Actor means... Horn

"Actor means light..." recited Dimitris Horn in Manos Hadjidakis' play Odos Oneiron (Street of Dreams) in 1962. A phrase that could be self-referential, as the light he radiated in each of his roles established him as one of the greatest Greek actors of theater and cinema.

He was born on March 9, 1921, and his father was the playwright Pantelis Horn. His first appearance on the stage was at the age of three in his father's play "The Neighbors" by his father, starring his godmother Kyveli. Growing up in a theatrical environment, it was only a matter of time before he turned to acting.

In 1937, he enrolled in the Drama School of the Royal Theater (now the National Theater) and in 1940 he made his official debut in the operetta "The Bat." In the following years, he collaborated with the theater companies of Marika Kotopouli and Katerina Andreadi, and in 1944 he formed his own theater company with Mary Aroni.

For the next forty years, he performed in some of the most important foreign and Greek plays, collaborating with the biggest names in Greek theater. With his distinctive voice, piercing gaze, and rare natural charisma, he composed his roles "through the conscious and the subconscious," as he himself stated.

He made his film debut in 1943 in the movie "The Voice of the Heart," directed by Dimitris Ioannopoulos, the first film shot after the German invasion of Greece. He starred in a total of ten films, giving unique performances in works such as "The Counterfeit Coin," "We Only Have One Life," "The Girl in Black," and "Woe to the Young."

He was perpetually "in love with love" and married twice: in 1942 to Rita Filippou and in 1967 to Anna Goulandris. His relationship with Elli Lambeti was stormy, their love blossoming in 1952 when they formed a theater company together. In 1959, when their professional collaboration ended, so did their relationship, with Horn stating: "When she left me, I was like a bull in a china shop. My ego was wounded. I can't say I didn't love her. And I admired her greatly as an actress. But she wasn't the woman of my life."

The curtain fell on his life on January 16, 1998, at the age of 77, after a long and painful illness. Three years after his death, the Dimitris Horn Theater Award was established in his memory, which is awarded each year to the best new male actor of the previous theater season.

Photos:

Dimitris Horn at his home in 1960. (Telecommunications Museum, Floros Brothers Archive – Nikos L. Floros)