- Born
- Birth nameGeorges Michel Corraface
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- 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 Not Without My Daughter (1991), Impromptu (1991) Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992) and Escape from 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 Turkish Passion (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 Slaughter of the Cock (1996), then as the comically naive and soulful peasant on a pilgrimage in Word of Honor (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 A Touch of Spice (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 The Blue Bicycle (2000), the hurt and sensitive rebel Thomas in L'été rouge (2002), or the earnestly bumbling professor in Le château des oliviers (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, Algiers-Beirut: A Souvenir (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.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Eguana - European actor Georges Corraface has an international career in film and television, after many years in French theater - notably as a member of the famed Peter Brook Company. His movie credits include A Touch of Spice (2003), Word of Honor (2001), Escape from L.A. (1996), Turkish Passion (1994), Vive la mariée... et la libération du Kurdistan (1998), Impromptu (1991), Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992) and a feature film debut in Peter Brook's the Mahabharata (1989). Outstanding television productions include The Blue Bicycle (2000), L'été rouge (2002) and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992).
His multi-cultural background enables him to work extensively in English, Spanish, German and Italian, as well as in French and Greek (his native languages), with roles ranging from dramatic leads to eccentric characterizations. He is particularly popular in France, Greece and Spain, due to box office hits, critical acclaim, Best Actor Awards, and television celebrity. From 2005 to 2010, he served as president of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival. Returning to the stage in 2011 he created the role of "Hook" in "Pan" a musical adaptation of Peter Pan directed by Irina Brook in Paris. He lives in France with his family and works in film, television and theater.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Belliard
- Has performed in English, French, Greek, Spanish, German, Kurdish, Turkish, Russian, plus a wide variety of accents.
- Replaced Timothy Dalton in the title role of Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992), with three days notice before shooting began.
- "Texican" director Robert Rodriguez nicknamed him "The Freek" (French + Greek = Freek, like Texan + Mexican= Texican.) when they met on the set of Escape from L.A. (1996). To this day, Corraface replies "I'm a Freek!" whenever he's asked about his background.
- Marlon Brando asked him to play the villain in "Bullboy", his original script that he wanted to produce with Sean Penn directing.
- Ancestors belonged to the Di Carafa family of the Naples and Sicily Kingdom. First settled on the Greek island of Cephalonia in 1497.
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