Chronis Exarchakos was one of the most distinctive figures of Greek theater and cinema. An actor of immense talent, he managed to leave an indelible mark, even if he was not always given leading roles. With his rapid speech, unique facial expressions, and effortless sense of humor, he could win over an audience with a single line. It is no coincidence that even today, decades after his untimely death, he remains remembered as an actor who breathed life into every role.
From Syros to the stage
Polychronis Exarchos, his real name, was born in 1932 in Ermoupolis, Syros. His childhood was marked by hardship, but also by an early connection with the world of art. He grew up in Plaka, in the heart of Athens, where theater was always present. As he later said: “From a young age I wanted to be on stage, even if it was just to roll up cables.”
Before turning to acting, he worked behind the scenes as a sound engineer and stage technician, getting to know theater from its most grounded side. In 1963, he graduated from the Drama School of Pelos Katselis and soon made his stage debut in the play Villa of Orgies. Even as an unknown, he impressed audiences with his freshness and immediacy.
The big screen and the theater
Just a year later, he made his film debut in Divorce Greek Style. That was the beginning of a career that would bring him to more than twenty films during the golden age of Greek cinema. Alongside the major stars of the time — Aliki Vougiouklaki, Dimitris Papamichael, Kostas Voutsas — Exarchakos stood out, even when his screen time was brief.
Audiences remember him in films such as My Daughter the Socialist, A Greek Woman in the Harem, The Parisian Woman, Mermaids and Lads, and Marihuana Stop. His legendary line in A Greek Woman in the Harem — “I have tha, I have tha” — turned into popular folklore, showing his ability to transform even the smallest scene into a cultural moment. As one director who worked with him once said: “Chronis had the gift of filling the frame without having to say much. His presence alone was both funny and moving.”
His theatrical career was equally rich. He took part in revues, comedies, and also classical works by Shakespeare and Chekhov. His range was much wider than the roles he was offered in cinema, proving that he was far more than a comic actor. As he once confessed: “I don’t care if they laugh or if they cry. What I want is for them to believe me.”
A sensitive and solitary man
Behind the spotlight, Chronis Exarchakos was a sensitive and often introverted man. His relationship with his mother was defining. He lived with her until the end, wholly devoted. Many friends and colleagues said he never allowed himself to create a family of his own because of this bond. A close collaborator recalled: “He was a man full of love, but he gave it all to his mother. In his life there was no room for anything else.”
Despite his inner struggles, he always carried humor with him. Even when he faced serious health problems, he continued to joke, to laugh, and to bring joy to those around him. As he once said, shortly before his last performance: “As long as I can make others laugh, I feel alive.”
The premature end
In the mid-1980s, Exarchakos was diagnosed with bone cancer. The illness tormented him, but did not break him artistically. He continued to go on stage, even when pain was unbearable. His last appearance came in 1982 at the Akropol Theater in the play The Fairy Tale Goes Cloudy, proving that devotion to art does not yield to sickness.
On September 27, 1984, he passed away at the age of just 52. His death shocked the artistic world. Not long after, his mother, unable to withstand the loss, also passed away.
His legacy
Chronis Exarchakos was much more than “a comic who spoke quickly.” He was an actor of rare depth, who could fill a film with authenticity. Even if history has remembered him as one of the “greatly underappreciated” figures of Greek cinema, for audiences he was — and remains — a great actor who gave comedy its soul.
Today, every time his films are screened and his lines are heard, Exarchakos is reborn through laughter and emotion. His name is forever tied to authenticity, and his career reminds us that one does not need to be the lead actor to be unforgettable.