Terence Hill

Girotti secured a substantial supporting role in Luchino Visconti's film epic The Leopard (1963) alongside Burt Lancaster and Alain Delon, in which he unsuccessfully tries to court the daughter of Lancaster's character. During this time he studied classical literature for three years at an Italian university.^[5]

Germany

In 1964, he returned to Germany and there appeared in a series of

In 1967, he returned to Italy to make Io non protesto, io amo (1967), co starring Caterina Caselli.

Bud Spencer

Girotti then appeared alongside Bud Spencer (then known as Carlo Pedersoli) in Giuseppe Colizzi's spaghetti Western God Forgives... I Don't! (1967). At the time cast and crew in Westerns frequently adopted American names to give the film a better chance of selling in non-Italian speaking countries; Girotti changed his name to "Terence Hill". He picked the name from a list of 20 he was given, the story about using his wife's name was a publicity idea.^[11] The film was a huge hit – the most popular film of the year in Italy – and established him as a star.

Hill followed it with a musicarello, The Crazy Kids of the War (1967) with Rita Pavone, then did a Western, Django, Prepare a Coffin (1968) for director Ferdinando Baldi, a sequel to Django (1966) with Hill playing the role done by Franco Nero in the original; it co-starred Horst Frank and George Eastman (and would be featured, much later, at the 64th Venice Film Festival, in 2007).^[12]

Hill was a leading man in a musical Western

Hill did The Wind's Fierce (1970) then had a huge hit with Spencer with the comedy Western They Call Me Trinity (1971). Hill did a swashbuckler, Blackie the Pirate (1971), in which Spencer had a small role; they reteamed properly for a Trinity sequel, Trinity Is Still My Name (1972). It was even more popular than the original and had a successful release in the USA.^[7]

Hill did a modern-day crime drama The Hassled Hooker (1972) and a comedy Western without Spencer, Man of the East (1972). He and Spencer did ... All the Way, Boys! (1972), their first non-Western though it was still a comic adventure film.

International films

Hill has stated in interviews that My Name Is Nobody (1973), in which he co-starred with Henry Fonda,^[13] is his personal favorite of all his films.^[13] The film was based on an idea by Sergio Leone.

Hill again starred with Spencer in

Dino De Laurentiis cast Hill in his first English-language film, Mr. Billion (1977), directed by Jonathan Kaplan for 20th Century Fox, co-starring Valerie Perrine and Jackie Gleason. It was a box office flop.^[14][15]

After returning to Italy for Crime Busters (1977) with Spencer, Hill then made another English-language movie, March or Die (1977), an $8 million French Foreign Legion tale for Lew Grade, co starring Gene Hackman and Catherine Deneuve. It was a box office disappointment.^[16][5]

Despite his fluency in Italian and English, Hill was usually

Hill and Spencer starred in Odds and Evens (1978), I'm for the Hippopotamus (1979), Who Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure (1981), and Go for It (1983). Without Spencer, Hill made Org (1979), which he also produced, and Super Fuzz (1980).^[19]

Director

Hill did

Hill turned director for Lucky Luke (1991) in which he starred and that was shot in the United States; it led to a TV series of the same name.^[20][21]

He reunited with Spencer one last time for Troublemakers (1994) which Hill also directed. He did Virtual Weapon (1997) with Marvelous Marvin Hagler.

In 2000, he landed the leading role in the Italian television series Don Matteo (2000–present), about an inspirational parish priest who assists the Carabinieri in solving crimes local to his community. This role earned Hill an international "Outstanding Actor of the Year" award at the 42nd Monte Carlo Television Festival, alongside ones for the series, and for producer Alessandro Jacchia at that festival.^[22]

During the series' run he appeared in TV movies L'uomo che sognava con le aquile (2009), Riding the Dark (2009), Doc West (2009), and Triggerman (2009); he co-directed the last two.

In the summer of 2010, Hill filmed another Italian television series for the Italian state television channel Rai Uno, this time entitled Un passo dal cielo (One Step from Heaven), playing a local chief of the state foresters in the region of Alto Adige, with a second season filmed in 2012.

Hill directed the 2018 film My Name Is Thomas, which he also appeared in.^[23] The same year, the co-op beat 'em up videogame Bud Spencer & Terence Hill: Slaps and Beans was released.^[24][25]

Personal life

Hill is married to Lori Hill (née Zwicklbauer) and they have had two sons together; Jess (born 1969) and Ross (born 1973).^[26] Ross was killed in a car accident in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, US in 1990, while Hill was preparing to film Lucky Luke (1991) on the Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico, US.^[27]

He holds American citizenship,^[28] and in November 2022, he also attained a German citizenship by descent from the German consulate-general in Los Angeles without requiring a naturalization test.^[29]

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music Video

References