Nikos Hatzopoulos is in his fourth decade in the theater and always manages to win the warmest applause of the audience. The actor, who this year accepted an offer to star in a TV series and especially in SKAI’s “Pantheos”, talks to skai.gr about his decision and describes the character of Isidoros Pantheos that he plays.

Also, it refers to the show “The Doctor” which will be released soon…

Question: You star in SKAI’s drama series “The Pantheons”. What reasons motivated you to respond positively to the proposal?

Answer: After 2 years of consecutive offers, to which I could not respond due to intensive theatrical activity, this year I decided to accept, since my theatrical work is limited to afternoon and evening hours. But an important factor was that the script of the series is based on a book, and its duration is going to be specific. And since the proposal came from serious people already tested in the television field, I easily said yes.

Question: How would you describe your collaboration with the entire production?

Answer: So far, the collaboration with the technical and artistic potential of the series is really flawless. A daily series is essentially a relentless race for time, and yet in these terribly stressful conditions everyone gives their best. This is what I find watching the finished episodes. How much better it would be if such series had before them a horizon of a year or two before completion, so that they would be even better, both in terms of production and confidence in the performances! But unfortunately, long-term planning is not a sport that thrives in our country…

funny guy

Question: What kind of man is Isidoros Pantheos that you play?

Answer: Isidoros Pantheos is the first-born among the six children of the legendary personality named Vlasis Pantheos. He is a man without blinkers, with understanding for human beings, thoughtful and lonely, after the death of his beloved woman. He is possessed by a sense of justice, which is why he fights furiously to discover the truth, and to bring to light all the hidden secrets of the family that may be to blame for some of their current woes. In this effort, he constantly bumps into his sister Chrysostom, who prefers secrets to remain buried, so that they don’t have worse consequences if revealed.

Question: Isidore learns about the secret of Mirella’s dead brother, further complicating the mystery of the forgery. Will he find a solution to the case that is bothering him so much?

Answer: Well, yes, he will figure it out, and soon. If it didn’t work out, we would have a character who is aimlessly and futilely striving for something. But I cannot, of course, reveal to you what the end will be. One of the weapons of the script is that the secrets are revealed slowly and in time.

funny guy

Question: The family secrets of the Pantheons are in danger of being exposed. Which of all the members will influence the most?

Answer: All members start somehow and end somehow. But, seriously now, do you want me to show you the entire development of the series? Let the viewers enjoy this gradual reveal. Let’s not spoil their pleasure…

Question: From December 8, you will star in the riveting play “The Doctor”, at the Amphitheatre. Tell us about this collaboration…

Answer: I have also collaborated in the past, and very harmoniously, with the director Katerina Evagelatos, as well as with several of the actors of the troupe. But the big lure for me was the work. When Katerina gave it to me to read in English, I finally had before me all the contemporary concerns that are preparing to shape a new social fabric. It is “The Doctor” by Robert Icke (the title has been deliberately left untranslated because the gender should not be given away), an adaptation of a play written by Arthur Schnitzler in 1912.

Question: What is the story you are presenting?

Answer: It begins with an unpleasant incident: a 14-year-old girl makes a failed abortion attempt on her own, and ends up semi-conscious in a clinic where she thinks she will be saved while the doctors know she is dying of sepsis. A priest appears and insists on giving the girl the last communion, but the attending physician forbids him to enter, in order to ensure her patient a peaceful death. From then on, the issue gets unexpected publicity, social networks, telecourts, various social groups, religious and racial, political and economic expediencies get in the way, and everyone interprets the event according to their own interests.

Question: To what extent does the work speak to today?

Answer: All the issues raised are absolutely current: the conflict of science and religion, the blind omnipotence of social networks, the issues of political correctness, the agenda of various minority groups who, demanding their rights, push for social and linguistic changes, the ” character cancellation’ to serve expediency, politicians who only fight for issues that are fashionable and have an impact on their public profile.

Above all, it questions what the “doctor” of the title has always fought for: that in the evaluation of a scientist, only his scientific competence and his work matter, while personal data such as gender, faith, personal life, political beliefs, the past, must be left out.

Question: Does all of the above make the play a global theatrical phenomenon?

Answer: I don’t know if I would call it a “world theatrical phenomenon”, but it was a great success wherever it was performed: in England, the USA, Australia, and in the last year in other European countries. It is of great importance that the work is not at all didactic, but poses all the questions leaving the viewer to think about what position he will take, as English writers are very good at doing.

Question: Actor, director, translator and teacher at a Drama School. Which quality do you enjoy the most and why?
Above all I am an actor. And under this prism I exercise all my other qualities. As for whether I enjoy something or not, that always depends on the people I have by my side at all times. In our work, you enjoy the moments when you achieve something together with others.

Answer: You are in your fourth decade in the theater and for its sake you made sacrifices, such as giving up architecture. In the end, was it worth it?
Changing course always involves sacrifices. You leave something behind to gain something else. What I sought in changing my profession is the joy of teamwork, of working with people and not with papers. And I won her, so it was worth it, no doubt. However, I definitely carry baggage from my architectural past, they have definitely shaped my aesthetic and the way I perceive things.

Question: How would you describe the great journey in the field of theater?

Answer: I imagine many will answer that it is a journey towards self-awareness. But I believe that our self alone has little value. It exists to interact with others, and that is where it is justified. So for me, the trip to the theater is a trip to the magic of human souls and the miracles they can accomplish together.