Greek actor Simon Kassianides has officially joined the cast of Netflix’s hit animated series Blood of Zeus for its highly anticipated new season.
Kassianides, known for his roles in The Mandalorian and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., will lend his voice to Orpheus, the legendary musician and poet of Greek mythology. As a Greek Cypriot actor, Kassianides joins an ensemble that already includes several actors of Greek descent, such as Elias Toufexis, Chris Diamantopoulos, and Melina Kanakaredes.
The casting continues a trend set by Greek American creators, writers, and executive producers Charley and Vlas Parlapanides, who consciously highlight Greek talent in Blood of Zeus.
Their approach stands in contrast to major Hollywood productions like Christopher Nolan’s upcoming Odyssey film, which has yet to cast a single Greek actor despite being based on Homer’s epic. With Kassianides’ addition, Blood of Zeus further solidifies itself as a series that authentically embraces and celebrates Greek heritage in both its storytelling and casting choices.
The upcoming season will also mark the third and final chapter of Blood of Zeus, which airs exclusively on Netflix. The critically acclaimed series, which was nominated for a prestigious Writers Guild of America Award for Best Animation Writing, has been praised for its rich storytelling and dynamic visuals. Fans can look forward to its epic conclusion when the final season debuts this May, 2025.
Set in mythical ancient Greece, the series revolves around Heron, the demigod son of Zeus, trying to save Olympus and Earth. Though Heron himself is an original character created exclusively for the series, the existence of such demigods born of the union between a god and a human is implied to be common in the original myths.
The series claims in its prologue to be one of the tales “lost to history” rather than part of the current canon of Greek myths. It features gods, giants, demons, automata, titans, and mythical mounts from the original tales.
Kassianides was born in London, of Greek Cypriot origin, the son of Helen and Mario Kassianides, both business owners.
He was noted as an actor to watch in a BBC documentary called Making it at Holby. Since then, Kassianides has appeared in a number of television episodes in the USA and UK, including Casualty, My Life in Film, Plane Spotting, Ultimate Force, Spooks, Recovery, Holby Blue, Suburban Shootout, The Kylie Show, Ashes to Ashes, The Passion, The Fixer, Love Soup, Hustle, Law and Order UK, Nikita, Burn Notice, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Kassianides has also appeared in several international films such as The Edge of Love, Wuthering Heights, Between Two Fires, Quantum of Solace and Smooch.
Related: The Parlapanides Brothers Discuss Success of “Blood of Zeus”
