When he was an undergraduate at Saint Louis University in 1967, Andreas Katsulas constructed sets, memorized lines and delivered performances to theater audiences.
More than 30 years later, not much has changed for today’s theater students. The rewards, hardships and challenges of acting are the same, according to Katsulas.
Katsulas, a noted actor in film, television, and theater addressed an audience of nearly 100 students and faculty on Thursday, Feb. 3 at a lecture sponsored by the University Theatre.
Katsulas was joined by John Hancock, director of the new film A Piece of Eden, and Hancock’s wife, novelist Dorothy Tristan, who co-wrote the film’s screenplay.
The trio discussed A Piece of Eden, a story about the comic misfortunes of the Tredici family upon coming to America from Italy. A movie about father-son relationships, A Piece of Eden features Katsulas as a man whose son hears of his father’s injury and returns to the family’s fruit farm. A Piece of Eden costars Tyne Daly and Frederick Forrest and opened in theaters earlier this month.
Hancock said that inspiration for the film stemmed from his Indiana roots and his personal experiences of farm life.
“There is a certain amount of truth in the film,” Hancock said. “You avoid cliches by including unique details, making [the film] more personal.”
The trio also fielded questions from the audience, touching on a number of subjects pertaining to acting.
Katsulas talked about his road to the stage and film, beginning with his early childhood and education. Katsulas said that even after four years of undergraduate study at SLU, he didn’t believe he was ready to travel to a larger city such as New York. He ended up at Indiana University and gained “two more years of practical experience.”
After several short acting jobs, Katsulas spent 15 years traveling and performing worldwide with the Boston Theatre Company led by Peter Brook.
Katsulas eventually went to Los Angeles where he made the switch from theater to film acting and met Hancock along the way.
Katsulas said that what he remembers most about his acting career are the people he worked with and how they each influenced his life.
“It’s the people you know. It’s the friendships you make,” Katsulas said, referring particularly to his study at SLU.
“You are what your experiences are. You realize that you can influence other people’s emotions,” Katsulas said.
“It goes really deep-very, very deep into your psyche. What the acting is, what it means . There is a special, special thing about acting.”
Katsulas’ credits include portraying the character G’Kar in the television show “Babylon 5.” Among his more notable film appearances is playing the one-armed man in The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford.
