Christos Vasilopoulos is one of the finest actors that Greek television, stage and cinema has ever known. Vasilopoulos opens up about his heritage, acting career, new American film “Geocachers“ and his marriage that took place this summer in Fiskardo, Kefallonia.
Christos was born and raised in Athens, Greece. He came to Los Angeles a couple of years ago. He states “In 1999, I was in New York, where I took summer courses at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. My acting coach is Ivanna Chubbuck, who has worked with such esteemed actors as Halle Berry, Charlize Theron, Brad Pitt, Jim Carrey, among many others. I’ve been working a lot in Greece for the last thirteen years and I wanted to make the transition here in the United States. My passion about my craft and work lead me here.”
Regarding his latest film Geocachers, Vasilopoulos remarks “it’s the first action film that I did here in the United States. It was shot a year ago in Nebraska and it’s complete now. It’s ready for be sold on the American Film Market in October. I hope that it will find distribution in Greece too. For me doing an action film here, it would be great to have a red carpet premiere in Greece and show what I did here as my first step in the United States.”
“It’s a classic action film. It deals with four guys camping outdoors in the forest, and coming across a high-tech box that costs a couple of million dollars. The good guys find the box and a gang of bad villains are after them. The film is a lot budget indie film that was shot really nice. The production was amazing! It looks actually really good. One hour and thirty minutes pass really quick. It’s a fast-paced movie. I’m playing Hector, who is one of the villains,” he adds.
On his proudest professional accomplishments in acting, he shares “I’ve been in business for fifteen years. Everybody thinks that I started on TV, but in reality I started on stage when I was seventeen years old. That was when I joined the Drama School of Athens and I was a member of the National Theatre of Greece for four years, and after eight years TV came into my life and I played Lefteri in Erotas. A lot of people think I’m an actor from TV, but I’m a theatrical actor. I’ve worked with a lot of big actors in Greece that have been forty years in the business, and did some big productions n Greece, and my first feature film in the United States is one of my proudest moments as far as my craft is concerned. For a guy that nobody knows here in the United States, I’m starting from zero, and I feel that people can recognize your talent in what you can do, as far as acting is concerned. I’m proud of the film I did. I’ve also performed in some of Greece’s ancient theaters such are Herodeon and Epidaurus.”
Regarding his recent marriage to Antonia Ventouras-Vasilopoulos, he exclaims “I’m a happily married man! We got married in Kefallonia, which is one of the most beautiful islands of Greece. We had our first marriage in Las Vegas, but we did our traditional wedding ceremony in the village of Fiskardo, Kefallonia.”
“Fiskardo is quiet and it’s so cosmopolitan. It has all these boats in its port, and it’s nice and clean. It does not have a lot of bars, nor clubs. The food is amazing and the people are very nice. It’s like an oasis,” he acknowledges.
For the Greek-American youth who wish to make it in acting, “I always talk about the way it has worked for me. For other actors it might work completely different. Do what you feel and follow your instinct. Never give up. Feel free to make mistakes, since you just learn from them, and that will take you a step further. Most importantly, do not be afraid to lose. Don’t care about what others have to say and always fight for what you want to do. You should have an idea about your craft, and know that it’s not about your publicity; it’s about the acting, and how far and how deep you want to go. The right way is to start from zero and be motivated.”
Vasilopoulos reveals that his dream acting partners include such acclaimed Oscar winning-actors Daniel Day Lewis and Meryl Streep. On his alternate career choice, if he weren’t an actor, Vasilopoulos states that he would have liked to have been a rock star.
As an actor, Vasilopoulos notes that it’s important to stay in good physical shape. “I am an athlete. I used to be part of the national team of Greece in Tae Kwon Do. I also think that acting is not about studying a lot. It’s about extending your whole personality in all sectors and fields. There is a lot of competition here in the United States, and you have to be in shape and ready. When the chance will come, you need to be there 100%. You have to exercise, work out, and study. You have to have your acting coach and dialect coach. Especially in LA, it’s the last level in the game. You’re playing a video game and you are at the top level of that game and you are just fighting with the monster. You need to have all the equipment and all the qualifications. The more you have, the sooner you will be hired to play a part,” the Greek heartthrob says.
In addition to his acting, Vasilopoulos is also one of the jurors of the Lady Filmmakers Film Festival, and he also filmed commercials for Gamestop, one of the largest video game store chains in California.
On the Greek-American community, Vasilopoulos says “all the Greek-American immigrants that came to the United States have the genes from Greece and our culture goes back to the BC years. Greeks are smart people. Greeks always have the ways to make it, one way or another. We are hustlers, in a good way. It doesn’t matter if it’s acting or trading, this is a land that everything happens and you can make a lot of money and take your craft to the next level. A lot of prominent Greek-Americans have made it here.”
For his dedicated fans, Vasilopoulos concludes “I would love to hug and kiss them and say a big thank you for all these years that they have supported me. I have a lot of loyal fans on my Facebook page and my official site. I haven’t shown them yet what I can do. I have a long way to go. Thanks for believing in me and my talent. I’m not going to let them down!”
For more information on Christos Vasilopoulos, please visit his official website.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
