Tomás Quintín Rodríguez-Varona Milián Salinas de la Fé y Álvarez de la Campa^[1] (3 March 1933 – 22 March 2017) was a Cuban-born actor with American and Italian citizenship, known for the emotional intensity and humor he brought to starring roles in Europeangenre films.

Tomas Milian
Milian inEmergency Squad (1974)
Born	Tomás Quintín Rodríguez-Varona Milián Salinas De La Fé y Álvarez De La Campa (1933-03-03)3 March 1933 Havana, Cuba
Died	22 March 2017(2017-03-22) (aged 84) Miami, Florida, U.S.
Citizenship	United States Italy (after 1969)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1957–2017
Spouse	Margherita Valetti ​ ​ (m. 1964; died 2012)​
Children	1
Awards	FIPRESCI Prize for Best Actor 1965Time of Indifference Silver Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actor 1980La Luna Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 2001Traffic
Website	tomasmilian.it

A student ofLee Strasberg's, Milian studiedmethod acting at theActors Studio in New York City. In Italy, he was discovered by directorMauro Bolognini and appeared in supporting roles in several drama films during the late 1950s and early 1960s, includingBad Girls Don't Cry (1959) and asRaphael inCarol Reed'sThe Agony and the Ecstasy (1965). Throughout the late-1960s and early-1970s, Milian established himself as a dynamic leading actor in a series ofSpaghetti Western films, most notablyThe Big Gundown (1966),Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot! (1967),^[2][3] as well asSergio Corbucci's parody of the genreThe White, the Yellow, and the Black (1975).Dennis Hopper also cast Milian in his 1971 art-house film,The Last Movie.

Following a decline in the popularity of Spaghetti Westerns, Milian transitioned to roles inpoliziottesco films. After receiving acclaim for his performance as a psychotic killer inAlmost Human (1974), he made appearances inEmergency Squad (1974),The Tough Ones (1976) andThe Cynic, the Rat and the Fist (1977). After returning to the United States in 1985, Milian continued to perform supporting roles in film productions, includingJFK (1991),Amistad (1997),Traffic (2000) andThe Lost City (2005).^[3]

Milian was born inHavana as the son of a Cuban general. His father was arrested, jailed, and later committed suicide on December 31, 1946. Milián then decided to leave Cuba and pursue his wishes of being an actor.^[4] He settled in the United States to study at New York'sActors Studio^[5] and later became an American citizen. In 1969, he became anaturalized Italian citizen.^[4]

After starting a career in the United States, Milian went to Italy in 1958 to take part in a theatre festival inSpoleto.^[6] He eventually decided to relocate to Italy, where he lived for over 25 years, becoming a very successful performer. His first film part in Italy was in the1959 pictureLa notte brava. Although his voice was usuallydubbed due to his accent, Milián performed his lines in Italian (or in English, depending on the film). He initially starred inarthouse movies and worked with directors such asMauro Bolognini andLuchino Visconti.^[4]

After five years of making what he deemed "intellectual" movies, Milián was unhappy with his contract with producerFranco Cristaldi and thought of going back to the United States. Needing money to start over, he took the opportunity to star as a bandit in aSpaghetti Western calledThe Bounty Killer. The film boosted his career,^[7] and ultimately resulted in his staying in Italy. He became a star of the Spaghetti Western genre,^[8] where he often played Mexican bandits or revolutionaries, roles in which he spoke in his real voice. He starred inThe Ugly Ones (1966),The Big Gundown (1966),Django Kill... If You Live, Shoot! (1967),Face to Face (1967),Run, Man, Run (1968),Death Sentence (1968),Tepepa (1969),Compañeros (1970),Sonny and Jed (1972),Life Is Tough, Eh Providence? (1972) andFour of the Apocalypse (1975).

As the Spaghetti Westerns dwindled, Milián remained a star in many genre films, playing both villains and heroes in variouspolizieschi movies. He starred withBarbara Bouchet in thegialloDon't Torture a Duckling.^[3] In addition to his role inAlmost Human (1974) and appearances inEmergency Squad (1974),The Tough Ones (1976) andThe Cynic, the Rat and the Fist (1977), he also appeared in two film series -Bruno Corbucci'sNico Giraldi series (1976-1984, beginning withThe Cop in Blue Jeans) andUmberto Lenzi'sEr Monnezza films (1976-1980, beginning withFree Hand for a Tough Cop). His other films during this period include the gialloDon't Torture a Duckling (1972) and the non-genre filmsThe Last Movie (1971),Luna (1979),Identification of a Woman (1982) andMonsignor (1982).

He later turned to comedy, playing the recurrent characters of petty thief Monnezza andSerpico-like police officer Nico Giraldi in a variety of crime-comedy pictures. Although his voice was dubbed most of the time byFerruccio Amendola, Milián wrote his own lines inRoman slang. Milián's inventive use ofromanesco (Roman dialect) made him a cult performer in Italy.Bruno Corbucci, the director of many of these films commented,"At the cinemas as soon as Tomás Milián appeared on the screen, when he made a wisecrack and in the heaviest situations, then it was a pandemonium, it was like being at the stadium."^{[citation needed]} As Milián used similar makeups and accents in portraying both characters, Monnezza and Nico were occasionally confused by Italian audiences, who sometimes referred erroneously to them both asMonnezza, orEr Monnezza (Da trash inRoman slang ), and still closely associate Milián with these performances.^[9]

Milián also appeared in non-genre pictures, such asBernardo Bertolucci'sLa Luna, for which he won aNastro d'Argento for Best supporting Actor, andMichelangelo Antonioni'sIdentification of a Woman.^[10]

As he grew older, Milián decided to go back to the United States. He appeared inSydney Pollack'sHavana,Steven Spielberg'sAmistad,Steven Soderbergh'sTraffic as well asAndy García'sThe Lost City, about Revolutionary Cuba. He has also played many roles on stage. In 2005, he portrayed GeneralisimoRafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina in the film version ofMario Vargas Llosa's novelThe Feast of the Goat.^[11]

Milian was found dead from a stroke at his home in Miami on 22 March 2017.^[12][13]

On October 11, 2017 he received the Leone in Memoriam award at the 7ºAlmería Western Film Festival.^[14] It was picked up by his friendLuis Santeiro.^[15]

• Giorgio Navarro, Fabio Zanello,Tomas Milian. Er cubbano de Roma, Molino, 1999;ISBN 8890035935.
• Max Serio,Tomas Milian: The Tough Bandit, the Rough Cop and the Filthy Rat in Italian Cinema, Mediane, 2009;ISBN 8896042127.
• Gordiano Lupi,Tomas Milian, il trucido e lo sbirro, Profondo Rosso Editore, 2011;ISBN 8889084502.

• Tomás Milián official site(in Italian)
• Tomás Milián atIMDb
• Tomás Milián interview(in Italian)
• Tomas Milian in The Designated Victim – TCM's Movie Morlocks