Michalis Aerakis

Michalis Aerakis was born in Anogia, Rethymno, Crete, and was the first of four children in his family. His grandfather was a priest. At the age of 7, as his father, Giorgos, who was a shepherd, suddenly left as an immigrant to Germany, he took over the reins of the house. When he finished elementary school and his father returned from Germany, the family moved initially to Heraklion and later to Athens, with Michalis Aerakis attending night school, where he participated in the theater group. He worked as a lottery dealer, waiter, painter and assistant in a butcher shop. After the years of dictatorship, he sang in taverns and with the money he earned he helped his family. He turned to theater after he was discharged from the army, but a car accident deprived him of the opportunity to take exams at the Drama School. Pelos Katselis accepted him into his school after a personal meeting. Today he is an accomplished Greek actor who has served for 17 years as the Artistic Director of the Municipal Regional Theater of Crete. He has participated in numerous performances at both the National and “Free” Theater. He has also participated in numerous film and television productions. His volunteer work is noteworthy both in prisons, where he participated in the “Second Chance” School and in Cancer Associations. In recent years, he has been a teacher at a drama school as he has the need to pass on his knowledge to young artists who are the future of Greek theater.