Alex Dimitrios (Simon Abkarian)

Datastream Character: Alex Dimitrios Movie: Casino Royale Status: Terminated Actor: Simon Abkarian Date of Birth: 05/03/62 Place of Birth: Gonesse, France “I’m having a hard time seeing how this is my fault.” Profile James Bond tracks down Dimitrios in the Bahamas linking him to a bomb maker he pursued in Madagascar. Following a little snooping around, 007 discovers Dimitrios acts as a middle man for various terrorist organizations. After linking a bomb maker to Le Chiffre - Dimitrios is shocked to find he is taking the blame for 007’s rampage and the failure of Le Chiffre’s plan.

The poker fanatic Dimitrios gambles away everything he’s got when Bond confronts him at the table in the Bahamas. Not only does 007 take his money - he drives off with his vintage Aston Martin DB5 and his mistress, Solange.

Alex Dimitrios meets his demise in a knife struggle after Bond follows him to Miami, where he employs yet another terrorist to reap havoc on behalf of Le Chiffre.

Biography
Simon Abkarian was born in Paris to an Armenian family. This way, he learnt not only French and Armenian but English by watching many American films by which he was immensely fascinated. At age 10 his parents moved to Beirut and Abkarian took up dancing at the Lori Dance Ensemble. When war broke out in Lebanon, Simon and his mother returned to Paris and finally emigrated to the US.

Here Abkarian studied acting. He studied under Gerald Papazian and when the Theatre du Soleil toured LA, Simon jumped at the chance to take several workshops with them. After studying in the US, Abkarian was invited to return to Paris with the Theatre du Soleil, to become a member of their regular cast. From here he began a flourishing career - starring in a variety of plays,

In 1989 Abkarian made his screen debut in ‘Ce qui me meut’ collaborating with Cédric Klapich, whom his continued to work closely with on numerous film productions. In 2006 Abkarian returned to Hollywood to direct Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost” as well as shoot Casino Royale.