The Western films directed by Sergio Leone were felt by some to have a different tone from the Hollywood Westerns. Veteran American actors Charles Bronson, Lee Van Cleef, and Clint Eastwood became famous by starring in spaghetti Westerns, although the films also provided a showcase for other noted actors such as James Coburn, Henry Fonda, Rod Steiger, Klaus Kinski, Jason Robards, Gian Maria Volonte and Eli Wallach. Eastwood, previously the lead in the television series Rawhide, unexpectedly found himself catapulted into the forefront of the film industry by Leone's A Fistful of Dollars (the first in the Dollars Trilogy).
