With his playful character, his light disposition, his exuberant and brioche acting, Kostas Voutsas created a special type of comic actor, which is a guarantee of laughter and was loved by the Greek public. He is one of the symbols of the golden age of commercial cinema, but he also showed his acting talent in more demanding roles in film and theater.
Kostas Voutsas: His confessions on Eleftherostypos.gr
His will to live and create was inexhaustible. THE it costs Voutsas never lay down arms. A true fighter, a “teenager” of 89 years old, full of energy and thirst for life, the beloved actor was a role model, even for people much younger than him.
Truly unflinching, an actor with no expiration date, a source of talent, direct, honest, kind, full of humor, but also very serious as and when needed.
Looking for his own quotes from interviews and personal conversations with him, which were published on Eleftherostypos.grthe thrill it evokes is effortless. His character is uniquely confirmed by what he told us from time to time. His absolute relationship with life was chilling.
He was 80 years old when he starred in the play “A Child Counts the Stars”, a theatrical adaptation of his novel of the same name Menelaus Ludemi, who had performed at the Athens Concert Hall together with them John Plutarch and Thanasis Tsaltabassi.
“In every show where I play, there are no generations”, he had told us then with that ageless cell that characterized him. “We are all equal and… of the same age,” he hastened to clarify with the life force that always accompanied him. “I immediately forbid them to speak to me in the plural and treat me as a ‘legend’. I am alive, I am not a legend. I can’t do this. 80% of success is showing up. If you don’t show up, people forget you. This work is my cell, it is my skin. I will pass away in 2044 and I will always be on stage. I do not stop. I’ve had a fight with Haro, we don’t talk,” he emphasized.
His energy was catalytic. Where others stopped, Kostas Voutsas continued undaunted. At the same time, he was, above all, a good person and a true friend to those of us who had the pleasure and luck of meeting him. He always came to our conversations with a big smile, he asked with interest if you were well, simple, presentable, friendly, a “normal” person, without arrogance and a trace of arrogance, who never acted as a star, although he could, as his name has always been an attraction for the general public.
The story of Melios, the poor boy, who started alone from his village to pursue his dream, which was to learn letters in the big city, had moved Kostas Voutsas, who interpreted the role of barba-Anestis, the man who stands by and helps Melio in his difficult times. In fact, in this role, as he had characteristically told us, he found his alter ego.
“I really like the role of Barba-Anestis because it suits me, I’m like that too,” said Kostas Voutsas. “Barba-Anestis is the man who treats Melio, a child who had no fate in the sun. He wants to study, he is educated and the barba-Anestis gives him a home, food, love. I really like this role, because this is my life. We have a lot in common with barba-Anestis. I want to have money to give to the whole world. For example, I give my pension to three families. I am helping my brother’s granddaughter to live. I have three children in ActionAid and contribute elsewhere as much as I can. Fortunately, I have my job and can help. This role is just right for me, because I like to help people. I feel elation and I never feel sorry for myself. Our life needs good aura, fight and optimism”.
And this from a man who had a difficult childhood and in the same interview said about himself: “I’m a possessor, when I was little, I ran for the daily wage and the subsistence.”
That is why, after all, he was also very moved by “A child counts the stars”, which he connected with today’s young generation, saying: “It is a shocking work, which gives in the most vivid way the image of the generation of modern, today’s children, who are looking for their fortune in difficult crisis conditions. They are trying to study, find a job, make money and obstacles are placed in front of them. As a result, they leave abroad. I also have four children and three are abroad. Young people need to go out, spread their wings, and no one can stop them from expanding their horizons. Their strongest asset in this…flight must be their education.”
“The old Greek cinema has an atmosphere that is not present in today’s films…”
In another interview he gave us, on the occasion of his participation in a series of unforgettable – to this day – beloved films, he had said: “These are films that are now classic and timeless no matter how many years pass. The way they are filmed refers to an era that has passed irretrievably. In these films a way of life that no longer exists is recorded. Today’s children would like to play in the yards and on the lawns, like in those movies that were made forty and fifty years ago. But today, when they want to play football, dad takes them to a 5×5 pitch. Also, the actors who play in these movies remain beloved. Although there are still good actors today, the old Greek cinema has an atmosphere that is not present in today’s Greek films. They are films that have purity, without dirt and black spots. And before the crisis, but also today, due to the difficult times we live in, these films become something like a release, they give breath, hope, joy, entertainment, elements that the audience absolutely needs today. When the public sees them, they laugh, they are happy, they feel uplifted.”
Kostas Voutsas, in addition to old Greek films, also had a permanent and stable relationship with modern Greek cinema, with several interesting collaborations that have continued to this day: “I love cinema, as well as television. My most favorite, of course, was, is and always will be the theater. My most recent film is directed by Thanasis Tsaltabassi, who is also acting, along with many other actors. Modern cinema is again trying to win over the public and succeeding. However, where I really see the public going and supporting it is the Greek theater. Despite the crisis and the many theaters, the public still chooses this art to be entertained.”
THE BOOK FOR HIS DAUGHTERS
“Strive for the impossible, that’s the only way life is worth…”
Kostas Voutsas, in April 2013, wrote a legacy book to his daughters, Sandra from his marriage to her Erica Breuer, Theodora and Nicoletta from his marriage to Theano Papaspyrou.
The book titled “The moment you think you know everything, you stop thinking. Thoughts given to my daughters” (inset photo), was released by “Pataki” publications and was a collection of thoughts of the great actor with sayings and sayings that reflected his way of thinking.
In his preface, he gave his mark, noting: “What I write is not for an award, of course. That’s how I happened to think about it in my 80s. If any of it doesn’t satisfy you, forgive me… I didn’t do it on purpose.” From these characteristic rants, we collected the following:
– The limits of acting are in the sky…
– The gym discovers you, the public reveals you and time establishes you.
– Theater, your mission is to highlight the author’s text.
– Try to make your viewer complicit.
– Don’t gossip, you waste time from your creativity.
– Time is all you live.
– Seasons are feminine, some are fertile and some are sterile.
– God gave us many gifts, among them laughter and crying.
– Alas from the show that does not have an obvious purpose.
– They may forget what you told them, they will never forget what you made them feel.
– Experience is not transmitted and not bought. But thoughts from experience can inspire and open windows when doors are closed.
– If you know you don’t know, you make fewer mistakes.
– My daughters, whatever knowledge you store in your mind is a property that no one is going to bind you. Therefore, the more knowledge you store in your mind, the richer or freer you will be!
– My daughters, try for the impossible, that’s the only way life is worth… And humor, humor. Because a day without laughter is a day wasted!
– My daughters, do not fight to be defeated, but to win. Victory is deserved!
– Winners never quit!
– What does culture mean: “To pioneer, to innovate, to question, to break with any authority and establishment, to constantly seek. This is culture! To go against the flow… This is culture!… Whatever the consequences!”
– Be enchanted and finally…
What did he write on the back cover? his daughter Theodora
“My father is a very strong man. At home, however, he never let us understand his power. He didn’t tell us what to do or give us advice. He was, and still is, very discreet with us. On occasions when we needed his guidance, he would talk with us and tell us his thoughts on the matter.
He trusted our judgment and the way he raised us and let us use the information he gave us as we saw fit. Sometimes we listened to him… sometimes not. Experience is not transmitted or bought. But thoughts from experience can inspire and open windows when doors are closed.
These are the thoughts of my father, a man who loves life. They are gifts he gave us, gifts that helped us see life differently. I hope they inspire you to create your own thoughts, which you will donate to others and continue the cycle…”.
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