Francis Ford Coppola did not have an easy time casting for the The Godfather. In a time when film auteurs in America were making their mark, flying in the face of the traditional systems set by decades-old studio executives, the maverick director was searching for authenticity. “I was looking for people who would be believable to me as real Italian-Americans, who don’t talka like Luigi, and have New York accents instead of Italian accents,” he is quoted as saying in Peter Biskind’s impressive history of the American new wave, Easy Riders and Raging Bulls. Indeed, Coppola’s wish list included James Caan for Sonny, Robert Duvall for Hagen, Al Pacino for Michael Corleone and the Maltese actor, Joseph Calleia for Don Vito. 

The role eventually went to Marlon Brando – Calleia turned it down citing ill health. At the time, he was almost as old as the character himself (Brando was notably younger and was in the makeup chair for hours before on-set call). But, Calleia had long made his mark and had even been hailed as one of the greats by filmmaker-extraordinaire, Orson Welles. Getting to the US just after World War I, the Maltese performer started out on Broadway in 1926, coming to the attention of some of the world’s greatest directors.

By 1958, he was starring in Welles’ Touch of Evil as Pete Menzies, a performance regarded as one of the best of his career, and had been in films known across the world, such as Public Enemy No. 1 (1935), Algiers (1938) and Full Confession (1939) – known, that is, everywhere but Malta. The strict censorship laws at the time – pushed by the Catholic church – meant that some of these silver screen beauts never made it to the theatres dotted in every town and village, and Calleia remained relatively unnoted. When he died on the 31st October 1975, barely a mention was made in the local press.

So, looking for remnants of his life in Malta can be a tall order. The house he was born in – in 1897, in Saqqajja Square in Rabat – no longer exists. The building itself now belongs to a bank (it had also been extensively damaged during the World War II; his family, like many others, had to seek shelter in one of the town’s ancient catacombs). But, a statue of Calleia stands proudly right outside, the actor’s pose reflecting an almost thoughtful presence. 

Other sites which have a connection with the Hollywood star include St Aloysius College in Birkirkara. The school, which has seen some of Malta’s luminaries graduate in those very halls, is probably better known for producing a host of successful professionals in the areas of law, science and politics. But, before Calleia ever even set foot in the United States, he had walked those corridors, sat at those school benches and prayed in their little chapel. At the age of 12, he was also already performing: he took a pound given to him as a gift at Christmas to buy 24 harmonicas which he used to get a band together. They would play every week, earning in the region of £100 for their efforts. 

After the years of playing enigmatic characters on stage and on screen, Calleia retired to his home island, this time settling in Sliema, where he lived from 1963 until his death. The road where he lived is an increasingly busy thoroughfare, which has seen small mini-marts, kebab shops and antique stores set up to cater for the cosmopolitan types who make the area their home. It’s a far cry from Hollywood. Today, the house he lived in has seen better times – though it had been the first in Malta to have an intercom, air conditioning and a lift. Now, its link to the City of Angels has been all but forgotten, hidden by the layers of dust which have accrued over the years.