From his first appearance in the cinema in 1957, until his last role in “Deep soul” of Pantelis Voulgaris, o Thanasis Veggos he gave us endless moments of laughter and emotion, in the way only he could.

His memorable roles in movies “Polytechnician and recluse”, “Thanasis get your gun”, “Papatrechas” etc., were imprinted in the memory of all of us who loved Greek cinema.

However, many do not know the unexpected way in which this true “multi-talent” discovered his talent in acting and took his first steps in cinema.

The deep friendship that became an occasion to act in the cinema

Thanasis Veggos’ first contact with the theater was in Makronisos, where he served his term as an “unwanted” infantryman, due to his father’s resistance action with ELAS. The exiles often staged their own amateur shows, to entertain themselves, since they had no other means of entertainment.

It was there that Thanasis Vengos discovered his comedic talent. In his effort to put a smile on the faces of his inmates, he would go on stage and with his expressions and movements he would immediately make his audience laugh. There he also met the director Nikos Koundouros, who was in exile in Makronissos at the same time as him. Of course, the great for Greek cinema Koundouros didn’t know Thanasis Veggos as an actor, but as a… “good man” who helped him survive while he lived isolated on a hill far from the other exiles.

As the famous director has mentioned many times in his interviews, Thanasis Vengos without knowing him brought him food, made a bed for him and helped him in the difficult times they were going through. Slowly they became good friends and the more he watched him the more it became clear to him that his friend Thanasis had a special talent.

So he told him about his plans to make a movie when they returned from exile, and promised to give him a role. Indeed, when they returned, he found him, made good on his promise, and cast him in his first film, titled “The Magic City”.

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