ATHENS – Despite his young age, Dimitris Tsiklis already has many quality credits on his résumé, in the theater and on television. Immediately after graduating from the Delos-Dimitra Hatoupi Drama School in 2018, he participated in many theatrical performances, including The Tragedy of King Richard III by William Shakespeare, directed by Christos Theodoridis, as part of the Athos Festival and Epidaurus, and “I Am Dying like a Country” by Dimitris Dimitriadis, directed by Roula Pateraki at the Municipal Theater of Piraeus. He has appeared on television in ERT’s H Zoi en Tafo (‘Life in the Tomb’) and in Mega’s Klemmena Oneira (‘Stolen Dreams’).

However, TV audiences have gotten to know him even better and love him through his role in the extremely popular series Agries Melisses (‘Wild Bees’), where he plays Lefteris Megaritis, son of Akilas. Through this difficult and demanding role, the young actor continues to reveal his great talent and acting ability in each episode. He spoke to The National Herald about his work and upcoming projects.

TNH: When and how did your journey in acting begin?

Dimitris Tsiklis: I caught the acting “bug” in childhood with the seatbelt on in the backseat of my father’s car. I was always looking outside, never inside. It was a pole of attraction for me. It was pulling me with an incredible force. I was watching as we passed the houses one after the other on the road. I imagined the lives of all those strangers living inside. I was transforming into a whole family. I was the father, the mother, the son, but also the daughter. I wanted to live everything, everyone’s lives, under any different existing conditions. I discovered that I was both the perpetrator and the victim, the sinner, but also the saint.

TNH: The TV audience has gotten to know you better this year through your role in Antenna’s popular series Agries Melisses. How do you deal with so much publicity? What changes has it brought to your life?

DT: I am very happy when I talk to people and we get to know each other through my work. Socialization and communication are among the key elements that I love and enjoy. Yet recognition has never been an end in and of itself for me. I do not put much stock in it. It is so ephemeral. I insist on the essentials and continue to function normally.

TNH: How does the TV role Lefteris Megaritis compare with Dimitris Tsiklis and what is the difference?

DT: I have several differences with Lefteris, mainly the fact that I have learned to claim my place in the world and to stand up for myself. The casting, however, was very apt. There are points where we converge: Kindness and purity, depending on the sense of justice that characterizes me, unite me deeply with Lefteris. Like the feeling of freedom. Lefteris is like his name: Free. A creature with deep worries and dreams, who believes in the power of art in terms of changing society and man.

TNH: In addition to acting, your roles often require dancing and singing. You respond to everything with great success. We call that “a triple threat,” what would you call it?

DT: I call it effort and hard work. For me, this is the way. When you do not rest, when you ask questions, when you try to develop each of your tools and open new personal dimensions, only then are you good at what you do. If you give yourself completely.

TNH: What are your future plans?

DT: We continue relentlessly with the Agries Melisses from Monday to Thursday, on ANT1. At the same time, we are also continuing, online, the performance of Such a Beautiful and Just Case: Haiti / Greece / 1821 at the Alternative Stage of the Greek National Opera (GNO). A commission of the GNO Alternative Stage for the bicentennial of 1821, the original musical performance is inspired by the historical event of 120 Haitian volunteers who started 200 years ago on a long journey to fight alongside the Greeks, bringing 25 tons of coffee for financial support. Konstantinos Chatzis, based on the idea of ​​Stella Papakonstantinou, wrote and directs an evocative, atmospheric and poetic performance. Words and phrases of important texts are uniquely intertwined with compositions by Franz Liszt and George Koumentakis, traditional Haitian songs and vocal improvisations. You can enjoy it online, for free, on GNO TV.

Also, we expect to leave again, in the spring, for the next stops of our tour abroad with the play Phaedra, based on texts by Euripides, Seneca and Racine. With Manos Karatzogiannis directing and a wonderful group of actors, we transfer the poetry that started from Euripides in 428 BC to Europe in 2022.

Finally, Emilia Kanareli’s film Arranged Life, Unplanned Dreams travels to various festivals around the world. From Paris to Los Angeles and back to Amsterdam, we tell the story of an Egyptian fisherman in northern Evia and his association with a Greek woman. By addressing the issue of immigration, we prove that love can transcend any class inequality, nationality or religion.