Yorgo Constantine, exclusive interview with Christos Arfanis
Christos Arfanis: What made you want to be an actor?
Yorgo Constantine: I grew up being involved in the arts. When I was a little child, my father came fromGreece to America and put himself through NYU film school. And his best friend was Martin Scorsese. But he already had restaurants. My mother got pregnant, somy father stopped doing films.But as I got older, my sister was involved in acting. My best friends were on Broadway.And so I decided, hey, let me try acting.When I was going to university, I decided, let me try to get into the acting program. And the university (New York University) said, we only have one spot. .We have one spot.I said, Well, I’d like to try out.And I said, what do I have to do?They said, Just come in with a monologue.I said, can I write the monologue?And they said, no, we want a classic.I go, Well, I’d like to write something. And they said to me, if youwrite something, please bring it to us.I go, okay. So I’m at a museum. I’m waiting. I’m eating a sandwich.I write a monologue on a paper bag.The night before I go in thenext morning, I give my audition. I leave.The school calls me the next day, NYU, the dean, and says, we accept you. We loved what you did as your audition. So I went to NYU for a semester.I did very well, but I left.And I said, I’m going to focus on being an actor. I studied privately with a woman who took overthe actor studio from Lee Strasberg that helped.Her name was Elaine Aiken. So I studied with her for three or four years. And then when I tried to get representation, I saw in Entertainment magazine audition for Agent manager. I went in to audition.This woman called me. She said, out of everybody that auditioned,I only want to take you. And she took me, brought me to Los Angeles. In my first week in Los Angeles, I tested for a series. It was between me and George Clooney. My first week in Los Angeles, thecreators of the TV show wanted me.The studio chose George Clooney. Okay. My second month in Los Angeles, Igot my first movie opposite with Pierce Brosnan, who went off, played James Bond.And then I’ve been acting ever since.Professionally.
Christos Arfanis:Do you have a piece of advice that would you like to give to people who want to be actors ?
Yorgo Constantine:Yes, absolutely. You have to love it. You have to love the acting. Not to be famous, not to make a lot of money. If you’re good at acting, it doesn’t guarantee you’re going to get work. It doesn’t guarantee you’re going to get paid. So you better love acting. And you have to work very hard. Study, study, study, practice, practice, practice. But you must first really love and want to act.
Christos Arfanis:What does Yorgo Constantine loves in acting?
Yorgo Constantine: I love, I guess, the ancient Greeks to be a mirror, a reflection for society, to see the human condition, to show the human condition.
Christos Arfanis:You’ve said that when you asked to prepare a monologue, you’d prefer to write one. What made you decide to follow a career path as an actor and not as a screenwriter?
Yorgo Constantine:I love to play. I love to play with people but writing alone.
Christos Arfanis:So when you are writing something, you are doing that for yourself.
Yorgo Constantine: Right. Correct. I’ve written four scripts, two with partners, two by myself. And right now, I have a script that I’m working on right now for myself to do, and I wrote it, and half of it takes place in Greece because I want to make sure I come back and stay in Greece to make this movie.
Christos Arfanis:What did motivate you to write a script about Greece? Was it the sky or the sun or something else that Greece has and you haven’t find anywhere else?
Yorgo Constantine: I’m Greek. My family. My father’s Greek. I want to be here. Yes.I want to be in Greece. So I said, it’s easy if I write a movie and it takes place in Greece.
Christos Arfanis:Does it take place in ancient Greece or in modern Greece?
Yorgo Constantine: Modern, present day Greece.
Christos Arfanis:Modern day Greece doesn’t have even a little connection to the ancient Greece. What did inspired you to write a stroy taking place in modern Greece?
Yorgo Constantine: The location to be in Greece.I didn’t want to be in Italy. I didn’t want to be in France.I didn’t want to be in America.I wanted to be in Greece. Specific. It’s too beautiful. It’s a paradise.
Christos Arfanis:Are there any future plans that you would like to share with us?
Yorgo Constantine: Well, right now we have the writerstrike and the Screen Actors Guild strike. So right now, we’re all on hold waiting for it to open. But thank you for my agent in Greece we are working on trying to get projects to be doing here. Thank you Thanasis Psilopoulos, thank you Enorama.
Yorgo Constantine on IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0176085/
