Christian Stavrakis
| Christian Stavrakis | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 6, 1971 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| 🏳️ Nationality | American |
| 💼 Occupation | Artist, film director, screenwriter, producer, actor |
Christian Constantine Stavrakis (born June 6, 1971) is an American artist, filmmaker and writer. An authority on the works of director George A. Romero, Christian is the creator of the bronze bust of Romero which is installed at Monroeville Mall, near Pittsburgh.
In the winter of 1977, Christian's family was preparing to move from Pittsburgh to suburban Maryland as his father – Rev. Nicholas T. Stavrakis, a Greek Orthodox minister – had been reassigned by the Diocese to a large parish in Washington, D.C. That same winter, Christian's older brother Taso Stavrakis began working late nights at Monroeville Mall, performing stunts on Romero's Dawn of the Dead.
Taso was studying Drama at Carnegie-Mellon University under a Fine Arts scholarship when he met Tom Savini, who was earning his own degree by teaching the makeup course in a fellowship arrangement. Savini, who had worked previously with George Romero on Martin, was approached by the director to create special makeup effects for his long-awaited sequel to Night of the Living Dead. Savini accepted the assignment and invited Taso along to help with stunts and zombie makeup, which led to their working together again on Friday the 13th, Knightriders, and Day of the Dead.
Growing up in Rockville, hearing Taso's tales from the trenches and reading magazines like Fangoria and Fantastic Films, Christian became a bona fide "monster kid" and began practicing with clay and makeup materials. He also took a keen interest in all aspects of filmmaking; his company S/A Films (shared with cousins in Ohio) boasted an elaborate, ambitious slate of features in various stages of pre-production.
During his sophomore year at Wheaton High School he befriended Eduardo Sánchez in TV Production class and impressed the older student enough to be offered a role in Falling Down a Mountain, a post-graduate film project. After Sanchez made a name for himself with The Blair Witch Project, he and Christian reunited and worked together on several projects including Altered and Lovely Molly, for which Christian sculpted a haunting "Baphomet" relief.
Christian has appeared on DVD commentary tracks as a moderator, including the 1997 British BMG release of Dawn of the Dead with Tom Savini and various releases of Knightriders. He is featured briefly in the extras of the Second Sight 4K Dawn of the Dead box set, speaking about the inception of his "Monroeville or Bust" memorial project.
Having worked behind-the-scenes on numerous film and television productions, Stavrakis's feature debut – the 2013 underground cult hit Mortal Remains – was produced in collaboration with his friend Mark Ricche and their production company Cryptic Pictures.
A Pittsburgh native, Christian is currently working as Artistic Director of the George A. Romero Foundation.
Filmography[edit]
- Mortal Remains (2013)
External links[edit]
- Dread Central article on Mortal Remains [1]
- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article on Mortal Remains [2]
- Christian Stavrakis on IMDb
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