Making Waves

Santi Sudaros (profile) arrived with his family in Paris, France in 1975, when he was just 2 years old. His family has lived in the popular quarters, which was an area mixed with people of African, Arabic, and Chinese descent. Santi came from a family of seven, (himself, his parents, two brothers and two sisters), and they all had their fair share of struggles when they first arrived in France. Speaking on behalf of his family, Santi points out how difficult life was across many levels, economic, social, and emotional. Like many refugee families who resettled and sought asylum in other countries, they faced the enormous challenge of learning a new language and adjusting to a different culture. Santi and his family remained strong and persevered through these hard times. Adversity does bring out the best in people, and Santi is a prime example of someone who has overcame so many obstacles to get to where he is today. Through his hard work and determination, he has made himself a force to be reckoned with in the competitive world of acting and modeling. Some of the films that he has played a major role in are: “Samourais”, “The Great Challenge”, “Unleashed” with Jet Li, and many more. Santi Sudaros is a great inspiration and role model for many people. He is a fine example of how Lao people are making waves all over the world. (We do apologize for any translation error due to the language barrier below).

Santi's Photo Gallery

Interviewby Laoville Staff

How did you enter modeling and acting? Who or what influenced you?
A: I became a model thanks to the director of Benetton’s casting, Brice Compagnon that I have met in a gym. It was my first client and the most important at the beginning. It is a very competitive job due to the fact that the selection is done by work. If you work you stay and if you do not, it would be better to find something else to do. I have worked for magazines like Vogue, GQ, Amica, FHM etc…many shows of course and TV ads. I was by far not the perfect model, but I had a particular profile which made me different from the other models. A few years after I have met the film director Giordano Gederlini who allowed me to work on my first film, “Samourais”, I finally had an agent.

What is your favorite film? Why?
A: I do not have any favorite film or rather I have too much. What I find interesting in films as in life is the riches that diversity gets. For example I likes films of Francis ford Coppola, Terry Gilliam’s, Clint Eastwood, Akira Kurosawa, Martin Scorcese, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Ang Le, Takeshi Kitano, Micheal Mann…it would take days to name them all.

Who is your favorite actor or actress? Why?
A: I have many; I can mention a few Benicio Del Toro, Sean Penn, Al Pacino, Clint Eastwood, Jean Paul Belmondo, Takeshi Kitano, Tony Leung, Johnny Depp, and Robert Deniro.

What was it like to work on films with Jet Li? (Unleashed, 2005) [as swimming pool fighter]
A: When we work with famous actor, it is better to try to forget who they are; the true challenge is to do your own work as well as possible, to serve your character, and the history of which the director tells through film. It is necessary to stay concentrated on what we have to do even if of course you know who they are. Of course it is not easy.

Are you currently working on a film? What do you have planned for the future?
A: I have some cinema projects, but as long as you are not on the set the projects mean nothing. The cinema projects takes time to be build and they are very fragile, it carries bad luck to speak about it, so generally I do not speak about it. The film is just one part of my life, I want it to stay a kind of hobby…even if it is a f***ing good hobby!

What do you want to say to your Laotian fans?
A: I would like to say to the young Laotians to be proud of what they are, not to forget their origins, and to be interested in their roots. For my part, I went back for the first time to Laos four years ago and it has really changed my vision of the world. I hope in the future to spend more time in Asia and particularly in Laos. In spite of my travel in the world and my life in France, I realized finally that nothing is never better than my own country, my own home. The face of the world is changing and Asia is becoming everyday more important. I wish that Laos would find their place in this development and I think the Laotians overseas should have a role in this.

For all the ladies out there, are you still single?
A: Yes, I am still single. I am not married yet, but why not? I am thinking about it.

Add Comments/Reviews

contact the writer: Laoville.com