Laertis Vasiliou ( ell, Λαέρτης Βασιλείου, ''Laertis Vasiliou''; born 7 March 1974) is a Greek-Albanian actor and director of film and stage.

Background

From his father's side, Vasiliou is of Albanian descent while his mother is Greek. Both of his parents were officers in the

Military of Albania The Albanian Armed Forces ( sq, Forcat e Armatosura të Republikës së Shqipërisë (FARSH)) are the military of Albania and were formed after the Albanian Declaration of Independence, declaration of independence in 1912. Today, it consists of ...

. As a result, the family moved around a lot and he spent his childhood between

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

, Saranda and Delvina, Albania. He started acting at the age of 16 while still in high school, playing leading parts in several school theatre performances. At the age of 19 he was accepted to the

Academy of Arts in Tirana The University of Arts ( sq, Universiteti i Arteve), formerly known as the Academy of Arts ( sq, Akademia e Arteve) is a public university and the main institution that offers higher education of the arts in Albania. History Founded in 1966 as the ...

. In 1994 he left for Greece in order to study acting at the National Theatre of Greece Drama School in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Greece. He came second out of 750 applicants. He graduated in 1997.

''Corpus Christi'' controversy

Vasiliou directed a play '' Corpus Christi'' in Greece that depicts

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

and his

apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

as a group of homosexual men. The 1997 play was written by American playwright

Terrence McNally Terrence McNally (November 3, 1938 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Described as "the bard of American theater" and "one of the greatest contemporary playwrights the theater world has yet produced," ...

. The

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

and the right-wing extremist

Golden Dawn Golden Dawn or The Golden Dawn may refer to: Organizations * Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a nineteenth century magical order based in Britain ** The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Inc., a modern revival founded in 1977 ** Open Source ...

protested against the play. The director and actors of the play faced charges of

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

in Greece. Vasiliou said that prosecutors were misdirecting scarce resources by pursuing his cast, rather than trying to nab tax evaders who have plunged Greece into ruin. "What I see is that there are people who have robbed the country blind, who are not in jail, and the prosecutor turns against art," Vasiliou told

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

Awards

* Best Director Award at International Theatre Festival in Prespa 2021 * Citizen of Honour * Actor of Europe Award at International Theatre Festival Lake Without Borders 2018 * Best Director of the Year at Pegasi International Awards 2015 * Special Award for Corpus Christi at Athens Queer Theatre Award 2012 * Most Important Theatre Artist of the Year 2008 by Eleftherotypia * Mess Future Prize at Mess Sarajevo International Theatre Festival 2008 * Best Director Prize at Balkan Theatre Festival 2005

Nominations

* Best Director Prize 2016] by Kult Awards * Man of the Year 2012 by LIFO * Best Director Prize 2008 by Athinorama People's Choice Theatre Awards * Best Young Actor Prize 2002

Director

He has written and directed theatrical plays dealing with the sensitive theme of immigration and the notion of being a ''foreigner''. He was the first to use Albanian artists living in Greece in professional performances, which moreover were multi-lingual. The plays were initially presented in

, Greece, and run for more than 400 performances from 2003 to 2015, in Greece, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosovo and in Albania. *

Electra Electra (; grc, Ήλέκτρα) is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, '' Electra'' by Sophocles and '' Electra'' by Euripides. She is also the centra ...

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

at Buthrotum * Doruntine, by Ismail Kadare *

Agamemnon Inferno In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; grc-gre, Ἀγαμέμνων ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War. He was the son, or grandson, of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husb ...

, by Ismail Kadare * Corpus Christi by

* The Emigrants by

Sławomir Mrożek Sławomir Mrożek (29 June 1930 – 15 August 2013) was a Polish dramatist, writer and cartoonist. Mrożek joined the Polish United Workers' Party during the reign of Stalinism in the People's Republic of Poland, and made a living as a politica ...

Love songs with ravens Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...

by Bashkim Hoxha * I remember… by Ylli Demneri * One out of ten by Laert Vasili at

MESS The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

* Project Ilion-Work in Progress by Laert Vasili

Translator

He has translated several plays from English into Greek and Albanian, and also from Greek into Albanian.

Filmography

* ''The Miracle of th Sargasso Sea'' * ''The Invocation of Enver Simaku'' * ''Menge Kemishe'' * ''Paftuar'' * ''Ειμαρμένη'' * ''Agon'' * ''Out of touch'' * ''Balkan Bazaar'' * ''Red Sky'' * ''Charlie's Son'' * ''Hostage'' * ''Playing Parts'' * ''Alexandreia'' * ''Tomorrow Is Another Day'' * ''Annas Somer'' * ''Edge of Night'' * ''See You'' * ''Flegomeni Stella''

Television

* ''Skanderbeg'' * ''Oikos antohis'' * ''Oi istories tou astynomou Beka'' * ''I agapi irthe apo makria'' * ''Gia tin Anna'' * ''Ta mystika tis Edem'' * ''Kato Partali'' * ''Three'' at TIFF * ''Αγνώστου Διαμονής'' * ''Ω Γλυκύ μου Έαρ'' * ''Στον Ήλιο του Αιγαίου'' * ''Η λίμνη των στεναγμών'' * ''Αίθουσα Αναμονής'' * ''Αγία τετράδα'' * ''Ελληνοαλβανικό Συναξάρι'' * Tingulli i Heshtjes

Theatre

He has collaborated with directors such as: Theodoros Terzopoulos, Robert Wilson,

Anatoly Vasiliev Anatoly Alexandrovitch Vasiliev (russian: Анато́лий Алекса́ндрович Васи́льев, link=no; born May 4, 1942, Penza Oblast) is a Russian theatre director. He is artistic director of the Moscow Theatre "School of Dramat ...

Tadashi Suzuki is a Japanese avant-garde theatre director, writer, and philosopher. He is the founder and director of the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT), and organizer of Japan’s first international theatre festival (Toga Festival). With American director An ...

Dimiter Gotscheff Dimiter Gotscheff (Bulgarian: ; 26 April 1943 in Parvomai, Bulgaria – 20 October 2013 in Berlin) was a Bulgarian-born German theater director. His work is often associated with dramatist and director Heiner Müller. References External lin ...

, Andrew Visnevski,

Aleksandar Popovski Aleksandar Popovski (born 3 February 1988) is a striker who most recently played for Skopje in the Macedonian First League. He was born in Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North M ...

and also with Greek directors: Antonis Antypas, George Kimoulis, Dimitris Mavrikios, Yiannis Kakleas, Roula Pateraki, Maya Limperopoulou, Sylvia Liouliou etc. He was nominated for

Dimitris Horn Dimitris Horn () (9 March 1921 – 16 January 1998) was a Greek theatrical and film performer of modern times. Biography Horn was born in Athens in 1921, the son of playwright Pantelis Horn (himself descended from an Austrian father and Greek mot ...

Prize (Best Young Actor 2001).

''Blind Taste''

He was the winner of the first season of the

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

Blind Taste Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...

'' presented by Vizion Plus TV in Tirana, Albania. He came first at the grand finale on 4 July 2015 besting 32 candidates.

Dance With Me

He was part of the first season of the

''Dance with Me'' presented by Klan TV in Tirana that was held between 28 September and 29 December 2014. The couple of the actor and the professional singer Zajmina Vasjari came second of six competing couples at the finale.

References

Laertis Vasiliou
at

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Laertis Vasiliou
at BBC Newsnight
Laertis Vasiliou
at

Laertis Vasiliou
at

Out Out may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 * ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander * ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...

Laertis Vasiliou
at

El País ''El País'' (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. ''El País'' is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . ''El Pa ...

Laertis Vasiliou
at

VICE A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character tra ...

Laertis Vasiliou
at NPR
Laertis Vasiliou
at

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...

Laertis Vasiliou
at

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

Laertis Vasiliou
at IBTimes
Laertis Vasiliou
at

La Stampa ''La Stampa'' (meaning ''The Press'' in English) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin, Italy. It is distributed in Italy and other European nations. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. History and profile The paper was fou ...

Laertis Vasiliou
at ILGA-Europe
Laertis Vasiliou
at

La Vanguardia ' (; , Spanish for "The Vanguard") is a Spanish daily newspaper, founded in 1881. It is printed in Spanish and, since 3 May 2011, also in Catalan (Spanish copy is automatically translated into Catalan). It has its headquarters in Barcelona and i ...

Laertis Vasiliou
at

Americans United Americans United for Separation of Church and State (Americans United or AU for short) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates for the disassociation of religion and religious organizations from government. The separation of church ...

Laertis Vasiliou
at Broadway Worldwide
Laert Vasili
at

National Theatre of Northern Greece The National (or State) Theatre of Northern Greece (Κρατικό Θέατρο Βορείου Ελλάδος), an institution promoting theatrical plays in Thessaloniki and northern Greece, was founded in 1961 by Sokratis Karantinos, its first ...

The Parthenon Post

The Pappas Post

LiveMovies

Altcine

Laert Vasili
at

Tirana Times ''Tirana Times'' is a weekly newspaper published in English and is headquartered in Tirana, Albania. History and profile ''Tirana Times'' is the first weekly English newspaper in Albania. The paper was established in 2005. The weekly provides ne ...

Laert Vasili
at

Mapo MAPO - the Moscow Aircraft Production Association (russian: Московское авиационное производственное объединение, Moskovskoye aviatsionnoye proizvodstvennoye obyedineniye) was a major Russian state-owne ...

External links

Laert Vasili
at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Laert Vasili
at ''

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...

''
Laert Vasili
at

DailyMotion Dailymotion is a French video-sharing technology platform owned by Vivendi. North American launch partners included Vice Media, Bloomberg and Hearst Digital Media. It is among the earliest known platforms to support HD (720p) resolution video. ...

Laert Vasili
at CLASS
Laert Vasili
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasili, Laert Vasiliou, Laertis Vassiliou Laertis 1974 births Living people People from Delvinë Greek male film actors University of Arts (Albania) alumni Albanian emigrants to Greece Greek people of Albanian descent