Lou Castel (born Ulv Quarzell; 28 May 1943) is a Colombian-Swedish actor and political activist, known for his work in Italian cinema. He had his breakthrough role in Marco Bellocchio's Fists in the Pocket (1965), which was followed by several Spaghetti Westerns, in particular Carlo Lizzani's Requiescant (1967) and Damiano Damiani's A Bullet for the General (1967), and the drama Come Play with Me (1968).
Castel's career in Italy was disrupted in the early 1970s by his far-left activism, eventually relocating to France, where he continued to appear in films and on television.
Early years The son of a Swedish father and an Irish mother, Castel was born Ulv Quarzell in Bogotá, Colombia, where his father was working as a diplomat. He and his twin brother grew up in Cartagena.
When Castel was 6, his parents separated. He followed his mother to Europe and went to school in London, very briefly at Dartington Hall School with his sister Solveig, then in Stockholm. He subsequently went to live in Rome where his mother was working in the local film industry. A communist, Castel's mother also introduced her son to politics.
Interested in acting from an early age, he attended the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, but was quickly kicked out.
Career His first movie role was as an uncredited extra in The Leopard (1963). Two years later, he gained international fame for his performance in Fists in the Pocket, in which he played the epileptic Alessandro, who murders his mother and his brother. His career in Italy included arthouse pictures, but also Spaghetti Westerns and also softcore erotica. He enjoyed particular success with his starring roles in Damiano Damiani's A Bullet for the General (1967), Salvatore Samperi's Come Play with Me (1968) and Umberto Lenzi's Orgasmo (1969). He later played Jeff, the temperamental bisexual film director in the German production Beware of a Holy Whore (1971), directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
While living in Italy, Castel became involved in a Maoist organization, the Union of Italian Communists (Marxist–Leninist). As Italy was going through the Years of Lead period, he was eventually considered an undesirable alien. In 1972, he was deported to Sweden where he no longer had any acquaintances. For a time, he had to rely on subsidies sent to him from Italy by his organization. However, he quickly bounced back and appeared, mostly as a character actor, in various German and French films, directed by filmmakers such as Wim Wenders and Claude Chabrol.
Castel settled in France in the early 1990s. Though the quality of the films he acted in were quite disparate, ranging from arthouse films to cheap exploitation, Castel had a preference for roles that reflected his extreme leftist beliefs. He portrayed left-wing terrorists in Nada (1974), The Cassandra Crossing (1976), Could It Happen Here? (1977) and Year of the Gun (1991).
Personal life Castel has a son, actor Rocco Quarzell (b. 1974), from the actress Marcella Michelangeli.
A polyglot, Castel speaks a number of languages but jokes that he has no real natural mother tongue and speaks every language with an accent, except for Swedish which he no longer has opportunities to use.
Selected filmography Year Title Role Director Notes1963The LeopardParty GuestLuchino ViscontiUncredited1965Fists in the PocketAlessandroMarco Bellocchio1966Francesco di AssisiFrancis of AssisiLiliana CavaniTV film1967A Bullet for the GeneralBill 'Niño' TateDamiano DamianiRequiescantRequiescantCarlo Lizzani1968The ProtagonistsTaddeuMarcello FondatoCome Play with MeAlviseSalvatore SamperiGalileoFriar, Young monk of the VaticanLiliana CavaniCesare BorgiaOsvaldo CiviraniLa prova generaleRomano Scavolini1969OrgasmoPeter DonovanUmberto Lenzi1970ErnestoPasquale Festa CampanileBocche cuciteCarmelo La MannaPino TosiniMatalo!RayCesare Canevari1971Beware of a Holy WhoreJeff, the directorRainer Werner Fassbinder1972SalvatoreMarco BellocchioWho Killed the Prosecutor and Why?CarloGiuseppe Vari1973The Scarlet LetterRev. DimmesdaleWim Wenders1974NadaD'AreyClaude ChabrolGangsterfilmenSimonLars G. ThelestamGorskiMichael Fengler1975Faccia di spiaThe torturerGiuseppe Ferrara1976Pure as a LilyLucianoFranco RossiThe Cassandra CrossingSwedish terroristGeorge P. CosmatosCaro MicheleOsvaldoMario Monicelli1977Change of SexDuránVicente ArandaPigs Have WingsMarcelloPaolo PietrangeliThe American FriendRodolpheWim WendersCloset ChildrenNicolaBenoît JacquotCould It Happen Here?MarcoMassimo PirriMr. MeanHuberto Fred Williamson1978ViolantaSilverDaniel SchmidFlesh ColorPsychiatristFrançois WeyergansKiller NunPeterGiulio Berruti1980OmbreRenatoGiorgio Cavedon1982The Eyes, the MouthGiovanni Pallidissimi / Pippo PallidissimiMarco Bellocchio1984LemaitreLove Is the Beginning of All TerrorTraugottHelke Sander1985Treasure IslandDoctor / FatherRaúl Ruiz1986FrauleinAndréMichael HanekeTV filmHôtel du ParadisTrampJana Boková NanouItalian activistConny Templeman1987Man on FireViolenteÉlie ChouraquiJoseph RorretFulvio Wetzl1989What Time Is It?FishermanEttore Scola 1990Flight from ParadiseOlegEttore Pasculli 1991McDonaldsonFabrizio De AngelisYear of the GunLouJohn FrankenheimerSweet War, FarewellSilvanoSilvano Agosti 1992Acquitted for Having Committed the DeedHartmanAlberto Sordi1993La Naissance de l'amourPaulPhilippe Garrel1996Irma VepJosé MiranoOlivier Assayas1998Louise (Take 2)Louise's Father2001ClémentFrançoisEmmanuelle Bercot2006El CantorClovisJoseph Morder2007Heartbeat DetectorArie NeumannNicolas Klotz2008The End of the Light AgeJames June Schneider2012La Lapidation de Saint EtienneÉtienne2013Gare du NordAliClaire SimonThe NunBaron de LassonGuillaume Nicloux
References
Footnotes
Sources
External links
Lou Castel, "My 'State of Things'," tr. by Rainer J. Hanshe, Hyperion: On the Future of Aesthetics (spring 2014) 278–280. Lou Castel, "Before / After the filming of The Stoning of St. Stephen," tr. by Rainer J. Hanshe, Hyperion: On the Future of Aesthetics (spring 2014) 281–288.