NEW YORK – Greek-American actor George Andreakos begins filming his latest movie Sarah Q, directed by John Gallagher on Jan. 30.

Andreakos spoke with The National Herald about the project just one day before filming began. He noted that although the film reunites several members of The Sopranos’ cast, including Vincent Pastore, Tony Sirico, and Federico Castelluccio, Andreakos wanted to make it clear it is not a mobster movie.

As noted in the film’s description on imdb.com, “The adventures of a young woman who moves to New York City from a small town to become an actress,” makes no mention of organized crime. Andreakos plays Detective Garcia in the film, and colleague Garry Pastore, cousin of Vincent, also appears in the film as a police detective named Belson. New York-based filmmaker Gallagher directs Sarah Q and is the acclaimed indie writer-director of The Deli, Blue Moon, and most recently the feature comedy-drama The Networker, featuring Steve Stanulis, who is also part of the Sarah Q cast. Andreakos told TNH he has been acting for several years and would especially like to thank his friend and colleague Ari Barkan for introducing him to the director.

Andreakos’ father was from Mani and his mother from Kalamata. Brooklyn native Andreakos now lives in Staten Island with his wife, Sia, and their two children, daughter Eleni and son William (Vasili). He told TNH that he thanks his wife and kids for their support all these years, especially for their endless patience while he practices his lines over and over and over again, while getting ready for auditions, and rehearsing scenes.

Andreakos said of acting, “You have to take it seriously. You have to treat it as a business. Be professional, courteous, and humble. People invest a lot of money in movies, you have to know your lines, be on time, and be able to work with others. It’s a team effort, and time is of the essence. You have to be able to take direction, too. Things can change at a moment’s notice, you have to be on your toes all the time.”

In such a competitive business, Andreakos noted that you have to stand out in some way in order to make an impression on a director and on casting directors in auditions.

When asked about his other projects, Andreakos mentioned Pentimento, a film he worked on two years ago that is currently on the film festival circuit and has won awards in the UK and Belgium as well as other European countries. He said the director of that film, Loredana Gasparotto, called him just recently to let him know that the film had won another award at a film festival. Andreakos also has a small role in First We Take Brooklyn which stars Harvey Keitel and is directed by Danny Abeckaser who also stars in the film. It opens in theaters on Feb. 9 in New York and on Feb. 16 in Los Angeles.

When asked about his upcoming projects, Andreakos noted that he is currently working on some projects with A-list actors, but having signed confidentiality agreements, he cannot discuss any details at the moment, but will keep TNH updated.