Paul Stassino

Who was Paul Stassino?

Phaedros Stassinos was a Greek-Cypriot actor whose international stage name was Paul Stassino.

He was born in Cyprus, at Platres and grew up in Limassol, but spent most of his acting career in Britain. He moved to the UK at the age of 18 to study at the Law School. Because of his great passion to be an actor, without telling his family, he got a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Drama. Very soon he became very famous in the UK and he appeared in many British films, in British TV dramas such as Danger Man and The Saint. He appeared in Coronation Street in 1968, as Hungarian demolition contractor Miklos Zadic who had a brief relationship with Emily Nugent.

Possibly his best known performance was when he played two parts, Major François Derval and Angelo Palazzi, in the James Bond film Thunderball.

Other roles include "Le Pirate" in That Riviera Touch, and the first officer of the Colombian ship Paloma in Tiger Bay.