The glaring absence of Greeks in Greek mythology productions is seriously pissing me off. "But there are no Greek actors to cast from-" shhh shut up. Since you all "can't find us" for some reason in foreign entertainment industries, let me help you by showing a fraction of the Greek talent pool that could easily partake in English productions, and already had famous parts in known productions. And all that with a few minutes on the internet - apparently a research too hard for the likes of Christopher Nolan.
You may already know Jennifer Aniston, John Aniston, Zach Galifianakis, and Maria Menounos:
There's also:
Melina Kanakaredes Constantinides
You will know her from roles in television such as in NYPD Blue, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, NCIS, Hawaii Five-0. Even better, for playing the Greek goddess Athena in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. She also voiced Ariana in Blood of Zeus. She got nominated for two Emmys and won an award in TV Guide Awards.
Billy Zane
Besides the fact he has been getting roles in at least three productions for the last ten years, you may know him from playing Marc Antony in Cleopatra (1999), may have seen him for 3 episodes in Charmed (2005), or know him as John Justice Wheeler in the second season of Twin Peaks, or seen him as Marlon Brando in Waltzing with Brando (2025). Fun fact: He voiced Ansem in Kingdom Hearts (2002-2017).
His sister, Lisa Zane, had roles in many films and series, and also worked as a voice actress. She is a singer, and songwriter, too.
Michael Chiklis
Known for: Fantastic Four (2005, 2007), Gotham (2015–2017), Coyote (2021). Fun fact: he has a credit in the Simpsons for one episode. With multiple roles in film and television, he got many nominations and won four Awards (Emmy, Golden Globes etc).
Marie Avgeropoulos
She's most known for her role in The 100 (2014–2020), Tracers (2011), Supernatural series (2009). Nominated - Leo Awards for Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Motion Picture for the thriller Numb (2015).
Chris Diamantopoulos
Known for his roles in Silicon Valley, The Three Stooges, and Mickey Mouse. He has also appeared in Broadway, film, and TV shows such as The Office, Arrested Development, and The Middle.
Costas Mandylor (Kostas Theodosopoulos)
Some of his more notable roles: Frank Costello in the crime drama film Mobsters (1991). Alphonse Royo in Players (1991), Detective Lieutenant Mark Hoffman in the Saw franchise, Hondshew in Beowulf, and Jeriho in Gunslingers (2025). He appeared in Sex and the City, Charmed, Once Upon a Time, NCIS, The Last Ship, Lethal Weapon. Fun fact: In 1991 He was voted one of the most 50 most beautiful people on earth (in the 26th place :D) by the People Magazine and age has only made him better. If he can co-star with Jenna Ortega, he is relevant enough.
His brother Louis Mandylor (Elias Theodosopoulos) is also an actor. He's been appearing in multiple English television shows mainly in he US and AU. He played in My Big Fat Greek Wedding (1-2-3), he appeared twice on CSI: Miami. He and his brother Costas have acted alongside each other in the Charmed episode "Saving Private Leo" (2002). He was the Sherriff in Rambo: Last Blood and Chaplain Glover in Doom: Annihilation.
John Stamos
He's known for roles in Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS, Criminal Minds, and films such as Cabaret (2002) and Hairspray (2011). Beyond that, he's had a long career with five awards and many nominations.
Theo James (Theodore Taptiklis)
You may remember him as Four in the Divergent trilogy, Henry DeTamble in The Time Traveler's Wife, and Cameron Sullivan in The White Lotus. He also lended his voice to Hector in the Castlevania series for seasons 2–4. His career is long, and he's gotten four awards so far.
Natasia Demetriou + Jamie Demetriou
Natasia has appeared in various minor roles before starring as Nadja, a Greek Romani vampire, in the critically acclaimed series What We Do in the Shadows. For her role in What We Do in the Shadows she won one of her two awards.
Jamie, her brother, is a comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is known for his role as Bus Rodent in Fleabag and for creating, co-writing, and starring in Stath Lets Flats. Among his numerous appearances we can mention the one in Barbie as the CFO of Mattel and played “Nigel” in the Netflix movie “Back in action”. He has three Bafta TV Awards, and even more nominations.
More (gorgeous!) international actors of Greek descent along with some notable roles:
Theo Rossi: Sons of Anarchy (89 episodes)
Christos Vassilopoulos: The Last Ship (2017), Banshee (2013-2016), The Enforcer (2022)
Daphne Alexander: BBC's "Casualty" (2006-8). "House of Saddam" (HBO/BBC), "The Amazing Mrs Pritchard" (BBC), "The Sandman" (Netflix).
Melissanthi Mahut: Calliope in "The Sandman" (Netflix). She voiced and acted as Kassandra in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and voiced the character of Athena in Immortals Fenyx Rising.
Stavroula Logothettis: The X-Files, La Femme Nikita
Antonia Gentry: Ginny & Georgia (Netflix)
Vassilis Koukalani: With multiple credits in Greek and foreign cinema, you may have seen him in Kandahar (2023) and Tehran series (12 episodes)
Stefania LaVie Owen: Sweet Tooth, Krampus, The Carrie Diaries
Elena Kampouris: Sacred Lies, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, Before I Fall
Yorgos Karamihos: The Infiltrator (2016), Murphy’s Law (2022)
Yorgos Pirpassopoulos: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
Evangelia Andreadaki: Poor Things (2023)
Ariane Labed: The Lobster by Lanthimos (2015), Assassin’s Creed (2016), Mary Magdalene (2018)
You're telling me NONE of them is suitable to play a Greek person/hero/god in a Greek mythology production? NONE of them is famous enough, or a good enough actor/actress? Really??
What about international directors who could offer insight into the Greek culture and coordinate the production so it can actually look Greek? You can't find them either?
Yorgos Lanthimos: The Lobster (2015), The Favourite (2018), Poor Things (2023). One of the most critically acclaimed directors today, leading the “Greek Weird Wave” movement.
Costa-Gavras: Missing (1982), Z (1969), Amen. (2002). Legendary political thriller director, worked in Hollywood and Europe. His son, Romain Gavras directed the critically acclaimed Athena (Netflix).
Alexander Payne: Sideways (2004), The Descendants (2011), Nebraska (2013). He's known for indie and Oscar-winning dramas.
Nick Cassavetes: The Notebook (2004) and other films. Son of Greek-American director John Cassavetes and actress Gena Rowlands.
Athina Rachel Tsangari: The Slow Business of Going, Attenberg and Chevalier. Co-production of Yorgos Lanthimos' films: Kinetta, Dogtooth, and Alps.
Sarah Naftalis: A television writer and script coordinator with two Emmy Awards. She has worked in What We Do in the Shadows series, They came together, the Snarky Sidekick TV series and the Adults TV series.
After all that, I hope you can suddenly "find" us ☺️
