In 2002, soon after Kassianides graduated with honours in International Business with Finance and while in London helping his mother open Urban Coffee, a fair trade and organic coffee shop in
Tooting Broadway, he was spotted by
BAFTA award-winning producer Piers Vellacott. Kassianides started a course at London's
Central School of Speech and Drama but had to leave after being offered a role in the
Tennessee Williams' play
Night of the Iguana. His performance as Pedro was acclaimed by critics. Soon after, Kassianides was noted as an actor to watch in a BBC documentary called
Making it at Holby. Since then, Kassianides has appeared in a number of television episodes in the USA and UK, including
Casualty,
My Life in Film,
Plane Spotting,
Ultimate Force,
Spooks,
Recovery,
Holby Blue,
Suburban Shootout,
The Kylie Show,
Ashes to Ashes,
The Passion,
The Fixer,
Love Soup,
Hustle,
Law and Order UK,
Nikita,
Burn Notice, and
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Kassianides has also appeared in several international films such as
The Edge of Love,
Wuthering Heights,
Between Two Fires,
Quantum of Solace and
Smooch. In 2010, Kassianides produced, directed and starred in
Geezas, a film he completed in record time and within budget. The film made the official selection of the 2012 Hollywood Film Festival, selling out The Arclight Movie Theatre in Hollywood at its premiere. In 2012, Simon Kassianides was for
Geezas, which won "Best Actor" and "Best Supporting Actress" at the 2013 British Independent Film Festival. Kassianides directed first time actors who won against the likes of Martin Freeman (
The Hobbit) and
Anne-Marie Duff (
Nowhere Boy). His work rate and ethic was spotted by the administrators of the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation—created by
Michael Cacoyannis, director of
Zorba the Greek, to help and promote Greek artists—and was appointed a Global Consultant and Representative of the Foundation in 2012. ==Filmography==