John Steiner


John Steiner is an English actor. Tall, thin and gaunt, Steiner attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, worked for a few years at the BBC and later appeared mostly in Italian films.

Career

Steiner found work primarily in films including Marat/Sade, and the original Bedazzled with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. In 1969, Steiner was hired to play a part in the spaghetti western Tepepa, and also appeared opposite Franco Nero in White Fang, directed by Lucio Fulci. In 1979 he featured in the leading role of Leo in a television production of Design for Living by Noël Coward.
He found himself in demand in Italy and moved there, appearing in a great number of Italian exploitation and B-films including police actioners, westerns, war films, nazisploitation, sci-fi adventure films, and horror films, such as Mario Bava's Shock, Dario Argento's Tenebrae, and Ruggero Deodato's Body Count. He also became a favourite of famed Italian filmmaker Tinto Brass, featuring in Salon Kitty, the infamous Caligula, Action, and Paprika.
Steiner was in very steady demand until the late 1980s. As the Italian film industry dwindled, Steiner retired from acting in 1991 and moved to California, where he became a real estate agent.
Steiner has recently contributed to DVD extras on some of his films and given interviews about his Italian work.

Selected filmography