Michael Flessas
Encyclopedia
Michael C. Flessas is the birth name of actor Michael Flessas. Flessas' most notable film role was Angry Man in the Cannes Film Festival
2000 Palme d'Or
winning film Dancer in the Dark
directed by Danish film director Lars von Trier
. Originally, the director himself considered playing the role but, instead, the role was given to Flessas. Dancer in the Dark starred Icelandic singer/actress Björk
who won the Best Actress award at Cannes for her role. French film icon, César Award
winner, and Academy Award nominee Catherine Deneuve
, and other noteworthy artists such as Academy Award and Tony Award
winner Joel Grey
, Peter Stormare
, David Morse
, and Stellan Skarsgård
also performed in the multiple prize winning film. One of Björk's songs for the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song.
In Iran
ian actress/director Susan Taslimi
's film Hus i helvete (The film's English title: All Hell Let Loose), starring Melinda Kinnaman
, which won the Best Feature Film prize at the Brooklyn International Film Festival
in 2003, Flessas played the vicious pornographer "Videomannen" in a nightmarish flashback
scene in the film.
Flessas also portrayed massive and deadly Russian hitman "Jurij Rostoff" in Beck - Okänd avsändare, a made for television movie directed by Swedish actor and director Harald Hamrell. Beck - Okänd avsändare was among the popular Swedish Beck detective films and made-for-television movies starring Swedish actor Peter Haber. As "Jurij Rostoff" Flessas weighed in at 150 kilos in the role as a result of weight training and diet; however, in his younger and less heavy years, Flessas danced in the corps de ballet
of the Columbia City Ballet then under the direction of Ann Brodie in Columbia, South Carolina
.
Although he won two scholarships in Music, Flessas changed majors and majored in Religious Studies
and minored in Philosophy
at the University of South Carolina
. Flessas did not complete his undergraduate degree at the University of South Carolina yet he continued his studies on an informal basis with travels around the world in order to meet and speak with adherents of various religious forms and philosophical points of view.
Flessas began his professional acting career after hearing a barber mention that a :Fox Broadcasting Company series in Boston was about to begin production. Although the series, Against the Law starring Academy award nominee :Michael O'Keefe lasted for one season, Flessas was in six episodes of the show as an uncredited extra. Flessas was able to do six episodes by constantly changing his facial appearance for each episode of the series. Flessas also was an uncredited extra in films such as :HouseSitter, starring :Emmy Award winner :Steve Martin and Academy Award winner :Goldie Hawn, :Wind, starring Academy Award winner :Cliff Robertson, :Matthew Modine, and :Jennifer Grey, and the :NBC made for television movie :MacShayne: Final Roll of the Dice starring :Grammy Award winner :Kenny Rogers.
Flessas also gained notoriety in the mid 1990s for his creation of a now defunct :website entitled "Resources for the Homeless" which was one of the first websites in the :United States of America solely devoted to helping the homeless through individual initiative by offering the homeless relevant data on resources via one website. At the time, many poor people were being removed from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
welfare rolls while many Milwaukee city officials were engaged in plans to fund and build a new multi-million dollar stadium
. Flessas perceived the situation (building a new stadium while removing the poor from welfare) as an injustice to the poor. Given that libraries in Milwaukee, Wisconsin were just connecting to the World Wide Web
, Flessas gathered and placed information regarding all the services available to the homeless in Milwaukee on the web so service providers to the homeless and the homeless themselves (who often sought shelter in local libraries) had equal and rapid access to information about resources available in Milwaukee via
the Milwaukee County library system computer network "OMNINET". "Resources for the Homeless" was considered an unusual information delivery solution at the time given the new nature of the method of delivery and the biased misperception that the homeless did not and would not use computers to learn about resources available. The "Resources for the Homeless" project in Milwaukee received no direct funding for it was Flessas' express purpose to show what one person with computing skills could do to help the homeless with the use of the web. The project began in Milwaukee on a freenet and, later, a similar site was created with the help of a local web designer in Columbia, South Carolina. Flessas' exploits with the site were reported on television in Milwaukee, WIS television in Columbia, and in an article in Silicon Valley
's San Jose Mercury News
newspaper.
In a newspaper article in Columbia South Carolina's The State newspaper, Flessas promoted the use of e-mail in the 1990s to broadcast a demand (then akin to what is now guerrilla communication
and subvertising
) that thousands of potential visitors to South Carolina boycott
the state's multi-million dollar tourism
industry to force state government officials to remove the Confederate flag from South Carolina's State House dome. (Flessas, curiously enough, through his mother's side of the family, is a descendant of Elisha Jefferson "Elijah" Sutherland who fought with the Confederate States of America
during the American Civil War
.) Social and political activism
is not unknown in the Flessas Family
for Flessas himself (through his father's side of the family) is also a direct descendant of Papaflessas
through Papaflessas' father Demetrios Flessas.
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
2000 Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
winning film Dancer in the Dark
Dancer in the Dark
Dancer in the Dark is a 2000 Danish musical drama film directed by Lars von Trier and starring Icelandic singer Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Cara Seymour, Peter Stormare, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, and Joel Grey...
directed by Danish film director Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion....
. Originally, the director himself considered playing the role but, instead, the role was given to Flessas. Dancer in the Dark starred Icelandic singer/actress Björk
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
who won the Best Actress award at Cannes for her role. French film icon, César Award
César Award
The César Award is the national film award of France, first given out in 1975. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma....
winner, and Academy Award nominee Catherine Deneuve
Catherine Deneuve
Catherine Deneuve is a French actress. She gained recognition for her portrayal of aloof and mysterious beauties in films such as Repulsion and Belle de jour . Deneuve was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1993 for her performance in Indochine; she also won César Awards for that...
, and other noteworthy artists such as Academy Award and Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
winner Joel Grey
Joel Grey
Joel Grey is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award...
, Peter Stormare
Peter Stormare
is a Swedish film, stage, voice and television actor as well as a theatrical director, playwright and musician.- Early life :...
, David Morse
David Morse (actor)
David Bowditch Morse is an American stage, television, and film actor. He first came to national attention as Dr. Jack Morrison in the medical drama St. Elsewhere from 1982 to 1988...
, and Stellan Skarsgård
Stellan Skarsgård
Stellan John Skarsgård is a Swedish actor, known internationally for his film roles in Angels & Demons, Breaking the Waves, The Hunt for Red October, Ronin, Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist,...
also performed in the multiple prize winning film. One of Björk's songs for the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song.
In Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian actress/director Susan Taslimi
Susan Taslimi
Susan Taslimi is an Iranian actress, film director, theatre director, and screenwriter. She emigrated from Iran in 1989, now living and working in Sweden.-Biography:...
's film Hus i helvete (The film's English title: All Hell Let Loose), starring Melinda Kinnaman
Melinda Kinnaman
Melinda Rosalie Kinnaman is a Swedish actress.Kinnaman was born in Sweden with two American parents and a brother, Joel Kinnaman, who is also an international actor. By age 13 she made her acting debut, portraying the tomboy Saga in the acclaimed 1985 movie My Life as a Dog, directed by Lasse...
, which won the Best Feature Film prize at the Brooklyn International Film Festival
Brooklyn International Film Festival
The Brooklyn Film Festival ', prior to 2011 called the Brooklyn International Film Festival ' is an independent film festival held every June in Brooklyn, New York...
in 2003, Flessas played the vicious pornographer "Videomannen" in a nightmarish flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
scene in the film.
Flessas also portrayed massive and deadly Russian hitman "Jurij Rostoff" in Beck - Okänd avsändare, a made for television movie directed by Swedish actor and director Harald Hamrell. Beck - Okänd avsändare was among the popular Swedish Beck detective films and made-for-television movies starring Swedish actor Peter Haber. As "Jurij Rostoff" Flessas weighed in at 150 kilos in the role as a result of weight training and diet; however, in his younger and less heavy years, Flessas danced in the corps de ballet
Corps de ballet
In ballet, the corps de ballet is the group of dancers who are not soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. A corps de ballet works as one, with synchronized movements and corresponding positioning on the stage...
of the Columbia City Ballet then under the direction of Ann Brodie in Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
.
Although he won two scholarships in Music, Flessas changed majors and majored in Religious Studies
Religious studies
Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
and minored in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
at the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
. Flessas did not complete his undergraduate degree at the University of South Carolina yet he continued his studies on an informal basis with travels around the world in order to meet and speak with adherents of various religious forms and philosophical points of view.
Flessas began his professional acting career after hearing a barber mention that a :Fox Broadcasting Company series in Boston was about to begin production. Although the series, Against the Law starring Academy award nominee :Michael O'Keefe lasted for one season, Flessas was in six episodes of the show as an uncredited extra. Flessas was able to do six episodes by constantly changing his facial appearance for each episode of the series. Flessas also was an uncredited extra in films such as :HouseSitter, starring :Emmy Award winner :Steve Martin and Academy Award winner :Goldie Hawn, :Wind, starring Academy Award winner :Cliff Robertson, :Matthew Modine, and :Jennifer Grey, and the :NBC made for television movie :MacShayne: Final Roll of the Dice starring :Grammy Award winner :Kenny Rogers.
Flessas also gained notoriety in the mid 1990s for his creation of a now defunct :website entitled "Resources for the Homeless" which was one of the first websites in the :United States of America solely devoted to helping the homeless through individual initiative by offering the homeless relevant data on resources via one website. At the time, many poor people were being removed from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
welfare rolls while many Milwaukee city officials were engaged in plans to fund and build a new multi-million dollar stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
. Flessas perceived the situation (building a new stadium while removing the poor from welfare) as an injustice to the poor. Given that libraries in Milwaukee, Wisconsin were just connecting to the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
, Flessas gathered and placed information regarding all the services available to the homeless in Milwaukee on the web so service providers to the homeless and the homeless themselves (who often sought shelter in local libraries) had equal and rapid access to information about resources available in Milwaukee via
VIA
- Science and technology :* MOS Technology 6522, Versatile Interface Adapter* Via , a through-connection* VIA Technologies, a Taiwanese manufacturer of integrated circuits, subnotebooks, and Ultra-Mobile PCs...
the Milwaukee County library system computer network "OMNINET". "Resources for the Homeless" was considered an unusual information delivery solution at the time given the new nature of the method of delivery and the biased misperception that the homeless did not and would not use computers to learn about resources available. The "Resources for the Homeless" project in Milwaukee received no direct funding for it was Flessas' express purpose to show what one person with computing skills could do to help the homeless with the use of the web. The project began in Milwaukee on a freenet and, later, a similar site was created with the help of a local web designer in Columbia, South Carolina. Flessas' exploits with the site were reported on television in Milwaukee, WIS television in Columbia, and in an article in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
's San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
newspaper.
In a newspaper article in Columbia South Carolina's The State newspaper, Flessas promoted the use of e-mail in the 1990s to broadcast a demand (then akin to what is now guerrilla communication
Guerrilla communication
Guerrilla communication and communication guerrilla refer to an attempt to provoke subversive effects through interventions in the process of communication....
and subvertising
Subvertising
Subvertising is a portmanteau of subvert and advertising. It refers to the practice of making spoofs or parodies of corporate and political advertisements. Subvertisements may take the form of a new image or an alteration to an existing image or icon, often in a satirical manner...
) that thousands of potential visitors to South Carolina boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
the state's multi-million dollar tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
industry to force state government officials to remove the Confederate flag from South Carolina's State House dome. (Flessas, curiously enough, through his mother's side of the family, is a descendant of Elisha Jefferson "Elijah" Sutherland who fought with the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.) Social and political activism
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
is not unknown in the Flessas Family
Flessas Family
The Flessas family has existed in the Peloponnese since the 17th century from the time in which Venetians ruled the area. The name Flessas comes from the Bavarian word flosse which means "raft". These "Flosserei" or "lumbermen" from Bavaria formed large wooden rafts and transported wood on rivers...
for Flessas himself (through his father's side of the family) is also a direct descendant of Papaflessas
Papaflessas
Papaflessas , born Grigorios Demetrios Flessas , was a Greek patriot, priest, and government official of the old Flessas Family. The word papa- in the name "Papaflessas" indicates his status as a cleric since the word means "priest" in Greek...
through Papaflessas' father Demetrios Flessas.