Gemma Ray

A tactician and a man of many hats, Giuliano Gemma certainly added a bit of spice to the spaghetti west. A Roman athlete, gifted in dexterity and never shirking in the physical grace department, there was nary a sport that Gemma was not adept at. His mastery of playing tennis, his pugilist skills and his agile nature proved him quite the gymnast. When he was only six years old he suffered an injury that would leave him facially scarred for life, whilst he was in the fields playing with some friends he would find a World War 2 bomb that would detonate right in front of him. This never deterred the strong-willed Gemma who had a precocious interest in cinema, and in particular Burt Lancaster, an ironic choice as many people have noted the physical verisimilitude of the two; who were both athletes turned thespian.

                   Everything's OK at the corral

Gemma initially started out as a stuntman and in 1958, would secure a unmemorable and nominal role in Dino Risi's Venice, the Moon and You (Venezia la luna e tu).The thread would continue and he would go on to star in a few more Peplum releases, some that he would remain unnamed in. In 1962 he would enchant one of Sword and Sandal and Spaghetti West's supernal forces in Duccio Tesari, who couldn't reconcile why Gemma was not already a massive star. In the film Arrivano i titani (My Son the Hero) at last the actor would be cast

in a substantial role in the peplum comedy, as Crios. And this would be the start of a long beautiful relationship, and would catapult a career that is still active as I am writing this.

                  Gemma was Spaghetti West's 'It' Boy

In the vast scope of his work he would also go on to starring in Italian melodramas and Internationally acclaimed independent films, namely Valerio Zurlini's The Desert of the Tartars based on Dino Buzzati's The Tartar Steppe, and this would prove another turning point for the actor, as he would earn himself Italy's equivalent of the Academy award - the David di Donatello award for his gripping portrayal of Mattis.

            Have you a sword to match my sandals?

Gemma was often revered for his charisma and his boyish aesthetic, which often seemed a contradiction in the ultra-violent context of the spaghetti films he graced. He also had the uncanny ability to endear, irrespective of his role, he had an inimitable way of inspiring pure, unadulterated pathos. A device few actors excel in. In Day Of Anger (1967), perhaps Gemma's finest hour, he all too easily and effortlessly is Scott Mary, an underestimated and misunderstood pariah who is taken on a journey from meek to malevolent and teaches his town a thing or two about underestimating when he is schooled by a master gunfighter in the form of the always on form Lee Van Cleef (Frank Talby). Gemma executes his inimitable skill here, that inspires you to always be with him - whether he is fallen or risen, in triumph or travesty. 

         Sculpting is yet another life passion of Mr G's



His latest appearance is now in the cinemas, and it is as apposite as it gets for the Lazio born Gemma, he stars in Woody Allen's most recent comedy To Rome With Love (2012). And following in his footsteps is  daughter Vera whose heart surely belongs to daddy as she herself has been around ye olde acting block a few times.

              Daughter Vera stepping out with Daddy.