Syriopoulos: Thessaloniki is held by 5 people, otherwise it would drown at the mercy of its humidity
A native of Thessaloniki and an Athenian at heart, honored with the Dimitris Horn Award, comfortable, anxious, talented, Michalis Syriopoulos has a great acting career on the boards, on the screens and in his workshop, he is very much missing from the theatrical scene of the city.
When the searchlights, cameras and books are turned off, he will find himself walking in a mall, as he says he loves walks because during them, he empties his mind. She loves trying new flavors and cooks. He rejoices like a small child when he carves his plants.
“Rarely will you ever find me somewhere with loud music and standing up. On Sunday nights when you definitely find me in the cinema, with the basic condition that I eat them with extra cheese that I will eat until the commercials and then I will get angry with the other countries’ crusaders… and I will definitely play Stratego and take your flag without it you do. you get a hump. ”
Michalis clarifies that he does not know how and how accurately the actress “invaded” his life.
“I remember the old toddlers dressed as Santa Claus reciting all the poems of the children they forgot, and the kindergarten teacher Mrs. Galini whispering to my mother that he would become an actor. From there, somewhat this whisper continued, until the time of the computer where I had to convince those around me that things are getting serious. Why I chose acting… great discussion! For many years it was my crutch to express myself as Michalis, now it is my need to express myself as an artist. “
The first role he played in front of an audience was Fuskomagoulos Braskas at the Municipal Theater of Stavroupolis, in “Frog Fighting” directed by Maria Albanou.
“Replacement, then I was a third grader. I remember wearing a hood that was crooked and taking out the whole show with one eye, but I was happy. My whole course in the theater is a step – a step forward, looking, like in a minefield, but I do not change it! I do not come from theatrical family nor theater within the routine of mine. I did not even know what interpretation would mean. I grew up with Finos Film movies and the children’s theaters we went to school with. I typically remember “Mormolis”, I was enchanted. The word interpretation came to my mind much later, in drama school. I learned the interpretation as a transformation from my late, beloved teacher, Kostas Zacharakis. ”
His strongest moments in the theater are those when there was a more family atmosphere in the troupe, as he says. The most group ones: “The fairy tales in the elevator” at DIPETHE Veria, “The Cherry Orchard” of the experimental stage, “The trial of K” and “Candid” at the Porta theater. He had many unfortunate meetings, he does not complain, but he does not regret it either. He has generally broken contracts and turned down roles in the past when he did not imagine himself in a job. In general, he always seeks to say “Thank you” from within me, and not “Sorry”.
“Thessaloniki is my city, my homeland. It’s 30 of the 35 years of my life. But her routine had begun to overwhelm me. I knew who I would meet if I was going this way at that time, and who the other way. And theatrically I caught myself drowning. I had to start “if I was in Athens it would be different” and I’m afraid of them, they make you a miserable human being. Now for how I see my city evolving, I feel that it is holding it with its fingernails and five teeth – worthy of true love, each from his post, otherwise he would have been left at her mercy. I left Thessaloniki because I needed to take a risk. I came down with a proposal of course from Thomas Moschopoulos but I left a laid back life. Not with nerves or sadness. But yes, I felt that my “adventure book” was empty. “
Television after a serious period of crisis and lack of Greek series returns dynamically with fiction where Michalis participates in one of the most successful series of the season, in the “Dark Sea” of MEGA.
“I do not think that the return to fiction is a symptom of the pandemic. I believe that the turn of the world in Netflix series has changed television. And he did very well. Television is a great medium. And he clearly wants the right people to make quality use of it. May quality and work win, and may it last. ”
The last few months have marked the scene with repeated allegations of scandals, intensifying an extremely difficult period due to the pandemic.
“The world is changing, moving forward. The same goes for the theater. #Metoo shook the foundations and changed the landscape. There was and there is a lot of fear in my work. Many abused their power. I am against fear and in favor of art. Of art that is not a punishment but a celebration. May the cleansing continue. To introduce ourselves again. Also, it is not at all easy to be an actor in Greece. There is a huge problem in my industry. Infinite unemployment. The state supported us with allowances in quarantines, but not all. True, it is very difficult for me to imagine a solution to the actors’ blow in relation to the coronavirus and what the state should do. At the end of the pandemic, I catch myself not knowing what it will bring to the actors, but I hope we can endure it and leave it to the next ones. ”
Currently, Michalis is starring in “Dark Sea”, one of the most successful series for 2022.
“I have the pleasure of being in the Dark Sea.” At some point, a long time ago, my phone rang from our director, Grigoris Karantinakis, and after a long time I spoke with Iro Gallou. I was tested as “Iraklis Dellis” and let us be. Is it one of the times when I do not know what to choose, the process or the result ?! I am at a stage in my life where I search a lot as an artist for what I do, what I want to do, and what I ultimately do as an actor. I would really like to reach my extremities, to make more noise. I do not know if this is considered repulsive. I would say I’re just growing up. I’m concerned with the public and clearly and they will publicly post about things with the basic condition that I listen and think before I speak! Something I think is missing all around… ”
The General Acting Studio is one of the things that Michalis is proud of himself. Mostly because he made the decision in quarantine to start something that looks like a sign of optimism and light in the dark.
“At the moment it is not a school, it is a laboratory. But it does a nice job with my kids. It is a “nest” for those who love theater, for student preparation, or seminars for school graduates and any kind of rehearsal. I made the decision because I was tired of teaching here and there and things are not as I dream. Now I am responsible for everything. From the aromatic jasmine in the space to who will enter which section. I say a lot to my students, but more often you will hear me talking about “together” on stage, about his generosity and enjoyment now! “
Michalis was awarded the Dimitris Horn Theatrical Award in 2019. He has participated in many theatrical performances at the “State Theater of Northern Greece” such as “Vyssinokipos” and “The Beginning of Archimedes”. He participated in the TV in relation to the ANT1 series, “The Return” and in the Excursion, in the role of Anthimos, the future rejoices every “walk” as if it were one and only.
“The Horn Award is a nice sign, just as soon as I got it we were locked in our homes by the coronavirus. I feel that things are more favorable, but an award does not define you. A caress is, Everything comes with work. Voltaire’s Candide said in the finale of the play, (a role from which I was honored with the Horn Prize): “We must cultivate our garden”. So during these two years – so far – of quarantine, I put into practice the words of Candide. I took good care of myself, inside – outside! And that was one of the nice lessons of the virus! As for the plans, what can I tell you! The cuffs were so strong from everything that was canceled during these two years that I now imitate my dog. “I enjoy every” walk “as if it were one and only.”
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