- Born
- Height5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
- Elias Koteas was born on March 11, 1961, in Montreal, Canada. Both his parents are of Greek descent. Elias attended Vanier College in Montreal before leaving to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1981, of which he is a graduate. He also attended the Actors Studio in New York City, where he studied acting under Ellen Burstyn and Peter Masterson. His film debut was in One Magic Christmas (1985). He has also appeared on stage in "Kiss of the Spider Woman," "Death of a Salesman," "Bent" and "The Cherry Orchard." In 1989 he was nominated for a Genie (Canada's Academy Award) for best actor in Malarek (1988), a true story in which he plays a troubled street-kid-turned reporter for a Canadian newspaper. A somewhat of a breakthrough role for Elias happened in 1990, when he got the role of vigilante Casey Jones in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and its sequels. He is one of Canada's most popular actors and frequently appears in films by Canadian directors Atom Egoyan and David Cronenberg. It was Cronenberg's controversial movie Crash (1996) that had Cannes all abuzz in 1996. Elias played Vaughan, a self-appointed "mad scientist" with an unusual fetish--sexual delight in car crashes! The past two years have been busy ones for Koteas, adding six more roles to his resume. As Capt. James Staros, the commanding officer of Charlie Company in The Thin Red Line (1998), he brought sensitivity and compassion to his portrayal of a man who cared about the safety of his men--even at the risk of his own career. In 2000 he appeared in Lost Souls (2000), a thriller starring Winona Ryder, and starred on Broadway with Josh Brolin in the Sam Shepard play "True West."
- IMDb mini biography by: Mary Camacho
- SpouseJennifer Rubin(December 2, 1987 - 1990) (divorced)
- Speaks Greek fluently, as well as French.
- Is a Greek/Canadian
- He is frequently confused for actor Christopher Meloni, although Koteas is less beefy and Meloni is of Italian-French descent rather than Greek.
- As of 2014, has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Atlantic City (1980), The Thin Red Line (1998) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008).
- Alumnus of the AADA (American Academy of Dramatic Arts), Class of 1983.
- I would think I'd accomplished it all if I could get to play Quasimodo.
- I play guys who are willing to go really far. If the dung really hits the fan, I don't know if I could walk the talk. But anyone who isn't willing to die for his convictions isn't worth living. My characters, no matter how demented they are, they have their convictions. (Screenmancer.com, 2001)
- A lot of these roles that I feel like I've had some sort of impact, or that have had an effect on me, have always been with directors who have the time to somehow get to know me. Any good director's going to be curious about who it is that's coming aboard. Because of lack of time a lot of directors hope that you just have the character in your pocket and you just show up and do it.
- I think children exist on a different spiritual vibration and I think they're really keyed in on any bull*** barometer. So for them to put their arm around me and accept me was gratifying. As an actor, that's what I hope and aspire to be-a 12 year old. Then at the same time, you're looking at them at the cusp of change and they're firing on all spiritual cylinders and reflecting back what they see. I felt like I was in the presence of something really special.
- [2011, on Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)] That was the summer of 1986. I was 25-years-old, fresh out of acting school, exhilarated, living in Los Angeles for the summer. The joy of being in Hollywood-everything was new. John Hughes, I had auditioned for him for She's Having a Baby (1988), and he liked me enough and was interested in me enough to set me up with the director, Howard Deutch. I remember auditioning a couple of times, and each time felt more fun and improvisational. They just let me improvise, and I felt so free and uninhibited. The character on the page was this huge, burly-type guy and they saw this little glint in the eye-this joie de vivre-and they let me play. There was just so much joy in playing that part. I felt like there was no wrong way of playing it, as long as you were just committed and had fun with it. The freedom that I felt doing that part, I long for that. If I could go back to that... There was no fear involved. There was just a complete unabashed, free, moment-to-moment joy.
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