Sergio Leone didn’t just make a sequel in 1965. He basically invented a new language for the screen. When people search for the cast of For a Few Dollars More, they usually start with Clint Eastwood. It makes sense. The poncho, the cigarillo, the squint—it’s iconic. But honestly? The movie isn't really "The Manco Show." It belongs to Lee Van Cleef and Gian Maria Volonté.
If the first film, A Fistful of Dollars, was a rough draft, this was the polished masterpiece. It’s longer. It’s louder. It’s weirder. And the actors? They weren't just playing cowboys; they were playing archetypes that would influence every action movie for the next sixty years.
The Rebirth of Lee Van Cleef
Before Leone called him, Lee Van Cleef was done. Seriously. He was working as a freelance painter and had basically retired from acting after a car accident messed up his knee. He thought Hollywood was finished with his "hook-nosed" villain face. Then Leone shows up and sees not a villain, but a hero with an edge.
Van Cleef plays Colonel Douglas Mortimer. He’s the "Man in Black" before Johnny Cash made it a brand. Unlike Eastwood’s character, who is mostly motivated by a quick buck, Mortimer is driven by something much darker: revenge.
You can see the difference in their gear. Manco (Eastwood) has a standard revolver. Mortimer has a specialized long-range carbine and a roll-up toolkit of guns that looks more like a surgeon’s kit than a bounty hunter’s holster. That contrast is what makes the cast of For a Few Dollars More so much better than the original. You have the young, fast gunslinger and the older, tactical veteran. It’s a dynamic that defines the "buddy cop" genre decades before it even had a name.
Clint Eastwood: Refining "The Manco"
Eastwood almost didn't do the movie. He was worried about being typecast. Plus, the paycheck for the first film wasn't exactly life-changing. But Leone convinced him by leaning into the ambiguity of the character.
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In this film, he’s called "Manco," which is Spanish for "one-armed." If you watch closely, he does almost everything with his left hand—lighting matches, eating, drinking—just so his right hand is always hovering, ready to draw. It’s a tiny detail, but it’s the kind of thing Eastwood brought to the table that made the character feel real despite having almost no backstory.
People often confuse this character with the "Man with No Name" from the other films in the Trilogy. Technically, they aren't the same guy. They have different nicknames and different gear. But Eastwood’s performance is the glue. He’s the cool center of a very hot, sweaty, violent movie. He doesn't need to talk. He just needs to exist.
Gian Maria Volonté and the Art of the Villain
If you want to talk about the cast of For a Few Dollars More, you have to talk about El Indio.
Gian Maria Volonté was a powerhouse. In Italy, he was a massive star known for his political activism and serious dramatic roles. Here, he plays a marijuana-smoking, Shakespearean-level psychopath. El Indio isn't your typical Western bad guy who wants to rob a bank just for the money. He’s haunted. He’s literally traumatized by his own past crimes.
That scene where he listens to the musical pocket watch? That’s not just a gimmick. It’s a countdown to death. Volonté plays it with this incredible, twitchy intensity. He’s constantly sweating. He’s always on the edge of a breakdown. Compared to the icy calm of Eastwood and Van Cleef, Volonté is a wildfire. It creates this incredible tension where you’re just waiting for him to snap.
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The Supporting Players You Might Recognize
Leone loved using the same faces. He treated his sets like a traveling circus.
- Klaus Kinski: He plays Wild, the hunchback. Kinski was notoriously difficult to work with—like, "don't look him in the eye" difficult—but he’s brilliant here. He barely has any lines, yet his presence is terrifying.
- Mario Brega: The big guy. He’s in all three films. In this one, he’s Nino, Indio’s loyal lieutenant. He’s the muscle.
- Joseph Egger: He plays the "Old Prophet" who lives by the railroad tracks. He provides the only real comedy in the movie, complaining about the noise of the trains.
Why the Chemistry Worked
Most Westerns at the time were "White Hat vs. Black Hat." Simple. Boring.
This movie threw that out. You have two bounty hunters who are basically mercenaries. They aren't "good" guys in the traditional sense. They’re just better than the guys they’re hunting. This moral gray area allowed the cast of For a Few Dollars More to play with nuance.
When Manco and Mortimer first meet, they don't shake hands. They try to out-cool each other. They step on each other’s boots. They shoot each other’s hats. It’s masculine ego dialed up to eleven. But eventually, they realize they need each other. That professional respect is the heart of the film.
The Technical Mastery Behind the Performances
We can't talk about the cast without talking about Ennio Morricone’s score. Usually, music is added after the movie is filmed. Not here. Leone often had Morricone write the music before filming, and he would play it on set to get the actors in the mood.
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When you see Van Cleef staring down a bandit, he’s literally timing his blinks to the sound of a whistling flute. It’s operatic. It’s why the acting feels so stylized. It’s not meant to be "realistic" in the way a modern documentary is; it’s meant to be legendary.
Common Misconceptions About the Cast
- They all spoke the same language: Nope. The set was a mess of languages. Eastwood spoke English, Volonté spoke Italian, and other actors spoke Spanish or German. They just acted at each other and the dialogue was dubbed later. This is why the lip-syncing looks a bit "off" sometimes.
- Lee Van Cleef was the first choice: Actually, Leone wanted Henry Fonda or Charles Bronson first. They both said no. Fonda eventually came around for Once Upon a Time in the West, but Van Cleef’s "rejection" from Hollywood is what actually gave Mortimer his cynical, weary edge.
- It was filmed in the American West: Not even close. Most of it was shot in the Tabernas Desert in Almería, Spain. The "cast" was surrounded by Spanish extras and Italian technicians.
The Legacy of the Trio
The interplay between the three leads—The Young Gun, The Old Pro, and The Madman—set the blueprint. You see it in Heat (1995) with De Niro and Pacino. You see it in every Quentin Tarantino movie.
The cast of For a Few Dollars More succeeded because they didn't overplay their hand. They let the camera do the work. The close-ups on their eyes tell more of a story than ten pages of dialogue ever could. It’s a masterclass in "less is more."
Actionable Takeaways for Film Buffs
If you’re revisiting this classic or watching it for the first time, pay attention to these specific details to appreciate the casting even more:
- Watch the Hands: Look at how Eastwood and Van Cleef handle their weapons differently. Eastwood is all about speed; Van Cleef is all about precision.
- Listen to the Silence: Notice how long the movie goes without anyone saying a word. The actors have to carry the story through physical presence alone.
- The Pocket Watch Motif: Track the musical pocket watch. It’s the fourth main character. It dictates the pacing of every major confrontation.
- Compare the Villains: Watch Volonté in A Fistful of Dollars versus this film. Even though it’s the same actor, his energy is completely different. In the first, he’s a brute. In the second, he’s a tragic figure.
The cast of For a Few Dollars More remains a gold standard for the genre. It wasn't just a movie; it was a moment where the right actors, the right director, and the right composer crashed into each other to create something that honestly hasn't been topped since. Whether it's Van Cleef's steely gaze or Eastwood's effortless cool, these performances are etched into the DNA of cinema.
To fully appreciate the evolution of this ensemble, your next move should be a back-to-back screening of A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Pay close attention to Lee Van Cleef's shift from the heroic Colonel Mortimer to the sadistic Sentenza/Angel Eyes in the final installment. This transition highlights his incredible range and explains why Sergio Leone considered him the ultimate silhouette for the spaghetti western genre. Also, look for the recurring Spanish supporting actors like Lorenzo Robledo and Aldo Sambrell; tracking their different roles across the trilogy offers a unique window into the "repertory theater" style Leone used to build his cinematic world.