having worked extensively in Italian films from the late 1950s to the 1980s.-Career in Italy:...
. His portrayal of ex-American lawman turned soldier of fortune
Soldier of Fortune
Soldier of Fortune is another term for an adventurer or mercenary. It may also refer to:- Film :* Soldier of Fortune , a 1955 film starring Clark Gable, Susan Hayward, and Michael Rennie...
Nathaniel Cassidy led to future leading roles in the genre for a number of years. Shortly after filming, he was interviewed in the 1968 television documentary Western, Italian Style. Sollima, according to O'Brien, was "considered to be the intellectual among the Western filmmakers. I enjoyed working with him. He was a very intelligent and gifted man." It was during his years working in Italy that he changed his given name from "Donal" to "Donald", given his film contracts and credits frequently misspelled his name, banks would refuse to cash his checks under his birth name. He ended up having to the embassy to have a new passport issued with "Donald" in parentheses.
By the early-1970s, however, the genre was already starting its slow decline and saw O'Brien, usually a villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
(or occasional anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
), in increasingly low-budget productions such as Giuseppe Vari's The Last Traitor (1971), with Maurice Poli and Dino Strano, Paid In Blood (1971) with Jeff Cameron
Jeff Cameron
Jeff Cameron is an American singer-songwriter.Cameron was raised in the suburban Los Angeles areas of Sherman Oaks and Studio City. Cameron was an only child who gravitated to music as a youngster in the early 1970s...
, and Sheriff of Rock Springs (1971) with Cosetta Greco
Cosetta Greco
Cosetta Greco was an Italian film actress. She appeared in 31 films between 1943 and 1971.-Selected filmography:* Three Girls from Rome * Sunday Heroes * Il viale della speranza...
and Richard Harrison
Richard Harrison (actor)
Richard Harrison is an American B-movie actor and occasionally a writer/director/producer.Harrison was very prolific and worked with most of the better-known names in European B-movies during the 1960s and 1970s, branching out to exploitation films shot all over the world in the early 1970s...
. He made another picture with Jeff Cameron, God Is My Colt .45 (1972), two with William Berger, Kung Fu Brothers in the Wild West (1973) and The Executioner of God (1973), and Six Bounty Killers for a Massacre (1973) with Attilio Dottesio
Attilio Dottesio
Attilio Dottesio was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 170 films between 1940 and 1985.-Selected filmography:* Against the Law * Wolves Hunt at Night * It's Never Too Late...
and Robert Woods
Robert Woods (actor)
Robert Woods, sometimes credited as Robert Wood, is a film and television actor. He is noted for extensive work in Spaghetti Westerns and in the European film industry from the 1960s to present day....
. He later recalled having a somewhat strained relationship with Berger, mostly due to his drug issues, and was given parts originally intended for the older actor when was either unable to perform or had been arrested. O'Brien also starred in one of his first non-western roles, in the Italian horror film Il sesso della strega, as the investigating police inspector.
That same year, O'Brien was asked by Harrison to co-star in his own Spaghetti Western, Two Brothers in Trinity (1973), which was co-directed by Renzo Genta. In the film, O'Brien played devout Mormon missionary
Mormon missionary
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
Lester O'Hara, half-brother of Harrison's womanizing amoral character Jesse Smith. The next year, he had supporting role White Fang to the Rescue (1974) and Challenge to White Fang (1974), the latter being his first film with Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci
Lucio Fulci was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for his directorial work on gore films, including Zombie and The Beyond , although he made films in genres as diverse as giallo, western, and comedy...
. He was again cast by Fulci in Four of the Apocalypse
Four of the Apocalypse
Four of the Apocalypse is a 1975 Spaghetti Western film directed by Lucio Fulci and starring Fabio Testi. It is based on two stories by western writer Bret Harte, "The Luck of Roaring Camp" and "The Outcasts of Poker Flat"....
(1975). O'Brien had starring roles in the last few "twilight" Spaghetti Westerns, Keoma
Keoma (film)
Keoma, also released in various counties under the titles Django Rides Again and The Violent Breed, is a 1976 Spaghetti Western film directed by Enzo G. Castellari and starring Franco Nero and Donald O'Brian...
(1977), A Man Called Blade
Mannaja
Mannaja is an Italian western film from 1977 directed by Sergio Martino. The main role, Blade, is played by Maurizio Merli...
(1977) and Fulci's fourth and final western They Died with Their Boots On
Silver Saddle
Silver Saddle , also released under the titles The Man in the Silver Saddle and They Died with Their Boots On, is a 1978 Spaghetti Western. It is the third and final western directed by Lucio Fulci and one of the last spaghetti westerns to be produced by a European studio...
(1978). O'Brien called Fulci one of his most favorite directors to work with and was deeply saddened when learning of his death in a 1996 interview calling him "a truly original human being with a great love for cinema".
Foray into explotation and horror films
While filming his last Spaghetti Westerns, O'Brien appeared in one of Joe D'AmatoJoe D'Amato
Joe D'Amato, was a prolific Italian filmmaker who directed roughly 200 films, usually at the same time acting as producer and cinematographer, and sometimes providing the script as well...
's entries of the Emanuelle series, Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals
Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals
Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals is a 1977 Italian sexploitation film by Joe D'Amato....
(1977), as white Safari hunter Donald McKenzie. In the film, he and his wife Maggie, played by another one-time Spaghetti Western star Susan Scott
Nieves Navarro
Nieves Navarro is a retired Spanish-born Italian actress and fashion model. Navarro worked extensively in Italian cinema appearing alongside actors such as Totò and Lino Banfi in the 1960s and 70s...
, encounter Emanuelle (Laura Gemser
Laura Gemser
Laurette Marcia "Laura" Gemser is a Dutch-based actress of Indo descent, now Italian citizen. She is known for her work with director Joe D'Amato and Bruno Mattei, in particular, for doing a set of exploitation-style and Black Emanuelle films.Gemser has also been credited as Moira Chen, most...
) in the Amazon
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
and join her expedition to find a lost tribe of cannibals. He also played the villainous Nazi commandant in Marino Girolami
Marino Girolami
Marino Girolami was an Italian film director who gained a cult following for his horror movies like Zombie Holocaust. He was the father of the Italian film maker Enzo G...
's WWII farce Kakkientruppen (1977), police officer Sgt. Stricker in Gianfranco Parolini
Gianfranco Parolini
Gianfranco Parolini is an Italian film director. He is often credited as Frank Kramer. Among his films are The Sabata Trilogy, several sword and sandal films, most of the Kommissar X films and a number of Spaghetti Westerns.He claimed to have written over 100 thriller novels before becoming an...
's Yeti (1977), mercinary Major Hagerty in Joe D'Amato's Tough To Kill (1978) and as the SS Commander in Enzo G. Castellari
Enzo G. Castellari
Enzo G. Castellari is an Italian film director. He became famous during the 1960s by directing several spaghetti westerns with such titles as Go Kill and Come Back Enzo G. Castellari (born July 29, 1938) is an Italian film director. He became famous during the 1960s by directing several spaghetti...
's The Inglorious Bastards (1978). One of O'Brien's co-stars, Bo Svenson
Bo Svenson
Bo Svenson is a Swedish-born American actor, known for his roles in American genre films of the 1970s and 1980s.-Early life:...
, taught him how to say several lines in German for the film. In 1979, O'Brien starred as an exorcist
Exorcist
In some religions an exorcist is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or other demons. A priest, a nun, a monk, a healer, a shaman or other specially prepared or instructed person can be an exorcist...
the nunsploitation
Nunsploitation
Nunsploitation is a subgenre of exploitation film which had its peak in Europe in the 1970s. These films typically involve Christian nuns living in convents during the Middle Ages. The main conflict of the story is usually of a religious or sexual nature, such as religious oppression or sexual...
film Images in a Convent
Images in a Convent
Images in a Convent is a 1979 sexploitation film by Italian cult filmmaker Joe D'Amato.This film marks D'Amato's second entry into the 'nunsploitation' subgenre of trash films, after The Nun and the Devil in 1972 and it was followed by Convent of Sinners in 1986.The film contains strong scenes of...
, another D'Amato picture, which would be the first of many future religious-themed roles.
Over the next year, he appeared in two films by Marino Girolami
Marino Girolami
Marino Girolami was an Italian film director who gained a cult following for his horror movies like Zombie Holocaust. He was the father of the Italian film maker Enzo G...
. The first was a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in the sex comedy Sesso profondo and the second, a much larger role, in Zombie Holocaust
Zombie Holocaust
Zombie Holocaust, also known as Zombie 3 and Doctor Butcher, M.D., is a 1979 Italian zombie movie, directed by Marino Girolami.-Plot:...
as the main villain Dr. Obrero. His depiction of the "mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
" became very popular among horror fans and remains one of the most infamous characters in the genre.
Later career in Italian cinema
O'Brian starred in his first American production, the television film The Day Christ Died, as a Roman soldier in 1980. Later that year, while staying in Parisian hotel, he slipped in the bathroom and hit his head. He was in a coma for three days and discovered half of his body was paralyzed shortly after waking up. It took him nearly four years to recover from his injuries though he would have limited mobility for the rest of his life. This would also reduce the range of roles he could play.He made his return to acting in the 1980s post-apocalyptic films Warriors of the Year 2072
Warriors of the Year 2072
Warriors of the Year 2072 is an Italian 1984 film directed by Lucio Fulci based on a story by Elisa Briganti. Runtime - 89 min...
and 2020 Texas Gladiators directed by Lucio Fulci and Joe D'Amato respectively. In D'Amato's film, he played the main villain, the Dark One. The death scene for his character featured an elaborate special effect
Special effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
scene for the time, in which his skull was "cracked open" by an axe, but the producers felt it was too over the top and cut it from the film. His handicap continued to trouble him over the years, being necessary to use a walking stick
Walking stick
A walking stick is a device used by many people to facilitate balancing while walking.Walking sticks come in many shapes and sizes, and can be sought by collectors. Some kinds of walking stick may be used by people with disabilities as a crutch...
, and as a result his appearances became sporadic during the rest of the decade. In 1986, he played another "mad scientist" in Sergio Martino
Sergio Martino
Sergio Martino is an Italian film director and producer, notable for his contributions to the giallo genre.Martino is the brother of producer Luciano Martino. They collaborated frequently in their respective professions...
's science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film Vendetta dal futuro
Vendetta dal futuro
Vendetta dal futuro is a 1986 Italian science fiction film starring Daniel Greene, Luigi Montefiore, John Saxon and Claudio Cassinelli and directed by Sergio Martino. Actor Claudio Cassinelli was killed in a helicopter crash during the making of this film....
. He also played a supporting part, as Pietro d'Assisi, in The Name of the Rose
The Name of the Rose (film)
The Name of the Rose is a 1986 film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on the book of the same name by Umberto Eco. Sean Connery is the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Christian Slater is his apprentice Adso of Melk, who are called upon to solve a deadly mystery in a medieval...
directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud
Jean-Jacques Annaud
Jean-Jacques Annaud is a French film director, film producer and screenwriter.- Biography :Annaud was born in Juvisy-sur-Orge, Essonne...
that same year. Two years later, he played the mad housekeeper Valkos in Ghosthouse
La Casa 3
La Casa 3 is the unofficial Italian sequel to Evil Dead II released in 1988. In Italy, The Evil Dead was released under the title La Casa and Evil Dead II became La Casa II...
.
In 1990, O'Brien was cast as a Sicilian baron in Marco Modugno's Il Briganti, among the locations filmed included Hadrian's Villa
Hadrian's Villa
The Hadrian's Villa is a large Roman archaeological complex at Tivoli, Italy.- History :The villa was constructed at Tibur as a retreat from Rome for Roman Emperor Hadrian during the second and third decades of the 2nd century AD...
, however the film was never released. He had roles in three other films; the historical drama Una vita scellerata, the post-apocalyptic film Flight from Paradise and Ator III: The Hobgoblin
Quest for the Mighty Sword
Quest for the Mighty Sword is the fourth and final film in the Ator film series, although it is regarded as the third film to the series creator, Joe D'Amato, who disowns Iron Warrior which was the only film in the series not to be directed by D'Amato...
. In Ator III, he played yet another villain, Prince Gunther, opposite Eric Allan Kramer
Eric Allan Kramer
Eric Allan Kramer is an American actor, perhaps best known as Little John in Robin Hood: Men in Tights, as Thor in The Incredible Hulk Returns, as Whitey van de Bunt in Bob and as Dave Rogers in The Hughleys...
and Margaret Lenzey. He was also joined by Laura Gemser who played his sister Kriemhild. He was supposed to appear in a somewhat risque cameo for Tinto Brass
Tinto Brass
Giovanni Brass , better known as Tinto Brass, is an Italian filmmaker. He is noted especially for his work in the erotic genre, with films such as Così fan tutte , Paprika, Monella and Trasgredire...
' erotic film Paprika
Paprika (1991 film)
Paprika is a 1991 Italian film directed by Tinto Brass. The story follows the title character, a young girl who works as a prostitute in various brothels, losing any sense of self confidence and self-respect. But eventually she finds redemption, wealth and her one true love. The film is loosely...
but his scene was lost on the cutting room floor
Cutting room floor
The term cutting room floor is used in the film industry as a figure of speech referring to unused footage not included in the finished film. In fact offcuts of film are retained in a special cutting room bin and numbered during the editing process in case they are required later...
.
Semi-retirement and death
His last regular film roles were in Ritorno dalla morte (1991), The Devil's DaughterThe Devil's Daughter (1991 film)
The Devil's Daughter also known as The Sect and Demons 4 is a 1991 Italian horror film co-written and produced by Dario Argento and directed by Michele Soavi. The film stars Kelly Curtis and Herbert Lom.-Plot:Following a 70s set prologue, the film takes place in present day Frankfurt, Germany...
(1991) and Sparrow (1993). As he became more active, however, it was around this time that O'Brien suffered another accident. While walking on a beach with two of his brothers, he attempted a short sprint but fell and was unable to get back up. His brothers were able to get him a hospital where it was discovered that the hip bones on one side of his body were severely damaged due to being overly stressed. In March 1996, he gave a rare interview with Euro Trash Cinema, a popular European exploitation film magazine, in which he discussed his early life and career, former co-stars and his thoughts on the state of the Italian film industry. He made one last film, Honey Sweet Love, in 1999. O'Brien died from a heart attack in Rome on November 29, 2003.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | The Wretches | ||
| 1961 | Saint Tropez Blues | Todd Anderson | |
| Dynamite Jack | |||
| 1962 | Tales of Paris | Segment: "Ella" | |
| The Trial of Joan of Arc | English priest (uncredited) | ||
| 1964 | The Train | SS Schutzstaffel The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II... Feldwebel Feldwebel Feldwebel is a German military rank which has existed since at least the 18th century with usage as a title dating to the Middle Ages. The word Feldwebel is usually translated as sergeant being rated OR-6 in the NATO rank comparison scale, equivalent to the British Army Sergeant and the US Army... Schwartz |
|
| Weekend at Dunkirk | English officier | ||
| 1965 | Passeport diplomatique agent K 8 Passeport diplomatique agent K 8 Passeport diplomatique agent K 8 is a 1965 French and Italian spy film thriller directed by Robert Vernay.-Cast:*Roger Hanin ... Mirmont*Christiane Minazzoli ... Eva Dolbry*Lucien Nat ... Professeur Wilkowski*René Dary ... Chef de la D.S.T.... |
Dolbry | |
| Hail, Mafia | Mafia thug | ||
| Cloportes La Métamorphose des cloportes La Métamorphose des cloportes is a 1965 French and Italian crime film comedy directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre.-Cast:*Lino Ventura ... Alphonse Maréchal*Charles Aznavour ... Edmond*Irina Demick ... Catherine Verdier*Maurice Biraud ... Arthur... |
Gallery visitor | ||
| Three Rooms in Manhattan Three Rooms in Manhattan Three Rooms in Manhattan is a 1965 French drama film filmed in New York City.-Cast:* Annie Girardot as Kay Larsi* Maurice Ronet as Francois Comte* O.E... |
Cook at the diner | ||
| Nick Carter and Red Club | |||
| 1966 | A Matter of Resistance | American Officer | |
| L'homme de l'Interpol | Polard | ||
| Soldier Martin | Capitain Carruthers | ||
| Grand Prix | Wallace Bennett | ||
| 1967 | The Night of the Generals The Night of the Generals The Night of the Generals is a 1967 suspense thriller film directed by Anatole Litvak. Set during World War II, the story was adapted from the novel of the same name by Hans Hellmut Kirst. It stars Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence, Joanna Pettet and Philippe Noiret.The... |
Plotting German Officer (uncredited) | |
| 1968 | Run, Man, Run! Run, Man, Run! Run, Man, Run! is is an Italian Zapata-themed spaghetti western movie. It is the second movie of Sergio Sollima centered on the character of Cuchillo, again played by Tomas Milian, after the two-years earlier successful western The Big Gundown. It is also the final chapter of the... |
Nathaniel Cassidy | |
| 1971 | The Last Traitor | Captain Ned Carter | |
| Paid in Blood | Lee Rast | ||
| Sheriff of Rock Springs | |||
| 1972 | God Is My Colt .45 | ||
| 1973 | Kung Fu Brothers in the Wild West | Outlaw | |
| Six Bounty Killers for a Massacre | |||
| Il Giustiziere di Dio | Frank | ||
| Sex of the Witch | Inspector | ||
| Two Brothers in Trinity | Lester O'Hara | ||
| 1974 | White Fang to the Rescue | Caroll | |
| Challenge to White Fang | Liverpool | ||
| 1975 | Finders Killers | Jack Forest | |
| Four of the Apocalypse Four of the Apocalypse Four of the Apocalypse is a 1975 Spaghetti Western film directed by Lucio Fulci and starring Fabio Testi. It is based on two stories by western writer Bret Harte, "The Luck of Roaring Camp" and "The Outcasts of Poker Flat".... |
Sheriff of Salt Flat | ||
| Giochi erotici di una famiglia per bene | Professor Riccardo Rossi | ||
| 1976 | Keoma Keoma (film) Keoma, also released in various counties under the titles Django Rides Again and The Violent Breed, is a 1976 Spaghetti Western film directed by Enzo G. Castellari and starring Franco Nero and Donald O'Brian... |
Caldwell | |
| Kakkientruppen | Comandante | ||
| A Man Called Blade Mannaja Mannaja is an Italian western film from 1977 directed by Sergio Martino. The main role, Blade, is played by Maurizio Merli... |
Burt Craven | ||
| Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals is a 1977 Italian sexploitation film by Joe D'Amato.... |
Donald McKenzie | ||
| Yeti | Sgt. Stricker | ||
| 1978 | Tough to Kill | Major Hagerty | |
| The Inglorious Bastards | SS Commander | ||
| They Died with Their Boots On Silver Saddle Silver Saddle , also released under the titles The Man in the Silver Saddle and They Died with Their Boots On, is a 1978 Spaghetti Western. It is the third and final western directed by Lucio Fulci and one of the last spaghetti westerns to be produced by a European studio... |
Fletcher | ||
| 1980 | Flying Sex | Mr. Slider | |
| Zombie Holocaust Zombie Holocaust Zombie Holocaust, also known as Zombie 3 and Doctor Butcher, M.D., is a 1979 Italian zombie movie, directed by Marino Girolami.-Plot:... |
Dr. Obrero | ||
| 1981 | Images in a Convent Images in a Convent Images in a Convent is a 1979 sexploitation film by Italian cult filmmaker Joe D'Amato.This film marks D'Amato's second entry into the 'nunsploitation' subgenre of trash films, after The Nun and the Devil in 1972 and it was followed by Convent of Sinners in 1986.The film contains strong scenes of... |
Exorcist | |
| Panther Squad | General | ||
| 1984 | Warriors of the Year 2072 Warriors of the Year 2072 Warriors of the Year 2072 is an Italian 1984 film directed by Lucio Fulci based on a story by Elisa Briganti. Runtime - 89 min... |
Monk | |
| 2020 Texas Gladiators | Black One | ||
| 1986 | Vendetta dal futuro Vendetta dal futuro Vendetta dal futuro is a 1986 Italian science fiction film starring Daniel Greene, Luigi Montefiore, John Saxon and Claudio Cassinelli and directed by Sergio Martino. Actor Claudio Cassinelli was killed in a helicopter crash during the making of this film.... |
Professor Olster | |
| The Name of the Rose The Name of the Rose (film) The Name of the Rose is a 1986 film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on the book of the same name by Umberto Eco. Sean Connery is the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Christian Slater is his apprentice Adso of Melk, who are called upon to solve a deadly mystery in a medieval... |
Pietro d'Assisi | ||
| 1988 | Ghosthouse La Casa 3 La Casa 3 is the unofficial Italian sequel to Evil Dead II released in 1988. In Italy, The Evil Dead was released under the title La Casa and Evil Dead II became La Casa II... |
Valkos | |
| 1989 | Mortacci | Archibald Williams | |
| 1990 | Il Briganti | Sicilian baron | |
| Una vita scellerata | Bernardino, l'ermita | ||
| Flight from Paradise | |||
| Ator III: The Hobgoblin Quest for the Mighty Sword Quest for the Mighty Sword is the fourth and final film in the Ator film series, although it is regarded as the third film to the series creator, Joe D'Amato, who disowns Iron Warrior which was the only film in the series not to be directed by D'Amato... |
Prince Gunther | ||
| 1991 | Ritorno dalla morte | Ric | |
| The Devil's Daughter The Devil's Daughter (1991 film) The Devil's Daughter also known as The Sect and Demons 4 is a 1991 Italian horror film co-written and produced by Dario Argento and directed by Michele Soavi. The film stars Kelly Curtis and Herbert Lom.-Plot:Following a 70s set prologue, the film takes place in present day Frankfurt, Germany... |
Justice Jonathan Ford | ||
| 1993 | Sparrow | ||
| 1999 | Honey Sweet Love | Officer |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | L'inspecteur Leclerc enquête | Dalton | Episode: "Voir Paris et mourir" |
| 1980 | The Day Christ Died | Roman Soldier | Television film |