George Voyiatzis was welcomed to “Studio 4” by Nancy Zampetoglou and Thanasis Anagnostopoulos.
The well-known actor gave an interview to the presenters of ERT, referring to his long career in acting and show business.
He explained how he came to participate in the famous movie “Zorba the Greek”: “As a kid, I snuck in to see a shoot of Vuyuklaki in Syntagma, and there was a gentleman speaking English who no one understood, so I volunteered since I knew it to help him. When I told him I was an actor, he said: ‘Why don’t you come see Kakogiannis who is doing Zorba?’. I went there immediately, his sister opened the door, cursed at me, and I left“.
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George Voyiatzis visited the filming again and got the role: “One day I was walking with a girl on Vasilissis Sofias street, and I see ’20th Century Fox, Zorba the Greek’. To show off to the girl, I said, ‘Wait, let me go greet Kakogiannis’ – I didn’t even know him! I went inside, and this gentleman I had met comes out, telling me ‘You just arrived? We’re leaving for Crete’. And just as I was leaving, Kakogiannis comes out with the director of photography, asks who I am, and curses. He says ‘You just brought him to me? Didn’t I tell you I wanted him?’ “I was shocked, I was lost. We did the audition, and I wasn’t 18; my mother had to sign. I told them ‘Do you have another actor?’ and they said ‘It doesn’t matter, we will pay him’. Nothing like me, a very handsome guy, Alkis Giannakas. He was just too handsome back then; Kakogiannis was right“.
In another segment, George Voyiatzis spoke about the significant collaborations in his career. Regarding his friendship with the late Irene Papas, he said: “In ‘Zorba’, my friendship with Irene Papas began. We argued on the first day. I arrived at the shoot and was confused; I was looking for a Greek, and I saw Irene Papas on a truck. I went to talk to her; she was very famous back then. I went to talk to her, and she said to me, ‘You are the shy boy Kakogiannis found?’ I thought, ‘Oh’. She mentioned the square buttons I was wearing; it was the era of hippies. I got upset and told her ‘Okay, Ms. Papas, I thought actors are sensitive. From what I see, you are not’.” From that day on, we became friends“.
George Voyiatzis then described an incredible incident on set with Sophia Loren: “I really liked Sophia Loren; she was amazing. She had an obsession with stopping me from smoking; she had told the production to throw me the cigarette packs. We had a scene, which was ultimately cut, where I was raping her; I was playing her husband but was drunk. We were filming the scene, and she made a sound, as if I had hurt her, and I was hesitant to touch her. I stopped the scene, apologized, and asked her what I had done. ‘George, I am still a woman, and you touch me everywhere, should I not react?’. I was looking at her like an idiot“.
As he continued, he shared that with the actress Ornella Muti, they were about to become more than co-stars in the film “Modern Monsters”.
“Ornella Muti was a beauty and a very nice girl. I restrained myself from starting a relationship with her because I was married to my first wife. I have always been monogamous; when I didn’t have relationships… even with cows, as they say! (laughs) When I have a relationship, I don’t mix things up. With Ornella, there was something. She invited me to her home, cooked for me, small chickens. And… well… We stayed for dinner, yes…” he said.
George Voyiatzis was then asked about Monica Bellucci: “I met her when I was 22-23 years old. When she became ‘The Bellucci’, she told me she wanted to take me out to dinner in Paris. We went, and I had never seen anything like it; all the men turned around and were looking at her. We were eating, me, my wife, and Monica. At that time, she was dating a friend of mine who was a bit odd; he liked prostitutes more. We talked about that. ‘George, do you understand? I don’t…!’, she said the word in Italian, and the whole restaurant turned and looked at us“.
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