Euro-crime Henchmen / Stunt Actors you'll recognize
A list of the top actors who play goons, henchmen, thugs, and lower-level mobsters in every Euro-crime Italian Cop and Gangster "Poliziotteschi" film, often killed or beaten up by Maurizio Merli, Franco Nero, or Fabio Testi.
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- Actor
- Stunts
Romano Puppo was born on 25 March 1933 in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy. He was an actor, known for Robowar (1988), Escape from the Bronx (1983) and Tough Guys (1974). He died on 11 May 1994 in Trieste, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy.Extremely recognizable with his silver hair and statuesque Roman features (although the actor was born and died in Trieste), this former acrobat was the perfect antagonist for the similarly acrobatic Giuliano Gemma in an early crime movie. Puppo mainly played heavies all throughout his career and was often dubbed over by Nick Alexander.- Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Round-faced, high-hairlined stuntman who started as a bit part actor in Italian Westerns. He was immediately noticed for his athletic ability and given large supporting roles and even a few starring roles in some low-budget Westerns, often opposite Gordon Mitchell. Even with the demise of the Spaghetti Western genre, Pacifico stayed on and made the transition from star to character actor and stunt coordinator. Bouncing around between all the major Italian studios, Pacifico is best known in his small roles as a "thug" or "henchman" in countless Italian crime and action films, usually alongside Giovanni Cianfriglia and Nello Pazzafini, who both made similar prolific stunt / character actor careers. Pacifico still lives in Italy and his son Claudio Pacifico continues the family tradition as a stunt coordinator.Similar in his appearance to Di Luia, though never bespectacled and far more ubiquitous, Pacifico was the go-to guy for losing fistfights with tough-guy protagonists.- Stunts
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Riccardo Petrazzi was born on 12 July 1938 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He was an actor, known for Night on Earth (1991), Warriors of the Wasteland (1983) and La piovra (1984). He died on 3 June 2003 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.Petrazzi was also a stunt coordinator and assistant director, of invaluable help to making all of Umberto Lenzi's crime movies as unforgettable and consistent as they were. Petrazzi almost always sported a mustache and long, unkempt hair, complete with craggy face and sinister blue eyes. He was the perfect villain to get in a car chase with or for Maurizio Merli to shoot once or twice.- Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Franco Ukmar was born on 29 March 1936 in Rome, Italy. He was an actor, known for The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), 2020 Texas Gladiators (1983) and The Inglorious Bastards (1978). He died on 10 August 2016 in Rome, Italy.With dark Mediterranean looks and thick black hair, Ukmar usually plays interchangeable background henchmen, sometimes of a variety of ethnicities. Ukmar may best be remembered from his multiple Castellari films, including the original INGLORIOUS BASTARDS in which he (like fellow oft-cast henchman Angelo Ragusa) dies dozens of time.- Actor
- Stunts
Pietro Torrisi was born on 20 January 1940 in Catania, Italy. He is an actor, known for Popeye (1980), Casanova (2005) and The Arena (1974).A large, muscle-bound Arnold Schwarzeneggeresque stuntman and actor, Torrisi was one of the few people who starred both in the first round (the 1960's) and second (the 1980's) rounds of Peplum movies. Torrisi usually played a none-too-bright henchman to briefly intimidate the hero before being killed.- Actor
- Production Manager
Luciano Pigozzi was born on 10 January 1927 in Novellara, Reggio Emilia, Italy. He was an actor and production manager, known for Yor: The Hunter from the Future (1983), Death Will Have Your Eyes (1974) and Strike Commando (1987). He died on 14 June 2008 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.In his middle-age, Pigozzi (who had been seen as a Peter Lorre knockoff in several horror movies throughout the 60's) made the smooth transition to playing sinister criminals all through the 70's. His characters would often participate in kidnappings and bank holdups, almost always finding quick comeuppance in the end.- Sergio Smacchi is known for Uno sceriffo extraterrestre... poco extra e molto terrestre (1979), Rush (1983) and Year of the Gun (1991).Another mug who was born to play a henchman, Smacchi can usually be spotted by his stubble and thick tuft of chest hair always exposed by his partially open shirt. Smacchi usually can be see teamed up with Nello Pazzafini or Claudio Ruffini, best remembered maybe as the goon Maurizio Merli burns on a lighting ballast during a raid on a smut studio in THE CYNIC THE RAT AND THE FIST.
- Salvatore Billa was born on 31 March 1943 in Catania, Sicily, Italy. He was an actor, known for Ginger & Fred (1986), Year of the Gun (1991) and The Big Racket (1976). He died on 22 May 2006 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.Usually mustachio'd and always the villain, Billa made a career out of playing goons all through the 70's. He has the rare distinction (along with Salvatore Borghese) of playing a euro-henchman even in a mainstream American film GODFATHER III, as well as a brief role near the start of Sergio Leone's ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA. You'll best remember him as the unfortunate goon he gets hit in the face by a pickup truck after fleeing from Maurizio Merli in FROM CORLEONE TO BROOKLYN.
- Stunts
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Ottaviano Dell'Acqua was born in 1954 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He is an actor, known for American Assassin (2017), Casanova (2005) and John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017).The most ubiquitous of all the Dell'Aqua brothers (there were 4 in total and all were stunt men), Ottaviano is best known for his role as the title role in Lucio Fulci's ZOMBIE. Prior to that, he'd made a career getting in many fistfights with eurocrime protagonists. More recently, you'll see him getting his fists bloody, punching out those who stand in the way of Daniel Day-Lewis in GANGS OF NEW YORK. A born henchman if there ever was one.- Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Nello Pazzafini was born on 15 May 1934 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He was an actor, known for Ator, the Fighting Eagle (1982), Long Live Robin Hood (1971) and Carambola (1974). He died on 27 November 1997 in Ostia, Rome, Lazio, Italy.Maybe one of the most ubiquitous of the bunch, Pazzafini is another Spaghetti Western henchman who found himself taking on contemporary versions of the same roles. Not just physical, but, much like Romano Puppo a very good actor, Pazzafini would land the meatier roles as Henchman #2 or lead enforcer. Seldom will you see him live through a film however.- Claudio Ruffini was born on 5 June 1922 in Italy. He was an actor, known for Uno sceriffo extraterrestre... poco extra e molto terrestre (1979), Tough Guys (1974) and Crime Busters (1977). He died on 15 July 1981 in Rome, Italy.Big and bloated with Germanic features and sandy blondish hair, Ruffini specialized in physical roles and taking a lot of physical abuse from Eurocrime protagonists. You'll best remember him as bouncers and the like, particularly as the door guard Merli wastes in THE CYNIC THE RAT AND THE FIST as well as in SYNDICATE SADISTS (similarly as an ill-fated door guard).
- Actor
- Stunts
Sergio Testori is known for Ashanti (1979), 2019: After the Fall of New York (1983) and Rome (2005).An Umbero Lenzi favorite, you'll notice Sergio by his blue eyes, sandy blonde hair, and generally generic and unassuming appearance. He's perfect as low level thugs and criminals who don't want to draw too much attention from anyone else. Testori plays the motorcycle thug in ROMA A MANO ARMATA who tries to rob a woman after giving her erroneous help on her broken down automobile.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Short and hunchbacked, but lively character actor Luciano Rossi first appeared in small background roles in a number of Spaghetti Westerns in the late 60s. He went on to appear in several films, almost exclusively as a small-time criminal (a bandit in the many Spaghetti Westerns he was in, and then a thug in his many crime films in the 70s). A favorite of director Umberto Lenzi, he often found himself cast in small roles where his character is killed off in some horrible fashion or at least beaten up.Stereotyped as a wimpy, cowardly pervert from the get-go with his debut as a wimpy, horny gangmember in DJANGO, Rossi popped up almost exclusively as villains all throughout his storied career in a number of genres. He'll best be remembered as the child murderer in VIOLENT PROFESSIONALS or the unfortunate rapist who impales himself on a fence in VIOLENT NAPLES.- Stunts
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Angelo Ragusa was born on 10 September 1952. He was an actor, known for Quantum of Solace (2008), The Mummy (1999) and Daylight (1996). He died on 14 March 2018.Another favorite Castellari performer, stuntman Ragusa (resembling a fit version of Joe Spinell) almost always played small parts as henchmen all the way through til the 90's, getting a healthy role as such in DOUBLE TEAM.- Adolfo Lastretti was born on 18 November 1937 in Tempio Pausania, Sardinia, Italy. He was an actor, known for Syndicate Sadists (1975), The Lion of the Desert (1980) and Spasmo (1974). He died on 5 May 2018 in Loiano, Bologna, Italy.Something about this ghoulish character just comes off as sinister or desperate. He has an excellent role as a somehow sympathetic criminal scumbag in WEAPONS OF DEATH in which an entire park full of people chase him down a la INVASION OF THE BODYSNATCHERS and dispense him a good beating for trying to kidnap a young girl. You'll also love him in A SPECIAL COP IN ACTION as the angry criminal John Saxon easily entices to try (unsuccessfully) to murder Maurizio Merli. One of the few on this list to be killed by SHAFT in an actual SHAFT movie!
- Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Mario Novelli was born on 26 February 1940 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He was an actor, known for Exorcist: The Beginning (2004), The Invincible Brothers Maciste (1964) and I guerrieri dell'anno 2072 (1984). He died on 21 August 2016.He's a hard one to spot because he blends into the crowd and often changes his appearance, but the recently-deceased Novelli somewhat resembles American actor Richard Masur. Novelli pops by briefly as a kidnapper in SYNDICATE SADISTS and has the distinction of being one of the final baddies Tomas Milian kills.- Actor
- Stunts
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Riccardo Pizzuti was born on 28 May 1934 in Cetraro, Calabria, Italy. He is an actor and assistant director, known for Uno sceriffo extraterrestre... poco extra e molto terrestre (1979), Crime Busters (1977) and Lady Frankenstein (1971).Another Spaghetti Western henchman making an easy transition into the next phase of Italian cinema playing more contemporary versions of the same characters. Pizzuti can be recognized by his grizzled, angry-looking face and long white hair. In addition to many straight-laced action roles he'd often pop up as a popular antagonist to Bud Spencer and Terrence Hill in many of their pseudo-comedic beat-em-ups over the years.- Actor
- Stunts
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Osiride Pevarello was born on 26 July 1920 in Padua, Veneto, Italy. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Caligula (1979), Crime Busters (1977) and Rush (1983). He died on 15 December 2016 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.A son of a large gypsy family who moved into stunt performing and eventually acting, Pevarello often made use of his imposing muscular physique and scary face with large nose and tiny eyes. Pevarello went on to play similar parts in the 80's. You'll notice him as the easily distracted gate guard in Castellari's THE BIG RACKET.- Actor
- Stunts
Renzo Pevarello is known for Crime Busters (1977), A Man Called Rage (1984) and I giorni dell'inferno (1986).Brother of Osiride, you'll spot Renzo as gunmen in many Di Leo and Castellari crime films, usually around just long enough to shoot and miss someone before he instead bites the farm.- Stunts
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Massimo Vanni was born in 1946. He is an actor, known for House of Gucci (2021), Robowar (1988) and Zombie 3 (1988).Cousin of Enzo G. Castellari and of close resemblance to Tim Roth, you'll see Massimo Vanni pop up regularly on both sides of the law in many Eurocrime movies. In at least two such films, he gets shot from a floor below in his groin by Franco Nero.- Robert Hundar was born on 12 January 1935 in Castelvetrano, Sicily, Italy. He was an actor, known for Hour of Death (1964), Goliath and the Dragon (1960) and Caribbean Hawk (1962). He died on 12 May 2008 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.Former Spaghetti Western star (billed as Robert Hundar to pass himself off as an American) reduced to playing smaller and smaller character parts as he lost his hair and gained weight to look more and more like a greasy hit man in lieu of a hero.
- Giovanni Cianfriglia was born on 5 April 1935 in Anzio, Lazio, Italy. He is an actor, known for Hercules the Avenger (1965), Zoolander 2 (2016) and The Jewel of the Nile (1985).A favorite holdover from the peplum and spaghetti western days of Italian cinema, Cianfriglia had a hard face but found himself in sometimes sympathetic roles as criminals with a code of ethics. You'll best remember him as Rudy's chief racketeer in THE BIG RACKET.
- Stunts
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Claudio Pacifico was born on 9 May 1963 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He is an actor, known for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) and Gangs of New York (2002).Son of Benito, Claudio got a late start on the business as a henchman in such films as DAY OF THE COBRA but continues his career today.- Actor
- Music Department
Rosario Borelli was born on 15 December 1927 in Cerignola, Puglia, Italy. He was an actor, known for Death Rage (1976), Rocco and His Brothers (1960) and Brothers Till We Die (1978). He died in 2001 in Italy.Borelli would usually play mustachio'd criminals, using his squinty eyes to appear more intelligent than his fellow lunkheaded goons. You'll usually see him playing underbosses and kidnappers. Decidedly more restrained in his acting technique and not as physical, he was far more likely to get shot rather than beat up or apprehended.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Writer
Antonio Casale was born on 17 May 1932 in Italy. He was an actor and assistant director, known for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), Duck, You Sucker! (1971) and Love Times Three (1972). He died on 4 February 2017.A holdover from Spaghetti Westerns, best known as the entire motivator for the plot in THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY, Casale can be spotted sweating it up and staring at people in every film he's in. As the perennial quiet, imposing, bushy-haired villain, he's the Brion James of Euro-crime movies.