Manchester native Elias Kacavas acts himself into the spotlight

Dec. 30—Elias Kacavas has come a long way since playing a rodent in a sixth-grade performance of "Ratatouille."

The Manchester native has gone onto to much higher-profile gigs, but he had to keep mum for 118 days about his burgeoning career, including his part in the latest installment of the "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" movie franchise.

Sitting on a living room couch in his childhood home during a recent visit with his parents, Kacavas heaves a sigh of relief about the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

"All the fun stuff we were supposed to do — the big premiere, conventions in New York and Los Angeles to talk about the movie — we had to miss all that stuff," Kacavas says. "It really stinks when you can't promote your work."

"My Big Fat Wedding 3" was shot in Greece in 2022 and got its much-awaited theater release this past September.

Returning favorites include Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Andrea Martin, Lainie Kazan and Joey Fatone, along with Kacavas and other new faces.

Kacavas, who lives in New York City, portrays Aristotle, the love interest of Paris, played by Elena Kompouris in another escapade for the loveable but frenetic Portokalos family.

The film finds the group still grieving over the loss of the proud Windex-loving patriarch, Gus, and now headed off to Greece for a supposed reunion in his hometown. It's also a tale of love and last wishes.

It hits a poignant note for the cast and audiences since the funny saga continues without much-loved actor Michael Constantine, who died in 2021 at age 94 after having portrayed Gus, who got riled at any hint of change to traditions, in two of the three films.

The sense of camaraderie in the first "Greek Wedding," an indie film that blew up into a blockbuster hit in 2002 and carried into the 2003 sequel, again pervaded the set of the most recent sequel.

When asked who made him laugh the most, Kacavas throws out a name ... and then another ... then a half dozen more.

"Andrea Martin (Aunt Voula), she was just a master class in acting. Getting to sit next to her and do most of my scenes with her and learn from the best ... She's awesome," Kacavas says.

He quickly adds Vardalos but then surprisingly ranks John Corbett high on the list.

"He's a funny dude. He plays such sincere characters on screen. He's such a loveable guy. But I got to see him between takes and he is hilarious."

He also mentions an outing he had on a rare day off from filming. He ventured into the little town of Corfu with Fatone (Angelo) and Louis Mandylor (Nick).

"We had lunch, had some wine and did some shopping. It was a really cool day, and oh my god, both of these guys are funny."

Greek roots in Manchester

Letting loose with an enthusiastic "Opa!" at a Greek gathering is far from new for veterans and newcomers alike on and off screen.

Greek heritage and culture has always played a big part in the Kacavas household, from Greek school classes and the annual Glendi festival at St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Manchester to Greek Easter celebrations and the use of affectionate Greek names for grandmother and grandfather.

"It's always been the foundation of our identity," says Kacavas.

He graduated in 2017 from Manchester High School Central, and jokes it was there that the athlete realized that despite his time on the basketball court, he wasn't destined for the NBA.

In his acting career, he counts his family as his biggest fans.

That includes Kacavas's identical twin brother Niko, who went to West Point and now serves in the Army, and their younger brother Alec, who went to Babson College, a business school in Massachusetts.

At the helm of the family are his mother, Mindy, a teacher, and his father, John, a lawyer and former U.S. Attorney for New Hampshire from 2009 to 2015.

Initially Kacavas had a bit of trepidation not following in his parents' footsteps.

"I had a conversation with my dad. It was very nerve-wracking. Not only because he's been such a successful lawyer and politician — he's a stern Greek father, and stern Greek fathers want their boys to be happy and safe. The entertainment business is a pretty wild business," Kacavas says. "To my surprise, he was a little bit more on board than I would have imagined."

Kacavas took a gap year after high school to explore a possible career.

"I needed to test myself a little bit and see if it's a good fit and if I'm willing to do what it takes. I went to Brooklyn, slept on a couch for a year, did auditions and worked at Dunkin' Donuts with a pair of Greek twins who were my bosses," he says with a laugh. "When they found out I was a Greek twin too, they just took care of me."

Later he got an agent and attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for drama, leaning into method-acting classes.

It's coming in handy for his next project, a lead role in a dramatic thriller that is scheduled to shoot in Budapest in February. It's an intense process to transform himself into the character. The already lean actor has been dropping weight in order to portray an impoverished man living on the streets but aiming for a better life. Kacavas' goal is to get down to 155 to 158 pounds.

The film will be a period piece set in 1871, and as Kacavas practices an accent and grows out his hair, builders are constructing sets, including a whaling ship with a 19th-century vibe.

Kacavas also has appeared on "Euphoria," which follows high school students through friendships and the perils of drugs, sex and social media.

"It's a flashback in one episode but it put me on the map. I'm not a huge social media guy. I don't love it. But in a social media regard, (that scene) catapulted me into some sort of mainstream. It was great."

He went into the murder mystery series "Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin" in a recurring role and has moved up to a regular cast member for its second season.

"I think I was supposed to get killed off in one of the first couple of episodes but ... they offered me a regular series contract. We finished Season 2 right before the actors' strike."

He also is part of the rom-com "Winter Spring Summer or Fall," which stars Jenna Ortega and Percy Hynes White, who both appeared in the Netflix series "Wednesday," and Marisol Nichols from the CW's "Riverdale." It's being submitted to film festivals as of now.

Reaction from his home state has been "overwhelmingly beautiful and sweet, with endearing words about going after your dreams and finding yourself."

jweekes@unionleader.com