Inflight Magazine of Brussels Airlines

Q&A

George Corraface

George Corraface has been dubbed ‘the George Clooney of Greek cinema’. Born in France to Greek parents, he grew up between the two countries and is fluent in French, Greek, English and Spanish. An award-winning actor, he has starred alongside the likes of Marlon Brando, Kurt Russell and Hugh Grant. His new film, A Touch of Spice, is out now to buy on DVD

01Where do you live and why?
I live about 40km outside of Paris on an island of the River Seine. It’s in the middle of nature and the beauty of the countryside, but it’s very easy to get into Paris.

02 How do you think your Greek roots show themselves in your personality?
I don’t know. Maybe in my connection with the Greek language. It’s fascinating – it’s a lovely language to be creative with, and I can be excused many exaggerations because I am a Greek from the Diaspora, so I allow myself some eccentricities.

03 Do you feel that there’s a ‘Greek’ side to your personality versus a ‘French’ side?
The French had a lot of influence on me because I went to a French school where I was made to conform to a French way of thinking. But every summer I was let loose in Greece, and I felt completely Greek at the time.

04 How does Greek cuisine compare to French cuisine?
French cuisine is very sophisticated, but in Greece everything is more intense in terms of the senses. In northern France they use ingredients that are more subtle so they play with them more to get some texture and flavour.

05 How do you find Greek food in other countries?
It’s always a big disappointment to me. Some dishes like moussaka will have nutmeg and you can recognise some spices, but the aubergines will not have the strong taste they have in Greece, the tomatoes… All of that.

06 If you were a spice, which one would you be and why?
If I was a spice?! Pepper, maybe, because it adds something exciting, but it’s not like curry or cinnamon. It’s not overpowering and it still is attractive. It makes you go, ‘Oh! Yeah, I needed that!’

07 Where is your favourite restaurant?
There is a restaurant in Athens called Vlassis (8 Paster) that makes incredible dishes. You hardly notice it’s a restaurant – it’s like a neoclassical Athens house with two floors.

08 What dish would you cook to spice up your love life?
I know my wife likes something that I can’t really cook, so I’d order it!

09 Where in Paris would you go to get away from it all?
It’s always peaceful to take a stroll along the river. All of a sudden you go down a few steps to the riverside and you feel relieved, like a weight coming off your shoulders.

10 In Athens, is there a hidden gem you would recommend checking out?
I would check out a place called Anafiotika that is on the foot of the rock on the north side of the Acropolis. When you walk up there you go from Plaka, which is very touristy, to the foot of the rock, and there you find little streets and little houses. You are in the middle of a big capital of four million people but you feel like you are on an island suddenly. It’s an amazing contrast.

11 Who or what inspired you to become an actor?
A friend of mine wanted to check out a theatre school even though we were both studying law. We walked into a room where there were 12 lovely girls and maybe two boys. We felt like they were waiting for us! We were offered an entry exam so we worked very hard and were accepted.

12 Where is your favourite bar?
Any bar on a Greek island in the summer.

13 What do you do for relaxation when you’re at home?
I jump on a mountain bike and I get out and climb a little hill; behind the hill are some wonderful fields. It’s beautiful.

14 Touch of Spice is full of the sadness of leaving people and places behind. Given your profession you must experience that too. How do you cope?
How does anyone cope with things that are inevitable? You bond very deeply to do a film – you give yourself completely and that creates enormous tenderness and affection between people, so it’s always very sad to finish a film. Of course there is always the hope that you will meet again.

15 What’s been your most embarrassing onset incident?
When I was a kid I broke my teeth, so I have a bridge. When I was doing Christopher Columbus it was the scene where Columbus arrives victorious from his trip, and the queen, played by Rachel Ward, says, ‘Show me the New

16 What is your motto in life?
Do I have a motto? I don’t know. Never give up.

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