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Taso Nicholas Stavrakis (born July 12, 1957) is an American film and television actor and stunt performer best known for his appearances in the George A. Romero films Dawn of the Dead, Knightriders, and Day of the Dead. Recruited by his good friend and Carnegie-Mellon University classmate Tom Savini, Stavrakis assisted with stunts and special makeup effects on several seminal 1980s horror productions, including the original Friday the 13th, in which he portrayed "The Prowler" (as the unidentified killer was initially referred to in Victor Miller's screenplay). Romero frequently joked that Stavrakis should be included in the Guinness Book of World Records for having appeared as the most zombies in his Dead series (5 in Dawn and 4 in Day).Post-college gigs in New York included numerous off-Broadway plays and commercial jobs, including the first human incarnation of the Captain Morgan character for a rum advertisement and Battlestar Galactica's Lucifer character for an automobile commercial.Offered the opportunity to portray villain Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th Part 2, Stavrakis turned down the role as his friend Savini had declined to create the film's makeup effects. He instead took an opportunity to create special makeup effects for He Knows You're Alone, an early thriller by Armand Mastroianni (and incidentally Tom Hanks's first feature film), with whom Stavrakis would work again on the 2006 cinematic adaptation of The Celestine Prophecy.Despite this early emphasis on makeup, Stavrakis eventually gravitated almost exclusively toward stunt work, serving as stunt coordinator on Day of the Dead and the Romero-scripted Creepshow 2 (1987), while his acting work during this period included a brief stint on As the World Turns as Stavros, a Greek interpreter.A tournament fencer and seasoned equestrian, Stavrakis is a founding member of the Hanlon-Lees Action Theater, an American entertainment company which pioneered the art of theatrical jousting. He also performed for several years with the Big Apple Circus during the mid-1990s as a variety of characters (including "Captain Coney," a Coney Island-inspired superhero), and remains a member of BAC's Clown Care unit, providing entertainment and encouragement to children in hospital.His more recent film work includes appearances in Martin Campbell's The Mask of Zorro, Gore Verbinski's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (in a "Tortuga Island" sequence which was edited from the first film but utilized in the sequel) and Michael Mann's 2006 Miami Vice redux, as well as wrangling duties on pictures such as Jackass Number Two and the Seth Green road-trip comedy Sex Drive.In 2010, Stavrakis returned to his roots, appearing as a featured zombie in the pilot episode of the AMC Network series The Walking Dead.
| Net Worth | $12 Million |
| Date Of Birth | July 12, 1957 |
| Occupation | Actor, stunt performer |
| Profession | Stunts, Actor, Miscellaneous Crew |
| Nicknames | Stavrakis, Taso N, Taso N Stavrakis |
| Star Sign | Cancer |
| # | Fact |
|---|
| 1 | Taso worked on "He Knows You're Alone", Tom Hanks first movie. |
| 2 | His hands are used as a stand-in for those of the decapitated Mrs. Voorhees in Friday the 13th (1980). Notice the hairy knuckles. |
| 3 | Is a close friend of Tom Savini. |
Stunts
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| Skeletons in the Closet | 2001 | Video stunts - as Taso Stravrakis | |
| The Mask of Zorro | 1998 | stunts - as Taso Stavrakis | |
| Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh | 1991 | stunt coordinator | |
| Creepshow 2 | 1987 | stunt coordinator | |
| Day of the Dead | 1985 | stunt coordinator | |
| Dawn of the Dead | 1978 | stunt double: Nancy Friedman - uncredited / stuntman - as Taso Stavrakis | |
| The Control Group | 2014 | stunt coordinator | |
| The Walking Dead | 2010 | TV Series stunts - 1 episode | |
| Miami Vice | 2006 | stunt performer | |
| The Celestine Prophecy | 2006 | stunt performer - as Taso Stavrakis | |
| Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | 2003 | stunts - as Taso Stavrakis | |
Actor
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| The Control Group | 2014 | | Agent Torrez |
| The Fergusons | 2011 | Video | Nice shoes |
| Miami Vice | 2006 | | Long-Haired Sniper (uncredited) |
| Half of Everything | 2003 | Video short | The Sheriff |
| The Mask of Zorro | 1998 | | Firing Squad Soldier #1 (uncredited) |
| The Big Apple Circus | 1991 | TV Movie | |
| Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh | 1991 | | Semmet Cairo |
| As the World Turns | 1988 | TV Series | Stavros |
| Day of the Dead | 1985 | | Torrez |
| Knightriders | 1981 | | Ewain |
| Dawn of the Dead | 1978 | | Motorcycle Raider (as Taso Stavrakos) |
Miscellaneous
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| The Veil | 2017/II | head wrangler post-production | |
| Jackass Number Two | 2006 | Documentary animal wrangler - uncredited | |
| Stuck on You! | 1982 | fight choreographer | |
Director
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| Half of Everything | 2003 | Video short | |
Special Effects
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| He Knows You're Alone | 1980 | special effects | |
Make Up Department
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| Friday the 13th | 1980 | special makeup effects assistant - as Taso Stavrakis | |
Producer
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| Half of Everything | 2003 | Video short co-producer | |
Thanks
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| The World's End: The Making of 'Day of the Dead' | 2013 | Video documentary special thanks - as Taso Stavrakis | |
Self
| Title | Year | Status | Character |
|---|
| Smoke and Mirrors: The Story of Tom Savini | 2015 | Documentary | Himself |
| Renaissance Men: The True Story of the Hanlon-Lees Action Theater | 2008 | Video documentary | Himself |
| Scream Greats, Vol. 1: Tom Savini, Master of Horror Effects | 1986 | Video documentary | Himself |
Known for movies