Among his friends was Abe "The Newsboy" Hollandersky, boxer, wrestler and extra in the cinema, who according to some supported Montagna in helping him fly his autobiography in 1930.

[5] In 1917, in a New York gymnasium, he was noticed by producer Douglas Fairbanks, who wanted him beside him in the film In Again, Out Again; from here he entered the world of cinema and in 1919 appeared as a macabre villain in Maurice Tourneur's masterpiece Victory, alongside Lon Chaney.

Montagna's fortune increased by collaborating first with Rodolfo Valentino in the films The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and The Son of the Sheik, then with Buster Keaton in Palooka from Paducah.

He continued to act until the late 1930s, mainly playing antagonist parts, similar to Louis Wolheim; he was also seen alongside Buster Crabbe in the 1936 series Flash Gordon.

Despite his physical appearance and background as a wrestler, Bull Montana was always considered a gentleman for the kind and polite ways that distinguished him in his life.