ACTING & THEATER EXPERT WITH ANTHONY SKORDI | E056 PODCAST

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ABOUT THE GUEST

Anthony Skordi is a British-American actor, writer, and producer whose career spans stage, screen, and voiceover. Trained in London, Anthony has built a global presence with work across the globe.

He is widely recognized for his compelling performance as Admiral Garrick Versio in Star Wars Battlefront II and as the enigmatic Dealer in the Hand of Fate video game series. His voice work extends across major franchises, including Mass Effect, The Elder Scrolls, Diablo III, and God of War III, as well as audiobooks and international dramas.

On stage, Anthony wrote, produced, and starred in Onassis: The Play, a one-man theatrical portrayal of Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. The show earned critical acclaim both in Los Angeles and off-Broadway in New York, with reviewers praising his storytelling mastery.

His on-screen credits include appearances in The Blacklist, Scorpion, The Last Ship, Catch-22, and Prime Suspect 1973. He has also portrayed historical figures such as Carlo Gambino in The Offer and performed in internationally screened films like Stage Mother and Don Quixote.

Anthony Skordi's ability to transition seamlessly between live performance, cinematic storytelling, and immersive voice acting makes him a unique force in the entertainment industry, grounded in heritage and driven by craft.

Anthony’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/anthonyskordi/

Anthony’s X: https://x.com/AnthonySkordi

Anthony’s IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0804673/

George Stroumboulis sits down with Anthony Skordi in Athens, Greece on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to talk about building a career in Hollywood, performing on stage and screen, voicing iconic characters in blockbuster games, embracing Greek identity in entertainment, and so much more.

“Acting isn’t about pretending — it’s about revealing truth.”
— ANTHONY SKORDI

MEDIA RELATED TO THE EPISODE

George Stroumboulis sits down with Anthony Skordi in Athens, Greece on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to talk about navigating Hollywood as a Greek actor, his powerful stage performances, voice work in major video games, and the journey of creative perseverance.

George Stroumboulis sits down with Anthony Skordi in Athens, Greece on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to discuss storytelling through acting, building an international film career, representing Greece on global stages, and finding your voice—literally and figuratively.

George Stroumboulis sits down with Anthony Skordi in Athens, Greece on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to explore the art of performance, his roles in blockbuster films and games, the discipline behind the craft, and the power of cultural identity.

George Stroumboulis sits down with Anthony Skordi in Athens, Greece on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to dive into his incredible career journey from the UK to LA, working alongside Hollywood legends, and the lessons learned through decades of storytelling.

George Stroumboulis sits down with Anthony Skordi in Athens, Greece on the Invigorate Your Business Podcast to talk about voice acting in award-winning video games, acting on London and Broadway stages, and how Greek resilience shaped his journey in the arts.

ABOUT THE “INVIGORATE YOUR BUSINESS” PODCAST

The Invigorate Your Business with George Stroumboulis podcast features casual conversations and personal interviews with business leaders in their respective fields of expertise. Crossing several industry types and personal backgrounds, George sits down with inspiring people to discuss their business, how they got into that business, their path to the top of their game and the trials and tribulations experienced along the way. We want you to get inspired, motivated, and then apply any advice to your personal and professional lives. If there is at least one piece of advice that resonates with you after listening, then this podcast is a success. New episodes weekly. Stream our show on Spotify, YouTube, Apple, Amazon and all other platforms.

ABOUT GEORGE STROUMBOULIS

George Stroumboulis is an entrepreneur to the core, having launched several ventures across multiple industries and international markets. He has held senior-level positions at progressive companies and government institutions, both domestically and internationally, building an extensive portfolio of business know-how over the years and driving profit-generating results. George’s ability to drive real change has landed him in several media outlets, including the front page of the Wall Street Journal. George was born in Toronto, Canada to his Greek immigrant parents. Family first. Flying over 300,000 miles a year around the world puts into perspective how important family is to George’s mental and emotional development. With all this travel to global destinations, the longest he stays even in the most far-out destination is 3 days or less - a personal rule he lives by to make sure he is present and involved in family life with his wife and three daughters. To read about George’s global travels, stay connected with his blog section.

FULL SHOW TRANSCRIPT - ENGLISH

George Stroumboulis: 0:00

Welcome to another episode of Invigorate your Business with George Stroumboulis. Today's episode comes from Athens, Greece, and I get to sit down with world-renowned actor Anthony Skordi. Anthony is a true professional in the space. For over 30 years he has been acting in movies, in plays, television shows. We're going to find out today what it takes to make it in this industry, how to have a successful financial career being an actor in Hollywood, and what you need to do to always stay ahead. So this is going to be a fun episode. We're going to learn a lot, so enjoy this episode starting now. My name is George Stroumboulis and I'm extremely passionate about traveling the world, meeting new people and learning about new businesses. Join me as I sit down with other entrepreneurs to learn about their journeys. This episode of Invigorate your Business starts now. We're sitting in Athens, Greece, Beautiful Athens. We just had a great coffee. Downstairs, Traffic people coming by. That's my third coffee of the day Just landed today.

Anthony Skordi: 1:11

Really.

George Stroumboulis: 1:11

Yeah, I have like three or four first thing oh really, yeah, I can't Back home. It's one coffee, I'm done. Really, yeah, yeah, wow, I know, but in Greece I need an IV here, and we just keep going.

Anthony Skordi: 1:21

We just arrived.

George Stroumboulis: 1:22

Yeah, exactly so. Yeah, so I got that. I'm glad. I'm actually excited that we're getting the opportunity We've tried to link up the last few times, that's right. You're just busy every time you got new gigs going on, new opportunities. But to kick off the store, to kick this off, I want to read just a little bio. Okay, Okay.

George Stroumboulis: 1:41

Kind of give the listeners an idea of your accomplishments. You're an actor, you're a great actor voiceovers, theater. You know you studied at the best schools in the UK, so I think it's great for the people to understand, like your background, what you've studied, and then we'll get into the whole industry and everything Okay. So, born in London to Greek Cypriot parents, you've also worked on stage at the Royal National Theatre.

Anthony Skordi: 2:05

Royal Shakespeare Company.

George Stroumboulis: 2:06

And Royal Shakespeare Company To starring in major productions like Star Wars Battlefront. Yeah, right Days of Our Lives.

Anthony Skordi: 2:13

Oh, I did one episode. It was one episode Back in the day. Was it Days of Our Lives? It was one of those things.

George Stroumboulis: 2:18

It was one of those. It's pulling it from there. Call of Duty Vanguard. I've done a few, yeah, I've done a couple of Call of Duty. Okay, voicing characters in.

George Stroumboulis: 2:29

Assassin's Creed yes, diablo, yes, okay, anthony's voice and presence are instantly recognizable. You have this voice, right? People just know it. Right? He's also the writer and performer of the critically acclaimed one-man play, onassis, which we want to hear about. You know how you embodied that, showcasing his powerful range as both an actor and a storyteller. Anthony's deep understanding of character, culture and craft make him a unique figure in the entertainment industry. We're going to talk about all this stuff because you have an incredible career, right. You've been doing this for how long?

Anthony Skordi: 3:00

30 years, 20 something 20, close to 30 years.

George Stroumboulis: 3:04

So how does a kid who was born in London to Cypriot parents right Cypriot British parents Like, how do you even think of becoming an actor?

Anthony Skordi: 3:13

The quick version is well, I was doing a play around eight years old at school and I don't remember that much about it. I do remember a couple of instances in the thing and I remember my parents coming to see it and Mr Wheeler happened to be our teacher at the time. I remember he said long hair and he called my parents and had a long chat with my parents. I didn't know about what, but it turns out that he told them that I was in the wrong school, that I had to go to stage school, and my parents were like how dare a teacher say that he should be focused on becoming a lawyer or a doctor or something like that, and an actor who's going to be gay or marry a prostitute or something? That was my parents' attitude. But the bug I was being bitten by the bug at that point.

George Stroumboulis: 4:08

At what age? Eight, At eight years old you knew yeah, yeah. And then from there were your parents supportive.

Anthony Skordi: 4:14

No not at all, not at all. What I did was I remember it was about 13, 14. I wanted to audition. I thought I'm going to audition for a stage school and I remember really was about 13, 14. I wanted to audition. I thought I'm going to audition for a stage school and I remember really being taught in biology class that we needed protein and peanuts had protein. So I was buying a packet of peanuts a day for my lunch and saving the money to get enough money to pay for the audition.

Anthony Skordi: 4:39

And I eventually did go in for the audition. I did what they asked me to and they said lovely, we want you. This is at 14. You need to take classes in the summer, dance classes in the summer. But yeah, we'll have you. And I went and told my parents there was no way they could afford to send me to this thing. So I ended up going to a weekend thing and God and I went to an audition and it was for something I don't know, sam, I think it was. I don't remember actually, I was 14. And the first day of the shoot was the first day of school and my dad was like no way, you know, you've got to go to school. That comes first. You know. Little did they know had I taken the job or had a private tutor? Oh gee, little did they know had I taken the job, I would have had a private tutor. But that was the long and the short of my attempts at becoming an actor as a kid Right. And you want me to continue with the reason.

George Stroumboulis: 5:36

Yeah, because I want to know the parents at what point did they?

Anthony Skordi: 5:39

Well, they actually didn't really, until they saw me on TV or in a play. I went 24, 25, 25, 24 years old. My dad used to have an ice cream truck. He gave up barbary in the 70s because of long hair and he bought an ice cream truck. So in the winter he was at home and I was working as an insurance underwriter at the time, wearing silk suits, driving a triumph stagger, driving, you know, a sports car, you know.

Anthony Skordi: 6:04

And um, I went to see dad and I remember he was sitting in the armchair and I was sitting in the armchair opposite him in the living room and he said, out of the blue. He said you know, I look back at my life. He spoke very good English, dad. He said I look back on my life and I see things that it moves me. Just thinking about it now. I see things that I wanted to do and never did them and it's too late now.

Anthony Skordi: 6:30

I was like at the time I was like fuck it, I'm not going to, I'm not going to be in that situation. So I went home and it was back in the day of making telephone calls there's a thing called contact with all the casting directors, drama schools, and there was like 16, 17 accredited drama schools and so I called them up and they sent me an application form and a prospectus and I filled it out and paid for the auditions. And that's the beginning of me and I did all these auditions. See how you're bearing in mind I hadn't acted really, since that one play I did when I was seven, eight years old, so from eight to fourteen.

Anthony Skordi: 7:11

it was no, no really I was going to this classes things, but it was just like you know, it was not really. It was like more like movement kind of stuff you know, and um.

Anthony Skordi: 7:21

So I hadn't really acted. So that, what kind of hotspur, what kind of chutzpah, what kind of insanity had taken me over to think that I'd even have some inkling of an opportunity to get into a drama school, when there's only 30 places in each one and there's at least 2,000 applications for each drama school. Jeez, so you know, not being aware of that. So you know, I went in and did all these auditions and um didn't get anywhere. And then I had one at the drama center and it was my last one and, uh, I just fell in love with the school.

Anthony Skordi: 7:53

I fell in love with with the way they worked, and, uh, they offered me a place but I didn't get the grant okay so the following year I I decided to apply again, but early, and I got into trauma center straight away and this was in January, so we weren't going to be going to school until September. So I had enough time to try and find the money, I guess. But that's another story in and of itself.

George Stroumboulis: 8:21

Just trying to finance it. Why do you think your dad told you that story of like he never got to do what he wanted? Was he encouraging you to go?

Anthony Skordi: 8:28

No, I think it was completely unrelated. I think he was sitting there in the winter not being able to sell his ice cream in London. It's surprising you can sell it in the summer out there because of the weather. I think he was just reminiscing and looking back on his life and he was probably then younger than I am now. Jeez, I was just thinking about it. He was wrong. You can do whatever you want at any time. My dad wanted to be a politician, wanted to be a lawyer. None of that happened.

George Stroumboulis: 9:00

Right.

Anthony Skordi: 9:00

For various reasons, Because he came from a middle-class family, but they didn't really send him to school. Yeah, it didn't really. You know how it was back, Absolutely. You probably know from I don't know if Greece was like that, but Cyprus. You finish high school. What's it? Elementary? Elementary and then that's it. But he did take English and he spoke very posh English.

George Stroumboulis: 9:23

Yeah, yeah, I always say that about my dad. I'm like he's he's the most uneducated, educated man, like not from schooling, but these guys always want to learn and do that. But just you know, even thinking of my dad, like they didn't get to try to achieve what they wanted to, just because first generation they had to just sacrifice to do what they want, to set it up for us perhaps perhaps right, yeah, I don't think you know my parent.

Anthony Skordi: 9:47

My dad was single when he went to london, okay different story then yeah, he was single for like 14 years in london, you know, at least from 46 to the 60s 14 years.

George Stroumboulis: 9:59

Yeah, so he was uh so he had a runway to do what he wanted yeah, yeah, but you.

Anthony Skordi: 10:05

But you know you come from Lufconigo, which is a bit larger than a village but it's not quite a town. You know you go to London where the streets are paved with gold, as they used to say, sure yeah, and you're experiencing stuff that you've never experienced before. You know more of a liberated place, especially the war yes. I'm sure it was better than the 60s were the wild 60s exactly. You know people were just coming back from war and you know, so I'm sure that shaped their, uh, the society at the time yeah their, their attitude towards life and death.

George Stroumboulis: 10:40

You know you know we've known each other through friends, family. You know, in California that's right Probably over a decade.

Anthony Skordi: 10:49

Easily, yeah, yeah.

George Stroumboulis: 10:50

But never to the point where I could like pick up the call and be like, hey, you know. But last summer I was at a hotel here in Greece with my family and one of the general managers was saying how his daughter is going to study in the UK. And right away I'm thinking of like actors in my Rolodex and I thought of you right away and I had told him and I showed him your profile and your IMDB.

George Stroumboulis: 11:10

IMDB International Movie Database there we go and I showed him that and he's like oh my God, you know him. I'm like, yeah, and I just shot you a note and I'm like hey, anthony, nice to see, to hear from you?

Anthony Skordi: 11:22

You didn't mention that about the girl, though did you?

George Stroumboulis: 11:24

I did, and what you said was just amazing. This really stuck with me and I just said, hey, I'm sitting here with a friend, his daughter 16. She got accepted to the school in the UK, manchester I don't know somewhere to go study theater. Are you up for, like just maybe, giving her some advice and tips? And you responded instantly like yes, absolutely, as long as a parent is on a call, right, absolutely. And that just really resonated with me. On, like how quickly you're willing to give advice and help, like instantly. And again, it's not like you and I have this powerful connection where you're like oh, you know what, I'll help George out. It was just instant, like, for it sounded like for the art. And then the other thing on just how, hey, absolutely, I'll give any advice, but make sure someone else is there just to make sure that I'm not misguiding or I don't know.

Anthony Skordi: 12:07

No, no, no, because I don't want to be with a young female and a guy, especially in the climate that we are living in now, without the hashtag me too, stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't need any of that. No, no, you're going to be okay. You never know, absolutely you know. So I need to make sure my, my back's covered, because I've got a good reputation and I don't intend on losing it.

George Stroumboulis: 12:32

No, absolutely so. When you look at your whole career, you've done some incredible stuff and from the outside looking in, unless you're like a household name, it's hard in this industry, right Like this is not an easy industry that you're in, right Like it's always like for me, just thinking of it's constant rejection, I would imagine for every 10 roles you know, nine are rejected or maybe it's out of 99. You know what I mean. Like it's all about rejection. Like how have you built that over the years and have gotten on these incredible movies and you know the offer and voiceover for star wars? Like how do you keep going back there and and have that tenacity? Like how have you built that muscle over the years?

Anthony Skordi: 13:12

it's part and parcel for the, for the course it's. It's uh, you know you don't go in there expecting to be rejected, but you do kind of do the gig, the audition, and then forget about it. You know, um, otherwise, unless there are some jobs you can't forget about, you think I really want this one. So that's when the disappointment kicks in, when you think, oh, I could have done something with this brilliant role. Um, but otherwise it's like I just set an audition for a new tv show it was four out of ten episodes um, shooting in Miami, and my manager called me up and she was like oh, they've asked for your package, they've asked for your passport, your details, your blah, blah, your all that stuff.

Anthony Skordi: 13:54

And I think, well, you know, and that was kind of a, I wasn't disappointed. It was like, oh, that's a bummer, I thought I would have been in Miami till August. But you like, oh, that's a bummer, I thought I would have been in miami till august. But you know, there's other stuff, this, there's other stuff that you know, I, it was down to me and some other guy to play an Onassis in the maria callas thing.

George Stroumboulis: 14:13

Oh, wow, and they approached me the one that came out with angelina jolie.

Anthony Skordi: 14:17

Yeah, no way okay way, way, way, yeah and uh, they approached me and it was like before we make the offer to anthony, could he fine? So I sent, like before we make the offer to Anthony, could he Fine? So I sent a photograph. Before we make the offer to Anthony, could he read the script? Fine? Before we make the offer to Anthony, would he audition for us? Would he read for us?

Anthony Skordi: 14:38

And I'm thinking, you know, I played the Nazis in the theatre. I've written a one-man play, so he's a guy that I've been living with and he's been living with me for over 10 years now Easily 14 years now. He's been living with me and I've done the show everywhere. And the director said to me Pablo, we won't take long, it's just down to you and another guy. And it ended up being Guy, guy in the other way. And there was a big mess because it was announced publicly before I was released oh jeez, because I was still on hold. You know I can't take any other jobs, I'm on hold until I hear about this. And then, on a Friday, it was like it went public that this Turkish guy, turkish actor, had booked the role.

George Stroumboulis: 15:25

Was that like Sting double Twice as?

Anthony Skordi: 15:29

Well, you know what I watched it? It's very good. It's very good for what they allowed him to do. But what does that mean? Well, it's Angelina Jolie's show, isn't it? And I'm sure it's more about Maria Callas than it would be about Anastas, and it's much shorter. It's more about Maria Callas than it would be about Onassis, and it's much shorter, you know, way shorter than me, which would have I would have towered over Angelina Jolie anyway.

George Stroumboulis: 15:50

Onassis was a short guy, though, right 5'5". He was 5'5", okay, 5'6", yeah, so then talk about the one-man show. So 14 years ago, how did you even?

Anthony Skordi: 16:02

I was doing one of those sitcoms it ago, how did you even was it? I was, uh, I was doing one of those sitcoms it might be the one that you mentioned, not sitcoms, but soaps. Okay, yes, and I was sitting next to this actor. Oh, no, no, that's not where I met him. He was one of these general hospital guys, but I met him on a shoot for a green story, some movie, that, um, whatever, and uh, the background actors were rehearsing a dance and he was sitting next to me, goes. Oh, you know, you look like an asses. I was like what me, wasn't? He called the frog or something. I thought to myself.

Anthony Skordi: 16:34

So, um, that night I went home and I started doing research, and the more research I did, the more curious I became about this man, because the only recollection I remember being a kid and like an uproar being caused when he was going to marry Jackie, right, you know, why is he marrying that butano? Why did he marry all this kind of stuff? And that was my only kind of memory of him and about him. And so, reading these books, reading online, I kept ordering books about Anastas and I was finding a lot of them on eBay used, you can't really find and like I thought, I'm like I don't remember I've always complained about well, if I was a musician, I could go and busk on the street. Well, I could write a one-man show and eventually I read 10 biographies. 10? Yeah.

George Stroumboulis: 17:22

All because of that comment from that soap opera actor yeah, ceo pendlis, who's a greek?

Anthony Skordi: 17:28

okay, australian, greek, australian, I think it's general hospital or days. No, they're both really important culturally. Um, that's still soap powders, proctor and gambit or whatever it is. Anyway, I don't know who sponsored them and, like within a year of that comment, I'd written it, I'd like did a reading of it in front of 10-15 actors, directors, who I respected and got their feedback writers, and then honed it down and then performed it at the Stella Adler on Hollywood Boulevard. Come on For six weeks, six weeks.

George Stroumboulis: 18:11

So it's literally a one-man show.

Anthony Skordi: 18:13

Literally yeah.

George Stroumboulis: 18:14

Two-hour show. Hour and a half, hour and a half. So how do you even fill that up, like I haven't seen it? I wish you know I'd be able to see that. Like, how do you? Even dr chris saw it, you know, dr chris, dr chris, dr chris, last name oh, I don't remember.

Anthony Skordi: 18:29

He's a greek too, and his wife. They've got a practice in riverside, I know I don't know no, I'm sure your parents.

George Stroumboulis: 18:35

You're in lawsland yeah, oh, I know exactly who you're talking about, um, no, anyways. So so one man?

Anthony Skordi: 18:43

yeah, there's about 17 characters in it. Come on and I play them all, but I play them rather briefly. They're not like they're fleshed out to an extent, but it's like you know, I'll just fall into a character. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, I'll be the owner of a shipyard, or Marilyn Monroe, harry.

George Stroumboulis: 19:07

So that's in the actual play.

Anthony Skordi: 19:08

Well, I used to change it every night. Yeah, because one night it could have been Greta Garbo. So I would change which actress I would decide to.

George Stroumboulis: 19:15

He had a big Rolodex right of women to choose from. Yeah, so what did you learn about studying Onassis?

Anthony Skordi: 19:21

Like for the listener who doesn't know Onassis or knows vaguely like studying Onassis, like for the listener who doesn't know Onassis or knows vaguely, like what did you discover? Like, who was this guy? Wow, he was a guy that essentially was a refugee from Zmirna. His dad owned a spice shop and was a bank manager, import and export stuff and his dad had 10 ships, but they lost everything when the Turkish invasion happened and they had to leave Asia. They eventually got and he and that's spent Aristotle spent all his money there. He is spent all his money on getting his father out of jail and his dad was pissed at him and he didn't really get on with his father and he couldn't get to America because the Greeks were undesirables at the time. Right, I don't know if you're aware of that.

George Stroumboulis: 20:07

That's when a lot of Greeks were changing their last names too right it was.

Anthony Skordi: 20:11

I don't know, but he went to Argentina.

George Stroumboulis: 20:13

Yep.

Anthony Skordi: 20:14

And that's where he made his first million. So the man had tenacity, he had balls, he had, you know, he was always aiming for the next level. So from a young age the movie script is different from the play. But he asked for a day off from the school teacher when he was about 14. And he said, can we please go to church? He said to the teacher, so we can light a candle or come. I don't remember, it might have been St Nicholas's, whatever and the teacher was like, yeah, sure, and he'd stolen cigars from his father's store and they all went to the whorehouse with his pals and sat there with the prostitutes smoking cigars.

Anthony Skordi: 20:53

You know, so you know, and he was sick and he was given medication towards the end of his life and he wouldn't take it because it interfered with his libido.

George Stroumboulis: 21:03

The guy was an animal, right Like he was, people would call him a gangster.

Anthony Skordi: 21:07

You know his suit would be impeccable in the morning and by the afternoon it'd be creased and crumpled. Situation Right.

Anthony Skordi: 21:14

You know, but he was just when he spoke to you, you were the only person that existed. You know, I learned that about him I. I've met very successful people in their fields, including politicians, who that when they speak to you you feel that way, right, you know, um, he was a charmer. He wasn't that good looking a man. He was in his younger years. He loved his son. He was very, but I think, like um, he loved. He loved women.

George Stroumboulis: 21:44

And he had a stacked resume, like he had some pretty big names at the time, yeah, yeah. So when you go through this process and you embody him like, how do you again I don't know the different styles of acting, like method versus not Like when you were on stage, did you really embody that Like, did you feel like you were?

Anthony Skordi: 22:02

Someone called me a holistic actor recently, holistic, like you were. Someone called me a holistic actor recently, holistic, okay, holistic, and which is? I don't enjoy auditions that much because I haven't got the time two days to be able to spiritually, psychologically, physiologically, emotionally connect with this character and take it to that level where I can be the character.

Anthony Skordi: 22:27

I can have the thoughts as the character. So I guess I mean, you know my brain's on fire when I play Anastas. You know things could go wrong on stage and you wouldn't. You know it'd be like my brain's just firing off. The neurons must change when I'm playing.

George Stroumboulis: 22:45

In character roles.

Anthony Skordi: 22:46

Yes, it is Absolutely Only once I wasn't in character. Angelo Tarujas, angelo, you know Angelo? Yeah, he was there. I did a.

George Stroumboulis: 22:53

Canada's private area.

Anthony Skordi: 22:55

I did an off-Broadway production in New York and he happened to be in New York at the time and I know Angela yes, you know we've shared cigars because he's a cigar smoker. I'm not sure if you're aware of that and we happened to be there, but a lot of comedians happened to be in that night as well. But the only time was something went completely wrong and there's a photograph of it. Someone took it. I've got my hands up to the gods Just kind of throwing in the towel.

George Stroumboulis: 23:22

Well, almost, and just kind of throwing in the towel, well almost, and saying you know my mother told me not to become an actor.

Anthony Skordi: 23:28

You know she warned me.

George Stroumboulis: 23:30

I said it out loud, you know, you know so, but see that that alone. Like stand-up comedians, theater actors I guess movies are a little different because you could do retakes but like to be on stage, yeah, one man show, yeah, something doesn't go to plan and you have hundreds of people sitting there all eyes on you. That just that just makes me so anxious. Even thinking of that, like do you feed off that? Yeah, I think I do um, you're mad.

Anthony Skordi: 23:54

I think I do the. There was one from the 2012 production where some people walk in like 15 minutes late and it's actually on youtube where, um, you know, I turn around and actually speak to them because a lot of the, a lot of the show is, um, relate, talking to the audience, okay, relating to them, feeding off their reaction, their response, and so when these two people came in late, it was like, oh, stop something, excuse me, are you Kind of? And they were like yes, I said, I thought so Right right, I said like an hour late is early for a Greek.

Anthony Skordi: 24:29

That's good, you know, and it was just. It's not something that I thought of, it's just On the spot. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

George Stroumboulis: 24:35

Kind of like a comedian heckling those who are Right, I guess in a way.

Anthony Skordi: 24:40

I haven't got anywhere near the ability or talent those guys have. They're just amazing. But when I'm playing an asses I can.

George Stroumboulis: 24:47

You can.

Anthony Skordi: 24:47

I can. I don't think I'll be able to do it with any other character, but with him. You know I was able to do that because I was relating to the audience a lot. You know there was no fourth wall, so you know what a fourth wall is. So when I'm acting and the cameras are here, then I've got a fourth wall there, fourth Fourth wall. So there might be a painting on there. Yes, there may be a door through there, you know, or a window, so it's called a fourth wall. Okay, but there was no fourth wall.

Anthony Skordi: 25:16

Gotcha, so I was able to cross over to the audience and then the fourth wall would come back. You know I would create the fourth wall again back. You know I would create the fourth wall again. So it's a wonderful. I mean it takes a lot out of me, are you kidding me?

George Stroumboulis: 25:27

but I love doing it so when you do theater movies, voiceover acting yeah right? Am I missing any other mode performance? Capture performance capture.

Anthony Skordi: 25:39

Okay, so basically four elements like that well, I mean, they don't differentiate in the UK, whereas they do in the US.

George Stroumboulis: 25:47

Okay, but is there? So you studied and honed in your skills in the UK right before you went international? Not knowing the industry? The UK to me just seems more intelligent when it comes to theater, or more advanced or highbrow. I don't know Like the UK has this image where it's like theaters, like that's like theaters like that's where Shakespeare maybe. Is that why I'm thinking of that? Maybe?

Anthony Skordi: 26:09

Perhaps, and Johnson and Marlowe and all these other writers who exist around Shakespeare's time, but what I have to remember is that the tradition of theater does come from here.

George Stroumboulis: 26:22

Greece.

Anthony Skordi: 26:23

This is where it all started from, you know, and we have these wonderful amphitheatres To this day. It was just amazing. You know the sound quality of those places. But having said that, the UK started off doing plays. Their plays were like every man, so they were more religious-based. So there'd be a cart. Cart would go into the village on a Holiday and they'll do the first scene and it will travel off to the next town, next village and then see to act. Two would come on another car and they do the play there and they were called everyman, anger, whatever. And then after that, before Shakespeare, name started coming in and so it was more based in the word, in the word, and Shakespeare played a lot with words. He invented like 1,700 words, whatever new words.

George Stroumboulis: 27:17

He just added F to the end of everything.

Anthony Skordi: 27:20

No, no. And so then we look at the US no, no. And so then we look at the US and the US. The history comes from the silent movies. So the silent movies are not based in the word, they're based in action. Action, yep. So I think that's why. And then when the talkies came in, it was still based on action. It's like when you look at one of those action like I don't know movies the Driving Ones, whatever they are, furious, whatever, yeah, I look at them sometimes because a script is a minute a page, so you're looking at 120 minutes, 120 pages. I'm thinking those scripts must be real thin, because all the action that's going on and having to write that stuff must be kind of daunting. So, anyway, so that's why I think there's more reverence, as it were, in the Royal Shakespeare, the National Theatre Company, there's more of a tradition in theatre, whereas in the US it stems from movies.

George Stroumboulis: 28:22

Okay, so that's a great breakdown there. Yeah, are you seeing a lot like seasoned trained actor, right, like you can? Different roles, different styles everything. And then nowadays you see certain people who are just famous through social media that get roles. Do you see that a lot where this person's famous, we throw them in this role. Like, how do actual trained actors perceive that?

Anthony Skordi: 28:45

I don't, I don't, I don't. Well, it's hardly my age group that's going to be in. It's going to affect, influence my career. And not only that, but the characters that I play uh, iconic characters usually, and their characters, right, they're real life people, some of them you. So therefore, it takes the ability to be able to which is what I was trained in to create a character right, organically, holistically, and put it on set, on stage or wherever, and have people come.

Anthony Skordi: 29:20

I was doing a movie called I can't remember what it was called it was called. The working title was Last Dollar. It was a Western that was shot in Tucson a year and a half ago. And I'm picked up by a producer from Tucson, from New York. You know parking like that when I'm a producer. So I'm saying where do I know you from? I said I don't know. So I'm sitting there. He says where do I know you from? I said I don't know man. No, no, I know you from somewhere. I know you from somewhere. I said I really don't know. I'm an actor, I live in, I work in Hollywood. You may have seen me on something. No, no, man, I know you, I know you. You watched. I said to him. He said to me the offer. I've seen it three times. I went oh okay, that's where you know me from. I play Carlo Gambino. I thought they picked up a Sicilian from actor from Italy and just put them in the thing, and that is what I strive for.

George Stroumboulis: 30:17

What a compliment though, right From an actual fan, Absolutely Like to play Carlo Gambino in the Offer. Just talk about that. Did that just catapult your career?

Anthony Skordi: 30:28

Well, catapult is an extreme. I think one of my mentors is a guy called Michael Ironside, who's a very well-known Canadian actor who works in the US from Toronto.

George Stroumboulis: 30:42

Toronto, there we go.

Anthony Skordi: 30:44

And he was saying to me this is your first job in Hollywood. I said, what, Dude? I've done 70, 80 gigs before this. He's like, yeah, no, but no one's taking a risk on you the way that Paramount Studios have right now. You know and like, I think there was some truth in that, because I recently did a Law and Order organized crime. I in that because I recently did a law and order organized crime. I went to New York and Brooklyn and shot that, Did a couple of episodes.

George Stroumboulis: 31:08

I mean, that's an iconic show.

Anthony Skordi: 31:09

I don't know, but anyway, I know law and order are. Yeah, you know Dick Wolf, all his shows amazing, and I remember being it was the second episode I was on and I went from one stage to another and I walked through, they took me and I had to wait for pickup shots and this woman who was working on the set came up to me and said oh, everyone's whispering, Carlo Gambino from the Office on set, you know, I went.

George Stroumboulis: 31:35

Oh, you know, I'm just.

Anthony Skordi: 31:37

I'm just a regular guy, man, and I just realized how blessed I am to be working my chosen field. You know there's like. You know I don't know how to translate the word psonio psonada. You know, and it's like you know, I'm just so blessed and one thing that my mentor, michael, has taught me is to remain humble and grateful, you know, and I think that served me well, absolutely, when these people are coming up and grateful, you know, and I think that served me well.

George Stroumboulis: 32:06

Absolutely. When these people are coming up and saying I know you from the offer, do you embrace it? Are you like back off? Like how do you react?

Anthony Skordi: 32:15

Only once, I don't remember. I was in Echo Park, you know, Echo Park, Silver Lake, yes, yes, On Hollywood Boulevard, and I was walking down the road and people were like looking at me and smiling and nodding and I had no idea why. I thought my fly's down or something. So I called a friend of mine up and I was like dude, Dawn, she's one of my closest friends, Dawn. I called her out. I said Dawn, everyone's staring at me. What's going on? She goes dude, you were just on the offer. What's wrong with you?

George Stroumboulis: 32:46

You know I went oh okay, did you not realize, like, how big it got? No, no, no.

Anthony Skordi: 32:53

I'm not sure if it got as big as you know. I thought I would have wanted it to because it's on Paramount and I'm not sure. But having said that, there's that Mobland that's on right now that everyone's watching all over the world, but that's got Pierce Brosnan in it and Tom Hardy, tom Hardy okay, yes, and those two guys were all the same, not the same time. They were at Drama Center as well.

George Stroumboulis: 33:13

Oh really, yeah, yeah, tom Hardy, yeah, and Pierce Brosnan, so and.

Anthony Skordi: 33:15

Pierce Brosnan. So you know, I love it, I embrace it. These people watch the shows, which is why I get work, why I'm working, getting paid for it. You know, only once I couldn't speak to somebody and I could tell he wanted to speak to me, but I was in a conversation with somebody else in the Groucho Club in London and it was the wrap party for this movie I did out there called you know you've done a lot when it's like I had this other movie, this movie, yeah, well, anyway, it's right foot soldier movie revengeants right foot soldier, vengeance.

Anthony Skordi: 33:54

And I was talking with these people and I was, I could see, and his girlfriend was like no, come on, come on. And I could see he wanted to talk to me and I felt really bad that I couldn't at the time. So no, it's important to me. I was with an actor friend of mine in LA and someone. We were on Sunset Boulevard on a Saturday and someone yelled through the car window his character name from the show and he was like fuck off. And I was like dude, people take it serious. Right, dude, these guys are your fans, they watch you. You know you've got a job because these people are watching you. You know, under normal circumstances, if we weren't being paid and we were pretending to be somebody else, we'd be be locked up.

George Stroumboulis: 34:38

Yeah, exactly exactly.

Anthony Skordi: 34:40

So now I'm grateful for the people who watch it and on Twitter and on Facebook and on what's that other platform, Instagram. Instagram yeah, I'm engaging with the people.

George Stroumboulis: 34:55

Yeah, and it's got to be great that they have instant access to you. As much as you want to put out there on social right.

Anthony Skordi: 35:00

Well, you know I look at Ricky Gervais and I go, oh, he's responded to one of my tweets too, and I'm like, oh, I get thrilled about that, yeah, ricky's a legend, he's a legend, yeah, yeah. And so I have to think to myself okay, I'm not him, but to some of those people I am, absolutely. I am in the sense of like, especially the Star Wars Battlefront 2 thing.

George Stroumboulis: 35:25

Yeah, Talk to us about that. So that that was a voiceover.

Anthony Skordi: 35:29

Yeah, performance capture.

George Stroumboulis: 35:30

Performance capture, but did they render? It Was there, so it was an animation. No, no, it's computer generated. Computer, yeah, okay, cause it looks real Like the clips that I've seen.

Anthony Skordi: 35:40

And that's from 2016. Technology Wow. So it's like 90-year-old technology, and I've done several games since then Performance Capture, namely the one that's coming out in August, the 8th. I can't wait the Mafia game.

George Stroumboulis: 35:53

The Mafia game.

Anthony Skordi: 35:54

That's what it's called math math in the old country. It's the fourth installment, but they've gone prequel, so yeah, no, it was performance capture where. What does that mean? When you say performance, capture catch my performance, including my voice, my movements, everything that I do is recorded and then they put it on a skin and they they're able to manipulate it well, from there on in.

Anthony Skordi: 36:15

I don't know you signed it away and whatever. Oh Well, yeah, I mean they'll do like. I remember when we did that show. They don't do that anymore. I had to grimace this to all these faces so they could like, and they put dots on all over our faces.

George Stroumboulis: 36:29

I saw that on your socials when you were going through that.

Anthony Skordi: 36:31

Right and some machines, some engines don't need that now.

George Stroumboulis: 36:36

Okay.

Anthony Skordi: 36:41

So you know, you don't have to go through all that rigmarole of having to put all that stuff on because that's, like you know, an hour, at least an hour out of your day just for them to put those, which isn't that long in the grand scheme of things.

George Stroumboulis: 36:50

That's incredible. So yeah, and the Star Wars, it's just, that's an iconic.

Anthony Skordi: 36:55

Right, well, I wasn't a Star Wars fan.

George Stroumboulis: 36:57

You were.

Anthony Skordi: 36:57

No.

George Stroumboulis: 36:58

Yeah same, I couldn't tell you. I think I've seen one of the old ones with whoever it was Right, right. But I feel like I'm one of the only people that is not into Star Wars.

Anthony Skordi: 37:06

Well, me I wasn't either. That's crazy, I wasn't either. And I booked the gig and it was like you know, I was on a, I did Criminal Minds, I did the Last Ship, and then I got, you know, all like back to back to back Cheers, and then you know, you think it's never going to stop, but it does for a bit. And then I booked this and I had no idea and I got this script and it was like this because they've got like alternate. If this happens, then this dialogue is said. If this happens, then this scene. I was like God, that's too much for me. I'm at the table read. A table read is going to be an hour and a half, two hours.

Anthony Skordi: 37:48

This was like a whole morning, a whole day, and I remember reading something and we went on a break. So I quickly went out and I called my friend who happened to be staying with me, steve Mouzakis, from Australia, an actor, a wonderful actor. He was in Prison Break, the reboot, and I said, dude, what's a Death Star? I didn't know what a Death Star was. So he explained to me what a Death Star was. So, and, like you know, thank God for Tom, you know the director, because such a wonderful man and director. But he pulled out. You know he got what he wanted.

George Stroumboulis: 38:26

Right.

Anthony Skordi: 38:27

And like it's a bind to put all that stuff on. It's like a wetsuit. And then you wear this rig which is about $40,000 each one of these things you know and you can't like not, I smoke, don't smoke, you just smoke a few. If you smoke, they're like lose the. You know there's cameras and microphones on this Blowing smoke everywhere.

George Stroumboulis: 38:48

At least you're not vaping, like I was telling someone the other day they were talking about oh, I'm vaping now.

Anthony Skordi: 38:56

I'm like you're better in that conversation.

George Stroumboulis: 38:59

Yeah, I'm just saying at least you have a filter versus the other thing.

Anthony Skordi: 39:02

What is it? It's like switching from heroin to methadone. Is that what it is?

George Stroumboulis: 39:07

The better of both evils? I don't know.

Anthony Skordi: 39:09

I don't know. They're saying right now and I don't want to get so reliable, but it's causing popcorn lung which can't be reversed, and I don't know what that's about.

George Stroumboulis: 39:18

That's what I've been hearing. But kids don't do any of that. There you go. That's the lesson for everyone. There you go, Hold on so Star.

Anthony Skordi: 39:27

Wars back to. Oh, and it didn't do well when it first came out because there was this major controversy about these loot boxes which you had to pay for them. So everyone turned against EA, so the game didn't really take off. Gotcha, and like suddenly last week, I'm like seeing all this stuff on Star Wars. What's going on here? May the fourth be with you. Well, that must be when it took off. But last week I had a look and I went. My IMDB jumped up. I jumped up 6,000, but for me that's a bit different and I was like what's going on and realized that this and then start reading reports that so many people have gone to Star Wars and new people, you know. And then I'm looking and I'm reading an article and it's going and Anthony Skordi says, oh, what did I go and say now?

George Stroumboulis: 40:13

oh, geez, you know, but it wasn't.

Anthony Skordi: 40:15

It was because all the fans are trying to get the actors to say we want a Star Wars Band Front 3.

George Stroumboulis: 40:21

Oh, okay, isn't that crazy, though, how maybe at the time it wasn't the results you wanted, but then, a few years later, it pops.

Anthony Skordi: 40:30

Amazing, amazing, amazing. But I think there were enough movies that have been creepers, haven't there?

George Stroumboulis: 40:36

Yeah, absolutely. Do you like movies in general? Have you been part of anything where you're like dude, I wasn't proud of that, I wasn't proud of my performance? Are you a big critic of yourself, like anytime someone comes out, or are you just like hey, got paid on to the next?

Anthony Skordi: 40:51

you know craig ferguson. I don't know if you know who that is. No, you had the late, late show with craig, oh yeah yeah, the yeah, the British guy Scottish yeah.

George Stroumboulis: 40:59

Oh, Scottish Okay.

Anthony Skordi: 41:00

Yeah, that's British. Yeah, some Scots wouldn't agree with that. But he said to me Tony, just remember this If you put something on celluloid, someone, everyone is going to see it at some point. I'll never forget that.

George Stroumboulis: 41:16

Yeah.

Anthony Skordi: 41:16

You know, craig said, you know it's like Someone's going to see it at some point. Everyone's going to see it at some point. Everyone's going to see it at some point.

George Stroumboulis: 41:22

Yeah, so basically when you hear that, is it just, do you try to take roles that you really like? I always wonder this in the acting world, I feel like there's so many different actors and types of actors and it's a tough industry. When you get an offer in general, do people actually negotiate their rates or is it like cool, I got another job this month's busy, let's take it and keep going Like how does that work?

Anthony Skordi: 41:46

I have an agent who negotiates.

George Stroumboulis: 41:48

So there is like back and forth yeah.

Anthony Skordi: 41:50

Okay, I was just. There's a show that I called the Last Frontier which is going to come out October 12thth on apple tv. Really looking forward to it, some great names in it. And I remember I had a phone call from the showrunner saying, tony, let's, uh, let's look. I said, dude, I don't think they've closed the deal yet. He went oh shit, sorry, and he put the phone down and then that was on a monday, and then on wednesday the deal was done, gotcha okay, and you know, so we're able to speak through you about it, that's's well.

George Stroumboulis: 42:19

Congrats, man. It sounds like you've. That was a straight offer.

Anthony Skordi: 42:24

That was a straight offer.

George Stroumboulis: 42:25

Okay, and do you have a lot of input or your agent's? The one that's like going Financially yeah.

Anthony Skordi: 42:31

Like are there? You know I don't want to talk about figures, but I was. It was like three o'clock in the morning and my phone went off and it was my manager and my agent. Okay, like it was a three-way call.

George Stroumboulis: 42:45

That could either be really good news or really bad news.

Anthony Skordi: 42:47

They're not going to call me at three o'clock and it was like, oh, you know, you've got the offer for this thing and they're offering blah, blah, blah blah and I went, great, but I think we're going to ask for more.

George Stroumboulis: 43:01

And I was like, okay, and you're good, like you trust them. Like that I have to yeah.

Anthony Skordi: 43:07

I have to. I have to. I mean, you know, I'm paying 20% now, 10% to an agent, 10% to a manager.

George Stroumboulis: 43:13

Wow, so one-fifth goes out the door.

Anthony Skordi: 43:23

Dude out the door. Dude, so what? I paid taxes to quebec last year jeez and I'm just, and the quebec charges takes more taxes than the rest of canada. I don't know if you're aware of that uh, quebec is a higher hst.

George Stroumboulis: 43:32

You have to pay that.

Anthony Skordi: 43:32

Yeah, oh, it's uh and I'm you know, and I'm like dude, I don't get any services from the country at all. Moreover, I pay a tourist tax.

George Stroumboulis: 43:41

That's not fair.

Anthony Skordi: 43:42

No, no, so we'll see. I'm speaking to my CPA tomorrow.

George Stroumboulis: 43:45

Yeah, so any good CPAs out there in Montreal or Toronto?

Anthony Skordi: 43:48

Well, she used to work for the IRS, so that's good, and she's got a pal who works in Montreal, who's a CPA as well, so you're locked in so well hopefully.

George Stroumboulis: 43:57

You got the right thing.

Anthony Skordi: 43:58

It was a fair chunk Jeez, it was a fair chunk.

George Stroumboulis: 44:01

So what else you know, if you are fortunate enough to have longevity and become a successful actor like what are?

Anthony Skordi: 44:08

You're asking me if I'm.

George Stroumboulis: 44:10

Yeah, so for advice, for listeners, right, Like you are, but for someone out there who you know wants to get to that, I can't imagine how hard it is, like decades of being in this and building a resume, right. What are other fees maintenance stuff that people don't expect? So, like you have an agent and a manager, there's 20%. Is there any other fees that are typical? Any?

Anthony Skordi: 44:32

other expenses yeah.

George Stroumboulis: 44:33

Yeah, there are, aside from upkeep, physical and all that Well.

Anthony Skordi: 44:37

Well, also, also, I paid my union dues. Okay, I paid to get photographs done. You know I paid to put them, have them put up on actors access on spotlight in the uk. I know you pay, I pay for the platform in the uk. So you know, you've got, I've got to keep myself looking, you know, presentable, right, you know. So, yeah, um, there are other expenses apart from the emotional. Oh, geez, yeah, emotional ones, yeah, but um, I think I don't.

George Stroumboulis: 45:10

I'm not sure if that was the real question this is where I want to get with advice right. So there's younger people listening that want to get into acting or have started and it's a grind. Where do you start? If you have someone in the States right now let's just talk about the USA and they're interested in being in movies and it's a broad statement when would you guide if it was your son or daughter? How would you guide them to get started in this space?

Anthony Skordi: 45:35

To go and get training. Training yeah, I think that's the most important thing but like, where do you even find that?

George Stroumboulis: 45:41

because I I feel like everyone and their mother could try to scam you, or it could be the wrong school, like well it's well, you, you have, you have, you have, you know, you have conservatories.

Anthony Skordi: 45:51

So I would suggest a conservatory with with a broad training with. I was training classical theater and style of theater as well. Um, as if you can play classical guitar, you can play anything is, I guess, what that's about gotcha. People can train in in in the uk if they so wish, but everything the drama schools are closing down. They've been taken over by universities so they've become more academic in the uk and I'm sure to some extent that the US I'm not that aware of. I don't know that much about the training. I know people go take classes two nights a week or two days a week or whatever. I don't know how useful that is.

George Stroumboulis: 46:32

Do you do any? Is there such things as lessons right now, or are you Well funny?

Anthony Skordi: 46:38

you should say that my first stint in LA. I went to I shouldn't say, because they're very famous actors who've got this one school and I went there to audit the class and they asked to see my resume after the class was over and he looked at it and he said to me you know how to create characters. They asked to see my resume after the class was over and he looked at it and he said to me um, you know how to create characters here in the us. They just want to be able to play themselves. He said please promise me you'll never take a class oh wow, so don't ruin your approach.

Anthony Skordi: 47:13

Basically, jeez but that was.

George Stroumboulis: 47:17

You know that's la and la is a is a different, you know different beast, did you follow a lot of the mafia movies in that like preparing for the gambino role? No, none, none.

Anthony Skordi: 47:26

So you were never into like scarface or casino no, I saw those movies when they first came out and I own on amazon. I own the godfather. Yeah, I don't want to emulate somebody else's performance. I think the most important thing for me was studying. I've seen a lot of the gangster movies, you know is the answer to your question.

Anthony Skordi: 47:49

But I had so much history to read about the Gambino family, the five families and how they all came up, and so I had a lot to work with and a lot was said about Gambino. You know that he looks like a kindly old grandfather, yeah, so all that stuff, and he spoke with an accent and all that. So I don't think I want to create something true, believable and organic and I don't think, if I'm watching somebody else's performance, I don't think that's going to happen. I'll watch it after the event.

George Stroumboulis: 48:25

Okay, so then how? Carlo Gambino is a real figure, a real person, wasn't he? John Gotti worked for the Gambino family. I believe right, it was John Gotti worked essentially for. Carlo Gambino.

Anthony Skordi: 48:37

Yeah, sammy, the Bull as well. Sammy the Bull Gravano. Yeah, yeah, I met Sammy. Okay, so I went to Arizona. Yeah, he's hiding out there but he's not right, he's what now? He's like hiding in Arizona, but no, he's not hiding, he's no, but long story short there might, as there is in the works, a story, his story, to be done for one of the streaming, one of the cable shows.

George Stroumboulis: 49:03

It's him. He has a big podcast right for the last few years yeah.

Anthony Skordi: 49:07

I did it.

George Stroumboulis: 49:07

I was on it, did you do it? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Anthony Skordi: 49:09

Well, that's why I went out to Phoenix.

George Stroumboulis: 49:11

Okay, yeah, he's got that, and I think his daughter's involved with that as well.

Anthony Skordi: 49:13

She's one of the producers.

George Stroumboulis: 49:14

Yeah, yes, and then who's the other guy that doesn't talk with him now? Michael French-esie, it's funny.

Anthony Skordi: 49:20

You know it's funny because he was talking about all the actors that have played Gambino, or he was talking about not all the actors that play Gambino he talked about. That was another thing he was talking about you know what the mafia guys are like, and in his podcast and suddenly I'm up there as Gambino. You know I was like dude. This is weird, that's so. I'll send it to you if I find it.

George Stroumboulis: 49:43

So this is great. I want to. Let's do some name dropping out of all these years. No, you can't Go on go on. Who's been some of the greatest actors that you had high expectations like before meeting them and working with them, and then, after working with them, it was like them and working with them. And then, after working with them, it was like it confirmed that yes, they were great or not like. Are there any actors that truly impressed you, building into it, working with them?

Anthony Skordi: 50:05

I think I think the most um the the better. The more famous the actor, the nicer he is true. Yeah, why is that?

George Stroumboulis: 50:14

they haven't got anything to prove anymore okay, so they try to help, like the up-and-comers or people? I'm not sure about that I'm not sure about that.

Anthony Skordi: 50:21

I'm talking about either working with them or on us in a social situation. I mean, I work with cluny. He directed me in catch 22 and I went to the premiere in matt's chinese theater and walked the red carpet there with courtney love in front of me and matt damon behind me, you know, um, and he was just such a regular lovely guy and he was on set as well. I mean, he knows he's George Clooney, don't get me wrong, but he's such a lovely guy, as is Tony Hopkins at Sir Anthony Hopkins.

Anthony Skordi: 50:52

Anthony Hopkins okay yeah, who's such a lovely guy as well. And, like you know, there's this one story that I have and he's tell me that story. Tell me that story, tony, tell me that story. So I tell him every time, every time I see him.

George Stroumboulis: 51:03

You can't share it with us, huh?

Anthony Skordi: 51:05

No, it's to do with Drama Center and he was one of the governors and at the end of the second year I made a decision to change my name and the principal, christopher Fettis. God rest his soul. I love that man dearly, uh, who gave me my training. He said what are you going to call yourself? And I went there was a poster behind him and I went it was uncle vanya. No, played by anthony hopkins. Anthony well, okay, we'll call you anthony. You know, after anthony hopkins from that poster. Oh, really, yeah, yeah, so he loves hearing that story.

George Stroumboulis: 51:36

Okay, I mean that's got to be a good ego boost for him?

Anthony Skordi: 51:37

I don't know, he's not. He's the last person to have Anthony Hopkins from that poster.

George Stroumboulis: 51:39

Oh really, yeah, yeah, yeah. So he loves hearing that stuff. Okay, I mean, that's got to be a good ego boost for him, right?

Anthony Skordi: 51:42

I don't know. He's the last person to have an ego, from what I know of him.

George Stroumboulis: 51:46

Right. So all these years in Hollywood, like during that whole Me Too movement and all, can Hollywood be as seedy and crooked as it is? Or is that just like any industry?

Anthony Skordi: 52:01

I crooked as it is, or is that just like any industry I get? I don't know you're asking the wrong person. You know um, you know you're asking the wrong person and like attracts, like you know um, if you're an asshole, I guess you're gonna attract assholes in your life. If you're a decent guy, you're a check. I don't know, I can't, I don't know. I'll be surprised if the industry remains in hollywood, the way things are going Right, and there's so much stuff going on right now with people in jail and like facing court cases, oh yeah.

George Stroumboulis: 52:30

And now Trump announced tariffs on movies produced 100% 100%.

Anthony Skordi: 52:35

Some tariffs. I don't think that's going to happen.

George Stroumboulis: 52:38

How do you even account for that?

Anthony Skordi: 52:39

Well, you see, if I spent a million bucks, then your tariffs are going to be a million bucks. To bring it back to the US.

George Stroumboulis: 52:45

But like just from an accounting standpoint, like I hired the lighting guy, the grip guy, like how do you even Well, there's an overall budget, isn't there? Okay, so they're just going to do that and tax it. That's not gonna happen. Yeah, I mean they're already leaving outside of hollywood with all these other places.

Anthony Skordi: 52:59

I mean, you know, gavin newsom, what, what? Uh, you know why? There's a 330 million or something like that money that you can claim back from up to and like you've got places like they don't have a cap on it. And why is it? Is it because there's like, well, we don't care, the studios are here, the business has been here forever, they're not going to go anywhere else. But guess what? They are.

George Stroumboulis: 53:21

Oh yeah, and a lot of them. I read this morning. A lot of the studios are just empty and they're hosting bar mitzvahs and just to keep them busy.

Anthony Skordi: 53:28

I had no idea All these sound stages. My manager said to me you left at the right time. So States and Canada. I'm still doing those jobs right now. I mean, I'm better known in the US by the industry folk than I am in the UK, Right. So I was up in proximity to the UK. I thought, oh, I'll be working a lot more in London, Okay. But that hasn't happened.

George Stroumboulis: 53:49

So a couple more questions. You've been amazing with the time, I know, but, dude, I'm talking about me.

Anthony Skordi: 53:54

Of course I'm going to. This is amazing, right.

George Stroumboulis: 53:58

What are some roles like? What's a dream role that you still have? Like in my career, this is what I want to do. Is there a dream role? Is there a dream?

Anthony Skordi: 54:07

The role that's going to bring me the Oscar Exactly.

George Stroumboulis: 54:10

Is the Oscar even something you're aspiring to? Is that what every actor naturally wants?

Anthony Skordi: 54:15

I don't know. I don't know if that's the yardstick. What am I? The role? I don't know if that's the yardstick. See, the role that I really want to play on TV, on film, hasn't been written yet or is being written right now, if you know what I mean. Oh, okay, at some point in my career, you know, and so that's different I'd say, yeah, I do want to play King Lear. I want to experience that king, you know, and the madness he goes through and ends up, you know, basically a destroyed pauper, as it were. You know that is a part that interests me. But as you grow older and have more life experiences, the parts that you could have played you're not going to play anymore. Like Hamlet, I'm never going to play Romeo, Not that I ever could.

George Stroumboulis: 55:05

Why do you say, you never could? What does that mean?

Anthony Skordi: 55:09

Well, I don't think, I don't know. That's not fair. I was just being no, maybe I could have, but I don't know.

George Stroumboulis: 55:16

Right.

Anthony Skordi: 55:17

I could have. I don't know, but I always looked at the roles like the meanies, as it were Edmund from Lear and Aaron from what's that? Where he cooks, he bakes the children in a pie. Anyway, hansel and Gretel, no, no, no Shakespeare.

George Stroumboulis: 55:41

Oh Shakespeare, you're talking to the wrong. I hated studying Shakespeare in school. I was the worst, really, oh my God.

Anthony Skordi: 55:48

See, I was a Brixton kid, a guy from Brixton, which is like I'm from Watts. Okay, I'm like from you know, crenshaw.

George Stroumboulis: 55:55

Oh, okay.

Anthony Skordi: 55:56

That's kind of like the area I was raised in in london. So you know guys seeing shakespeare and you know my first job, almost straight out of drama school, was at the royal shakespeare company. So what am I doing here? I'll talk, lord. Hey, I shouldn't believe you uh, athens.

George Stroumboulis: 56:13

I just want to talk about athens here. Born in london, lived in the states, lived in the uk, lived in cyprus, been on TV in Cyprus. You've done everything.

Anthony Skordi: 56:23

Yeah, I guess.

George Stroumboulis: 56:24

Why has Athens become your home base while you're still, like you would say, hey, maybe I'm retiring, you're still flying back to the States.

Anthony Skordi: 56:31

Well, no, my career has only just taken off in the last two years.

George Stroumboulis: 56:34

Hold on. After 30 years you're saying like the last two years has been.

Anthony Skordi: 56:39

Since 21.

George Stroumboulis: 56:40

Since 21.

Anthony Skordi: 56:41

Yeah, so much. Well, an overnight success in Hollywood takes at least 10 years. So I was in Hollywood for 10 years before the offer was made to me. For the offer.

George Stroumboulis: 56:53

Oh, 10 years. In those 10 years, how many times did you want to quit, oh God.

Anthony Skordi: 57:01

I'd hit my knees and pray and say, god, if, just show me what it is I'm supposed to be doing, you know? And like if. If you've given me this ability, this gift, how am I supposed to use it? Tell me, show me, you know. And there was moments of desperation, the moments of not knowing if I was going to make rent. And, like I remember, for a week I had to eat an apple and a spoonful of peanut butter for a whole week in order to have enough money to pay the rent at the end of the month. Jeez.

George Stroumboulis: 57:35

You know and like, and even during that, Anthony, you're still like, I'm just waiting for my break.

Anthony Skordi: 57:43

Is that even when you're eating that? No, I'm not. I'm not. You see, that's odd. I guess people call it a break, but I'm not waiting for a break. I think I'm more than I'm looking on getting a job which is going to get the next job, which is going to get the next job. You, you know, I did a thing with Kevin Spacey and I'm thinking well, that's it. You know, everyone's going to know who I am and I'll be working nonstop. That didn't happen.

George Stroumboulis: 58:01

Right.

Anthony Skordi: 58:05

You know, I started playing leads on guest star roles. I was pretty lucky because I did one role for men of a certain age and I was paid as a co-star, but it was actually a guest star and from there on in it was guest star roles. It wasn't like you know the messenger, it wasn't like one liners, it was like decent roles. So you know, because I had the experience worked in Cyprus, drama school and everything so it was easier for me and I had to say to my reps like please do not put me up for you know, one liners. Well, you know you're not gonna get many auditions, I don't care, because once you hit a level it's like we're talking about upgrading on a flight right you know, once you hit a level then you know it's hard enough to get to the next level.

Anthony Skordi: 58:47

So I imagine you know to pull yourself out of that level right to go to the next level up. So I'd rather go from guest star to recur serious, regular um, then go from co-star, struggle to get out of that thing. It's like almost, it's like being a background actor. It's tough to get out of that. And and and um start, you know acting. You get trapped in that. I think you know the, the, the, the addicted to, to um, to a salary, to wages, to money. You get addicted to being able to afford to pay for your rent.

George Stroumboulis: 59:20

Oh, absolutely. There's two things. So I read today the average hourly rate for an actor in the United States. Again, we're taking big salaries and we're taking people who are doing that is $23 an hour. So like if you were to take it, that's what it averages out to. Don't know how true that is, but if you.

Anthony Skordi: 59:38

I don't know how true that is, but if you I don't know how they figured.

George Stroumboulis: 59:40

I don't know how they figured it out, but uh, joe rogan, I heard on one of his podcasts.

George Stroumboulis: 59:43

He said guy's worth 100 million now right and he was a stand-up comment, struggling in la from. I think he's from boston and he talks about money and he goes. The biggest satisfaction in his whole life from talking about money wasn't getting that 100 million dollar contract, it was, was when his sitcom got picked up. It was something like that and he made a hundred thousand dollars and he went from multiple people in his apartment couldn't make rent, eating crackers, like basically what you're saying, and the joy of getting that hundred thousand he goes, I he goes. My mindset totally shifted in that I'm rich, I have a hundred grand, I don't have to worry about rent for the next while and it's just. It's just interesting, right, cause it's a constant grind, right, and once you're able to hit that level, nobody wants to go back, you know.

Anthony Skordi: 1:00:29

Yeah, no, I think about that sometimes when I see some actors who are like were successful and it's like, well, what are they doing now? They are working somewhere Most of them, you know, quietly on some show somewhere, some hour show on. There's so many outlets right now so people can work on. There's more work now than there's ever been, but there's seems to be more like 98%. It used to be 95% of the union was out of work at any one time, and the last few years it's been 98% is out of work. Come on, yeah, apparently, and the average wage is 5,000 a year.

George Stroumboulis: 1:01:03

Are you kidding me?

Anthony Skordi: 1:01:03

No, I'm not when you said 23.

George Stroumboulis: 1:01:06

Yeah per hour. So these people have multiple jobs. How do you survive?

Anthony Skordi: 1:01:12

It's like I'm an actor. Oh yeah, which restaurant do you work at?

George Stroumboulis: 1:01:15

Exactly. I lived in New York City and a lot of people at the restaurants acting waiter and you know that's the gig right Until it breaks. I mean to see that and to be doing this for three decades, almost, almost, and to say, you know, in the last five years is taking off. That's incredible. So, like anyone listening who's going through anything, it's like either persevere, change, right like there's less than there for sure you know, yeah for sure, but there's no.

Anthony Skordi: 1:01:45

You know, I have no plan b. I never had a plan b that's it.

George Stroumboulis: 1:01:49

You were going to be an actor yeah, and I think there's.

Anthony Skordi: 1:01:52

It's dangerous to say it to that, to somebody, but I knew, I knew from when I was at drama school that I, you know, I had to have his mind, had to give, I had the ability, and it was just a matter of time for people to see it and recognize it. You know, and first I was just paying playing the greek roles, and a matter of time for people to see it and recognize it. You know, and first I was just paying playing the Greek roles and a friend of mine who works for Disney ABC said to me look, you know, slowly you're gonna move out just playing Greek roles. You know who's the actor that plays all the Greeks? And it's gonna be.

Anthony Skordi: 1:02:20

Oh, who's the actor that plays all the Greeks and the Italians? And it's like, oh, Anthony Skordi. You know, you know, and that's how it goes, and people have got to learn. And you know, it's like people are sitting around a table discussing who could play that role, and it's like if, by some blessing, some wind blows my name into someone's mind, then oh wow, why didn't we think of him? And so there's all that involved in it.

George Stroumboulis: 1:02:48

So you're okay, like that's called typecasting. Is that the definition of typecasting? Like when someone plays a certain role, all the time or that that's typecasting.

Anthony Skordi: 1:02:57

That's typecasting, yeah so sorry.

George Stroumboulis: 1:02:59

Are you saying they think of you for those types of no?

Anthony Skordi: 1:03:01

I'm saying they, they'll sit around a table and it has to be some kind of miracle right for my name to come up and they'll go. Oh, why didn't I think of that?

Anthony Skordi: 1:03:10

gotcha okay and I've seen it happen on a movie and someone said, what about anthony scored? And he was like I can't say what. The text back responded was what? Why didn't we think of him in the first place? Was, you know, gotcha? You know? But you know people are taking risks on me now, giving me, you know, straight offers and it's like they're not sure what they're gonna get but doesn't the gambino role speak for itself?

George Stroumboulis: 1:03:35

like that was a risk by paramount and you crushed.

Anthony Skordi: 1:03:37

They saw the audition yeah, they saw the audition, so you know if they, if, if, if at best they got what I did in the audition, they would have been happy exactly.

George Stroumboulis: 1:03:46

Exactly.

Anthony Skordi: 1:03:47

But I didn't. I gave them more than that because I had two months to work on the role before I went on set. Right, I had two months to work on this, two months to work on the accent. We had rehearsals, you know. I got to work with Giovanni Ribisi and Miles and I see it, all you know, be in the same room with all these, you know, super talented people, you know.

George Stroumboulis: 1:04:07

Do you ever have a what's it called Not imposter syndrome? But when you're in a room with all this talent, do you feel like I belong there, or is it sometimes like?

Anthony Skordi: 1:04:19

I think shit, you'd have to ask me on the day. I can't really look back and the amount of work that I've done on the role, or any role, come to that is my stability. I know how to work and I know how to repeat what I need to repeat and I know also how to leave myself alone, sure, and let whatever magic happens, if it happens, happen. I guess I'd rather be bad than boring Right, absolutely so. So I guess I do. I take definite, I take I make definite choices, I make definite choices and if it's the wrong choice, you know I'll be told Right.

George Stroumboulis: 1:05:00

Right yeah.

Anthony Skordi: 1:05:01

I remember one time I was working with the director, david Caffrey, on a British thing Tennyson Prime, suspect 1973. And he said to me oh, why don't you do it like this? And I was like shit, why didn't I think of that? He goes.

George Stroumboulis: 1:05:17

that's what I'm here for you know, we started the podcast talking about your parents, right, and the podcast was kind of looping. You had mentioned at like 14, you got this gig and it was on the first day of school. Fast forward now, you know. God bless your mother. She's in her late 90s, right.

Anthony Skordi: 1:05:33

She's 96. She's 96.

George Stroumboulis: 1:05:35

So from eight years old, when you first saw that, till now, has she seen the moment where she's like I'm proud that he got into acting, like she's got to experience like all this stuff that you've been in?

Anthony Skordi: 1:05:48

in acting like she. She's got to experience like all the stuff that you've been in, I think yeah, no, not all of it, but um, being on cyprus separate tv was like you know. They were like you know. My dad said I walked into the bank today and the bank teller said oh, you related to the actor anthony skordia, and he said it's my son. It's my son, yeah that's awesome.

George Stroumboulis: 1:06:04

Yeah, that's it's my son. It's my son. Yeah, you know what I mean. That's awesome. Yeah, that's awesome.

Anthony Skordi: 1:06:08

It's like you know there are life lessons and we have to live life in order to have those lessons, and sometimes we make mistakes.

George Stroumboulis: 1:06:18

Absolutely.

Anthony Skordi: 1:06:19

And I'm not sure how they feel about it. And you know I'm thinking that's the way it's supposed to be, because if it was supposed to be different it would have been Exactly, it would have been different. It's like Morgan Freeman said now that I'm making all this money, I'm too old to enjoy it the way I enjoyed it back in the day.

George Stroumboulis: 1:06:40

Now, what are you going to do with it? All right, how can the listeners stay in contact?

Anthony Skordi: 1:06:45

Oh, my telephone numbers. Exactly, social security contact. Oh, my telephone number is Exactly Social security number is oh darn, I'm trying to open a bank account here. Man, it's like tough.

George Stroumboulis: 1:06:56

God, anyway, something so simple too, right? Yeah, that's on the next episode we're going to talk about.

Anthony Skordi: 1:07:02

But they were like. The bank manager was like why do you want a bank account? I was like what I said.

George Stroumboulis: 1:07:07

I need to pay my rent. You know, Under the mattress cash. Let's go.

Anthony Skordi: 1:07:11

It's been like that for a year and a half. Right, you know how to stay in touch with me? Well, I'm on Instagram and I'm on Twitter and I'm on. It's called X now, isn't it? It's X? Yeah, yeah, but you can't react. Can you or? Or retweet, or, or? You know, and I'm on instagram, um and uh, facebook, yep, and I was just so surprised. This battlefront 2, how it's just taken off with facebook, that's crazy yeah it's like, oh, facebook's just, you know, for old, old, old folk wow, they like battlefront right well, they're not.

Anthony Skordi: 1:07:45

I've got a fan got from texas who's a retired cop. In his 70s he was a gamer okay, so he gets it yeah, anthony scordy um on instagram, anthony scordy on facebook and anthony scordy on uh x yeah, scored in what.

George Stroumboulis: 1:08:02

We're gonna put up all the links. Um, this is great, man. I think we covered a lot. Yeah, keep rocking it, man.

Anthony Skordi: 1:08:09

Yeah, and one question I don't think I answered fully about being in Athens is that I've discovered over the last year and a half that I can two years well, actually 24 years three, four, three, four years that I can live here and work over there, and plus the proximity to Cyprus, which is where my mother's at, it's just easy to go and see her, and Athens is so easy to get in and out of to anywhere else in Europe and to Asia and back to the US. It really is From Cyprus. I couldn't do that.

George Stroumboulis: 1:08:42

Exactly so.

Anthony Skordi: 1:08:43

I just like, really thought about it. I thought about Portugal, I thought about so many different places in Europe and I thought well, you love Greece. You've been going there since you've been, you know, in your 20s. You love the food. Oh my God, I love the vibe.

George Stroumboulis: 1:08:57

Everything. What's the dating scene like here? Oh mate, I wouldn't know.

Anthony Skordi: 1:09:02

You wouldn't know. No, oh God, oh God, I think I'm a back in the day confirmed bachelor meant you were, but I think that's what I am. You know it's because, like you know, it's just a tough old situation.

George Stroumboulis: 1:09:20

But here though you have, you know, nomads, expats, locals Like.

Anthony Skordi: 1:09:27

Athens is I don't drink, right, okay, so that kind of limits the places that I don't go and hang out in bars. Yeah, you know, and if I go out I'll be with pals. We'll go to taverna, we'll go. You know, I don't go out drinking, I don't go out to nightclubs and I think you know I wouldn't want to find a woman in a nightclub anyway you know what I mean.

George Stroumboulis: 1:09:46

Yeah, maybe, maybe your mom forgot about.

Anthony Skordi: 1:09:49

We'll see, you know. I don't know. I'm not condemning people who do that, it's just that I don't drink. I've been. You know. I've been sober clean and sober for almost 16 and a half years 16 and a half years yeah, I haven't had a drink, or or do you miss? It. See, here's the thing I can think things through. Right now my head's clear enough.

George Stroumboulis: 1:10:09

Yeah.

Anthony Skordi: 1:10:10

You know that I just will go to its natural conclusion. And the answer is no, I don't miss it.

George Stroumboulis: 1:10:14

Yeah, you don't miss it, but like it was like even to have a casual drink. It's no casual drink. You want to have more?

Anthony Skordi: 1:10:21

I'll take the first drink and then the drink takes me.

George Stroumboulis: 1:10:24

Yeah, absolutely.

Anthony Skordi: 1:10:26

That's how it goes.

George Stroumboulis: 1:10:27

Yeah, I get it.

Anthony Skordi: 1:10:29

I think there's so many. There are 3,000 AA meetings a week in the inner Los Angeles area 3,000. 3,000. Wherever you are in Los Angeles, you throw a stone, you'll hit five meetings. Yeah yeah, here there's not that many.

George Stroumboulis: 1:10:44

I had someone on the podcast last week back in California and he was saying, talking about A meetings and being sober and everything, and he was just talking about how ego, when he became famous, just his ego took over and then he just started exploring with stuff and he wasn't enough. He wasn't Before, no, he wasn't, but with the fame and he got the show and all this stuff, it took him there and he knew like, once that happened, he's like we got a problem here and then lost everything, reset and again he's sober and then crushing it. So it's like you love hearing the good side of that.

Anthony Skordi: 1:11:19

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know, I remember being in a meeting in Hollywood and I've got two sobrieties, and the first sobriety Pete Townsend. Pete Townsend said to me Tony, you're supposed to make it before you fuck it up. What did I say in the meeting that prompted him to say that? But there's a lot of it in LA. There's a lot of disappointment, there's a lot of heartbreak. People, you know, people you know.

George Stroumboulis: 1:11:48

I've known people taking themselves out yeah yeah from disappointment oh my god, you go there with all expectations and this and dreams, and a fraction of a fraction actually make it right right.

Anthony Skordi: 1:12:01

But you know, when you go to the table to gamble, you go there. You make sure you the odds are in your favor, right? You know you've got the training. You know you've got you. You have everything that. You know. You're armed with everything that you need. You know to make a go of it and you know going for a year is not going to cut it.

George Stroumboulis: 1:12:21

Right, you know you've got to be there for the long term did that help you get roles or be in the scene when you're going out and partying and doing whatever substances? Did that help just being in the mix? No, no.

Anthony Skordi: 1:12:34

No, I mean, I remember being in the Viper room back in the day when Johnny Depp and what's his name? Leonardo DiCaprio and all those people were in there, you know, know, like wearing baseball caps and cocaine out there, right, like we all were. You know what I mean at the time. I mean, it doesn't, you know, it doesn't, it doesn't, it doesn't help. See, you know when the camera is rolling, you know you, you guarantee like a hundred grand a day minimum is going. I don't want to put some drug addict, alcoholic up in front of a camera, right, who's going to cost me money. I need someone who's reliable, he's going to show up on time, he's going to show up prepared and it's not going to cause me any trouble. You know when they rub, you know, run their hands over the cast list, make sure there's no bumps over your name, you know that's great advice, but you have to get burned a lot of times to to realize that no, no, not for me okay.

George Stroumboulis: 1:13:34

So what made you want to say I'm not, I'm stopping, I'm getting?

Anthony Skordi: 1:13:38

six la pd division cops came to my front door with you know that'll do it I had no idea why.

Anthony Skordi: 1:13:47

So, um, that was the beginning of my um sobriety road to sobriety. And then you see people like arrowsmith, um, pete townsend, tony hopkins you know all these names, those ones I've mentioned, because they don't hide that they're sober. Eric clapton doesn't hide that they're sober. Eric Clapton doesn't hide that he's sober all these people you may see. You know Robin Williams, I I'm. You know he only went to one or two meetings, but you know Craig Ferguson was my sponsor, which is how I know Craig and I met. You know other people from his show I'd go and these guests with. So, um, you know there's a lot of. I mean, tony's got to have like 50 years sobriety right now.

George Stroumboulis: 1:14:30

Tony hopkins, yeah it's a it's a serious thing, man. Yeah, it's amazing. Uh, really quick. Craig ferguson he took over for conan. Was it the conan show? He took over for the late, late show, right after leno, I think that was. Yeah, I used to watch him. I don't think he had great ratings, though he had a few years. Well, there's still play clips of him. Yeah, he was funny. Yeah, that British humor. Yeah, awesome man, this was great.

Anthony Skordi: 1:14:58

Good, I'm glad.

George Stroumboulis: 1:14:59

Thank you so much, man. You're welcome, dude, we're going to grab a good man. You too, my brother, you too. Thanks for listening to this episode of Invigorate your Business with George Strombolis. Please hit the subscribe and like buttons and follow me on all the main podcast streaming channels. Also, please share your comments when you can. I appreciate your help in expanding this network to a worldwide audience. Until next time, stay invigorated. Thanks for watching.

CONTENTS OF THIS VIDEO

00:0:00 Who Is Anthony Skordi? Introduction & Backstory

00:07:13 Childhood Dreams: How Anthony Skordi Fell in Love with Acting

00:15:27 Becoming Onassis: The Journey Behind the One-Man Show

00:26:38 Acting Techniques: Building Characters from the Inside Out

00:36:31 Breaking Into Hollywood: Landing the Role of Carlo Gambino

00:49:07 Star Wars & Performance Capture: Behind the Scenes with Skordi

01:03:38 Overcoming Setbacks: Resilience, Finances & the Actor’s Grind

01:12:16 Reflections from Athens: Sobriety, Identity & Life Lessons

NAME SOME OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ACTORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD AND WHY THEY ARE KNOWN

Here’s a list of some of the most successful and globally recognized actors from around the world, along with what makes them iconic:

🇺🇸 Meryl Streep (USA)

  • Known for: Her unmatched versatility and 21+ Oscar nominations.

  • Notable Films: The Devil Wears Prada, Sophie’s Choice, Kramer vs. Kramer

  • Why She's Admired: Often referred to as the greatest living actress, known for disappearing into every role.

🇬🇧 Anthony Hopkins (UK)

  • Known for: Masterful performances with chilling depth and poise.

  • Notable Films: The Silence of the Lambs, The Father, Remains of the Day

  • Why He's Admired: His ability to command a scene with subtle intensity is legendary.

🇮🇳 Shah Rukh Khan (India)

  • Known for: His reign as Bollywood’s “King of Romance” and global fanbase.

  • Notable Films: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, My Name is Khan, Pathaan

  • Why He's Admired: Charisma, emotional delivery, and a rags-to-riches story that inspires millions.

🇫🇷 Marion Cotillard (France)

  • Known for: Her emotive depth and award-winning portrayal of Édith Piaf.

  • Notable Films: La Vie en Rose, Inception, Rust and Bone

  • Why She’s Admired: A rare talent who bridges French cinema with Hollywood seamlessly.

🇪🇸 Javier Bardem (Spain)

  • Known for: Intense, often dark roles and commanding presence.

  • Notable Films: No Country for Old Men, Biutiful, Skyfall

  • Why He's Admired: First Spaniard to win an Oscar for acting; fearless in character choices.

🇰🇷 Song Kang-ho (South Korea)

  • Known for: His grounded, emotional performances in Korean cinema's global rise.

  • Notable Films: Parasite, Memories of Murder, The Host

  • Why He’s Admired: A master of subtlety, expression, and playing the everyman.

🇦🇺 Cate Blanchett (Australia)

  • Known for: Her ability to transform across genres, periods, and personas.

  • Notable Films: Blue Jasmine, TÁR, Elizabeth

  • Why She's Admired: Regal yet raw—one of the few actors to win Oscars in both lead and supporting roles.

🇯🇵 Ken Watanabe (Japan)

  • Known for: Bringing Japanese cinema to Hollywood while maintaining his cultural roots.

  • Notable Films: The Last Samurai, Inception, Letters from Iwo Jima

  • Why He’s Admired: Dignity and quiet strength in every performance.

🇿🇦 Charlize Theron (South Africa)

  • Known for: Stunning physical transformations and fierce roles.

  • Notable Films: Monster, Mad Max: Fury Road, Bombshell

  • Why She’s Admired: Versatility, fearlessness, and a powerful presence.

🇨🇳 Tony Leung (Hong Kong/China)

  • Known for: Expressive subtlety and cinematic depth.

  • Notable Films: In the Mood for Love, Hero, Shang-Chi

  • Why He’s Admired: A legend of Chinese cinema and admired for conveying emotion with minimal dialogue.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A SUCCESSFUL ACTOR IN HOLLYWOOD

Becoming a successful actor in Hollywood takes far more than talent — it’s a relentless mix of skill, timing, grit, relationships, and strategy. Here’s a breakdown of what it really takes:

🎭 1. Mastery of Craft

  • Training is non-negotiable — acting schools, coaches, workshops.

  • You need range: dramatic, comedic, on-camera, stage, improv.

  • Voice, movement, and emotional truth must be sharp and ready.

🔑 Talent gets attention. Mastery keeps it.

🎯 2. Unshakable Work Ethic

  • Long hours, late nights, constant auditions.

  • Rehearsing alone, submitting tapes, grinding when no one’s watching.

  • Being “on” even when you're off — it’s a lifestyle.

🧠 3. Resilience & Mental Toughness

  • Rejection is daily. Criticism is common.

  • You need thick skin but an open heart.

  • Success often comes after years of hearing “no.”

🤝 4. Relationships & Reputation

  • Who you know opens doors.

  • Your reputation is everything — show up prepared, be humble, be kind.

  • Agents, casting directors, producers talk. Make their lives easier.

🕵️‍♀️ 5. Knowing the Business

  • Hollywood is not just art — it’s commerce.

  • Understand contracts, unions (like SAG-AFTRA), residuals, branding.

  • Learn how to market yourself, get press, stay visible, and stay smart.

📸 6. A Clear Personal Brand

  • You don’t have to be typecast, but you do need to be known for something at first.

  • Are you the brooding antihero? The lovable sidekick? The comedic firecracker?

  • Your “brand” helps casting directors picture you in roles instantly.

🚀 7. Timing & Luck (Yes, It Matters)

  • Right audition. Right role. Right moment.

  • But remember: luck favors the prepared.

  • You need to be ready when your shot comes.

💡 8. Representation That Believes in You

  • A good agent or manager can change your life — but you have to earn it.

  • They help you navigate the system, pitch you, and protect your interests.

  • Don’t just chase any agent. Build relationships and show your value.

🔄 9. Adaptability

  • Trends shift. Genres rise and fall. Platforms evolve (film, TV, streaming, social).

  • The best actors adapt — without losing who they are.

❤️ 10. Purpose & Passion

  • If you're in it for fame alone, you’ll burn out.

  • Passion for storytelling and connection will carry you through the droughts and wins alike.

In short:

Hollywood rewards relentless consistency, emotional truth, and smart navigation.
The spotlight doesn’t come easy — but when it hits, be ready to own the moment.

WHAT ARE THE COMMON TRAITS OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ACTORS

The most successful actors — across film, TV, stage, and voiceover — tend to share a powerful mix of personal traits, professional discipline, and creative instincts. Here are the common traits that set them apart:

🎭 1. Emotional Intelligence

  • They can access deep emotions on command and understand human behavior intuitively.

  • This allows them to portray characters with authenticity and nuance.

🎯 2. Unbreakable Work Ethic

  • Acting isn’t glamorous behind the scenes — it’s grinding auditions, long hours, relentless preparation.

  • The best actors are first to set, last to leave, always learning their craft.

🧠 3. Self-Awareness

  • They know their strengths, their weaknesses, and how they’re perceived.

  • This helps them choose roles that elevate their brand and stretch their range.

🔁 4. Resilience to Rejection

  • Rejection is the norm in acting — not the exception.

  • Successful actors develop thick skin, bounce back quickly, and don’t take things personally.

🎓 5. Commitment to Training

  • Even the greats keep learning — dialect coaching, movement classes, script analysis.

  • They treat acting as a lifelong craft, not a short-term hustle.

🧩 6. Versatility & Adaptability

  • They can transform physically, emotionally, and stylistically — from stage to screen, comedy to tragedy.

  • They evolve with the industry and audience tastes.

🤝 7. Professionalism & Reliability

  • They show up on time, take direction well, and earn trust on set.

  • Directors, producers, and co-stars want to work with them again — that’s career gold.

🌟 8. Charisma & Presence

  • They draw your attention even when they’re not speaking.

  • "Star quality" isn’t just looks — it’s how they carry themselves, their voice, their energy.

💡 9. Curiosity & Observation

  • Great actors are great observers of life. They study people, behavior, tone, body language.

  • Every experience becomes fuel for performance.

❤️ 10. Purpose-Driven Passion

  • They're not just chasing fame — they’re driven to tell stories, move people, and reflect the human condition.

🎬 Success in acting isn't just about talent — it's about tenacity, truth, and transformation.

Would you like this turned into a visual or podcast segment outline?

BLOG POST

  • Behind the Scenes: The Actor's Journey

  • From London to Hollywood: Anthony Skordi's 30-Year Path to Success

  • You need tenacity and talent to survive in the acting world.

  • Peanut Butter Budgets and Paramount Offers

  • What happens when your overnight success takes three decades?

What does it truly take to build a sustainable acting career in Hollywood? In this captivating conversation with Anthony Skordi, we uncover the remarkable journey of a man who's gone from saving lunch money for auditions to playing Carlo Gambino in Paramount's "The Offer."

Anthony's story begins in London as the son of Greek Cypriot immigrants, where at just eight years old, a teacher recognized his natural talent and urged his reluctant parents to send him to stage school. Despite family opposition, Anthony's passion for acting never wavered. The turning point came when his father's confession about life's missed opportunities propelled Anthony to pursue formal training at the prestigious Drama Centre, competing against thousands for just thirty available spots.

The raw reality of the acting profession unfolds as Anthony shares stories of extreme financial hardship – surviving on apples and peanut butter to make rent, facing constant rejection, and questioning his path during moments of desperation. Yet through it all, his commitment to craft never wavered. His holistic approach to character development, particularly evident in his acclaimed one-man show portraying Aristotle Onassis, showcases the depth he brings to every role.

What makes Anthony's perspective unique is his ability to navigate both classical British theatrical traditions and Hollywood's action-oriented culture. His recent successes – from performance capture work in Star Wars Battlefront to his breakthrough as Carlo Gambino – come after decades of persistence, challenging the notion of "overnight success." Throughout our conversation, his wisdom about the industry rings with authenticity: the importance of training, making bold choices, maintaining sobriety (16+ years and counting), and above all, remaining humble and grateful.

Whether you're an aspiring actor or simply fascinated by the creative journey, this episode offers invaluable insights into what it means to pursue your passion against all odds. Follow Anthony's work on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook at @anthonyskordi to see where his remarkable career takes him next.

Blog Post

The Journey of Anthony Skordi: From London Streets to Hollywood Screens

Anthony Skordi's story is a masterclass in perseverance and artistic dedication. Born in London to Greek Cypriot parents, Skordi's path to becoming a recognized actor spans over three decades and showcases the realities of pursuing a career in the entertainment industry.

Skordi's acting journey began at just eight years old when a teacher recognized his talent during a school play. Despite his parents' resistance to the idea of their son becoming an actor—fearing he would "be gay or marry a prostitute" as was the common prejudice at the time—Skordi was already bitten by the acting bug. As a teenager, he saved his lunch money, buying only peanuts for protein, to fund his first audition for stage school. Though accepted, his family couldn't afford the tuition, setting a pattern of financial challenges that would follow him throughout his early career.

The turning point came in his mid-twenties when his father unwittingly provided the motivation that would change Skordi's life. "I look back on my life and see things that I wanted to do and never did them and it's too late now," his father confessed. These words sparked something in Skordi, who immediately began researching drama schools and applying for auditions, despite having little formal acting experience since childhood. Against overwhelming odds—with only 30 places available and thousands of applicants—he was eventually accepted into the prestigious Drama Centre in London.

Skordi's training at Drama Centre provided the foundation for his holistic approach to acting. Unlike some more commercially-focused training in the US, the UK tradition placed greater emphasis on classical theater and the spoken word. This classical foundation has allowed Skordi to tackle complex character roles throughout his career, most notably in his one-man show portraying Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, which he performed off-Broadway and continues to perform internationally.

The financial reality of pursuing acting is laid bare in Skordi's story. He recounts periods of extreme hardship, including a week where he survived on just an apple and a spoonful of peanut butter daily to save enough for rent. His experiences mirror industry statistics he cites—98% of union actors out of work at any given time, with an average annual income of just $5,000. Add to this the expenses of union dues, professional headshots, subscription fees for casting platforms, and the standard 20% that goes to agents and managers, and the economic challenges become clear.

Despite these obstacles, Skordi's career has seen remarkable highlights, particularly in recent years. His portrayal of Carlo Gambino in Paramount's "The Offer" brought him widespread recognition, with fans approaching him on the street. He's also made significant inroads in the gaming world through performance capture work, voicing characters in Star Wars Battlefront II and the upcoming Mafia game. These successes came after decades of persistence, reinforcing his belief that an "overnight success" in Hollywood typically takes at least ten years to achieve.

Throughout the conversation, Skordi offered valuable insights for aspiring actors: get proper training at accredited conservatories; make definitive character choices rather than playing it safe; be reliable and professional on set; and perhaps most importantly, maintain humility and gratitude throughout your career. As Skordi puts it, "Under normal circumstances, if we weren't being paid and we were pretending to be somebody else, we'd be locked up." This perspective keeps him grounded and appreciative of his opportunities.

Anthony Skordi's journey reminds us that success in creative fields rarely follows a straight line. It requires unwavering dedication, resilience in the face of rejection, and the ability to maintain artistic integrity through financial hardship. Most importantly, it demonstrates that with sufficient perseverance, talent will eventually find its audience—even if that recognition comes decades after taking the first step.

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