**Rod Steiger (1925-2002)** was an American actor, an imposing and versatile figure in Hollywood cinema, known for his intense and profound acting. An Actors Studio alumnus, he emerged powerfully with the role of Marlon Brando's brother in *On the Waterfront* (1954), earning his first Academy Award nomination.

His career is studded with memorable performances. Among his most significant films are *The Pawnbroker* (1964), a dramatic portrayal of a Holocaust survivor, and *Doctor Zhivago* (1965), where he played the ambiguous and ruthless Komarovsky. In 1968, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his incisive performance in *In the Heat of the Night* (1967), as the gruff police chief Bill Gillespie.

Steiger was renowned for his capacity for physical and psychological transformation, often embodying complex characters: authoritarian, tormented, ambiguous men or anti-heroes. His screen presence and visceral acting made him one of Hollywood's greatest character actors.