Kiriakou's acting career
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Kiriakou's acting career began with a telephone call one night in July from Tyrel Ventura, Jesse Ventura's son, whom John Kiriakou describes as one of the sweetest men he has ever met. Ventura had written a film, and had written a part in it for Kiriakou.

The argument that worked

Kiriakou refused, on the grounds that he would be stiff and unconvincing, had never acted, and would wreck the film. Ventura had anticipated it: "I thought you've been, you acted every day of your career when you were with the CIA." Kiriakou's response was that this was actually true. He spent the whole of October in Mexico shooting it.

On set

His own assessment of his performance is characteristically flat. Everyone else in the film was incredible; he stood off camera watching them do the same scene eight, ten, twelve times in awe of their ability. The star, Jeff Fahey, would stand just off camera whispering directions to him, which Kiriakou credits with making him "believable enough that I didn't make an ass of myself." Watching the first cut, his verdict was that the film is actually good, "I would go to the theatre to watch it."

The plot he describes concerns the richest man in the world, a cross between Elon Musk and Erik Prince, dying of liver cancer and estranged from his child, who invites the country's leading left-wing and right-wing podcasters to compete over how his story will be told. Kiriakou plays the director of the man's security detail, a former CIA operations officer, and, he notes, an unpleasant one: "I had to play an asshole. And a liar."

The Screen Actors Guild

The result is a union card. Kiriakou announces himself a member of the Screen Actors Guild and a professional Hollywood actor, and takes the duties seriously: sent the list of nominees and links to every nominated film and series for the guild's awards, he says he watched every last one of them and cast educated votes.

It is not his first film work. He has been a script or security adviser on The Kite Runner, Brüno, The Bourne Ultimatum, Kill the Messenger and From Paris with Love.

See also

- The Brüno shoot in Jordan
- Sacha Baron Cohen
- Erik Prince
- John Kiriakou
