Andrea Fantasia

[PeplumParadise]

Andrea Fantasia in Le maledette pistole di Dallas (1964)

Andrea Fantasia was a character actor, stuntman, Master of arms and occasional bit-part actor active in Italian films from at least the mid-1950's to the mid-1980's. He was the lesser-known brother of actor/stuntman Franco Fantasia.

Andrea's date and place of birth are unknown. His date of death, found on numerous websites, is given as November 2nd 1985 in Rome. He is widely assumed to be the older brother of Franco, though presumably this is based on his looks alone.

Andrea was an accomplished fencer and rider and he was credited as Master of arms or Fencing master on a number of films, often together with Franco. He could have equally fitted into our stuntmen section, but while he unquestionably performed his own stunts in duels and riding, he very rarely got involved in physical fight scenes and generally his roles were more driven by character than action.

His known film career started in 1955, although since Franco had already been working in films for a few years by that time I think it highly likely that there could also be some earlier appearances to be found for Andrea. Up until the mid-60's Andrea worked almost exclusively in swashbucklers and peplums, making his mark playing the role of King Laertes in Le fatiche di Ercole and reprising the role in 2 further films. In the late 60's he moved into westerns, being cast as sheriffs or judges. While not prolific, he nevertheless continued working steadily through the 70's in smaller parts with his final known roles being in the early 80's.

I have previously found a few undocumented roles for Andrea and I'm sure there will be a few more to come.

FILMOGRAPHY

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1955

1. Il sacro esperimento (TV movie) (credited) .... Naguacu
2. War and Peace (uncredited) .... Constand
   
   1957
3. Il ricatto di un padre (uncredited) .... Nightclub customer
4. Orizzonte infuocato (poster credit) .... Role?
   
   1958
5. Le fatiche di Ercole (credited) .... Laertes
   
   1959
6. Annibale (credited) .... Consul Paulus Emilius
7. Due selvaggi a corte (credited?) .... Guglielmo
8. Ercole e la regina di Lidia (credited) .... Laertes
9. I cavalieri del diavolo (credited and as Fencing master) .... Duménil
10. I Reali di Francia (credited) .... Hamel
11. Il cavaliere senza terra (poster credit) .... Role?
12. Il terrore dei barbari (uncredited) .... Father of Emiliano and Lidia
13. L'arciere nero (credited and as Master of arms) .... The scarred one
14. La congiura dei Borgia (credited?) .... Role?
15. La Pica sul Pacifico (credited) .... The policeman
16. La scimitarra del saraceno (credited) .... Leader of the slave caravan
    
    1960
17. David e Golia (credited as Master of Arms) .... Does not appear
18. I cosacchi (credited) .... One of the Tsar's officers
19. Il terrore della maschera rossa (credited as Master of Arms) .... Does not appear
20. La furia dei barbari (credited) .... Nogaric
21. Maciste nella valle dei Re (credited and as Master of arms) .... The blacksmith
22. Saffo - Venere di Lesbo (uncredited) .... Pittaco
    
    1961
23. Capitani di ventura (credited) .... Prince Romualdi
24. Gordon, il pirata nero (credited and as Fencing master) .... Bonifacio
25. Il conquistatore di Corinto (credited and as Technical advisor) .... Lucius Mummius
26. La vendetta della maschera di ferro (credited) .... Officer
    
    1962
27. Il colpo segreto di d'Artagnan (credited) .... Role?
28. La congiura dei dieci (uncredited) .... Nobleman
29. La spada del Cid (credited and as Master of Arms) .... Enrico
30. Taras Bulba, il cosacco (credited as Master of Arms) .... Does not appear
31. Zorro alla corte di Spagna (uncredited) .... Nobleman
    
    1963
32. D'Artagnan contro i 3 moschettieri (credited) .... Role?
33. Ercole sfida Sansone (credited) .... Laertes
34. I diavoli di Spartivento (credited as Weapons master) .... Does not appear
35. Il boia di Venezia (uncredited) .... Role?
36. Zorro e i tre moschettieri (credited) .... Spanish dignitary
    
    1964
37. Buffalo Bill, l'eroe del far west (uncredited) .... Sergeant
38. Il Leone di Tebe (uncredited) .... Bodyguard of Amenophis
39. La rivolta dei barbari (uncredited) .... Barbarian (re-used footage)
40. La rivolta dei pretoriani (uncredited) .... One of Rufo's men
41. La vendetta dei gladiatori (uncredited) .... Role?
42. Le maledette pistole di Dallas (credited as Andrew Hart) .... Sheriff
43. Tre dollari di piombo (credited as Andrew Hart) .... Raf
    
    1965
44. Il gladiatore che sfidò l'impero (uncredited) .... Gulba's general
    
    1967
45. Faccia a faccia (uncredited) .... Pinkerton official
46. L'avventuriero (credited) .... Sailor
47. La cintura di castità (uncredited) .... Knight
48. Wanted (uncredited) .... Poker player
    
    1968
49. Don Chisciotte e Sancio Panza (credited) .... The mayor
50. El Zorro (uncredited) .... Don Carlos de Altamura
51. Il lungo giorno del massacro (credited) .... The judge
52. I nipoti di Zorro (credited) .... Lieutenant Gonzales
53. Omicidio per vocazione (credited and as Production inspector) .... Notary
54. Sangue chiama sangue (credited) .... Sancho henchman
55. Tre passi nel delirio (uncredited) .... Producer
    
    1969
56. 20.000 dollari sporchi di sangue (credited) .... Miller
57. Italiani! È severamente proibito servirsi della toilette durante le fermate (credited) .... Cavalier Giusti, Benito's father
58. La battaglia di El Alamein (credited) .... Dr. Horst
    
    1972
59. Roma (uncredited) .... Man with hair-net in the shelter
    
    1973
60. Il figlio di Zorro (credited) .... Don José Herrera
    
    1974
61. Prostituzione (credited) .... Antique dealer
    
    1975
62. Il Giustiziere Sfida La Città (uncredited) .... François
63. La spacconata (credited) .... The sheriff
64. The Count of Monte-Cristo (uncredited) .... Angry banker
    
    1976
65. Gli Esecutori (uncredited) .... Mafia boss
66. Il trucido e lo sbirro (uncredited) .... Supermarket manager
67. Roma a mano armata (uncredited) .... Ambulance passenger
    
    1977
68. La bestia in calore (uncredited) .... Doctor
    
    1978
69. Il grande attacco (uncredited) .... French partisan
    
    1979
70. Da Corleone a Brooklyn (uncredited) .... Taxi driver at the station
    
    1983
71. The Scarlet and the Black (TV movie) (uncredited) .... Caretaker

More Andrea!

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There are more titles in which Andrea reportedly appears, so if anyone has shots of him in any of the titles below, you know what to do!

• Il mantello rosso (1955) IMDb

[PeplumParadise]

Andrea's earliest role found so far comes from War and Peace (1955) as Constand

[PeplumParadise]

Le fatiche di Ercole (1958) credited, as Laertes

[PeplumParadise]

Annibale (1959) credited, as Consul Paulus Emilius

[PeplumParadise]

Due selvaggi a corte (1959), it would appear his character is called Guglielmo.

This film is impossible to find, however it does exist in fotoromanzo form and Andrea can be clearly identified in a number of images. Andrea should reportedly be credited in the film (he wasn't on the poster or in the fotoromanzo) and should also have a joint Stunt co-ordinator credit with brother Franco.

[PeplumParadise]

Ercole e la regina di Lidia (1959) credited, as Laertes.

Reprising his role from Le fatiche di Ercole, he would play the role again 4 years later in Ercole sfida Sansone

[PeplumParadise]

I cavalieri del diavolo (1959) credited, as Duménil.

Andrea is also credited along with Franco as Fencing Masters in some versions.

Thanks to Johan for identifying the role and providing the second credit

[PeplumParadise]

I Reali di Francia (1959) credited, as Hamel

[PeplumParadise]

Il cavaliere senza terra (1959) Role uncertain.

This is another impossible-to-find 50's swashbuckler, however Andrea can be spotted (at least I think that's him in the centre doing the knighting) in an image from the French press book and is credited on the poster.

[PeplumParadise]

Il terrore dei barbari (1959) as Father of Emiliano and Lidia