Georges Corraface has risen to star status in Europe throughout a
career in film, theatre and television.
This ruggedly charismatic leading man is notably a box-office draw in
Greece, Spain and France, where he lives and is a popular celebrity.
A classically trained and versatile actor, his gift for languages and
his multi-cultural background has enabled him to work in eight
languages and an even wider variety of accents.
At the height of an auspicious and daring theater career, as a member
of the famed Peter Brook Company in Paris, Corraface was discovered by
David Lean in 1987. The legendary
director cast him in the title role of "Nostromo". Although the film
was never made, due to Lean's illness, the resultant attention launched
Corraface into American productions with films like
Nicht ohne meine Tochter (1991),
Verliebt in Chopin (1991)
Christopher Columbus - Der Entdecker (1992)
and Flucht aus L.A. (1996).
In recent years, however, he has found his most challenging and
successful roles in European film and television where his original
characterizations have won him a loyal and ever-growing following,
critical acclaim and Best Actor awards.
The smolderingly lusty Yaman in
Im Sog der Leidenschaft (1994) wooed
audiences in Spain. Meanwhile, in France, Corraface was getting rave
reviews for a wide variety of starring movie roles, ranging from the
candid and ebullient macho, Cheto, in the romantic comedy
Vive la mariée... et la libération du Kurdistan (1998)
to the swarthy and noble ex-con, Max, in the dark psychological
thriller Préférence (1998).
In Greece, he made his mark with his performances first as a tormented
and emotionally disconnected everyman in
I sfagi tou kokora (1996),
then as the comically naive and soulful peasant on a pilgrimage in
To tama (2001). Both parts earned him
the highest film awards in Greece. He went on to portray Fannis, the
introspective and traumatized exile in the nostalgic comedy
Zimt und Koriander (2003), which
broke all Greek box-office records before conquering audiences abroad.
French television has made Corraface a broadcast star with mini-series
roles like the suavely sophisticated François in
Das blaue Fahrrad (2000),
the hurt and sensitive rebel Thomas in
L'été rouge (2002),
or the earnestly bumbling professor in
Estelle (1993)".
Other TV productions focusing on contemporary issues have reinforced
his popularity, through characters such as the haunted, hard-drinking
journalist Rachid in the made for Arte film,
Algier - Und kein Entrinnen (1998),
or as Alex, a solitary, fast-talking swat team crisis negociator in
Alex Santana, négociateur (2002),
a series of made-for-TV movies (TF1).
Overall, Corraface appears to enthusiastically alternate his more
commercial work with dedicated involvement in less mainstream "films
d'auteurs" with a new generation of independent filmmakers.
