Henry Silva

Henry Silva was born on Sep 23, 1926 in USA. Henry Silva's big-screen debut came with Viva Zapata! directed by Elia Kazan in 1952, strarring Hernandez (uncredited). Henry Silva is known for Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai directed by Jim Jarmusch, Forest Whitaker stars as Ghost Dog and John Tormey as Louie. The upcoming new movie Henry Silva plays is Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai which will be released on Mar 24, 2000.

Henry Silva was born on September 23, 1926 in Brooklyn, New York. He quit public school to attend drama classes at age 13, supporting himself as a dishwasher in a Manhattan hotel. By 1955, Silva had moved up from dishwasher to waiter, and felt ready to audition for the Actors Studio. He was one of five students chosen out of more than 2500 applicants. When the Actors Studio staged Michael V. Gazzo's play "A Hatful of Rain" as a classroom project, it proved so successful it came to Broadway--with students Ben Gazzara, Shelley Winters, Harry Guardino, Anthony Franciosa and, of course, Silva in key roles. Called to Hollywood, he played a succession of heavies in films, including Les Bravados (1958), Vertes Demeures (1959), L'inconnu de Las Vegas (1960), Un crime dans la tête (1962) and La revanche du Sicilien (1963).An Italian producer made Henry an offer he could not refuse--to star as a hero for a change--and he moved his family overseas. Silva's turning-point picture was a spaghetti Western, Du sang dans la montagne (1966), which made him a hot box office commodity in Spain, Italy, Germany and France. His popularity was enhanced by a gift for languages. He speaks Italian and Spanish fluently and has a flair for the kind of gritty, realistic roles that also catapulted Charles Bronson to European stardom. Returning to the United States, he co-starred with Frank Sinatra in the film Contract on Cherry Street (1977), then signed on as Buck Rogers' evil adversary Kane in Buck Rogers au XXVe siècle (1979) and the television series of the same name. Silva now calls the San Fernando Valley home, but makes continual film forays back to Europe's production centers. A dedicated jogger, he puts in five miles a day "to keep in shape and relieve tension".