By: Markos Papadatos, Senior Editor
Greek-American actor Alex Anagnostidis chatted with HNA’s Markos Papadatos about “The Penguin” on Max and “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” on Netflix.
“I had a great time on ‘The Penguin,’ the cast and crew were great,” he exclaimed. “There were long days but everyone pulled together and made it happen . It was a wonderful experience to work with such a talented cast and crew.”
“The set was amazing, the art work, vehicles, costumes and locations. You felt like you were in Gotham City . Director Craig Zobel was amazing to work with,” he added.
On working with Colin Farrell, he remarked, “It was epic! I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such an iconic actor of our times. He was professional, humble and very nice to everyone. A pleasure to be around.”
“He made it a fun experience,” he admitted. “It was also wonderful to watch Colin, a master at his craft. Amazed how he can turn his accent on and off! It was also an honor to share the screen with another special needs dad (Colin Farrell).”
On his experience being a part of “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” on Netflix, he said, “Working on this show was a surreal experience, retelling that story 34 years later.”
Walking on set you had like an eerie feeling, where you kind of felt the tragic events that occurred,” he noted. “The cast and crew were great. It was a wonderful experience to watch and learn from such great actors as Nathan Lane, Javier Bardem, Cooper Koch, and Nicholas Alexander Chavez.”
Regarding his future plans, he stated, “My plans are to continue working on my acting, taking care of my daughter, Saraya, and being as great as a father as I can be (I’m a dad to a beautiful special needs girl).”
“I’m also planning on writing on a book about my daughter, her challenges and the challenges and joy of being a special needs dad. Oh yes, and get back to traveling,” he added.
He opened up about his Greek heritage. “My father came from the Greek island of Evia,” he said.
“It’s a small fishing village about one hour from Athens,” he noted. “I try to go once a year to visit my family. It’s great they still keep the old school traditions, fishing, church, school and family time. I feel like I stepped back in time when I go there.”
On being an actor in the digital age, he said, “I think it has its good and bad like everything else. It seems a lot easier to be seen, noticed but also your putting a part of your personal life out there in public.”
“Now, streaming tech and social media are sort of tied together,” he said. “People will watch a movie and then go look up an actress/actor see their social media pages. I have always loved going to the theater and watching a movie on the big screen, listening to the sounds and explosions.”
“Now, we watch movies on our laptops, phones, and home TV. It’s not the same but I have learned to embrace it, like everything else we have to adapt to the changing times. It is also very convenient doing self tapes and we get more exposure,” he added.
For young and emerging actors, he shared, “Keep practicing your craft. Read, learn Like anything else you must keep at it. Maintain a positive attitude , research and ask questions.”
“Do not be afraid of rejection. It’s part of the journey. You have so much information available now to help you get better. Take advantage of it. I always say look for something positive in each day,” he added.
On his definition of the word success, Anagnostidis said, “Success to me is being happy and being able to spend quality time with with your loved ones and friends.”
To learn more about Alex Anagnostidis, follow him on Instagram.
