Top 5 spaghetti western actors

Town Hall
43

HA ! Freudian Typo ?

44

My top 5

Guilano Gemma
Gianni Garko
Robert Woods
Klaus Kinski
Tomas Milian

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45

I love bad guys, but thereā€™s space for good guys too in my list:

  1. Eli Wallach
  2. Telly Savalas
  3. Jack Palance
  4. Lee Van Cleef
  5. Tomas Milian & George Hilton
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46

Some of these are far from the best Spaghetti Western actors, but they are my personal favorites;
-Eli Wallach
-James Coburn
-Clint Eastwood
-Telly Savalas
-Klaus Kinski
Honorable mentions to Ricardo Palacios, Claudio Camaso, Tony Musante, Rod Steiger, and the venerable Ringo Starr.

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47

Great lists guys.

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48

good choices.

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49
  1. Franco Nero
  2. Guiliano Gemma
  3. Lee Van Cleef
  4. Anthony Steffen
  5. Gian Maria Volonte
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50

Very good list.

51

In my opinion, these five are without a doubt the greatest SW Stars (with Gemma and Garko firmly in the top-ten list)

  1. Lee Van Cleef
  2. Clint Eastwood
  3. Franco Nero
  4. Gian Maria VolontƩ
  5. Tomas Milian

More than ten years ago I thought otherwise and Milian wasnā€™t part of my Top 10, see here

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52

Regarding " Top 5 spaghetti western actors" as the topic reads, I prefer to select the in my view best/most entertaining actors in the 120+ SWs that I have watched. I also list the number of SWs that form the base of my verdict for each actor, which not necessarily are all that I have watched with the actual actor.

  1. Clint Eastwood (3 SWs)
  2. Henry Fonda (2 SWs)
  3. Lee Van Cleef (7 SWs)
  4. Robert Woods (4 SWs)
  5. Rosalba Neri (3 SWs)

There was a director in an interview who claimed another famous SW star wasnā€™t too good an actor, and I agree.

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53

Thatā€™s a list that pretty much covers the genre.

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54

Only 3 westerns ā€¦ are you positive about that ?

55

I could only remember 3 that I have watched and where she was a leading and very good actor/actress. Now I also remember The Great Chihuahua Treasure Hunt which might be included as a qualifying performance, at least visually :slight_smile: There may be more SWs with her that I have not watched, but I only listed the base for my opinionā€¦

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56

I like this list. Iā€™m guessing this is about what actors will determine whether or not youā€™ll view. :slight_smile: hereā€™s all mine:

  1. Lee Van Cleef
  2. Luigi Pistilli
  3. Gian Maria VolontƩ
  4. Giuliano Gemma
  5. Klaus Kinski

I hate to put Kinski on my list considering the kind of man he was, butā€¦ at least he could act :sweat_smile:

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57

Sheā€™s in about 15, give or take ā€¦ that I count ! :wink:

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58

My personal top five favorites:

  1. Franco Nero
  2. Gianni Garko
  3. Clint Eastwood
  4. Tony Anthony
  5. Lee Van Cleef
  • Honorable mention: Craig Hill
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59

After a lot of thought, I think I am finally ready to add mine:

  1. Anthony Ghidra - the epitome of bad ass cool
  2. Peter Lee Lawrence - a tremendous talent that was taken away too soon
  3. Lee Van Cleef - worthy of the list for Angel Eyes and Col. Mortimer alone
  4. Gianni ā€œI am your pallbearerā€ Garko - another master of cool
  5. Bud Spencer - typically played the same role? Maybe. But he was in some truly memorable spags. that wouldnā€™t have been the same without him.
  • The only reason Rosalba Neri isnā€™t listed is because no list is worthy of the goddess of Italian cinema. :laughing:
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60
  1. Lee Van Cleef - Coolest dude in all of cinema. He was perfect for the genre, being able to play both cold and cruel killers like Angel Eyes, and campy, cocky, comic-book-like heroes such as Sabata.
  2. Franco Nero - Really wish he was in a few more SWs but everyone heā€™s in, heā€™s fantastic.
  3. Gianni Garko - Effortlessly cool. Adore his work as Sartana and manages to create a character that could easily be a cowboy version of James Bond.
  4. Peter Lee Lawrence - As @LankyGringo said, he was taken away much too soon. I know he would have absolutely smashed a role in a bigger SW.
  5. Fernando Sancho - How can you not love him? Although he is usually stuck playing the same character, everytime I see him on screen I canā€™t help but smile. He really is the perfect SW villain.
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61

Great list Bravo!!!

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62

Iā€™ll add my approximate ranking, with motivating notes for each pick;

  1. Henry Fonda - Not sure he counts, as he only did two SW:s, but i wouldā€™ve loved to see him in many more. He combines genuine acting talent with an incredible screen presence - his voice, his eyes, hisā€¦ everything. The Western actor for me.
  2. Lee Van Cleef - I donā€™t think thereā€™s anything new to add. Fantastic charisma and great acting skills. Mortimer, Corbett, Angel Eyes, Ryan, Talby, Sabataā€¦ They all feel like very convincing characters for me, thanks to his rounded, nuanced portrayals. His experience as a stage actor might have contributed to his acting ability. Aside from Fonda, Van Cleef is my favorite western actor of all time.
  3. Franco Nero - The greatest Europe-born western star in my book. A very good actor, who always manages to make even the most over-the-top characters feel like actual people, while still creating that anti-heroic air we all want from a SW protagonist, which is particularly effective when he uses his own calm, intimidating voice. His Swedish pronounciation is lousy though (i say it as a native speaker)
  4. Clint Eastwood An icon of western cinema. Itā€™s hard to express my motivation any further. I first thought i would rank him above Nero, but i donā€™t think heā€™s as good an actor, and furthermore i donā€™t want the top 3 to be blocked by Gringos.
  5. Aldo Sambrell. Thereā€™s something about this man which just make me smile everytime i see him. Heā€™s got a great face, if you get what i mean, and he always very convincing in his allt too small roles. Too bad Duncan and, to some degree, Zachary Shawn were his only major parts.

Honorable mentions goes to Tomas Milian, William Berger and Giuliano Gemma, among others.

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