Sergio Ciani, better known by his stage name "Alan Steel", was an Italian actor born in Italy, who gained fame during the early 1960s sword-and-sandal craze. He played various mythological demigods in low-budget but popular films, often alongside other physique-minded actors.
Ciani's early career began as a body double for Steve Reeves in films such as Hercules Unchained and The Giant of Marathon. He eventually took on the lead role of Hercules in Sansone, opposite Brad Harris. He went on to star in numerous films, including Hercules Against Rome, Hercules Against the Moon Men, and Lost Treasure of the Incas, which incorporated science fiction into the genre.
In addition to playing Hercules, Ciani also played other mythological characters, such as Samson and Ursus. He often found himself cast as a heavy, menacing the heroes he played, as seen in his role as Commodus in Rebel Gladiators.
By the mid-1960s, the sword-and-sandal genre began to fade, and Ciani transitioned to other film styles, including dramas, thrillers, horror, westerns, and comedies. He starred in a spaghetti western called Sapevano solo uccidere and co-wrote a Robin Hood movie in 1976. His final on-camera appearance was in the Italian comedy Baby Love in 1979.
In a unique twist, Ciani's film Samson and the Mighty Challenge was re-edited and re-released as Hercules Returns in 1993, featuring original scenes, Australian actors, and a new soundtrack.
