Val Athanassiou

Val was born in Broken Hill, to parents of mixed heritage. Italian mother, a farmer. Romanian/Greek father, a surveyor; a job that saw the family shift across Australia from Cootamundra to Sydney, all of which has contributed to giving Val a particular grounding and keen perspective into the immigrant way of life. Grass roots. Salt of the Earth. Family focused. The Graham Corry School of Drama guided his professional acting debut in the modern day interpretation of Aristophanes 'The Birds', acclaimed performances in numerous Short and Sweet productions followed. His love of singing and music culminated in performances at the Sydney Opera House (he sports a strong Tenor), and he has relentlessly pursued his love of performance and training through NIDA, Screenwise, 16th Street and Howard Fine with ongoing training and mentoring with Robert Marchand PhD, founder of the iconic CBI foundation. A formidable Actor trained in a number of disciplines, Val's solid work ethic ensures he is in constant pursuit of training and personal development. Val has life experience as a rural firefighter, coast guard, justice of the peace and brandishes qualifications in SCUBA, boating, civil construction, forklift operation, and possesses a working with children check & is an accredited Victoria Police firearms safety instructor. A keen voice actor, Val can call up numerous accents, speaks Greek and can throw in a smattering of Italian and French, all with solid reproduction and pronunciation. Val is a father of four, which rhymes with 'no more', hence he tries to come to terms with the fact that his swarthy Mediterranean looks may serve him for only so long, hence suited to the "loving Father", "harassed Dad" comedic persona, with the ability to turn it all the way up to eleven as the "furious parent" and "gun toting protector". Val is suited to fierce, military and law enforcement characters. He is also befitting to darker underbelly roles as an assassin, adulterer and domestic abuser. Val is known for his versatility and has no Plan B.