The University of Edinburgh graduate had been planning on a career in finance, but when that didnt feel fulfilling to him the Brit decided to open an organic, fair-trade coffee shop.
I had the shop for about a year and a half, a producer would come in and we would talk about movies, says Kassianides. One day he just said, Why dont you come make coffee on set?
From there, Kassianides whose parents are Greek began working as an office and production assistant.
While doing that I was spotted, he says. So I decided to go to drama school. I was there for a month or two when an agent saw me rehearsing and offered to represent me.
My first gig was on the West End with Woody Harrelson doing The Night of the Iguana by Tennessee Williams, says Kassiandes. That led to steady steady TV and film work and [a role as Vespers boyfriend in Quantum of Solace,] which brought me to the States and now Ive worked consistently here for the last few years.
now the actor stars in unforgettable opposite Katherine Heigl and Rosario Dawson.
RELATED VIDEO:Katherine Heigl Enjoys A Morning Snuggle Sesh With Her 3 Adorable Kids!
I dont play the best guy, says Kassianides, who plays a devious man from Dawsons characters past. But getting to work on this with such an amazing cast was incredible. It was an amazing environment to create in.
But even as his star continues to rise in Hollywood, Kassianides hasnt forgotten where he came from.
I can still make a a great cappuccino, he says with a laugh.
The Splash Brothers Lead The Warriors To a 2-0 Series Lead | April 19, 2017
PORTLAND, Ore. -- On April 9, Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard sent a text message my way. It was a picture of himself and his backcourt mate CJ McCollum high-fiving each other with the caption "Clinched."
Lillard has a great memory. He was alluding to an exchange we had almost four months ago.
The Trail Blazers were a night removed from suffering a horrific 45-point loss at the hands of the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 17. Lillard told ESPN it was one of the lowest points of his season.
The next evening, the two-time All-Star tried enjoying some leisure time at Spin, a popular pingpong social club in downtown San Francisco. I was a guest of the social club that night. He was seated in a private area at the bar, overlooking McCollum dominating the pingpong field. When Lillard saw me entering the club and approaching him in the roped-off section, he said, "Uh oh. What you got to say?
He cracked a smile. It was one of the rare times that evening. The night before, he had questioned the heart of his team and challenged them to compete at an elevated level. The Bay Area, specifically Oakland, is where he was born and raised. He was humiliated in front of friends and family.
Proving doubters wrong is something Damian Lillard enjoys. Getting past Golden State would be, too.Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images
Portland had lost six of its last seven and was an underwhelming 13-16 while possessing the second-highest payroll in the association.
I"ve tried to give it to him straight from my time covering him during his first two years in the league. This time was no different. "You guys aren"t making the playoffs," I said.
He understandably wasn"t in the mood to hear that, but he reluctantly asked for my opinion, so I gave it to him.
Then a couple of fans moseyed over, requesting pictures. He graciously agreed. He stood up and made their night. For roughly a minute, he was off the hook from hearing me out. He sat back down and could see me staring at him from the corner of his left eye.
We"ve got you covered all the way to the Finals with the latest news, schedules, analysis and more. 2017 NBA Playoffs
Schedule | BPI odds | Forecast | Vote! Leonard shines but Spurs drop Game 4 Warriors erase big deficit to win Game 3 How will Clips fare without Blake? Lillard loves to prove doubters wrong Slow start stings Rockets in Game 3 Russ" restrained triple-double enough Bulls may be in trouble without Rondo Celtics renew swagger with Game 3 win Bucks dominate in Game 3 win Pacers left on sweep"s doorstep LeBron leads historic comeback Pop sends message with benchings Upsets? Series that could surprise Experts" first-round picks: East | West
We continued our discussion about some of the Blazers" problems, but Lillard had heard enough.
"Man, f--- that," he said. "We"re making the playoffs, with or without help."
McCollum then made his way over after completing his round of pingpong. "What are y"all talking about?" he asked with a smile. But he already knew the answer. Lillard filled him in. McCollum busted out in laughter.
"We"ll be all right," McCollum said. He departed briefly to resume his game.
The next five minutes or so was pure quiet. During this time, a confused male clubgoer, who was observing all the fans scoping out Lillard, whispered in my ear, "You think Stephen Curry would let me get an autograph?" Had Lillard been in a good mood, I would have told this guy that it was indeed Stephen Curry. This wasn"t the time.
Lillard finally broke the awkward silence. "You"ll see," he said out of nowhere with a deadpan expression on his face. He was looking straight ahead and not in my direction when he said it. I gazed at him, puzzled. He said, "You"ll be surprised by what I can handle."
In February, Portland acquired center Jusuf Nurkic via a trade from Denver for big man Mason Plumlee, and the team took off on a hot streak. With a new inside-out DNA, the Trail Blazers owned the second-best record in the NBA since March 1.Can Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum cook up some realistic upset plans of the No. 1 seed Warriors?Garrett Ellwood/NBA/Getty Images
Lillard registered career highs in points (27.0) and rebounds (4.9) this season.
On April 9, Portland clinched the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference standings. Lillard"s text was essentially an "I told you so" message. He still gets amped up proving the doubters wrong. I was one of them.
"I took the challenge of what everyone thought we couldn"t do," Lillard told ESPN this week. "I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. For me, at that time, I was like, "Right now, everybody can say whatever they want." And if we didn"t make the playoffs, they"re going to say they had a disappointing season. But I was looking towards the end, saying, "Well, we had our struggles. If we can pull ourselves by the time the end of the season comes and we sneak into the playoffs, they"re going to say this happened, this happened and this happened, but at the end of the day, we still got the job done. A lot of other teams had the same opportunity, but they just couldn"t bring themselves to do it. We did. There were never any doubts in my mind that [we were] making the playoffs.
"I"m a believer. I don"t think people understand that a lot depends on what you put into your results, and I felt like we weren"t getting the results that we wanted, but we were working hard, we were locked in and we were trying. Guys really cared. And when you"re expecting things to just happen, then you don"t know what kind of results you"re going to get, but I was a part of what happened every day. I knew our team was really together. We"re not just saying, "We"re together."
"I know we were really together, and we were on board the same thing. And as long as we stayed true to that, I knew that eventually, that"s the way life is. It comes back in your favor. Sometimes you"ve got to go through those dark moments. And we went through it, and we were true to it. And because of that, once again, we rose above the struggle and the hard times and we got it done."
Now Lillard and the Trail Blazers face another dark period, and it"s inflicted by the Warriors once more. They"re down 0-2 with the series shifting to Portland on Saturday night (ESPN, 10:30 p.m. ET). Golden State was without Kevin Durant, but Lillard"s squad still lost by 29.
The task of advancing to the second round is a strenuous process, one that can appear unattainable. But this is Lillard"s habitat. He relishes these predicaments. The odds are against him, but he has made it clear that he"s ready for the challenge.
Since the NBA instituted the current 16-team playoff format in 1983-84, no team has come back from a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series to defeat the No. 1 seed in its conference in either of the first two rounds, going 0-62 in those series.
"We were in a tough spot in December, and we worked our way out of it," Lillard told ESPN. "We knew coming in it was going to be hard to win on their home floor. We had an opportunity in Game 1, and they closed the game out. In Game 2, we didn"t play a good game. They took advantage of that, and they took care of home court. It was a blowout, but the scores don"t carry over. We"re not going to start Game 3 down 19-0. We"ve got to understand that, but we also got to really believe that we"re going to win and that we"re supposed to win. i believe in us. always have."
The Academy Award-nominated actress showcased her svelte figure in a matching form-fitting sweater.
She slipped into skintight light wash grey denims that encased her slender pins.
A black leather Gucci belt with the Italian luxury brand"s insignia cinched around Salma"s waist, further highlighting her flawless physique.
Traveling in style: The 50-year-old Frida star donned a long charcoal grey shawl and Grey State"s Poor Boy Rib Tee with black chunky leather boots
Pricey purse! A black leather Gucci belt cinched around Salma"s waist which she teamed with a tan handbag by theItalian luxury brand
The Fools Rush In starlet teamed the designer belt with a matching Gucci tan canvas shoulder bag.
Salma kept her gorgeous brown eyes concealed behind a pair of oversized dark movie star shades.
She styled her silky chestnut tresses in relaxed waves which parted down the center for a dramatic effect.
The mother-of-one made time to stop and sign several autographs for awaiting fans.
Slender star: The Academy Award-nominated actress showcased her svelte figure in a dark grey form-fitting sweater
Fan-atical! The brunette beautymade time to stop and sign several autographs for awaiting admirers
Meanwhile, the brunette beauty has been promoting her upcoming comedy which tells the story of a man who gets dumped after 25 years of marriage.
After making a career by seducing rich older women, Maximo - played by Eugenio Derbez - must now move in with his estranged sister, where he begins to learn the value of family.
Salma plays Maximo"s sister Sara in the lighthearted comedy, which is due to be released in theatres on April 28th.
Other stars in the big screen project include Rob Lowe, Kristen Bell, Raquel Welch and Rob Riggle.
Touching down: Salma beamed as she touched down later at JFK Airport in New York Cityu
Going grey: The actress wore an all-grey ensemble for her cross-country flight
Flawless complexion: The natural beauty had her flawless complexion on display under sunglasses
Zuccarello banks one in off Price to give Rangers lead
When the Rangers clinched the first wild-card playoff berth in the East, they found themselves poised on what appeared to be an easier path to a possible Eastern Conference final by initially escaping the minefield of the Metropolitan Division and crossing over into the Atlantic.
After all, going toe-to-toe in the first round with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins or John Tortorellas Blue Jackets, who finished with 111 and 108 points, among the best in the NHL, and following that with a possible series against the Presidents Trophy-winning Washington Capitals, was not exactly the stuff of Stanley Cup dreams.
Instead, their first-round opponent was the Montreal Canadiens, a formidable foe finally dispatched in Game 6 last night which emerged as Atlantic champs under new coach Claude Julien, who had been fired in early February by the Boston Bruins.
There is no re-seeding in the NHL: the second-round opponent for the Rangers (102 points) will be the winner of the best-of-seven series between the Bruins and Ottawa Senators, which moves to Game 6 this afternoon in Boston. The Senators hold a 3-2 edge. Three of the five games have been decided in overtime.
BEST MATCHUP FOR RANGERS: SENS OR BRUINS?
Flip a coin.
The Rangers, with a speedier, balanced offense and Henrik Lundqvist, would be favored against either team.
In the regular season, the Senators and Bruins finished second and third in the Atlantic, with 98 and 95 points and 44 wins apiece. The Bruins, who were better on special teams than the Rangers during the regular season, are currently banged up and are struggling to score; the Senators are built around head coach Guy Bouchers structured defense and rely on captain and Norris Trophy finalist Erik Karlsson to drive the opportunistic offense.
During the regular season, the Rangers and Bruins played three times, with the Blueshirts winning all three: 5-2 on both Oct. 26 at home and on Nov. 5 in TD Garden, with Julien behind the bench, and 2-1 in Boston on March 2, after Bruce Cassidy replaced Julien.
The Senators won two of three against the Blueshirts. The teams split the first two at Madison Square Garden early in the season, with Antti Raanta, not Lundqvist, in net, a 2-0 Rangers loss on Nov. 27 and a 4-3 win a month later. In the penultimate game of the season, with the Rangers resting a half-dozen regulars, the Senators won 3-1 at Canadian Tire Centre.
POSSIBLE STORY LINES
To be sure, they would abound in either case.
A series with the Original Six Bruins, who have faced the Rangers in the playoffs 10 times starting in 1927 and most recently in 2013, when Tortorellas Blueshirts lost in five games in the conference semifinals, would continue that long rivalry.
A battle starting next week would be a homecoming for Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes and rookie Jimmy Vesey, who were born in the Boston area. Kreider and Hayes attended Boston College, Vesey graduated from Harvard. Dominic Moore, the veteran forward who skated in two separate stints with the Rangers and also attended Harvard, plays for the Bruins. And rookie Charlie McAvoy, who grew up in Long Beach, has been thrust into the playoff spotlight with three regular defensemen sidelined by injuries.
The Senators and Rangers have met just once in he postseason, during the 2012 conference quarterfinals, which the Rangers won in seven games. A showdown between two centers in an unexpected swap last summer Derick Brassard and Mika Zibanejad will be a popular topic for fans in both cities. And Senators goaltender Craig Anderson has been an inspiration and won the hearts of many. Anderson, 35, has left the team multiple times during the season to help his wife, Nicholle, through cancer treatments.
FOOTNOTE
The last time the Rangers faced two teams from Canada in first two rounds was 80 years ago. in 1937, the rangers played the toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Maroons and won all four games, but lost to Detroit in the Stanley Cup Final, three games to two.
Record Store Day releases have already appeared on eBay at inflated prices, with some listed for over 200, it has been reported.
More than 500 releases are exclusively available through independent record shops today (22 April) on vinyl, picture disc, cassette and more - to celebrate the event.
Yet records have also begun appearing on eBay - NMEreports that David Bowies Gem Promo Box has been listed for over 200, a Prince six-set LP collection is listed for 200, and The Ramones singles boxset is listed for 180.
Critics of RSD have suggested that, while it was previously a great way to support independent stores, the event has become a "Black Friday event that clogs pressing plants".
Johnny Marr criticised "eBay tossers" re-selling his Record Store Day release for an inflated price back in 2015.
Writing on Twitter, he condemned anyone who sold copies online at a higher cost.
"Do not pay inflated prices for I Feel You on eBay," he added. "Its a rip off & not in the spirit of RSD. Johnny #screwthetouts."
The official Record Store Day website reads: "Record Store Day is the one day of the year when over 200 independent record shops all across the UK come together to celebrate their unique culture.
"Special vinyl releases are made exclusively for the day and many shops and cities host artist performances and events to mark the occasion. Thousands more shops celebrate the day around the globe in whats become one of the biggest annual events on the music calendar."
Earlier this year we spoke to experts about what they predicted for vinyl and streaming for the rest of 2017 - read here.
RAW: Watch intense confrontation between passengers, American Airlines flight attendant
A University of Windsor lab has successfully used a compound inspired by a flower to target and kill cancer.
A team led by chemistry professor Siyaram Pandeyhas discovered a lab-synthesized drug compound based on extract from the common spider lily plant to kill 20 varietiesof cancer cells.
"This drug is very selective and targets the mitochondria of various cancer cells to induce apoptosis, which means the cancer cells commit suicide and the normal cells continue to thrive," explained Pandey. "We are talking about a drug that could be 10 times more effective that the very toxic chemotherapy drug Taxol."
Originally, it tookone kilogram of spider lily buds to make one milligram of the compound, but by teaming up with other Ontario universities a non-toxic, synthetic compound calledpancratistatin was created.
Seven compound variations were produced and patented in cooperation with researchers from McMaster and Brock universities. The team tested the variations on animals with tumours as well as 20 varieties of cancer cells including breast, cancer, prostate, melanoma and bone.
Thecompound is so effective because it targetsthe mitochondriaof cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone, according to Pandey.
"This is the first time we got a compound which can distinguish between cancer and normal cells," headded.
Before the treatment becomes available to the public a drug company would have to put the compound through clinical trials.
Eugenio Derbez El Conquista Viejitas y Salma Hayek Habla de Los Latin Lovers de Hoy en DÃa
One year ago today, the world was rocked by the news of Prince"s sudden death, which turned out to be the result of anaccidental overdose.
Despite his sister"s insistence that the music legend predicted his own demiseand "was preparing," nothing was preparing his fans for his passing onApril 21, 2016. And it"s hard to believe it"s already been a year.
#RIPPrince has been trending nationwide on Twitter, and his hometown of Minneapolis declared today Prince Day (what exactly does that entail? A whole lot of purple). Meanwhile, stars like Usher, Salma Hayekand Questlove all took to social media to show that the "Raspberry Beret" singer is still on their minds.
The "No Limit" singer took to his Instagram, sharing a photo of the revolutionary musician.
"Endless sauce. R.I.P. Purple One. Can"t believe it"s been a year. #RIPPrince," the singer wrote. This isn"t the first time he"s expressed his love for Princelast year at Coachella, the singer joinedMajor Lazor"s set for a surprise performance of "I Would Die 4 U" and "1999."
Rapper (and boyfriend of Ariana Grande)Mac Miller tweeted simply "Rest In Paradise Prince."
Prince"s passing had an especially big impact on the Divine Femininerapper, who wroteafter learning about the artist"s death,"honestl,y i dont think i cried this hard when my grandpa died, and my grandpa is my favorite person to ever enter my life."
hayekshared a collage of purple images in honor of the "Purple Rain" singer.
Janelle Monealso shared her feelings on this somber anniversary.
In addition to tweetingpurple umbrellas in his memory, theHidden Figuresactress and "Yoga" singer shared pictures and video from her performance with the superstar, and even changed her Twitter and Instagram icons to pictures of the music legend.
The Roots"Questloveshared a video of the late musician in which the "1999" singer plays around with a microphone stand, practicing his moves for what was undoubtedly another memorable performance.
With The Roots, the multi-instrumentalist performed in the 2016BET Awardstribute to Prince with the likesofStevie Wonder, Jennifer HudsonandErykah Badu.
Corinne Bailey Raealso cites the "Little Red Corvette" singer as one of her biggest influences.
Sharing a picture to her Twitter, the artist wrote "Rest in power, #Prince. A musical genius. He is himself, a work of art." The "Put Your Records On" singer said she"d met the iconic musician years ago, when her music career had just started to take off.
And we expect the tributes to pour in for years to come. Prince may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.
