Elias Koteas Net Worth

Elias Koteas's Quotes

• I would think I'd accomplished it all if I could get to play Quasimodo.
• I play guys who are willing to go really far. If the dung really hits the fan, I don't know if I could walk the talk. But anyone who isn't willing to die for his convictions isn't worth living. My characters, no matter how demented they are, they have their convictions. (Screenmancer.com, 2001)
• A lot of these roles that I feel like I've had some sort of impact, or that have had an effect on me, have always been with directors who have the time to somehow get to know me. Any good director's going to be curious about who it is that's coming aboard. Because of lack of time a lot of directors hope that you just have the character in your pocket and you just show up and do it.
• I think children exist on a different spiritual vibration and I think they're really keyed in on any bull*** barometer. So for them to put their arm around me and accept me was gratifying. As an actor, that's what I hope and aspire to be-a 12 year old. Then at the same time, you're looking at them at the cusp of change and they're firing on all spiritual cylinders and reflecting back what they see. I felt like I was in the presence of something really special.
• [2011, on Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)] That was the summer of 1986. I was 25-years-old, fresh out of acting school, exhilarated, living in Los Angeles for the summer. The joy of being in Hollywood-everything was new. John Hughes, I had auditioned for him for She's Having a Baby (1988), and he liked me enough and was interested in me enough to set me up with the director, Howard Deutch. I remember auditioning a couple of times, and each time felt more fun and improvisational. They just let me improvise, and I felt so free and uninhibited. The character on the page was this huge, burly-type guy and they saw this little glint in the eye-this joie de vivre-and they let me play. There was just so much joy in playing that part. I felt like there was no wrong way of playing it, as long as you were just committed and had fun with it. The freedom that I felt doing that part, I long for that. If I could go back to that... There was no fear involved. There was just a complete unabashed, free, moment-to-moment joy.

Interesting Facts about Elias Koteas

1. Appears frequently in Atom Egoyan's films: Ararat (2002), Exotica (1994) and The Adjuster (1991).
2. He is frequently confused for actor Christopher Meloni, although Koteas is less beefy and Meloni is of Italian-French descent rather than Greek.
3. Speaks Greek fluently, as well as French.
4. Is a Greek/Canadian
5. Friend of Leonard Termo.
6. As of 2014, has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Atlantic City, USA (1980), The Thin Red Line (1998) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008).
7. Alumnus of the AADA (American Academy of Dramatic Arts), Class of 1983.