Michael Rady: Ode on a Not-So-Grecian...Dork?
October 2008
Photo courtesy of artist's representation
“It took a while to purge 'Jack' from my system,” admitted actor Michael Rady. Rady's In Search Of alter ego can best be described as an abuser, both of himself and his partners, someone who uses sex for his own purposes with complete disregard for anyone else. Seemingly unfeeling and cruel, Jack proved a challenging role for the rising star.
“I knew Zeke believed in me one-hundred percent, and that gave me the courage to be brave and take chances while trying to understand Jack,” Rady said, noting the film's director, Zeke Zelker.
“I always want everyone to like me, so it was tough doing some of those scenes,” he said.
Philadelphia native Rady, 27, developed a passion for acting in high school theater productions and said of his career choice, “There was never a question in my mind. I never considered anything else.”
Having worked in big-budget studio fare and now the Indie scene, Rady described his ISO experience as “guerilla filmmaking at its hairiest … which I loved.”
The opportunity to focus more on artistic vision appealed to Rady, as did having Pennsylvania as the film's backdrop.
“The Lehigh Valley, especially, has so many topographical and geographical varieties available in just a few square miles: cities, richer areas, poorer areas, farms, corn fields, forests, lakes, rivers, industrial areas … Zelker's sitting on a filmmaker's wonderland.”
Embodying a villain of sorts comes as a drastic contrast to his other roles. While you won't find Greek ancestry in Rady's lineage, his resume certainly seems to have the gene.
Rady plays Max Tyler on the popular teen hit “Greek” about college fraternity life, and his first major gig sent him to film on location in Santorini, Greece.
Rady, co-starring alongside fellow TV stars Alexis Bledel (“Gilmore Girls”), Amber Tamblyn (“Joan of Arcadia”), American Ferrera (“Ugly Betty”) and Blake Lively (“Gossip Girl”), portrayed Kostas, a sweet, sensitive Greek fisherman, yet remarkably Adonis-like, in the feature adaptation of Ann Brashares' best-selling novel,
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Tweens, teens and twentysomethings alike instantly fell for the romantic foreigner and his penchant for not always being completely dressed.
While Rady sees many similarities between himself and the character, he divulged, “I hate fishing with an intensity of a thousand suns,” and added humorously, “And I don't own many linen clothes.”
As Kostas, Rady reunited with the female-centric cast to film the Sisterhood sequel, an opportunity he described as a “dream come true.”
“Things like that never happen twice, and sure enough, there we were in Greece, again. [The girls] are a riot when they're together. I don't know how it could have been any better.”
A radiant future seems promised to the modest and incredibly talented Rady, who hopes to explore his talents and portray a variety of characters over the course of his career. “I'd love to do a western with Clint Eastwood or Kevin Costner, a Depression-Era piece, I'd love to play a boxer,” Rady listed.
With a sparse IMDB profile, a usual go-to source for entertainment facts, Rady has managed to fly just below the Hollywood radar, but hopefully, that will soon change.
While he can, though, before everyone starts knowing his name, he takes time to garden, cook vegan meals, play piano and Ultimate Frisbee, and catch a mid-week matinee once in a while when the theaters are empty.
“If you mix traveling with surfing, then we're getting even closer to my utopia,” said Rady.
As for his attributed status as a “heartthrob,” you might just say it's all Greek to him. “I just don't see it,” Rady said, laughing to himself.
“I'm a dork,” he corrected. “Actually, I can't imagine anyone being surprised at that.”
“I knew Zeke believed in me one-hundred percent, and that gave me the courage to be brave and take chances while trying to understand Jack,” Rady said, noting the film's director, Zeke Zelker.
“I always want everyone to like me, so it was tough doing some of those scenes,” he said.
Philadelphia native Rady, 27, developed a passion for acting in high school theater productions and said of his career choice, “There was never a question in my mind. I never considered anything else.”
Having worked in big-budget studio fare and now the Indie scene, Rady described his ISO experience as “guerilla filmmaking at its hairiest … which I loved.”
The opportunity to focus more on artistic vision appealed to Rady, as did having Pennsylvania as the film's backdrop.
“The Lehigh Valley, especially, has so many topographical and geographical varieties available in just a few square miles: cities, richer areas, poorer areas, farms, corn fields, forests, lakes, rivers, industrial areas … Zelker's sitting on a filmmaker's wonderland.”
Embodying a villain of sorts comes as a drastic contrast to his other roles. While you won't find Greek ancestry in Rady's lineage, his resume certainly seems to have the gene.
Rady plays Max Tyler on the popular teen hit “Greek” about college fraternity life, and his first major gig sent him to film on location in Santorini, Greece.
Rady, co-starring alongside fellow TV stars Alexis Bledel (“Gilmore Girls”), Amber Tamblyn (“Joan of Arcadia”), American Ferrera (“Ugly Betty”) and Blake Lively (“Gossip Girl”), portrayed Kostas, a sweet, sensitive Greek fisherman, yet remarkably Adonis-like, in the feature adaptation of Ann Brashares' best-selling novel,
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Tweens, teens and twentysomethings alike instantly fell for the romantic foreigner and his penchant for not always being completely dressed.
While Rady sees many similarities between himself and the character, he divulged, “I hate fishing with an intensity of a thousand suns,” and added humorously, “And I don't own many linen clothes.”
As Kostas, Rady reunited with the female-centric cast to film the Sisterhood sequel, an opportunity he described as a “dream come true.”
“Things like that never happen twice, and sure enough, there we were in Greece, again. [The girls] are a riot when they're together. I don't know how it could have been any better.”
A radiant future seems promised to the modest and incredibly talented Rady, who hopes to explore his talents and portray a variety of characters over the course of his career. “I'd love to do a western with Clint Eastwood or Kevin Costner, a Depression-Era piece, I'd love to play a boxer,” Rady listed.
With a sparse IMDB profile, a usual go-to source for entertainment facts, Rady has managed to fly just below the Hollywood radar, but hopefully, that will soon change.
While he can, though, before everyone starts knowing his name, he takes time to garden, cook vegan meals, play piano and Ultimate Frisbee, and catch a mid-week matinee once in a while when the theaters are empty.
“If you mix traveling with surfing, then we're getting even closer to my utopia,” said Rady.
As for his attributed status as a “heartthrob,” you might just say it's all Greek to him. “I just don't see it,” Rady said, laughing to himself.
“I'm a dork,” he corrected. “Actually, I can't imagine anyone being surprised at that.”
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