Kostas Sommer () is a Greek actor and television host who has appeared in numerous movies and TV shows. In 2005, he appeared in the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

film '' Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo'' starring

Rob Schneider Robert Michael Schneider ( ; born October 31, 1963) is an American actor and comedian. He rose to prominence as a cast member on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' (1990–1994), where he earned three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Following ...

, as the Greek gigolo Assapopoulos Mariolis. The role was Sommer's first Hollywood role, after his only audition since arriving in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Life and career

Sommer was born in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, to a German-born

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

father, from

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, and a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

mother. He uses his mother's

maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries and cultures that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" ...

as his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

. Sommer spent most of his childhood years in

and later moved to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Sommer attended the

German School of Athens The German School of Athens (, DSA; , ΓΣΑ), also known as the Dörpfeld Gymnasium, is a coeducational independent, kindergarten, elementary school and high school in Marousi, Athens, Greece. The school has been in operation since 1896 and was ...

. He was bitten by the acting bug as a young boy, and continued working in television and film in Greece. He started modeling at age 12, and graduated of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

(Arts and Psychology) in 1997. He is a very well known Greek celebrity appearing in numerous magazines and commercials as a model before participating in big screen film productions such as ''Brides'' by ''

Pantelis Voulgaris Pantelis Voulgaris (; born 23 October 1940) is a Greek film director and screenwriter. His first feature film ''To proxenio tis Annas'' in 1972 won the first prize in Thessaloniki International Film Festival. His 1989 film ''The Striker with Num ...

'', The Boston Strangler, ''A Breath's Distance'', ''Golden Beach and Extreme Sommer.'' Some of his television credits include ''Love Came From Afar'', ''Soko Germany.'' He has also appeared in several broadway plays include playing the part of ''Joe Bonaparte'' in Golden Boy and ''Liliom''. He enjoys extreme sports as well as

skydiving Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

jetski A personal watercraft (PWC), also called Jet Ski or water scooter, is a primarily recreational watercraft that is designed to hold only a small number of occupants, who sit or stand on top of the craft, not within the craft as in a boat. P ...

speed boat A motorboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine; faster examples may be called "speedboats". Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the intern ...

, car and motorcycle racing/stunts. Some of his other hobbies include

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

, track and field and

firearms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originated ...

. He currently lives between

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and

Sommer made a guest appearance during the April 2006 Miss Star Hellas, () pageant. He was starring opposite actress Fay Zafirakou, (), in the Greek TV series ''Tis Agapis Maheria'' (), (''The Knives of Love'') by ''Stratos Markidis'' for

ANT1 Antenna, better known as ANT1, is a free-to-air television network airing in Greece. The alternate spelling is wordplay in Greek; ''ena'' (ένα) is the Greek number ''1'' (one), thus ''ANT1'' is pronounced the same as ''Antenna'' (Αντένν ...

. This series had a personal connection to Kostas since the story is based in Cretan traditions.

Filmography

References

External links

Official Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sommer, Kostas 1975 births Greek male film actors Greek male television actors Living people 20th-century Greek male actors 21st-century Greek male actors Male actors from Athens German School of Athens alumni