Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Acting Debut With His Mother Resurfaces 14 Years Later

The “Greek Freak” Giannis Antetokounmpo isn’t only a talent with a basketball in his hands. He’s also starred on the big screen. Shocking, right? Well, as it turns out, he made his debut long before he even got into the NBA. Now, it has resurfaced, so it’s only right to shed light on it.

Giannis and his mom, Veronica, played a part in the Australian drama Dead Europe. The future two-time MVP was only 16 years old at the time. In the movie, Giannis and his mom (who also played his mom in the film) play a small role. They came across a man who was making a lot of noise in the hallway of an apartment building. He was searching for someone when Giannis and his mother appeared.

The entire exchange? That was all it took for Giannis to get his own IMDb page. And while it’s not quite his biggest achievement (from a rather long list), Giannis can look back on it with pride. Perhaps he will see it as what prompted him to try his hand at other projects in later years.

Giannis hasn’t gone full Hollywood yet, but he has ventured into the world of movie production. In 2024, Studio Galazio announced that they would be releasing international stories with Greek themes. Giannis was slated to be a producer. The Milwaukee Bucks superstar’s involvement included a Greek version of Ocean’s Eleven, surely a movie that Giannis fans would see just because he produced it.

In 2022, Giannis also produced a Nat Geo documentary called Flagmakers, which showed how underpaid immigrant workers were tirelessly working at a factory making flags in the United States.

Back when he got cast as the “neighbor’s son” in Dead Europe, Giannis was not well known. He was a talent, of course, but didn’t have the money and fame he has today. That’s why, even though his newer projects are much more well known, they may never be as special and personal as the first. Thanks to his incredible success in the NBA, he’s one of the richest athletes in the country, which will now open more doors for him post retirement, if he chooses to.