Star of ‘Brazilero’ says movie is a riot of nationalities
A talented German actor and producer, Rufus Beck, plays the role of Alex, a 45-year-old Dutch official who comes to Greece with his Italian boss, Giovanni (played by Ivano Marescotti), in order to inspect the business of a crooked Greek, Vassilis Arvanitis (Stelios Mainas) – such is Sotiris Goritsas’s Brazilero, which is scheduled to open soon at mainstream movie theaters in Athens. The star of the film was at the avant-premiere of Brazilero at the Premiere Nights Film Festival in Athens two weeks ago, and while here, found the time to share his impressions with Kathimerini. A versatile artist, Beck has worked in film, television and the theater (he has been a member of the Berliner Ensemble for several years) and tried his hand at producing films and music albums – his most recent project in music was a series of CDs based on the Harry Potter children’s series. He got the part in Brazilero rather unexpectedly: Goritsas was initially looking for a Dutch actor, explains Beck. Finally, after two failed auditions, we met. He asked me to improvise on the script, we had a long talk, and two days later he offered me the part. I was very interested in the plot of this ‘multiethnic’ movie said the German artist. You hear so many languages in it – from Greek, English and Italian to Albanian and Arabic! I also loved playing a man of a different nationality from me, he added. Despite the fact that he seldom visits the country, his knowledge of Greek cinema is quite broad. I have seen the films of Theodore Angelopoulos, Costas Gavras and, of course, Sotiris Goritsas, he comments. Greek films are not shown in Germany, but I have seen quite a lot of television since I have been here. I was impressed at the number of soap operas shown, as well as the over-the-top, almost theatrical way that actors perform. Greek television is very different to film. I like the way Goritsas works. The way he approaches the actors, the way he focuses on his theme and the way he become impassioned by it. ‘Brazilero’ has a very subtle sense of humor and it depicts simple people.
