Born in Trieste to Serbian parents, Velimir and Vera Đjerasimović (née Petrijević), he attended the Slovenian scientific lyceum (realna gimnazija s slovenskim ucnim jezikom) in Trieste. He made his film debut in 1964 after graduating from university and Actors' Studio in Rome. Mostly cast in villainous roles, he appeared in Mario Bava's Planet of the Vampires (1965), Sergio Martino's Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972), Umberto Lenzi's Man from Deep River (1972) and Eaten Alive! (1980), Mario Gariazzo's The Eerie Midnight Horror Show (1974), and Ruggero Deodato's Last Cannibal World (1977), among many other titles.