Greek American Actor Gilles Marini on Coronavirus Pandemic, Upcoming Projects

 

Actor Gilles Marini (who portrays Ted Laurent in the television soap opera “Days of Our Lives”) spoke with Greek Reporter recently about the loss he himself has suffered because of the coronavirus and shared his feelings about being quarantined during the pandemic.

The veteran actor also spoke about being a part of the digital television series “The Bay” and its spinoff, called “yA.”

He also expressed how proud he is of his Greek heritage, his mother Franca being half-Greek and a native of Athens, Greece. Her original family name was Galises.

He then paid homage to his aunt, who recently passed away from complications of the Coronavirus. “My aunt (Mom’s sister) died very fast from the Coronavirus — within a matter of two days,” he said with sadness, while he fondly recalled his “beautiful” memories of her.

Marini admitted that quarantine life has been “a little bit of a blur” and struggled to explain his view of it, saying that it was of course an “unexplainable thing” that nobody has ever experienced before. “For me, it has taught me a lot of things about myself such as how close I am with nature, and how close I am with animals and my family,” he said.

“During this pandemic, to be brutally honest, I have never felt closer to my family, as well as animals and nature. This is the silver lining in all of this,” he underscored.

“Another negative aspect is that so many people have lost their businesses. I try not to concentrate on the worst, so it’s a bit of an epiphany. I am really hoping that the 99 percent of darkness will be taken over by the one percent of light.”

Marini mused that the natural world has in a way been able to hit a reset button, and in many places, wildlife has returned to its original territory due to a lack of tourism and the constant burning of fossil fuels. “We need to put everything aside and we need to live with our eyes open and see what is happening around us. Nature is beautiful and we need to give respect to our planet. It’s a very simple thing,” the veteran actor says.

“I want the world to be a better place after all of this is over, and I hope that there is a lot less greed in the world. It would be better for us to live simpler because that way, we will be so much happier,” he philosophized.

Marini also spoke about being a part of The Bay and its spinoff series, yA. “It is going to be interesting,” he hinted. “Gregori J. Martin is a true go-getter in this town. He has a great mind and I love how he works with us.”

This past summer, the heartthrob actor had nothing but the kindest remarks about the Star Struck fan event in Tarrytown, New York, where he was joined alongside such actors as Eric Martsolf, Greg Rikaart, and Freddie Smith. “I loved that event. It was so much fun,” he admitted. “I love being surrounded by people and sharing their stories and hanging out with people.”

Asked for any message he might like to share with his fans, Marini replied “Learn, open your eyes, open your arms, your hearts, and open your soul. This is a test of what human beings should be like, and we can move forward and we can be in a much better place.”

To learn more about Greek-American actor Gilles Marini, you can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.