Ellie Patrikios Headlines Period Drama 'Silent Life: The Story of the Lady in Black'

Feb. 22, 2023

LOS ANGELES – Ellie Patrikios ("Black Pumpkin") headlines “Silent Life: The Story of the Lady in Black,” the upcoming film based on the life of silent movie idol Rudolph Valentino.

In the film, from director Vlad Kozlov ("The Killers"), the British actress plays Vera Fredova, a young ballet dancer who admires iconic superstar who died suddenly in 1926 at age 31.

“I loved working on this film. I did a lot of research on Rudolph’s life. It was great to re-enact this real-life ballerina (who lived just down the road from me!),” she said. “I got to use simple ballet skills that I had been trained in from my previous school, ‘Tring Park School For The Performing Arts’ in England.”

Other cast members include Sherilyn Fenn (“Wild at Heart”), Isabella Rosselini (“Blue Velvet”), Franco Nero (“John Wick: Chapter 3”), Terry Moore (“Peyton Place”), Monte Markham (We Are Still Here”), Paul Rodriguez (“Blood Work”) and Jack Osbourne (“Austin Powers in Goldmember”).

Patrikios said the fact she was playing an actual person from the past was especially exciting for her as she studied the life and times of the legendary Italian screen idol. Having grown up around films and the arts, such research was a part of her fascination for acting.

Born in London, Patrikios at age 2 moved to Greece, where she gained an appreciation for the arts early on as she was exposed to acting, dancing and music from the start.

“I grew up on a Greek Island called Kefalonia. I always thought I would grow up to become an Archeologist because I had great interest in finding fossils with my parents’ friends I looked up to who are archeologists,” she recalled. “Further from collecting fossils, I was always putting on shows. I’d perform for my parents, family, friends, other people in the village. Telling real stories I had either witnessed that day, or made-up stories I would imagine. I was definitely a storyteller from a young age.”

In 2000, a British film crew arrived at the island to shoot “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin,” starring John Hurt, Penelope Cruz and Nicolas Cage and that experience would forever change her life.

“I was 7 at the time. Because the island is so small, I was sort of introduced to film on the outskirts, watching some of the scenes take place in a small town called Lassi, and hearing the director call “Action”. It was exhilarating. One night at a Greek Taverna the cast and crew were having their dinner near my parents and I. They were all so friendly and talkative, and I remember it was after sitting with Penelope Cruz and chatting, she told me she is an actress and what that entailed, that was the defining moment. I knew my story-telling would be as an actress.”

Patrikios returned to England as a teenager and began studying drama, dance and musical theater at an Arts school until she was 18. She would ultimately move to the U.S.at age 19 where she attended New York Film Academy, earning a Bachelor’s Degree.

She received her first break after graduating when earned a guest star role on the FX series "Snowfall," working alongside Damson Idris (“Outside the Wire”) and Amin Joseph (“To Live and Let Live”). She also appeared in Universal Pictures’ "Santa Stole Our Dog: Merry Doggone Christmas" and the Olson Brothers' and Premiere Entertainment Group's “Body of Sin."