Sergio Ciani
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Sergio Ciani was born in Italy, but went by the apt stage moniker Alan Steel for most of his movies while playing various mythological he-men, including Hercules, throughout the course of his career. He also went occasionally by his birth name and the names Alan Scott (the name of the original comic book Green Lantern superhero) and John Wyler in films. Steel was one of the few native Italians to play these generously pectoral heroes; most of the Hercules actors were transported from America. He started his career off as the body double for Steve Reeves (who dwarfed the 5'11" Alan by two inches) in the sequel Hercules Unchained (1959) and Giant of Marathon (1960). But within a few years Steel was posing front-and-center as Hercules, Ursus, Samson and other incredibly muscled heroes. Steel was the star of Hercules Against Rome (1964) and Hercules Against The Moon Men (1964), the latter being one of a few sword and sandal spectacles to actually incorporate science fiction into the genre. It was not surprising to also find Steel cast as a heavy during this time—menacing the very heroes he was prone to playing.
After the Hercules phase was over, Steel went on, unlike other peplum stars, to other film styles -- dramas, horror, oaters. In 1968 he and former muscleman stars Kirk Morris and Gordon Mitchell served up the "spaghetti western" entitled Saguaro. In 1977 he starred and co-wrote a Robin Hood movie, and later turned to stage work. In 1993, Australian filmmakers took Alan's film Samson and The Mighty Challenge (1964) and did a total re-edit to create a brand new feature, an action comedy, with original scenes, Australian actors and a completely new soundtrack. The film was entitled Hercules Returns.
His film Hercules Against The Moon Men (1964), which received notoriety for being showcased on Mystery Science Theater 3000 during the Joel Hodgson era, was in its original Italian language version, a film about Maciste, but American distributors changed it to Hercules because very few Americans had ever heard of the Maciste character.
