Archive for June 25th, 2009

Dino Delos

       For his whole life, Dino Delos has had one big dream and he has carried it with him from his childhood in Greece, to the sometimes Mean, sometimes Magical streets of this city. He wants to be an actor.
       He has come close to the Big Time, meeting some Major Players, but so far, he hasn’t gone over that mountain yet himself.   He almost had a role  in “America, America,” Elia Kazan’s epic film about immigrants. “I met Kazan,” Delos said. “I was in his office. He noticed me. He wanted me for a part.”  That one didn’t happen. But still, he forged on, getting small background roles when he could.
         His calling card says he’s been a double for Charles Bronson and that he’s a Saddam Hussein Look-a-Like.   He played a scary guy in “American Gangster” with Denzel Washington and another criminal type in “The Taking of Pelham, One, Two, Three,” which opens this week.  He often plays vigilantes — he’s got that kind of face — but a gentleness and generosity also shine through.
         In “The Interpreter,” with Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn, he played an Iraqi diplomat. “It was the first movie the U.N. ever allowed to be filmed on location,” he said proudly.  He’s also played a Greek gangster, a Cab Driver,  and a Soccer Coach.   While the Big One has eluded him up until now, he’s not discouraged. He says he has never lost hope.
           His hero, he says, is Zorba the Greek, the big, life-loving character from the Nikos Kazantzakis novel that was made into a film in 1964 with Anthony Quinn.  For as Zorba says in the movie: ”Me, I got up and danced. They said ‘Zorba is Mad.’ But it was the dancing – only the dancing that stopped the pain.”
        Dino Delos is a believer.
        ”You’ve got to fight for your dreams, he says. That’s all you’ve got.”