Greek Freak is the nickname given to MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo for his freakish talents on the hardwood but more recently it is also the title for Walt Disney’ feature film that is expected to come out in 2022 on platform Disney+. The Greek Freak movie is inspired by the true story of Antetokounmpo’s life and Nigerian family as they rely on faith and determination to lift themselves out of poverty as immigrants living in Athens. The plot particularly focuses on Giannis’s first steps in basketball and the important distinctions he has received so far in the world of the National Basketball Association.
The Greak Freak Production
The production that takes place both in Greece and in the United States, started filming in Greece on April 2021 and was successfully completed towards the end of June of the same year. The majority of the scenes were shot in the same central Athens neighborhoods where Antetokounmpo used to sold DVDs to make a living and play basketball. For this purpose, the center of Athens has been transformed into an open-air studio with locations including Sepolia, the neighborhood where he grew up as well as the streets of Zografou, Kolonos, the area of Psirri and Monastiraki. Even a central Athens hotel was used for filming purposes, specifically for the representation of the NBA drafts in 2013, where G. Antetokounmpo was selected at number 15 by his team, the Milwaukee Bucks.
Numbers
Greek Freak is considered to be one of the largest productions filmed in the country, with an amount of expenditure that exceeds 20 million euros, employs 200 Greek crew members and hundreds of supporting actors. The production is undertaken by the Greek company Faliro House and served by the Athens Film Office which provides an array of free services that facilitate audiovisual production needs.
The Greek Freak Actors
Young actor Uche Agada takes on the role of G. Antetokounmpo, in the first leading role of his career, after he saw a post on Antetokounmpo’s social media about the open casting call. By his side, we will see the actress Yetid Badaki who will play the role of his mother, Veronica, but also Dayo Okeniyi, who will play the beloved father of the athlete, Charles, who has passed away. It is worth noting that Antetokounmpo himself participates in the production of “Greek Freak”, as well as Bernie Goldman, producer of the film “300”. The script is by Arash Amel and the direction of Akin Omotoso.
Greek Freak Full Cast & Crew
| Directed by |
| Akin Omotoso |
| Writing Credits |
| Arash Amel … |
| Cast |
| Yetide Badaki … Veronica |
| Dayo Okeniyi … Charles |
| Babis Hawk Konstantinou … Turkish policeman |
| Pilar Holland … Teresa Perez |
| Efthymis Halkidis … Haris Eleftheriou |
| Tassos Giannopoulos … Basketball player |
| Alexandros Mylonas … Police officer |
| Produced by |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo … executive producer |
| Bernie Goldmann … producer |
| Kostas Raftopoulos … line producer: Greece |
| Music by |
| Ré Olunuga |
| Cinematography by |
| Kabelo Thathe |
| Film Editing by |
| Vuyani Sondlo |
| Casting By |
| Randi Hiller |
| Production Design by |
| Ina Mayhew |
| Art Direction by |
| Mark Dillon … supervising art director |
| Set Decoration by |
| Sarah Carter |
| Second Unit Director or Assistant Director |
| Michael Dris … second assistant director |
| James J.D. Taylor … first assistant director |
| Art Department |
| John Bayles … Leadman |
| Danny Burke … props |
| Andres D. Davila … assistant property master |
| Elena Dentopoulou … Art Department Coordinator |
| Philip Keller … storyboard artist |
| Becca Kenyon … property master |
| Apostolos Polichroniadis … Charge Scenic |
| Markus Ruiz … Scenic Painter |
| Sound Department |
| Charles German … boom operator |
| Mike Schmidt … production sound mixer |
| Visual Effects by |
| Elden Avila … senior visual effects coordinator |
| Sharina Radia … business development producer: Mr. X |
| Glorivette Somoza … visual effects producer |
| Stunts |
| Zack Duhame … stunt coordinator |
| Camera and Electrical Department |
| Lefteris Agapoulakis … camera operator: c camera |
| Adam Baker … best boy rigging grip |
| Giannis Boukras … second assistant camera: b camera |
| Marc Christie … best boy grip |
| Spyros Christoforatos … grip |
| Dimitris Dermousis … second assistant camera: a camera |
| Joel Gill … lighting technician |
| Vakis Grillis … Dolly Grip: “a” camera |
| David Grother … Systems Technician |
| Kent Harvey … camera operator: a camera |
| Corrin Hodgson … gaffer |
| Gary Kangrga … key rigging grip |
| Thanasis Karabelos … rigging grip |
| Stamatis Karnavas … rigging grip |
| Drew Louis … Best Boy Rigging Electric |
| Alexandros Maragos … BTS Cinematographer |
| Kostas Meridis … Dolly Grip: “b” camera |
| Yorgos Metaxas … first assistant camera: c camera |
| Marlow Nunez … key grip |
| Keith Pokorski … first assistant camera: a camera |
| Caleb Rasak … Best Boy Electric |
| Patrick Redmond … still photographer |
| Nikola Ristic … Rigging gaffer |
| Giannis Rozeas … first assistant camera: b camera |
| Yiorgos Satolias … rigging electrician |
| Parker Shultz … rigging grip |
| Patrick Toohey … lighting console programmer |
| Michael Tsimperopoulos … camera operator: b camera / steadicam operator |
| Costume and Wardrobe Department |
| Sarah Williams … assistant costume designer |
| Joulles Wright … costume supervisor |
| Editorial Department |
| Angel Ballas … Lab Co-ordinator |
| Mark Jones … first assistant editor |
| George Paidas … Lab Director of Operations: Greece |
| Alexis Quantas … Dailies Engineer: Greece |
| Socrates Zoidis … Lab Supervisor: Greece |
| Location Management |
| Julie Hannum … supervising location manager |
| Nikos Koumandarakis … location manager |
| Maria Repousi … Location Coordinator |
| Giannis Sotiropoulos … key assistant location manager |
| Music Department |
| Carrie Tretteen … Music Clearance |
| Additional Crew |
| Jessica Bowling … production assistant |
| Simone Dutreux … production accountant |
| Marcia McIntyre … travel coordinator |
Eftychia Rantou
Born and raised in Athens, Greece. While studying communication, media and culture at Panteion University of Athens, she realised cinema was her calling. She graduated from Université paris 1 panthéon-sorbonne
MSc in sustainable tourism development and cutlural heritage. She aspires to contribute to the world of audiovisual productions.
