Katerina Gagkas Comes to Hollywood after Acting along John Travolta and Denzel Washington

Katerina Gagkas started her acting career by stepping on a big set from the beginning, an opportunity that many young actors do not have that often. She plays one of the hostages on “The Taking of Pelham 123,” a remake of the 1974 thriller about a hostage situation involving a New York City subway car. The movie just came out on DVD November 3rd, after doing well at the box office. As you can imagine she was excited to share her story with us and tell us about her Greek background. A real Spartan always aims higher! That is why she just arrived in Hollywood, and is here to stay and make more films!

I play one of the hostages on the train that was hijacked by John Travolta’s character.

I went to an open call in New York City.  Three months later I was called into the casting director’s office to  to take additional photos. While I was at the office, I specifically told the casting director not to call me unless it was for something good! I guess that remark was memorable, because I got the call and was offered the role! Two days later I was on set at Kaufman Studios in Astoria, NY where I worked on the film for the next three months.

Tony was amazing to work with! He is the reason why I look forward to making films for the rest of my career. Tony always made us laugh and lifted our spirits even after 12 hours of shooting!  He really appreciates his actors and he shows it. He gave each of us a gift of a leather-bound script with our names engraved on it. Tony is a classy guy! I am very proud to know, and have worked with Mr. Tony Scott. (pic left)

John Travolta is very warm, kind and fun! He would always greet us, and share stories with us. Watching him perform up close was fantastic. He really embodied the character. The chemistry between Travolta and Denzel is undeniable. Unfortunately, I did not have that much time working with Denzel. His presence is strong and he is very focused.

Surprisingly, I was a lot less cool than I thought I would be! When you meet someone like JT it’s hard not to be on cloud nine! I got used to it after a few days on set. He was so nice, and always tried to make us feel comfortable.

My fondest memory on set was when Denzel and John were communicating through a radio. Denzel was in his dressing room, and John was on the set train with us. The crew was setting up the cameras as we waited, and Denzel and John chatted. All of a sudden, Denzel began to play music over the radio which we could all hear. John started dancing for us! He even got some of us up dancing with him! He was such a fun guy to work with!

What is your dream role? if there is such a thing?

I am eager to play many different roles. I am especially drawn to work in period pieces or to play mythological and historical characters.