Ex-soccer player Costas Mandylor gets a kick out of acting career -- LOS ANGELES --
If you scan the VIP section during the World Cup soccer finals this summer you might spot the face of ``Picket Fences''' lawman Costas Mandylor. Mandylor, who portrays deputy sheriff Kenny Locas on the popular CBS drama, played professional soccer in Europe before coming to Hollywood. When he found out the finals were scheduled for Pasadena's Rose Bowl just over the hill, he made arrangements to fly his father over from Australia to join him for the big game. ``That'll be me next to (legendary Brazilian player) Pele screaming my head off,'' he laughs. ``It's been my dream to attend the World Cup since I was about 10. When I found out they were being played in my backyard, I wasn't about to miss out on good seats.'' Although he admits he hasn't kicked a ball himself for the last three years, Mandylor plans to fish his soccer shorts out of mothballs to join other celebrities for a charity game to be played July 9 at the height of summer soccer fever. Joining him for the event, which is being organized by the T.J. Martell cancer foundation and will be broadcast on Prime Network, are such actors as ``Melrose Place's'' Andrew Shue, ``Home Improvement's'' Zachery Ty Bryan and ``Baywatch's'' Pamela Anderson, along with rock stars Rod Stewart, Steve Jones and various members of The Cult. ``My plan,'' says Mandylor, ``is to get good players all around me, stand in the right place, do a glory dive to win the game, wave to the crowd and go put some ice on my legs.'' Before he landed his ``Picket Fences'' role, Mandylor used to play regularly with Stewart on a Southern California soccer team called ``The Exiles,'' comprised of celebrities and over-the-hill ex-pros. What does the actor miss most about the sport? ``The dressing room antics. There's nothing like taking a shower after the game and telling someone how bad they were.'' That's not something he finds himself doing often after the direct yells Cut! on ``Picket Fences,'' where his talented co-stars include Tom Skerritt and Kathy Baker. ``I was scared to do TV when (''Picket Fences'' creator and former ``L.A. Law'' writer) David Kelly first approached me,'' says Mandylor, who had just begun to get his career in feature films underway. ``But when I found out these great actor were going to be on the series, I jumped on before the ship sailed and clung to the railings. Of Greek descent, Mandylor grew up in Australia where his family was involved in the nightclub business. His youth was divided between hanging around bars, working out at the boxing gym with his brother and playing soccer. Because of his committment to ``Picket Fences,'' he has had to largely put his movie career on the backburner, but he did find time to shoot a yet-to-be-released film with ``Beverly Hills 90210's''' Shannen Doherty, a psychological thriller called ``Almost Dead,'' and recently completed work on Zalman King's 1930s period adaptation of Anais Nin's ``Delta Venus,'' in which he plays a writer who gets caught up in an erotic love afair. ``Most of my friends dig ditches or fight in the ring for a living. They see me kissing a girl on the screen and they probably want to kill me for getting paid for it.'' Copyright © 1994
If
you scan the VIP section during the World Cup soccer finals this summer
you might spot the face of ``Picket Fences''' lawman Costas Mandylor.
Mandylor, who portrays deputy sheriff Kenny Locas on the popular CBS drama,
played professional soccer in Europe before coming to Hollywood. When
he found out the finals were scheduled for Pasadena's Rose Bowl just over
the hill, he made arrangements to fly his father over from Australia to
join him for the big game. ``That'll be me next to (legendary Brazilian
player) Pele screaming my head off,'' he laughs. ``It's been my dream
to attend the World Cup since I was about 10. When I found out they were
being played in my backyard, I wasn't about to miss out on good seats.''
Although he admits he hasn't kicked a ball himself for the last three
years, Mandylor plans to fish his soccer shorts out of mothballs to join
other celebrities for a charity game to be played July 9 at the height
of summer soccer fever. Joining him for the event, which is being organized
by the T.J. Martell cancer foundation and will be broadcast on Prime Network,
are such actors as ``Melrose Place's'' Andrew Shue, ``Home Improvement's''
Zachery Ty Bryan and ``Baywatch's'' Pamela Anderson, along with rock stars
Rod Stewart, Steve Jones and various members of The Cult. ``My plan,''
says Mandylor, ``is to get good players all around me, stand in the right
place, do a glory dive to win the game, wave to the crowd and go put some
ice on my legs.'' Before he landed his ``Picket Fences'' role, Mandylor
used to play regularly with Stewart on a Southern California soccer team
called ``The Exiles,'' comprised of celebrities and over-the-hill ex-pros.
What does the actor miss most about the sport? ``The dressing room antics.
There's nothing like taking a shower after the game and telling someone
how bad they were.'' That's not something he finds himself doing often
after the direct yells Cut! on ``Picket Fences,'' where his talented co-stars
include Tom Skerritt and Kathy Baker. ``I was scared to do TV when (''Picket
Fences'' creator and former ``L.A. Law'' writer) David Kelly first approached
me,'' says Mandylor, who had just begun to get his career in feature films
underway. ``But when I found out these great actor were going to be on
the series, I jumped on before the ship sailed and clung to the railings.
Of Greek descent, Mandylor grew up in Australia where his family was involved
in the nightclub business. His youth was divided between hanging around
bars, working out at the boxing gym with his brother and playing soccer.
Because of his committment to ``Picket Fences,'' he has had to largely
put his movie career on the backburner, but he did find time to shoot
a yet-to-be-released film with ``Beverly Hills 90210's''' Shannen Doherty,
a psychological thriller called ``Almost Dead,'' and recently completed
work on Zalman King's 1930s period adaptation of Anais Nin's ``Delta Venus,''
in which he plays a writer who gets caught up in an erotic love afair.
``Most of my friends dig ditches or fight in the ring for a living. They
see me kissing a girl on the screen and they probably want to kill me
for getting paid for it.'' Copyright © 1994