Romano Kristoff is a Spanish actor, writer and director, better known for his work in
Filipino cinema
The Cinema of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Pelikulang Pilipino'' or ''Sine Pilipino'') began with the introduction of the first film, moving pictures to the country on August 31, 1897, at the ''Salón de Pertierra'' in Manila. T ...
. He worked mostly in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
between the 1980s and early 1990s. He was also credited as Rom Kristoff, Ron Kristoff, Run Kristoff, Ron Krastoff, and other similar variants.
Very little info on him can be about Kristoff anywhere, except that he was Spanish by birth, a martial artist (apparently holding a
black belt in
karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...
), ex-
Foreign Legionnaire and had some legitimate training as an actor.
Biography
He appeared mostly in low-budget action and
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
films such as ''Jungle Rats'' (1987), and ''Black Fire'' (1985), during the 80's, often directed by
Teddy Page
Teddy Page (akas: Ted Johnson, Irvin Johnson) is a Filipino film director and occasional writer. Page, whose real name is Teddy Chiu, began his career as a young man in the early 1980s, directing low-budget action movies for producer K.Y. Lim's ...
and
John Gale (director)
John Gale, born Jun Gallardo, was a Filipino B-movie director, who started his career with martial arts movies in the 1970s and continued to Z-movie actioners in the 1980s, often produced by K.Y. Lim's ''Silver Star Film Company''. ''Silver S ...
. The vast majority of Kristoff's films were produced by
K.Y. Lim
KY or Ky may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Ky Kiske, a fictional character in the ''Guilty Gear'' video game series
* Kashiyatra, a festival in India
People
* Nguyễn Cao Kỳ (1930-2011), South Vietnamese general and prime minister
* ...
's ''Silver Star Film Company'' (also called ''Kinavesa'' in the Philippines), a prolific, if somewhat notorious producer of Filipino
action films
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...
. The ''Silver Star'' films usually recycled the same cast of
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an
Z-movie
Z movies (or grade-Z movies) are low-budget films with production qualities lower than B movies.
History and terminology
The term "Z movie" arose in the mid-1960s as an informal description of certain unequivocally non-A films. It was soon adopte ...
workhorses from one film to another. Some of the recurring faces were
Mike Monty
Mike Monty (October 23, 1936 – August 4, 2006) was an American character actor, born in 1936 in Chattanooga, Tennessee as Michael O'Donoghue but he changed his name to Mike Monty late in life.
Career
He left the United States for Italy i ...
,
James Gaines,
Mike Cohen, Gwendolyn Hung,
Frank Juhas and
Ronnie Patterson, and Kristoff acted with all of them. He became something of a star for ''Silver Star'', appearing in several leading roles throughout the 80's, most prominently in ''Slash'' (1984), a film influenced by the ''
Rambo
Rambo is a surname with Norwegian (Vestfold) and Swedish origins. It possibly originated with '' ramn'' + '' bo'', meaning "raven's nest". It has variants in French (''Rambeau'', ''Rambaut'', and ''Rimbaud'') and German (''Rambow''). It is now best ...
'' films of
Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...
to the point of plagiarism.
In 1981 Kristoff was cast as a supporting player in the
Richard Harrison vehicle ''Intrusion Cambodia'', directed by John Gale. The two became friends and Kristoff was later invited to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
by Harrison to co-write and act in the 1986 film ''
Three Men on Fire'', which Harrison directed and starred in. ''Three Men On Fire'' was Kristoff's only film shot outside the Philippines. Kristoff also co-wrote the script to ''Ninja's Force'' (1985) with Ken Watanabe (not to be confused with the more famous
Ken Watanabe
is a Japanese actor. To English-speaking audiences, he is known for playing tragic hero characters, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in '' Letters from Iwo Jima'' and Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu in ''The Last Samurai'', for which he was nomi ...
), another member of the ''Silver Star'' entourage. Don Gordon Bell was another of the ex-pat actors, one of Romano's best friends appearing in several of the films made by Kinevesa Films/Silver Star Films.
He also appeared in some Italian productions made in the Philippines, such as the
Vietnam war
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
actioner ''
Tornado: The Last Blood'' (''1983''), directed by
Antonio Margheriti
Antonio Margheriti (19 September 1930 – 4 November 2002), also known under the pseudonyms Anthony M. Dawson and Antony Daisies ("daisies" is "margherite" in Italian), was an Italians, Italian filmmaker. Margheriti worked in many different film ...
and starring
Giancarlo Prete
Giancarlo Prete (5 February 1943 – 9 March 2001) was an Italian actor.
After he worked in the cinema
Cinema may refer to:
Film
* Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography
* Film or movie, a series of still images that create t ...
and Antonio Marsina. Other Italian films he acted in were ''
The Last Hunter
''The Last Hunter'' ( it, L'ultimo cacciatore) is a 1980 Italian " macaroni combat" directed by Antonio Margheriti and starring David Warbeck and Tony King. Initially made to capitalize on the success of '' The Deer Hunter'', ''The Last Hunt ...
'', (1980), also directed by Margheriti, and
Ferdinando Baldi
Ferdinando Baldi (19 May 1917 – 12 September 2007) was an Italian film director and screenwriter.
Biography
Baldi was born in Cava de' Tirreni, Salerno, on 19 May 1917. His early film work began in Italy in the early 1950s with films su ...
films ''
Warbus
''Warbus'' (also known as ''War Bus'') is a 1985 Italian-Philippine internationally co-produced action film directed by Ferdinando Baldi under the pseudonym "Ted Kaplan".
Premise
During the Vietnam War, three soldiers are escorting an old school ...
'' (1985), ''
Ten Zan: The Ultimate Mission'' (1988), and ''Just A Damn Soldier'' (1988).
When the Filipino film industry dwindled at the turn of the 90's, so did the careers of many
expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
actors working in the Philippines. Kristoff, like Monty, Gaines and others, faded to obscurity as the 90's progressed. Although he wasn't a great actor, Romano Kristoff can definitely be called one of the more talented ''Silver Star'' stars and did possess a fair amount of physical charisma. Outside the Philippines, he could possibly have had a more successful career in action and martial arts films.
He seems to be now mostly retired from film, having made only the occasional appearance over the past fifteen years. Kristoff's most recent notable role was a small part in the Italian-Filipino
Brigitte Nielsen
Brigitte Nielsen (; born Gitte Nielsen; 15 July 1963) is a Danish actress, model, and singer. She began her career modelling for Greg Gorman and Helmut Newton. She subsequently acted in the 1985 films ''Red Sonja'' and ''Rocky IV'', later retu ...
actioner ''Doomsdayer'' (2000), directed by Michael J. Sarna and also starring former TV
Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
actor Joe Lara and Udo Kier. According to an interview of
Nick Nicholson on the French B-movie site ''Nanarland'', Kristoff is currently managing a restaurant in the Philippines.
References
External links
* (many of the years listed for the ''Silver Star'' films may be incorrect).
Romano Kristoff profileon nanarland.com .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kristoff, Romano
Spanish male film actors
Spanish expatriates in the Philippines
Spanish people of Bulgarian descent
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Soldiers of the French Foreign Legion