Editing Rod Steiger (section)

==Career==

===Early career and breakthrough (1946–1956)===
Steiger made his stage debut in a production of ''Curse You, Jack Dalton!'' (1946) at the Civic Repertory Theatre of Newark.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rod Steiger&nbsp;– Obituary|url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/Obituary/109787/Rod-Steiger|work=[[Playbill|Playbill Vault]]|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928052224/http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/Obituary/109787/Rod-Steiger|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Subsequent to this, he received an invitation from one of his teachers, [[Daniel Mann]], to attend the [[Actors Studio]], established by [[Elia Kazan]] in October 1947. It was here, along with [[Marlon Brando]], [[Karl Malden]], and [[Eli Wallach]], that he studied [[method acting]], which became deeply engrained in him. Lacking matinée idol looks, much like Malden and Wallach, he began pursuing a career as a character actor rather than as a leading man.<ref name="ST interview"/> Steiger's stage work continued in 1950, with a minor role as a townperson in a stage production of ''[[An Enemy of the People]]'' at the [[Music Box Theatre]].<ref name=playbill>{{cite web|last=Saxon|first=Wolfgang|title=Rod Steiger, Intense Oscar Winner Who Embraced the Method, Dead at 77|url=http://playbill.com/news/article/rod-steiger-intense-oscar-winner-who-embraced-the-method-dead-at-77-106968|work=[[Playbill]]|date=July 9, 2002|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928052537/http://playbill.com/news/article/rod-steiger-intense-oscar-winner-who-embraced-the-method-dead-at-77-106968|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> His first major role on Broadway came in [[Clifford Odets]]'s production of ''[[Night Music (play)|Night Music]]'' (1951), where he played A. L. Rosenberger.<ref name="telegraph"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/109787/Rod-Steiger | title=Rod Steiger&nbsp;– Performer | work=Playbill Vault | access-date=September 3, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928052550/http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/109787/Rod-Steiger | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> The play was held at the [[August Wilson Theatre|ANTA Playhouse]].<ref name="telegraph"/> The following year, he played a telegraphist in the play ''[[Seagulls Over Sorrento#Original Play|Seagulls Over Sorrento]]'', performed at the [[John Golden Theatre]] beginning on September 11, 1952.<ref name=playbill/>{{sfn|Hischak|2009|p=407}}

Steiger's early roles, although minor, were numerous, especially in television series during the early 1950s, when he appeared in more than 250 live television productions over a five-year period.<ref name="NYT bio">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/67882/Rod-Steiger|title=Rod Steiger|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Bozzola, Lucia|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928052732/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/67882/Rod-Steiger|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> He was spotted by [[Fred Coe]], NBC's manager of program development, who increasingly gave him bigger parts. Steiger considered television to be what [[repertory theatre]] had been for an earlier generation, and saw it as a place where he could test his talent with a plethora of different roles. Soon afterward he began receiving positive reviews from critics such as [[John Crosby (media critic)|John Crosby]], who noted that Steiger regularly gave "effortless persuasive performances".{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=71}} Among Steiger's credits were ''[[Danger (TV series)|Danger]]'' (1950–53),<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.tv.com/shows/danger/cast/ | title=Danger Cast | publisher=[[TV.com]] | access-date=October 3, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003062422/http://www.tv.com/shows/danger/cast/ | archive-date=October 3, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Lux Video Theatre]]'' (1951),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/the-lux-video-theatre/cafe-ami-83391/ |title=Cafe Ami |publisher=TV.com |access-date=October 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151003062538/http://www.tv.com/shows/the-lux-video-theatre/cafe-ami-83391/ |archive-date=October 3, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Out There (1951 TV series)|Out There]]'' (1951),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/out-there-1951/ordeal-in-space-133930/cast/ |title=Ordeal in Space |publisher=TV.com |access-date=October 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004113633/http://www.tv.com/shows/out-there-1951/ordeal-in-space-133930/cast/ |archive-date=October 4, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Tales of Tomorrow]]'' (1952–53),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/tales-of-tomorrow/the-window-131371/cast/ |title=The Window |publisher=TV.com |access-date=October 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004142535/http://www.tv.com/shows/tales-of-tomorrow/the-window-131371/cast/ |archive-date=October 4, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Gulf Playhouse|The Gulf Playhouse]]'' (1953),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/gulf-playhouse/cast/ |title=Gulf Playhouse Cast |publisher=TV.com |access-date=October 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004150253/http://www.tv.com/shows/gulf-playhouse/cast/ |archive-date=October 4, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Medallion Theatre]]'' (1953),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/medallion-theatre/cast/ |title=Medallion Theatre Cast |publisher=TV.com |access-date=October 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004114645/http://www.tv.com/shows/medallion-theatre/cast/ |archive-date=October 4, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Goodyear Television Playhouse]]'' (1953),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/goodyear-television-playhouse/cast/ |title=Goodyear Television Playhouse Cast |publisher=TV.com |access-date=October 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004154131/http://www.tv.com/shows/goodyear-television-playhouse/cast/ |archive-date=October 4, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> and as [[Shakespeare]]'s Romeo in "The First Command Performance of Romeo and Juliet (1957)" episode of ''[[You Are There (series)|You Are There]]'' in 1954, under director [[Sidney Lumet]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/av66892|title=First Command Performance of Romeo and Juliet|publisher=[[British Universities Film & Video Council]]|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928052844/http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/av66892|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> He continued to make appearances in various playhouse television productions, appearing in five episodes of ''[[Kraft Television Theatre|Kraft Theatre]]'' (1952–54), which earned him praise from critics,{{sfn|Wise|Rehill|1999|p=107}} six episodes of ''[[The Philco Television Playhouse]]'' (1951–55) and two episodes of ''[[Schlitz Playhouse of Stars]]'' (1957–58).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/the-philco-television-playhouse/cast/ |title=The Philco Television Playhouse Cast |publisher=TV.com |access-date=October 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004154542/http://www.tv.com/shows/the-philco-television-playhouse/cast/ |archive-date=October 4, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Terrace|2008|p=620}} Steiger made his big screen debut in 1953, with a small role in [[Fred Zinnemann]]'s ''[[Teresa (1951 film)|Teresa]]'', shot in 1951.<ref name="telegraph"/> Steiger, who described himself as "cocky", won over Zinnemann by praising his direction. Zinnemann recalled that Steiger was "very popular, extremely articulate and full of remarkable memories", and the two remained highly respectful of each other for life.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=78}}

On May 24, 1953, Steiger played the title role in [[Paddy Chayefsky]]'s "[[Marty (The Philco Television Playhouse)|Marty]]" episode of the Goodyear Television Playhouse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/shows/philco-goodyear-television-playhouse-marty|title=Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse: Marty|publisher=[[Emmy Award|Emmytvlegends.org]]|access-date=July 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928052943/http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/shows/philco-goodyear-television-playhouse-marty|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The role had originally been intended for [[Martin Ritt]], who later became a director.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=73}} "Marty" is the story of a lonely and homely butcher from [[the Bronx]] in search of love. The play was a critical success that increased Steiger's public exposure;<ref name="MAB"/> [[Tom Stempel]] noted that he brought "striking intensity to his performance as Marty, particularly in giving us Marty's pain".{{sfn|Stempel|1996|p=50}} As Steiger refused to sign a seven-year studio contract, he was replaced with [[Ernest Borgnine]] in the film ''[[Marty (film)|Marty]]'' (1955), which won the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]], as well as the Best Actor Oscar for Borgnine.{{sfn|Mell|2005|p=158}} 1953 proved to be Steiger's breakthrough year; he garnered [[Sylvania Award]]s for ''Marty'' and four other best performances of the year—as Vishinsky and [[Rudolf Hess]] in two episodes of ''You Are There'', as gangster Dutch Schultz in a thriller, and as a radar operator in ''My Brother's Keeper''.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|pp=74–75}}
[[File:Rod Steiger Marlon Brando On the Waterfront.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Steiger with [[Marlon Brando]] in ''[[On the Waterfront]]'' (1954)]]
For his role as Charley "the Gent", the brother of Marlon Brando's character in Elia Kazan's ''[[On the Waterfront]]'' (1954), Steiger was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mell|1y=2005|1p=179|2a1=Rollins|2y=2015|2p=161}} Film writer [[Leo Braudy (academic)|Leo Braudy]] wrote that the "incessantly repeated images of its taxicab confrontation between Brando and Rod Steiger have made the film iconic".{{sfn|Braudy|2005|p=6}} The taxicab scene took eleven hours to shoot and was heavily scripted, despite Brando fuelling the popular myth in his autobiography that the scene was improvised. Brando stated that seven takes were needed because Steiger could not stop crying, which Steiger found to be unfair and inaccurate.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=88}} Although Steiger retained great respect for Brando as an actor,{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=89}} he disliked him as a person and frequently complained during the production of Brando's "predilection for leaving the set" immediately after shooting his scenes.{{sfn|Wojcik|2004|p=139}} Steiger later remarked: "We didn't get to know each other at all. He always flew solo and I haven't seen him since the film. I do resent him saying he's just a hooker, and that actors are whores".<ref name="ST interview"/> Steiger also responded unfavorably when he learned that Kazan had been awarded an honorary Oscar by the Academy in 1999.<ref name="NYT bio"/>{{efn|Elia Kazan had been a member of the Communist Party in the 1930s; in 1952, Kazan was called before the [[House Un-American Activities Committee#Standing committee(1945–1975)|House Un-American Activities Committee]] which was investigating Communistic influence. Kazan supplied the committee with the names of eight people in the entertainment industry who were also members of the Communist Party in the 1930s. The names and information were used to create a blacklist for those working in the theatre which was similar to the [[Hollywood blacklist]] for entertainers working in motion pictures, radio and television. Many of those whose names wound up on one of the blacklists had their careers and lives ruined because of it. An argument was made by those who were against any type of blacklist that Kazan's supplying the names of the eight people had to do with monetary concerns and that he could have refused to reveal anyone's name. Kazan's friend, [[Arthur Miller]], who had also been a member of the Communist Party, was brought before the committee in 1956. Miller refused to mention any names at the hearing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/elia-kazan-about-elia-kazan/642/|title=Elia Kazan-American Masters|publisher=[[PBS]]|date=September 3, 2003|access-date=September 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928053129/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/elia-kazan-about-elia-kazan/642/|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>  For his refusal, Miller was declared in contempt of Congress and given a fine and a prison sentence on May 31, 1957. His US passport was also revoked.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/31/newsid_4417000/4417523.stm|title=1957: Arthur Miller guilty of contempt-On This Day|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=September 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928053234/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/31/newsid_4417000/4417523.stm|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Miller was cleared of the charges in August 1958.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/7/newsid_2946000/2946420.stm|title=1958: Arthur Miller cleared of contempt-On This Day|work=BBC News|access-date=September 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928053348/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/7/newsid_2946000/2946420.stm|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>}} In a 1999 interview with ''[[BBC News]]'', Steiger said he probably would not have done ''On the Waterfront'' if he'd known at the time that Kazan had provided the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] with names of performers suspected of being Communists.<ref name="RSBBC">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/352147.stm|date=May 25, 1999|title=Rod Steiger on surviving Hollywood|work=BBC News|access-date=September 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928053357/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/352147.stm|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Steiger played Jud Fry in the film version of the [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]] musical ''[[Oklahoma! (film)|Oklahoma!]]'' (1955), in which he performed his own singing. It was one of the biggest location film productions of the 1950s, shot near [[Nogales, Arizona]],  with a crew of 325 people and some 70 trucks.<ref name="TCM Oklahoma">{{cite web | url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/18550 | title=''Oklahoma!'' | publisher=Turner Classic Movies | access-date=September 1, 2015 | author=Landazuri, Margarita | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928053449/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/18550%7C0/Oklahoma-.html | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> Steiger portrayed a disturbed, emotionally isolated version of Jud, which television channel [[Turner Classic Movies]] (TCM) believed brought a "complexity to the character that went far beyond the stock musical villain".<ref name="TCM Oklahoma"/> Steiger observed that [[James Dean]], who auditioned for the role that went to [[Gordon MacRae]],<ref name="TCM Oklahoma"/> was a "nice kid absorbed by his own ego, so much so that it was destroying him", which he thought led to his death. Dean reportedly gave Steiger his prized copy of [[Ernest Hemingway]]'s book ''[[Death in the Afternoon]]'', and had underlined every appearance of the word "death".<ref name="ST interview"/>
[[File:Rod Steiger the Big Knife 2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Steiger as film tycoon Stanley Shriner Hoff in ''[[The Big Knife]]'' (1955)]]
Later in 1955, Steiger played an obnoxious film tycoon, loosely based on Columbia boss [[Harry Cohn]],{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=99}}{{efn|[[Frank Sinatra]] biographer [[Kitty Kelley]] describes Cohn as a figure notorious for being the "nastiest man in Hollywood", who kept an autographed portrait of dictator Mussolini in his office during World War II.{{sfn|Kelley|1986|p=207}}}} opposite [[Jack Palance]] and [[Ida Lupino]] in [[Robert Aldrich]]'s [[film noir]] ''[[The Big Knife]]''.<ref name="NYT bio"/> Steiger bleached his hair for the part, sought inspiration for the role from Russian actor [[Vladimir Sokoloff]], read a book about the [[Treblinka extermination camp]] to understand his character thoroughly, and visited the perfume department of a store in [[Beverly Hills, California]], to try to understand his character's contempt for women.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|pp=100–02}} Steiger and Palance did not get along during the production, and in one scene Palance threw several [[Gramophone record|record albums]] at Steiger in frustration, feeling that he was trying to steal the scene.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=101}} Steiger earned critical acclaim later that year for a role as a prosecuting major in [[Otto Preminger]]'s ''[[The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell]]'', alongside [[Gary Cooper]] and [[Charles Bickford]].{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=98}}

Steiger portrayed the character "Pinky" in [[Columbia Pictures]]' western, ''[[Jubal (film)|Jubal]]'' (1956), which co-starred [[Glenn Ford]] and Ernest Borgnine. Steiger's character is a rancher, a "sneering baddie",{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=97}} who becomes jealous when his former mistress becomes attracted to Ford's character. Ford noted Steiger's deep commitment to method acting during production, considering him to be a "fine actor but a real strange fellow".{{sfn|Ford|2011|p=166}} Steiger disliked the experience and frequently clashed with director [[Delmer Daves]], who was more favorable to Ford's lighthearted take on the film.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=97}} Upon its release in April 1956, a writer for ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' was impressed with the "evil venom" displayed by his character, and remarked that there had not "been as hateful a screen heavy around in a long time".{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=98}}

In [[Mark Robson (film director)|Mark Robson]]'s 1956 boxing film noir ''[[The Harder They Fall (1956 film)|The Harder They Fall]]'', Steiger played a crooked boxing promoter who hires a sports journalist ([[Humphrey Bogart]] in his last role).{{sfn|Pontuso|2005|p=129}} Steiger referred to Bogart as "a professional" who had "tremendous authority" during filming.{{sfn|Fantle|Johnson|2009|p=140}}

===Struggling actor (1957–1963)===
[[File:Diana Dors and Rod Steiger in The Unholy Wife trailer.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Steiger with [[Diana Dors]] in ''[[The Unholy Wife]]'' (1957)]]
Steiger appeared in three films released in 1957. The first was [[John Farrow]]'s film noir ''[[The Unholy Wife]]'', in which he played a wealthy [[Napa Valley AVA|Napa Valley]] vintner who marries a ''[[femme fatale]]'' named Phyllis ([[Diana Dors]]). In its original review of the film, ''[[The New York Times]]'' described Steiger's performance as "curious" further stating that the actor's voice modulation "ranges from Marlon Brando to Ronald Colman and back".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B0CE2D61F3AE53BBC4F53DFB5668383649EDE|title=''The Unholy Wife''|work=The New York Times|date=March 7, 1958|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925045014/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B0CE2D61F3AE53BBC4F53DFB5668383649EDE|archive-date=September 25, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> During the production of [[Samuel Fuller]]'s ''[[Run of the Arrow]]'', in which he played a Confederate army veteran who refuses to accept defeat following the surrender of [[Robert E. Lee|General Robert E. Lee]] at [[Battle of Appomattox Court House|Appomattox]] at the end of the [[American Civil War]], Steiger badly sprained his ankle before shooting one of the battle scenes and was unable to walk, let alone run. Fuller instead got one of the Native American extras to run in Steiger's place, which is why the scene was shot showing only the feet, instead of using close-ups.{{sfn|Fuller|Peary|2012|p=25}} Steiger had researched the history behind the film and decided to play the character as an Irishman, becoming "the first Irish cowboy" as he put it.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=84}} Later that year, Steiger took the lead role in the British thriller ''[[Across the Bridge (film)|Across the Bridge]]'', in which he played a German conman with British citizenship who goes into hiding in Mexico after embezzling company funds. Film critic [[Dennis Schwartz]] stated that Steiger gave "one of his greatest performances".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/acrossthebridge.htm | title=''Across the Bridge'' | publisher=Ozus' World Movie Reviews | date=September 26, 2008 | author=Schwartz, Dennis | access-date=September 22, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928054234/http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/acrossthebridge.htm | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Rod Steiger Al Capone 3.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Steiger as [[Al Capone]] (1959)]]
Steiger portrayed a mastermind criminal seeking to obtain a $500,000 ransom, opposite [[James Mason]] and [[Inger Stevens]], in [[Andrew L. Stone]]'s ''[[Cry Terror!]]'' (1958) for [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]].{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=102}} [[Paul Beckley]] of the ''[[New York Herald Tribune|Herald Tribune]]'' had thought Steiger "superbly laconic",{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=103}} but Dennis Schwartz dismissed the film as "an ill-conceived attempt" with "too many coincidences and contrived plot points to sustain interest".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/cryterror.htm |author=Schwartz, Dennis|title=''Cry Terror!''|publisher=Ozus' World Movie Reviews|date=September 9, 2005|access-date=July 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928054301/http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/cryterror.htm|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The following year, Steiger appeared with [[Claire Bloom]] (whom he later married) in a [[Fay Kanin|Fay]] and [[Michael Kanin]] stage production of [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s [[Rashomon|1950 film]], ''[[Rashomon (play)|Rashomon]]'', where he enacted the role of the bandit originally played by [[Toshiro Mifune]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Saxon|first=Wolfgang|title=Noel Willman, Director, Was 70; Staged 'A Man for All Seasons'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/26/obituaries/noel-willman-director-was-70-staged-a-man-for-all-seasons.html|work=The New York Times|date=December 26, 1988|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928054339/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/26/obituaries/noel-willman-director-was-70-staged-a-man-for-all-seasons.html|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> A major success, it was lauded by critics and nominated for three [[Tony Award]]s. Robert Coleman of the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' described Steiger's performance as "magnificently animalish", while [[Kenneth Tynan]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' thought the acting helped set new standards for Broadway.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=108}} The same year, Steiger portrayed iconic mobster [[Al Capone]] in the [[Al Capone (film)|film of the same name]].{{efn|Steiger refused the producers' first offer to star in this film because he had thought that the initial screenplay inappropriately romanticized Capone and criminality, which led to him turning down the picture on three occasions. According to Sean Axmaker of TCM, Steiger only agreed to play the role on condition that the producers rewrite the script.<ref>{{cite web|title=''Al Capone'' (1959) |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/26633/al-capone#articles-reviews |publisher=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=July 21, 2015 |first=Sean |last=Axmaker |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924145256/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/26633/Al-Capone/articles.html |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>}} Steiger was particularly keen on demonstrating the showiness of Capone, speaking thunderously, slinging a camel-hair coat over his shoulders and wearing his hat at a jaunty angle.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=106}} The film, noted for its deglamorized portrayal of the subject,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cEEwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XkgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7026,6298166&dq=al-capone+steiger&hl=en|title=Rod Steiger Plays Villain Again; Now He Deglamorizes Capone|work=[[Deseret News]]|date=May 30, 1959|access-date=July 31, 2015}} p. 8A.</ref> earned Steiger a [[Laurel Awards|Laurel Award for Best Male Dramatic Performance]] nomination. Although Hutchinson, author of ''Rod Steiger: Memoirs of a Friendship'', perceived Steiger's portrayal of Capone to be more of a caricature,{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=106}} George Anastasia and Glen Macnow, authors of the book ''The Ultimate Book of Gangster Movies'', described it as one of the best screen portrayals of Capone.{{sfn|Anastasia|Macnow|2011|p=458}}

Following the success of ''Al Capone'', Steiger played sophisticated thief Paul Mason, who masterminds a caper to steal $4 million in French francs from the underground vault of the casino of [[Monte Carlo]], in the [[Henry Hathaway]] heist film ''[[Seven Thieves]]'' (1960).{{sfn|Parish|Marill|1972|p=208}} [[Bosley Crowther]] of ''The New York Times'' gave a positive review of the film, praising the "nerve-rackingly delicate plot" and the "most elaborate roles" of Steiger and his co-star, [[Edward G. Robinson]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B01EEDD1E3DEF3ABC4A52DFB566838B679EDE | title=''Seven Thieves'' (1960) | work=The New York Times | date=March 12, 1960 | access-date=September 23, 2015 | author=Crowther, Bosley | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928054639/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B01EEDD1E3DEF3ABC4A52DFB566838B679EDE | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> The following year, he took the part of a prison psychiatrist who tries to cure the psychological demons of [[Stuart Whitman]]'s character in ''[[The Mark (1961 film)|The Mark]]''. Steiger's performance was so convincing that, after the film was released, he received a call from a psychiatric institution asking him to attend one of their board meetings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IisVWeKDClw| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102032557/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IisVWeKDClw| archive-date=January 2, 2016 | url-status=dead|title=Rod Steiger on "The Mark"|publisher=Henderson's Film Industries|date=June 9, 2013|access-date=July 22, 2015}}</ref> ''The Mark'' was followed by a role in the European film production of ''[[World in My Pocket]]'' alongside [[Nadja Tiller]].{{sfn|Chase|1962|p=194}} Steiger increasingly played in films in Italy and France during this period. Not only did he believe he had greater credibility and esteem as an actor in Europe, but he approved of the more relaxed filming schedule prevalent there at that time.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|pp=110, 114}}
[[File:Rod Steiger the Longest Day.jpg|thumb|left|270px|Steiger in ''[[The Longest Day (film)|The Longest Day]]'' (1962)]]
In 1962, Steiger appeared on Broadway in ''[[Moby Dick—Rehearsed]]'', at the [[Ethel Barrymore Theatre]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Cohen |first=Steve |title=Herman Melville meets Orson Welles |url=http://www.broadstreetreview.com/theater/orson_welless_moby_dick_rehearsed |work=Broad Street Review |date=March 12, 2013 |access-date=July 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923194733/http://www.broadstreetreview.com/theater/orson_welless_moby_dick_rehearsed |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> as well as playing a detective searching for a scientist's ([[Alan Ladd]]) mugger in [[Philip Leacock]]'s ''[[13 West Street]]'' for Columbia Pictures.<ref name="TCM62">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/92925/13-west-street#articles-reviews|title=''13 West Street'' (1962)|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=July 22, 2015|first=Richard|last=Harland Smith|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928055043/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/92925/13-West-Street/articles.html|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Steiger played a small role of a destroyer commander among the large ensemble cast of ''[[The Longest Day (film)|The Longest Day]]'', which included [[John Wayne]], [[Richard Todd]], [[Robert Mitchum]], [[Richard Burton]], [[Sean Connery]], and [[Henry Fonda]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/81774/the-longest-day#articles-reviews | title=''The Longest Day'' (1962) | publisher=Turner Classic Movies | access-date=September 22, 2015 | first=Paul | last=Tatara | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928055133/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/81774/The-Longest-Day/articles.html | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> According to co-star Richard Burton, Steiger had privately admitted to him that he was in financial trouble at the time and had a face lift, which Burton thought made him look like "one half of a naked ass-hole".{{sfn|Burton|Williams|2012|p=581}} The following year, Steiger played ruthless [[Naples|Neapolitan]] land developer and city councilman Edoardo Nottola, who uses his political power to make personal profit in a large scale [[suburb]]an real estate deal, in [[Francesco Rosi]]'s Italian drama film ''[[Hands over the City]]'' (1963).{{sfn|Scialò|2002|p=167}} According to biographer Francesco Bolzoni, Rosi had cast Steiger in the Italian-language film because he had wanted "a rich interpreter of great capacity" in the part of the land developer.{{sfn|Bolzoni|1986|p=30}}

===Mainstream film acclaim (1964–1969)===
{{quote box|width=30em|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|align=right|quote=Well they never went away. 'The Pawnbroker', directed by Sidney Lumet, was an independent, so was 'The Sergeant'. They're just coming back stronger because the greed finally ran into a wall, and what proved it was all these small independent films getting nominations and winning awards where all these multi-million dollar films did nothing, and that really shook them up. I would always say the bigger the budget, the less imagination. In the old days, they had designers who, if they had to create a battleship, would get a bit of net and a bit of board and make one. Now there is no imagination. If they want a destroyer now, they ring up the government and get a real one. There aren't any challenges any more; they're home decorators.|source= — Steiger on appearing in [[independent film]]s<ref name="ST interview"/> }}

Shortly after ''Hands over the City'', Steiger agreed to appear in another Italian film, ''[[Time of Indifference]]'' (1964), in which he starred opposite [[Claudia Cardinale]] and [[Shelley Winters]].{{sfn|Goble|1999|p=333}} Though Steiger's powerful performance was unaffected, the production was marred by a dispute between director [[Francesco Maselli]] and producer [[Franco Cristaldi]], with one wanting it to be a purely political film and the other wanting emphasis on the erotic subplot and his relationship with Cardinale.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=111}} In Sidney Lumet's gritty drama ''[[The Pawnbroker (film)|The Pawnbroker]]'' (1964), Steiger played an embittered, emotionally withdrawn survivor of [[the Holocaust]] living in New York City. Richard Harland Smith of TCM notes that Steiger's career was waning at the time, and he had to "scramble for paying gigs for a decade" before getting this part.<ref name="TCM62"/> Steiger agreed to a reduced fee of $50,000. He read [[The Pawnbroker|Edward Lewis Wallant's novel]] and the script many times to develop an intimate understanding of the character, and insisted on reducing his lines to make his character more realistic and alienated from society.<ref name="MAB"/> Lumet noted that during the production Steiger had a tendency to be overly dramatic, stating: "Sure, Rod has weaknesses of rhetoric, but you can talk them through with him. I explained that this solitary Jew could not rise to heights of emotion; he had been hammered by life and by people. The faith he had to find was in other people, because God had betrayed him."<ref name="TCM64">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/87957|title=''The Pawnbroker''|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=July 23, 2015|first=Jeff|last=Stafford|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928055655/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/87957%7C0/The-Pawnbroker.html|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Steiger remarked of the film: "I think my best work is in ''The Pawnbroker''. The last scene, where I find the boy dead on the street. I think that's the highest moment, whatever it may be, with my talent."<ref name="TCMRS"/> He drew upon inspiration for this climactic scene, in which he appears to show his frustration through a silent scream, from [[Pablo Picasso|Picasso]]'s ''[[Guernica (Picasso)|Guernica]]'', which depicts war-ravaged villagers. [[Cecil Wilson (journalist)|Cecil Wilson]] of the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' wrote that Steiger's character "seems to encompass all the agony ever inflicted on man".{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=118}} Although the film attracted controversy and was accused of [[antisemitism]],{{Efn|The film caused considerable controversy among both Jewish and African-American communities. Several Jewish organizations propagated a boycott of the film due to "its uncompromising presentation of the Jewish pawnbroker which they felt encouraged anti-Semitism". A number of Black groups also accused the film of advocating racial stereotypes of the inner city, due to its portrayal of pimps, prostitutes and drug addicts.<ref name="TCM64"/>{{sfn|Brode|1990|p=155}}}} Steiger was widely acclaimed for his performance, which garnered him the prize for Best Actor at the [[Berlin International Film Festival]] and his second Best Actor nomination at the Oscars.<ref name="NYT bio"/> Steiger was certain that he had produced an Oscar-winning performance; he was shocked when he lost to [[Lee Marvin]].<ref name="TCM64"/>{{efn|The Academy loss was a major wake up call for him. Steiger scolded himself for it: "Listen, jackass, never take happiness, never take your talent, for granted. Never in any walk of life, take for granted your capabilities. Each minute a second of life is a challenge—so sit still, schmuck, and let this be a lesson to you. Happiness has to be earned and respected. Rewards must never be taken for granted".{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=119}}}}
[[File:Rod Steiger the Pawnbroker 2.jpg|thumb|left|Steiger in ''[[The Pawnbroker (film)|The Pawnbroker]]'' (1964)]]
In 1965, Steiger played an effeminate embalmer in [[Tony Richardson]]'s comedy ''[[The Loved One (film)|The Loved One]]'', about the funeral business in [[Los Angeles]], based on the [[The Loved One (book)|1948 short satirical novel]] by [[Evelyn Waugh]].{{sfn|Zimmerman|2009|p=95}} His curly-haired appearance in the film was modeled on a bust of [[Apollo]] he once saw while meeting Richardson.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=120}} Steiger offended Bosley Crowther of ''[[The New York Times]]'', who found his character repellent.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=121}} His next role, as Komarovsky, a Russian politician and "villainous opportunist" who rapes [[Julie Christie]]'s character in [[David Lean]]'s ''[[Doctor Zhivago (film)|Doctor Zhivago]]'' (1965), was one of his favorites.<ref name="Inc1966">{{cite magazine|title=Epic of Beauty and Terror|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B0wEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA48|date=January 21, 1966|magazine=[[Life (magazine)|Life]]|page=48|issn=0024-3019}}</ref> Steiger, one of only two Americans in the cast, was initially apprehensive about working with such great British actors as [[Ralph Richardson]] and [[Alec Guinness]],<ref>{{cite web |first=Jeff |last=McNeal |date=November 1, 2001 |title=Rod Steiger interview |publisher=bigpicturedvd.com |url=http://www.thebigpicturedvd.com/bigreport12.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010033541/http://www.thebigpicturedvd.com/bigreport12.shtml |archive-date=October 10, 2007 |access-date=July 22, 2015}}</ref> and was pleased when the film was completed that he did not stand out as an American.<ref name="MAB"/> The film was the biggest international box office draw of the 1960s,<ref>{{cite book|title=Program Austrian Cultural Season in Russia 2013/14 – Photo project Dr. Schiwago by Austrian group of artists G. R. A. M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pleiPwg5K0cC&pg=PA314|publisher=AustrianCulturalForum Moscow|page=314|id=GGKEY:XE8SU7JWWQU}}</ref> grossing $200 million worldwide.{{sfn|Phillips|2006|p=358}} It has since been acclaimed as one of the [[List of films considered the best|greatest films ever made]], and in 1998 was selected as the 39th best American film in the original [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies]] list by the [[American Film Institute]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/100years/movies.aspx|title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies|publisher=[[American Film Institute]]|access-date=July 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928060051/http://www.afi.com/100years/movies.aspx|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Sidney Poitier 1968.jpg|thumb|[[Sidney Poitier]] considered Steiger and [[Spencer Tracy]] to be the finest actors with whom he ever worked.]]
Steiger had intended returning to the stage, and had signed on to play the title character in [[Bertolt Brecht]]'s ''[[Life of Galileo|Galileo]]'', at the [[Lincoln Center|Lincoln Center Repertory Company]] in April 1967, but the production was cancelled when he became ill.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=109}} Steiger won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Chief of Police Bill Gillespie in ''[[In the Heat of the Night (film)|In the Heat of the Night]]'', opposite [[Sidney Poitier]]. He played a Southern police chief searching for a murderer. A stereotypical Southern racist, he jumps to the conclusion that the culprit is Virgil Tibbs (Poitier), an African-American man passing through town after visiting his mother, who later turns out to be an experienced homicide detective from [[Philadelphia]]. The film deals with the way the two men interact and join forces in solving the crime, as Steiger's Gillespie learns to greatly respect the black man he initially took to be a criminal.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/21309 | title=''In the Heat of the Night'' (1967) | publisher=Turner Classic Movies | access-date=September 1, 2015 | first=Jerry | last=Renshaw | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928060209/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/21309%7C0/In-the-Heat-of-the-Night.html | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> Steiger drew upon his experience in the Navy with a Southerner named "King", remembering his accent.<ref name="ST interview"/> Poitier considered Steiger and [[Spencer Tracy]] to have been the finest actors he had ever worked with, remarking in 1995, "He's so good he made me dig into bags I never knew I had."<ref>{{cite book|title=Film Review|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=11xZAAAAMAAJ|year=1995|publisher=Orpheus Pub.}}</ref> A. D. Murphy of ''Variety'' described Steiger's performance as "outstanding", writing: "Steiger's transformation from a diehard Dixie bigot to a man who learns to respect Poitier stands out in smooth comparison to the wandering solution of the murder."<ref>{{cite web|author=Murphy, A.D|url=https://variety.com/1967/film/reviews/in-the-heat-of-the-night-1200421432/|title=''In the Heat of the Night''|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=June 21, 1967|access-date=July 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928060239/http://variety.com/1967/film/reviews/in-the-heat-of-the-night-1200421432/|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Steiger won a plethora of other awards, including a [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|BAFTA]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1968/film/foreign-actor |title=Best Foreign Actor in 1968 |publisher=[[British Academy Film Awards|BAFTA.org]] |access-date=September 1, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928060349/http://awards.bafta.org/award/1968/film/foreign-actor |archive-date=September 28, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Golden Globe]],<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.goldenglobes.com/rod-steiger | title=Rod Steiger | publisher=[[Golden Globe Award|Golden Globes]] | access-date=September 1, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928060407/http://www.goldenglobes.com/rod-steiger | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref> and awards for Best Actor from the [[National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor|National Society of Film Critics]] and the [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|New York Film Critics Circle]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://nationalsocietyoffilmcritics.com/about-2/ | title=National Society of Film Critics Awards | date=December 19, 2009 | publisher=[[National Society of Film Critics]] | access-date=September 1, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928060427/http://nationalsocietyoffilmcritics.com/about-2/ | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nyfcc.com/awards/?cat=2 | title=New York Film Critics Circle Awards | publisher=[[New York Film Critics Circle]] | access-date=September 1, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928060456/http://www.nyfcc.com/awards/?cat=2 | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1968, Steiger played a serial killer opposite [[George Segal]] in [[Jack Smight]]'s black comedy thriller ''[[No Way to Treat a Lady (film)|No Way to Treat a Lady]]''.<ref name="NYT bio"/> During the course of the film, he adopts various disguises, including those of an Irish priest, a New York City policeman, a German plumber, and a gay hairdresser, to avoid being identified, and to put his victims at ease, before strangling them and painting a pair of lips on their foreheads with garish red lipstick. The film and Steiger's performance were critically acclaimed, with [[Vincent Canby]] of ''The New York Times'' highlighting Steiger's "beautifully uninhibited performance as a hammy",<ref>{{cite news|author=Canby, Vincent|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=950CE1DE1131E034BC4951DFB5668383679EDE|title=''No Way to Treat a Lady'' (1968)|work=The New York Times|date=March 21, 1968|access-date=July 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928060807/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=950CE1DE1131E034BC4951DFB5668383679EDE|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> and a writer for ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' describing him as "brilliant as a sort of [[Boston Strangler|Boston strangler]], son of a great actress who has left her boy with a mother fixation".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeout.com/london/film/no-way-to-treat-a-lady|title=''No Way to Treat a Lady''|work=[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]|date=September 10, 2012 |access-date=July 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928060918/http://www.timeout.com/london/film/no-way-to-treat-a-lady|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Later in 1968, Steiger played a repressed gay [[non-commissioned officer]] opposite [[John Phillip Law]] in [[John Flynn (director)|John Flynn]]'s ''[[The Sergeant (1968 film)|The Sergeant]]'' for [[Warner Bros.-Seven Arts]], which earned him the [[David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor|David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actor]].<ref>{{cite book|title=VFW Auxiliary&nbsp;– American Spirit Award|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-50MAQAAMAAJ|year=1993|publisher=Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States|page=10}}</ref> Despite the award win, film critic [[Pauline Kael]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' was particularly critical of the casting of Steiger as a homosexual and felt that he was "totally outside his range", to which Steiger concurred that he was ineffective.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|pp=124–25}}

Steiger was cast as a short-tempered tattooed man with soon-to-be ex-wife Claire Bloom in the science fiction picture ''[[The Illustrated Man (film)|The Illustrated Man]]'' (1969). The film was a critical and commercial failure,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,840041,00.html |title=New Movies: Walking Nightmare |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=April 4, 1969 |access-date=July 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209214726/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C840041%2C00.html |archive-date=February 9, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Ray Bradbury]] said: "Rod was very good in it, but it wasn't a good film{{nbsp}}... the script was terrible".{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=57}} Steiger had better luck alongside Bloom later that year in [[Peter Hall (director)|Peter Hall]]'s British drama ''[[Three into Two Won't Go]]'', playing an Irishman who cheats on his wife with a young hiker. It was entered into the [[19th Berlin International Film Festival|Berlin International Film Festival]] and became the 19th most popular film at the UK box office in 1969.{{Sfn|Allon|Cullen|Patterson|2002|p=137}}<ref>{{cite news | title=The World's Top Twenty Films | work=[[The Sunday Times]] | date=September 27, 1970 | page=27}}</ref>

===Historical roles and declining fortunes (1970–1981)===
Steiger was offered the title role in ''[[Patton (film)|Patton]]'' (1970), but turned it down because he did not want to glorify war.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Cornwell|first1=Rupert|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/rod-steiger-brooding-and-volatile-hollywood-tough-guy-for-more-than-50-years-dies-aged-77-647871.html|title=Rod Steiger, 'brooding and volatile' Hollywood tough guy for more than 50 years, dies aged 77|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=July 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913203708/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/rod-steiger-brooding-and-volatile-hollywood-tough-guy-for-more-than-50-years-dies-aged-77-647871.html|archive-date=September 13, 2011 |url-status=dead|date=July 10, 2002}}</ref> The role was then given to [[George C. Scott]], who won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance. Steiger called this refusal his "dumbest career move",<ref name="BBCO">{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1056105.stm | title=Obituary: Rod Steiger | work=BBC News | date=July 9, 2002 | access-date=September 22, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928061140/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1056105.stm | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> remarking, "I got on my high horse. I thought I was a pacifist."{{sfn|Herman|1995|p=449}} Instead, he chose to portray [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]] opposite [[Christopher Plummer]] in [[Sergei Bondarchuk]]'s ''[[Waterloo (1970 film)|Waterloo]]'' (1970), a co-production between the Soviet Union and Italy. [[Anatoly Efros]] wrote: "I watched with extraordinary respect, no, that is not the right word, with enthusiasm, the acting of Rod Steiger in the role of Napoleon in Waterloo",{{sfn|Эфрос|Thomas|2006|p=114}} while literary critic [[Daniel Burt (author)|Daniel S. Burt]] describes Steiger's Napoleon as an "unusual interpretation", finding him less convincing than Plummer's [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Wellington]].{{sfn|Burt|2001|p=307}}

In 1971, Steiger played a chauvinistic big game hunter, explorer and war hero opposite [[Susannah York]] in Mark Robson's ''[[Happy Birthday, Wanda June]]'',{{sfn|McCaffrey|1992|p=123}} before agreeing to star alongside [[James Coburn]] as Mexican bandit Juan Miranda in [[Sergio Leone]]'s ''[[Duck, You Sucker!]]'', which was alternatively titled ''A Fistful of Dynamite''.<ref>{{cite web |title=''A Fistful of Dynamite''&nbsp;– another Leone restoration |url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s26duckyou.html |publisher=[[DVD Talk]] |access-date=August 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928061253/http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s26duckyou.html |archive-date=September 28, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="DuckYouSucker">{{cite video | title = Duck, You Sucker, AKA A Fistful of Dynamite (2-Disc Collector's Edition, Sorting Out the Versions) | medium = DVD | publisher = [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] | location = Los Angeles, California | date = 1972}}</ref> Leone was initially dissatisfied with his performance in that he played his character as a serious, [[Emiliano Zapata|Zapata]]-like figure.{{sfn|Fawell|2005|p=146}} As a result, tension grew between Steiger and Leone, including one incident that ended with Steiger walking off during the filming of the scene where Juan's stagecoach is destroyed. After the film's completion, Leone and Steiger were content with the final result, and Steiger praised Leone for his skills as a director.<ref name="DuckYouSucker"/> Steiger auditioned for the role of [[Michael Corleone]] in [[Francis Ford Coppola]]'s ''[[The Godfather]]'' (1972), a film adaptation of [[Italian Americans|Italian American]] author [[Mario Puzo]]'s [[The Godfather (novel)|1969 novel of the same name]], but Puzo felt that Steiger was too old for the part and rejected him.{{Sfn|Mell|2005|p=101}}

Steiger played a rural [[Tennessee]] patriarch and father of [[Jeff Bridges]], at odds with Robert Ryan's character, in ''[[Lolly-Madonna XXX]]'' (1973), which received mixed reviews.<ref>{{cite news |first=Vincent |last=Canby |work=The New York Times |title=''The Lolly Madonna War'' (1973)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9903E1DB1231EF34BC4A51DFB4668388669EDE|date=February 22, 1973 |access-date=July 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928061441/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9903E1DB1231EF34BC4A51DFB4668388669EDE |archive-date=September 28, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Review: ''Lolly-Madonna XXX''|url=https://variety.com/1972/film/reviews/lolly-madonna-xxx-1117792676/|work=Variety|date=January 1973 |access-date=July 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928061745/http://variety.com/1972/film/reviews/lolly-madonna-xxx-1117792676/|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that year he was cast as the turban-wearing German officer Guenther von Lutz in [[Duccio Tessari]]'s Italian war comedy ''[[The Heroes (1973 film)|The Heroes]]'', opposite [[Rod Taylor]],{{sfn|Shipman|1980|p=565}} and appeared as "foul-mouthed Sicilian mobster" Eugenio Giannini opposite [[Gian Maria Volonté]]'s [[Lucky Luciano]] in Francesco Rosi's [[Lucky Luciano (film)|film of the same name]].{{sfnm|1a1=Hughes|1y=2011|1p=204|2a1=Maltin|2y=2014|2p=1429}}

In 1975, Steiger portrayed Italian dictator [[Benito Mussolini]] in [[Carlo Lizzani]]'s ''[[Last Days of Mussolini]]'', which received a positive critical reception.{{sfn|Simpson|2011|p=92}} He appeared in [[Claude Chabrol]]'s French picture ''[[Innocents with Dirty Hands]]'', playing the role of Louis Wormser, the wealthy alcoholic husband of [[Romy Schneider]]'s character Julie Wormser.{{sfn|Halliwell|1996|p=580}} It was poorly received by critics, and Steiger found the director, whom he had admired, a bitter disappointment.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=136}} He was highly critical of Chabrol's lack of communication and aloofness from the production, and preference for playing chess on set instead of talking through scenes.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=188}} Vincent Canby of ''The New York Times'' dismissed it as "little more than a soap opera", writing: "The performances are of a piece—uniformly atrocious. Mr. Steiger surpasses his own earlier records for lumbering busyness. Within his first few minutes on screen he (1) gets drunk, (2) whines, (3) pleads for understanding, (4) weeps and (5) goes to bed alone."<ref>{{cite news|author=Canby, Vincent|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E07E3DB123FE334BC4C53DFB767838D669EDE|title=''Les Innocents aux mains Sales'' (1975)|work=The New York Times|date=November 4, 1976|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928061800/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E07E3DB123FE334BC4C53DFB767838D669EDE|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that year, Steiger starred as an [[Irish Republican Army]] terrorist who plans to blow up the [[Palace of Westminster|Houses of Parliament]] in [[Don Sharp]]'s British thriller ''[[Hennessy (film)|Hennessy]]''.{{sfn|Connelly|2012|p=133}} John Simon of ''[[New York (magazine)|New York Magazine]]'' wrote: "This fellow Hennessy, as played by Rod Steiger, is about as interesting and likable as a [[Guy Fawkes]] dummy."<ref>{{cite web|title=Nashville Without Tears|first=John|last=Simon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IugCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA66|date=August 11, 1975|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|page=66|issn=0028-7369}}</ref>
[[File:W. C. Fields 1938.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[W. C. Fields]]: Steiger's portrayal of him was poorly received by critics.]]
The following year, Steiger portrayed the comic actor [[W. C. Fields]] in an [[Arthur Hiller]] biopic, ''[[W. C. Fields and Me]]'', for [[Universal Pictures]]. The [[screenplay]], which was based on a [[memoir]] by [[Carlotta Monti]], who was Fields' mistress for the last 14 years of his life, was penned by [[Bob Merrill]]. Steiger read extensively about Fields in preparation for the role, and developed an encyclopaedic knowledge of his career and personal life. He concluded that he would base his characterization around his performance in ''[[The Bank Dick]]'' (1940).<ref name="MAB"/> One day, Fields' mistress Monti turned up on set, and watched the scene where he briefly thanks everybody. Nervous that she might not approve, he broke down in tears after Monti met him after the scene and fondly said "Woody, Woody, Woody, My Woody", a nickname used only by those very close to Fields.<ref name="MAB"/> Despite the energy Steiger put into the picture, like the actor's previous recent films, it was poorly received by critics. Canby called it "dreadful" and described Steiger's portrayal of Fields as a "wax dummy of a character".<ref>{{cite web|author=Canby, Vincent|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C04E3DC173EE334BC4953DFB266838D669EDE|title=''W C Fields and Me'' (1976)|work=The New York Times|date=April 1, 1976|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928061937/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C04E3DC173EE334BC4953DFB266838D669EDE|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Lucia Bozzola of ''The New York Times'' later referred to Steiger's portrayal of Fields as "superb", but noted that his Hollywood career had "undeniably fallen from his 1950s and '60s heights".<ref name="NYT bio"/>

Steiger played [[Pontius Pilate]] in [[Franco Zeffirelli]]'s TV [[miniseries]] ''[[Jesus of Nazareth (TV series)|Jesus of Nazareth]]'' (1977). [[Stacy Keach]], who portrayed [[Barabbas]], expressed his joy at the opportunity to work with Steiger, describing him as "generous and opinionated".{{sfn|Keach|2013|p=119}} In 1978, Steiger played a senator in Norman Jewison's ''[[F.I.S.T. (film)|F.I.S.T.]]'', opposite [[Sylvester Stallone]], who played a Cleveland warehouse worker involved in the labor union leadership of the fictional organisation named Federation of Inter-State Truckers.{{sfn|Greene|2010|p=109}} ''[[Love and Bullets (1979 film)|Love and Bullets]]'', later that year, in which Steiger appeared as a mafia boss, was poorly received; [[Roger Ebert]] dismissed it as a "hopelessly confused hodgepodge of chases, killings, enigmatic meetings and separations, and insufferably overacted scenes by Steiger alternating with alarmingly underacted scenes by [Charles] Bronson".<ref name="Ebert79">{{cite web|url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/love-and-bullets-1979|title=''Love and Bullets''|author=Ebert, Roger|publisher=RogerEbert.com|date=January 1, 1979|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928062044/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/love-and-bullets-1979|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The following year, Steiger was cast as a general opposite Richard Burton and Robert Mitchum in [[Andrew V. McLaglen]]'s war film ''[[Breakthrough (1979 film)|Breakthrough]]'', set on the [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]].{{sfn|Bowker|2000|p=218}} In ''[[The Amityville Horror (1979 film)|The Amityville Horror]]'' (1979), Steiger appeared as a disturbed priest, who is invited to perform an [[exorcism]] on a haunted house. Again Steiger was accused of overacting; [[Janet Maslin]] of ''The New York Times'' wrote: "Mr. Steiger bellows and weeps and overdoes absolutely everything. He won't even pick up the phone before it's rung 12 or 15 times."<ref>{{cite news|author=Maslin, Janet|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A07EFD6143EE732A25754C2A9619C946890D6CF|title=''The Amityville Horror'' (1979)|work=The New York Times|date=July 27, 1979|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426064528/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A07EFD6143EE732A25754C2A9619C946890D6CF|archive-date=April 26, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Pauline Kael thought that Steiger's "spiritual agony was enough to shatter the camera lens".{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=141}}
[[File:Mussolini biografia.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Benito Mussolini]]: Steiger portrayed him for the second time on screen in 1981's Libyan-funded ''[[Lion of the Desert]]''.]]
In 1980, Steiger received two [[Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actor]] nominations for his roles in ''[[Klondike Fever]]'' and ''[[The Lucky Star (1980 film)|The Lucky Star]]'', both Canadian productions. ''Klondike Fever'' is based on [[Jack London]]'s journey from [[San Francisco]] to the [[Klondike, Yukon|Klondike]] gold fields in 1898.{{sfn|Thompson|Randall|2010|p=245}} Steiger revisited his role as Mussolini in ''[[Lion of the Desert]]'', a production that was financed by [[Muammar Gaddafi]], and which co-starred [[Anthony Quinn]] as [[Bedouin]] tribal leader [[Omar al-Mukhtar|Omar Mukhtar]], fighting the Italian army in the years leading up to World War II. The Italian authorities reportedly banned the film in 1982, as it was considered damaging to the army,{{sfn|Curtis|2010|p=199}} and it was not shown on Italian television until a state visit by Gaddafi in 2009. It received critical acclaim in Britain, where it was praised in particular for the quality of its battle scenes.<ref>{{cite web|author=Tunzelmann, Alex von|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2011/jun/30/lion-of-the-desert-libya-gaddafi|title=''Lion of the Desert'' roars for Libya's rebels|work=The Guardian|date=June 30, 2011|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928062231/http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2011/jun/30/lion-of-the-desert-libya-gaddafi|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Later in 1981, Steiger won the [[Montreal World Film Festival|Montréal World Film Festival Award for Best Actor]] for his portrayal of white-bearded Orthodox [[rabbi]] Reb Saunders in [[Jeremy Kagan]]'s ''[[The Chosen (1981 film)|The Chosen]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ffm-montreal.org/en/awards/36-awards-of-the-montreal-world-film-festival-1981.html|title=Awards of the Montreal World Film Festival&nbsp;– 1981|publisher=Montréal World Film Festival|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928062407/http://www.ffm-montreal.org/en/awards/36-awards-of-the-montreal-world-film-festival-1981.html|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Fathers And Sons|work=New York|first=David|last=Denby|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m-cCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA54|date=May 17, 1982|page=54|issn=0028-7369}}</ref> Janet Maslin commented that Steiger's "slow, rolling delivery" was more "numbing than prepossessing",<ref>{{cite news|author=Maslin, Janet|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B00E6D71038F933A05757C0A964948260|title=''The Chosen''|work=The New York Times|date=April 30, 1982|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928062254/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B00E6D71038F933A05757C0A964948260|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> though a critic from ''Variety'' thought it an "exceptional performance as the somewhat tyrannical but loving patriarch".{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=149}}

===B-movies and criticism (1982–1994)===
After his [[open-heart surgery]] in 1979, clinical depression and health problems during the 1980s directly affected Steiger's career, and he often turned to [[B movie]]s, low-budget, independent productions, and TV miniseries. He admitted that during this period he accepted "everything I was offered", and knew that many of the films he appeared in were not great, but wanted to demonstrate his strong work ethic despite his issues.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|pp=141–42}} He later regretted the poorer films in which he appeared during the 1980s, and wished he had done more stage work.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=150}} He sank into an even deeper depression when he was not involved in acting, but it bothered him more that his acting career had taken a turn for the worse and was no longer challenging.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=142}} The major studio producers were wary of his problems and considered him a liability.<ref name="NYT bio"/> Steiger spoke about the experience to a younger colleague while advising: "Never tell anyone if you've got heart problems, kid. Never."{{sfn|Benson|2012|p=93}} His reputation as a fine character actor remained intact, and [[Joel Hirschhorn]] at the time considered his talent to be "as strong as ever".{{sfn|Hirschhorn|1983|p=352}}

In 1984, Steiger starred as a detective assigned to investigate the murder of a Chicago psychoanalyst ([[Roger Moore]]), a man whom he detests from a previous case, in [[Bryan Forbes]]'s ''[[The Naked Face (film)|The Naked Face]]''. [[Richard Christiansen (critic)|Richard Christiansen]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' referred to it as a "wimpy suspense movie shot in Chicago in the fall of 1983, [that] doesn't do much good for the city or for anyone connected with it", and considered Steiger to be "acting in his high hysteria gear", who "snarls and whines and overacts".<ref name=Christiansen>{{cite web|author=Christiansen, Richard|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-01-29/features/8501060447_1_roger-moore-movie-rod-steiger|title=''The Naked Face''|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=January 29, 1985|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928063204/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-01-29/features/8501060447_1_roger-moore-movie-rod-steiger|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Steiger took a break from cinema in the mid-1980s, during which he appeared in the [[ITV Yorkshire|Yorkshire Television]] mini-series ''[[The Glory Boys]]'' (1984) with [[Anthony Perkins]],{{sfn|Goble|1999|p=418}}<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/43161/glory-boys-the-contract-the/ | title=The Cold War Spy Collection: The Glory Boys & The Contract | publisher=DVD Talk | date=August 11, 2009 | access-date=September 24, 2015 | last=Hartel | first=Nick | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928063222/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/43161/glory-boys-the-contract-the/ | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> and ''[[Hollywood Wives (miniseries)|Hollywood Wives]]'' (1985) with [[Angie Dickinson]].{{sfn|De Vito|Tropea|2010|p=184}} Steiger and Perkins were at loggerheads during the production of ''The Glory Boys''. Perkins resented the fact that Steiger insisted on a bigger trailer and felt that Steiger was trying to steal scenes from him, while Steiger had thought Perkins "so jittery and jinxed by the chemicals he was taking" that he felt sorry for him and believed that he was jeopardizing the success of the film.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=151}} Steiger also performed on [[Joni Mitchell]]'s 1985 album [[Dog Eat Dog (Joni Mitchell album)|''Dog Eat Dog'']], where he provided the voice of an evangelist in the song "Tax Free".{{sfn|Rees|Crampton|1999|p=676}}
[[File:Rod Steiger.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Steiger in 1978 for the premiere of ''[[F.I.S.T. (film)|F. I. S. T.]]'']]
Steiger played a villain/antagonist role in the [[Argentina|Argentine]]-American film ''[[Catch the Heat (film)|Catch the Heat]]'' (1987), an action/martial arts picture about two undercover agents of the law who fight against an American-Brazilian drug baron who smuggles drugs into the United States inside showgirls' breast implants.{{sfn|Palmer|Palmer|Meyers|1995|p=53}} According to director [[Fred Olen Ray]], it was pulled from distribution within a week of release.{{sfn|Ray|1991|p=184}} In 1988, Steiger and [[Yvonne De Carlo]] played a spooky elderly couple with developmentally delayed children in [[John Hough (director)|John Hough]]'s horror film ''[[American Gothic (1988 film)|American Gothic]]''. Universally panned by the critics, [[Caryn James]] of ''The New York Times'' wrote: "Mr. Steiger addresses the camera as if he were reciting Shakespeare, he is truly, straightforwardly, hilariously bad."<ref name="James">{{cite news|author=James, Caryn|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=940DE5DC1331F937A35755C0A96E948260|title=''American Gothic'' (1987)|work=The New York Times|date=June 4, 1988|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928063350/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=940DE5DC1331F937A35755C0A96E948260|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> During the last year of the decade he played authority figures, including a mayor in ''[[The January Man]]'',<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=950DEEDF1331F930A25752C0A96F948260 | title=''January Man'' (1989) | work=The New York Times | first=Vincent | last=Canby | date=January 13, 1989 | access-date=September 1, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928063414/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=950DEEDF1331F930A25752C0A96F948260 | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> and as Judge Prescott in ''[[Tennessee Waltz (film)|Tennessee Waltz]]''.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/131408/Black-Water/details | title=''Black Water'' | work=The New York Times | access-date=September 24, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928063425/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/131408/Black-Water/details | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> Although Steiger admitted that his performance in ''The January Man'' was "way over the top", he enjoyed the experience, thereby marking a positive turning point after a period of clinical depression.{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|p=152}}

In 1990, Steiger starred in ''[[Men of Respect]]'', a crime drama film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play ''[[Macbeth]]''. He played a character based on [[King Duncan]], opposite [[John Turturro]] as Mike Battaglia ([[Macbeth (character)|Macbeth]]), who plays a Mafia hitman who climbs his way to the top by killing Steiger's character. The film was critically panned, with Roger Ebert awarding it one star out of four, describing the concept as a "very, very bad idea".<ref>{{cite web|date=January 18, 1991|url=http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/men-of-respect-1991|title=''Men of Respect''|author=Ebert, Roger|publisher=Rogerebert.com|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928063516/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/men-of-respect-1991|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Steiger played another mobster, [[Sam Giancana]], two years later in the miniseries ''[[Sinatra (miniseries)|Sinatra]]'' (1992).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/08/arts/television-sinatra-the-idol-the-institution-the-mini-series.html | title=Television; Sinatra: The Idol, The Institution, The Mini-Series | work=The New York Times | date=November 8, 1992 | access-date=September 1, 2015 | author=Strum, Charles | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928063703/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/08/arts/television-sinatra-the-idol-the-institution-the-mini-series.html | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref>

Steiger portrayed a reverend living in a small town in the [[Southern United States|American South]] in the macabre [[Merchant Ivory Productions|Merchant Ivory]] film production ''[[The Ballad of the Sad Café (film)|The Ballad of the Sad Café]]'' (1991), co-starring [[Vanessa Redgrave]] and [[Keith Carradine]]. The film met with generally lukewarm reviews, though it was entered into the [[41st Berlin International Film Festival]].<ref name="Berlinale">{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1991/02_programm_1991/02_Programm_1991.html |title=Berlinale: 1991 Programme |access-date=July 23, 2015 |publisher=Berlinale.de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928063717/http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1991/02_programm_1991/02_Programm_1991.html |archive-date=September 28, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Steiger auditioned for the part of an elderly Irishman in [[Ron Howard]]'s ''[[Far and Away]]'', starring [[Tom Cruise]] and [[Nicole Kidman]]. Steiger, who had long been bald, was ordered by Howard to wear a wig to the audition. He resented the fact that Howard insisted on taping the audition, which he believed to be a form of humiliation for actors, serving as after-dinner entertainment for the Hollywood executives. Steiger never forgave Howard, whom he referred to as a "cocksucker", for rejecting him for the part and giving it to [[Cyril Cusack]].{{sfn|Hutchinson|1998|pp=147–48}}

In 1993, Steiger portrayed an aging [[Gynaecology|gynaecologist]] who terrorizes his urban neighbors in a rural community in [[Burlington, Vermont]], in ''[[The Neighbor (1993 film)|The Neighbor]]''. Dennis Schwartz considered it to have been one of Steiger's creepiest roles, though he thought that the poor script had rendered the role awkward and "mildly entertaining in the sense that Steiger is asked to carry the film and hams it up".<ref name="Schwartz Neighbor">{{cite web|author=Schwartz, Dennis|url=http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/neighbor.htm|title=''The Neighbor''|publisher=Ozus' World Movie Reviews|date=February 20, 2004|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928063826/http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/neighbor.htm|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The following year, Steiger agreed to play the role of a Cuban mob boss opposite Sylvester Stallone and [[Sharon Stone]] in [[Luis Llosa]]'s thriller ''[[The Specialist]]'', citing its purpose as a "$40 million commercial" to show a new generation that he existed.{{sfn|Fantle|Johnson|2009|p=140}} Critics panned the film, which has a four percent approval rating on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 27 reviews as of July 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1056079-specialist/|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=July 23, 2015|title=''The Specialist'' (1994)|date=January 31, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928063845/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1056079-specialist/|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The role earned Steiger a [[Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor]] nomination, and the film was listed in ''[[The Official Razzie Movie Guide]]'' as one of "The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made".{{sfn|Wilson|2005}}

===Later work and final years (1995–2002)===
[[File:Rod Steiger 1995.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Steiger in 1995]]
Following ''The Specialist'' (1994), Steiger appeared in ''[[Tom Clancy's Op Center (film)|Tom Clancy's Op Center]]'' (1995), a film that was edited down into a TV miniseries,<ref>{{cite news|author=Storm, Jonathan|url=http://articles.philly.com/1995-02-23/entertainment/25705916_1_spy-show-tech-tv-critic|title='Op Center' Drowns In Numbing Details The Four-hour Mini-series Is A Talky Piece Dressed As A High-tech Espionage Thriller. It's Not Just The Weapons That Are Deadly|newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|date=February 23, 1995|access-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928064513/http://articles.philly.com/1995-02-23/entertainment/25705916_1_spy-show-tech-tv-critic|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> and featured in a ''[[Columbo]]'' television film, ''[[List of Columbo episodes#Season 10 and specials|Strange Bedfellows]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author=McEveety, Vincent|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/film/mwrmg/columbo-strange-bedfellows|title=Columbo: Strange Bedfellows|work=[[Radio Times]]|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928064523/http://www.radiotimes.com/film/mwrmg/columbo-strange-bedfellows|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The following year, he took a minor role as Doc Wallace in the [[Chip Rosenbloom|Dale Rosenbloom]] family drama ''[[Shiloh (film)|Shiloh]]''. He reprised the role three years later in [[Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season|the sequel]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E05E2DE143DF931A35754C0A96F958260 | title=''Shiloh 2 Shiloh Season'' (1999) | work=The New York Times | date=July 2, 1999 | access-date=September 1, 2015 | author=Gates, Anita | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928064643/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9E05E2DE143DF931A35754C0A96F958260 | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> Also in 1996, Steiger played a "jingoistic top general" who "petitions the president to go nuclear in the middle of a global crisis" in the ensemble production of ''[[Mars Attacks!]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Rosenbaum, Jonathan|url=http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/1996/12/flirting-with-disaster-3/|title=Flirting With Disaster [''Mars Attacks!'']|work=[[Chicago Reader]]|date=December 13, 1996|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928064700/http://www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/1996/12/flirting-with-disaster-3/|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1997, Steiger played Tony Vago, the mob boss of [[Vincent Gallo]]'s character in [[Kiefer Sutherland]]'s ''[[Truth or Consequences, N.M. (film)|Truth or Consequences, N.M.]]'', a gritty ''noir'' about a drug heist gone wrong.{{sfn|Grant|1998|p=425}} Steiger played judges in [[Antonio Banderas]]'s comedy-drama ''[[Crazy in Alabama]]'' and in the prison drama, ''[[The Hurricane (1999 film)|The Hurricane]]'',<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D0DE6DF1139F931A15753C1A96F958260 | title=''Crazy in Alabama'' (1999) | work=The New York Times | date=October 22, 1999 | access-date=September 1, 2015 | author=Maslin, Janet | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928064758/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D0DE6DF1139F931A15753C1A96F958260 | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Denzel Washington Stars As Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter In Movie The Hurricane|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SDsDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56|date=January 10, 2000|work=[[Jet (magazine)|Jet]]|page=56|issn=0021-5996|publisher = Johnson Publishing Company}}</ref> both in 1999, the latter of which tells the story of former middleweight boxer [[Rubin Carter]], who was wrongly convicted of a triple homicide in a bar in [[Paterson, New Jersey]].<ref name="Company1974">{{cite web|title=I was framed for murder|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6cwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA174|date=December 1974|work=[[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony]]|page=174|first=Hans J.|last=Massaqoui|issn=0012-9011}}</ref> ''The Hurricane'' reunited Steiger with Norman Jewison, who had directed him in ''In the Heat of the Night''.{{sfn|Allon|Cullen|Patterson|2002|p=276}} Steiger portrayed [[H. Lee Sarokin]], the judge responsible for freeing Carter. Sarokin thought it was a "marvellous film" that was Oscar-worthy, but found Steiger's portrayal as overacted and a "little arrogant and pompous".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/h-lee-sarokin-ex-judge-playwright/article568226/|title=H. Lee Sarokin: ex-judge, playwright |work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|date=February 25, 2011|access-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928065107/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/h-lee-sarokin-ex-judge-playwright/article568226/|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

After a minor role as a "bombastic priest" in ''[[End of Days (film)|End of Days]]'' (1999),<ref name="NYT bio"/> Steiger was one of the lead actors in [[Burt Reynolds]]'s ''[[The Last Producer]]'' (2000), a film about a washed-up, veteran producer (Reynolds) who tries to re-enter the movie business by producing a new film.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2001/tv/reviews/the-last-producer-1200466904/|title=Review: 'The Last Producer'|magazine=Variety|date=February 5, 2001|access-date=September 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928065123/http://variety.com/2001/tv/reviews/the-last-producer-1200466904/|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Steiger's last film role was as the [[billiard hall]] manager, Nick, in ''[[Poolhall Junkies]]'' (2002);<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A01E2DA123CF93BA15751C0A9659C8B63 | title=''Poolhall Junkies'' (2002) | work=The New York Times | date=February 28, 2003 | access-date=September 23, 2015 | last=Scott | first=A. O. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928065356/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A01E2DA123CF93BA15751C0A9659C8B63 | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref> it was poorly received by critics.{{sfn|Breitbart|Ebner|2004|p=283}}<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/poolhall_junkies/ | title=''Poolhall Junkies'' (2002) | website=Rotten Tomatoes | date=February 28, 2003 | access-date=September 23, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928065423/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/poolhall_junkies/ | archive-date=September 28, 2015 | url-status=live}}</ref>