Brega was born in Rome. He was a butcher before he drifted into acting, where his heavy physique ensured him a plethora of character roles. Debuting with director Dino Risi, he then played some minor roles in Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Western movies: A Fistful of Dollars, as Chico; For a Few Dollars More, as Niño; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly as Corporal Wallace; and also as a gangster in Once Upon a Time in America. He appeared in many other Spaghetti Westerns, including Death Rides a Horse, The Great Silence, and My Name is Nobody. Later in his career he had comical roles with director Carlo Verdone, such as in Un sacco bello and Talcum Powder.
He died of heart attack in Rome in 1994.
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