Episode 83 – Legendary Soap Star Thaao Penghlis Discusses His Villainous ‘Days’ & Uncovering ‘The Lost Treasures’- Part 1
On this episode of Hollywood Obsessed, host Tony Miros speaks with legendary soap star Thaao Penghlis - who is best known for his popular roles on “General Hospital” and “Santa Barbara”, as well as his remarkable run over the last four decades on the NBC daytime drama “Days of Our Lives”.
During their fascinating conversation, Thaao tells Tony all about his journey: moving to New York City from Sydney, becoming a student of the renowned acting instructor Milton Katselas, later serving as Katselas' assistant for ten years, making his stage debut in the critically acclaimed off-Broadway play “Jockeys”, starring in the film “Altered States” with William Hurt, the difficulties he faced while working with legendary director Ken Russell on that film, how he won the role of the diabolical Victor Cassadine on ABC’s “General Hospital”, which eventually led to his longstanding role as the villainous Count “Tony” DiMera on NBC’s “Days of Our Lives” for the past four decades, the differences between working on "General Hospital" and "Days of Our Lives”, and how after being written off of GH he traveled to Egypt to quench his childhood dream to become an archaeologist, which turned into him nearly being kidnapped near the pyramids!
THAAO PENGHLIS
When Thaao Penghlis looks in the mirror, he sees different faces. During his remarkable run over the last four decades on the NBC daytime drama “Days of Our Lives”, the Australian-born actor has played both the seductively villainous Count Tony DiMera and the count’s evil look-a-like impersonator Andre DiMera. The double roles are on top of a wide-ranging collection of characters on two other daytime series, “General Hospital” and “Santa Barbara”, as well as television series, movies and plays.
He started his career acting on stage, performing in “Jockeys” under Milton Katselas's direction. He first appeared to daytime audiences in 1981 on “General Hospital” during the Ice Princess saga when he played the role of Victor Cassadine. After his character was written out of the show by being taken to prison, he was cast as the villainous Count Tony DiMera, in the NBC daytime drama “Days of Our Lives”. His long-running work on Days, has earned him three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Leading Actor and a Soap Opera Digest Award for Favorite Return.
In 1989, Penghlis played master-of-disguise Nicholas Black on the prime-time revival of “Mission: Impossible”. He also starred in the miniseries "Sadat", appeared opposite Omar Sharif and Jane Seymour in the miniseries adaptation of Sydney Sheldon’s “Memories of Midnight”, played a terrorist in the television film “Under Siege” with Peter Strauss and Hal Holbrook, and starred with Joanna Cassidy in the miniseries “Tribe”. One of his more unusual roles was playing the lover of Dame Edna as Colonel Godowni in the cult classic “Les Patterson Saves the World”.
He has also written two books “Places: The Journey of My Days, My Lives” (2014), which delves into his Greek and Australian heritage and recounts his escapades from his entertainment career and “Seducing Celebrities One Meal at a Time” (2015), presents recipes for what would be his dream Hollywood dinner parties.
He is currently the host of the popular podcast “The Lost Treasures”. This new project channels his passion for Greek history and culture.
The Lost Treasure Podcast on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1i9s9RBDskZTv9oMSipeEm
Thaao Penghlis Books on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Places-Journey-My-Days-Lives/dp/1624672566
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Thaao Penghlis
Actor / Author / Podcast Host
When Thaao Penghlis looks in the mirror, he sees different faces. During his remarkable run over the last four decades on the NBC daytime drama “Days of Our Lives”, the Australian-born actor has played both the seductively villainous Count Tony DiMera and the count’s evil look-a-like impersonator Andre DiMera. The double roles are on top of a wide-ranging collection of characters on two other daytime series, “General Hospital” and “Santa Barbara”, as well as television series, movies and plays.
The grandson of Greek immigrants to Australia in the 1940s, Penghlis celebrates his heritage in his acting, writing, cooking, travels. He started his career acting on stage, performing in “Jockeys” under Milton Katselas's direction. He first appeared to daytime audiences in 1981 on “General Hospital” during the Ice Princess saga when he played the role of Victor Cassadine, brother of Mikkos and Anthony Cassadine. After his character was written out of the show by being taken to prison, he was cast as the villainous Count Tony DiMera, the son of villain Stefano DiMera in the NBC daytime drama “Days of Our Lives”. His long-running work on Days, has earned him three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Leading Actor and a Soap Opera Digest Award for Favorite Return.
In 1989, Penghlis played master-of-disguise Nicholas Black on the prime-time revival of “Mission: Impossible”. He also starred in the miniseries "Sadat", appeared opposite Omar Sharif and Jane Seymour in the miniseries adaptation of Sydney Sheldon’s “Memories of Midnight”, played a terrorist in… Read More
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