You have worked together since the movie 'Hannibal'...

So your collaboration effectively began in 1967 with the movie 'God Forgives, I Don't' and lasted for 35 years. What did you do to keep the public interested in watching your films?
Terence: We took it slowly, we made one movie per year together, although producers and distributors wanted us to make two or three. But we said immediately: If we want to last, we shouldn't burn ourselves out.
Bud: And when we didn't work together, we made films separately.

The big success came with the two 'Trinity' movies however...
Bud: No, 'God Forgives, I Don't' was a financial success already.
Terence: This fact has never been taken into consideration. We arrived a little late in westerns. I had already filmed a few in Germany and thought that in 1964, when Leone filmed 'A Fistful of Dollars', I had already missed my chance. When we were on the set of 'God Forgives, I don't', this type of film was already exhausted in Italy, and the succes of this film, which was quite particular, surprised us. But the movies were done well, by great directors who worked and filmed fast, on a small budget, and they sold well overseas. From the beginning of the 70s, the western was 'over' in Italy and that's when 'Trinity' arrived. But we can't take credit for this, we have never said "We are making this film a comedy to overcome this crisis". If we can take credit, it's for having appreciated the script and for asking to extend the part of Bambino, in order to work together again.

How did the transition from westerns to your following movies - in different settings - happen?
Terence: We did not want to repeat ourselves. Nowadays we think it's a shame though, because Enzo Barboni, the director of 'Trinity', had already thought of a great title: 'And They Insist To Call Him Trinity'. But at the time there was no Stallone who made 5 'Rocky' movies, so two sequels seemed to be too much. We tried to find a different setting and went to Colombia, playing two pilots in 'All The Way, Boys'.

Let's talk about your names: How did they come about?
Terence: I chose mine from a list. I just had a few hours to find a name which sounded American. I was given this list with names that sounded good. I studied literature and liked Terenzio, so...
Bud: I didn't have a list! I had a bottle of Budweiser, my favorite beer, in front of me. And Spencer Tracy was always my favorite actor, so my choice was easy!

There is a big controversy about the new generation of dubbing actors which is not on the same level as the preceding one. You instead have built your careers thanks to dubbing...
Bud: Not exactly. In the beginning yes, we were dubbed, but it is important to consider that all our movies were filmed in English, because they were sold to other countries in phase of production already.
Terence: At the time it was no problem, it was done and that's that. And we were both lucky to have two excellent dubbing actors, Pino Locchi for me and Glauco Onorato for Bud. It was similar to what happened with Clint Eastwood in the Sergio Leone films: Eastwood's voice was totally different from Enrico Maria Salerno's - who was one of the best Italian actors - so the way of interpretation was also very much different.

Your movies always had the perfect mix: From the collaboration with Enzo Barboni to the soundtracks by the Fratelli De Angelis, to the always funny stories. How did you manage to create a success every year?
Bud: Nobody knew it, not even the scriptwriters. It happened automatically. We have seen things unheard of in the whole of Europe: In Sweden, although the movie was subtitled, they had to carry people from the movie theater with an ambulance because they laughed so hard!

And you are still champions of the box office...
Bud: We are better than 'Gone With The Wind'! Variety magazine has made a calculation about movie proceeds, considering inflation, and we are still the best.

That must have given some kind of certainty, also for everyone who worked with you at the time...
Bud: Who works in the movie business doesn't have certainty. With us it was different, because we had success, we had a little more freedom of choice, although the producers would have preferred to choose the supporting actors themselves. We have always worked with the same crew of 12 stuntmen, the same electricians, the same technicians. They were great, maybe they cost a little more, but it was normal for us to call them because otherwise the movies wound't have been as good. We trusted our stunt-coordinator blindly, for example.
Terence: Giorgio Ubaldi. He was the best.
Bud: And then the horses: He (Terence) is crazy about horses and always chooses the best!

Later, at a certain point, you started going your own ways, Bud with the 'Flatfoot' series and Terence with his American career...
Bud: But it was not a separation: when we didn't work together, we did different things. One movie takes about three months to film.
Terence: We just did other things when we didn't work together. The separation came, when we understood that our time was over.

But maybe you still have a project up your sleeves?
Bud: We always thought about coming back together, but that's how far it went, because we have to take many factors into consideration: From the story to our physical condition, and above all to what the market demands.
Terence: Times have changed.
Bud: And projects don't really exist. I have studied Chemistry, Law and Sociology as an adult, to encourage my daughter to study. Never make plans in life, guys!

There were rumors for a while that we might see you both in a film called 'Don Quixote', directed by Ermanno Olmi...
Bud: Yes, but we didn't take into consideration that we'd have to be satirical about Don Quixote to make people laugh! Terence has never even seen the script, because from the point where both protagonists meet Merlin, the wizard, who catapults them into the year 2000, the script didn't work anymore. We have to remember that Cervantes and his work can be compared to Dante for significance and frankly, it was unfeasible to do something like this.

The big popularity of your movies might give you immortality...
Terence: No, I don't believe this, I never thought about it.

Nevertheless, outside is a crowd of kids of eight years and older, who are lining up to get your autographs and when your movies are shown on TV, the ratings are so high that even the soccer-matches lose out...
Bud: We made five generations laugh with our films.

There must be a secret...
Bud: There is nobody else like us two. Remember: We were also successful alone, but together we are unbeatable. The viewers know our movies by heart!

Your movies are Italian slapstick. Maybe the only one today who does slapstick is Jackie Chan...
Bud: Yes, but his movies contain a big dose of violence, which ours don't have. We just make people laugh.
Terence: Our slapstick has a recognizable essence. Barboni always told a joke about a guy in the movie theater, who watches a western in which the hero kills six people in a second and the whole audience complains, whereas this one person says: "You can do it!" We always kept this in mind. Bud once really lifted four men up who had jumped on him! I did different things and I always did them myself, that made everything more credible. This made things work, as well as the fact that we never had stunt-doubles.

Your fight scenes were all based on rhythm and prepared to perfection so no one would get hurt...
Terence: When we made the first 'Trinity' movie, we all liked the film 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' and timed this movie's fight scene, deciding that we wanted to make a longer one than this. It took us around ten days, with Ubaldi counting the rhythm for each punch we made, for evey punch we avoided, for evey time we hit the floor.
Bud: And of course there was the luck-factor. We started with one protagonist, Terence, handsome, with blue eyes, because the protagonists were the handsome one's, like Giuliano Gemma and Franco Nero. Then I arrived: Ugly, fat, good-natured and a bit less intelligent than him, I had to put up with things which people could identify with. Who wouldn't want to teach the boss a lesson? Watching me, they thought that they could do it!

Bud, you were always fond of dancing and you have written many songs, also for your movies...
Bud: I have been writing songs for years, also for Nico Fidenco and Ornella Vanoni, without being able to read music notes. I sit down, with my fingers on the piano and then I ask someone to write down what I compose by ear. I sing and I never took singing lessons, in 'Charleston' I danced, in another film I played the sax. At 45 years of age I got my pilot's license and flew across the Atlantic from the USA to Ireland. I've always been a bit of a dabbler. This made me do many things, which, I don't know why, always worked out. There are only two things that I have never done in life: Ballet dancing and being a horse-jockey!

You were two opposite, but complementary characters: Bud, the quiet one who wants to stay out of trouble, and Terence, who always seems to be looking for trouble. That's also a way to make the audience identify with you...
Bud: Yes, that's true. He is always causing trouble, provoking people and then putting the blame on me. But this was also a question of luck, because if at the time when we came out, there would have been someone else capable of doing what we were good at, it would have probably not been the same. Or maybe there was someone, but they were not as good as us, so nobody beat us... I was an Italian swimming champion for 10 years in a row, because for 10 years, nobody has beaten me to it. There is no difference.

After knowing each other for 40 years, how would you describe each other?
Terence: He's simply great, in all aspects.
Bud: He doesn't have many flaws, although he's an actor. His best feature is his tenacity, which probably derives from his German mother. And also his values, which are the most important thing.

Interview conducted by 'Hotdog Magazine' during the festival 'Primo Piano sull'Autore' in Assisi/Italy, November 2006.
Translated from Italian by Terencehill.com. Published courtesy of Hotdog Magazine © 2007