Greek of the Week Features Constantine Maroulis (Video Below)

The award-winning Greek-American performer placed sixth on the fourth season of American Idol and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, for his role in Rock of Ages. Maroulis gained a Drama League Award nomination for a Distinguished Performance Award.

Maroulis has had an extremely successful run on Broadway and was the recipient of the Hellenic Times Scholarship Fund's Humanitarian Award for Artistic Achievement in 2007.  The Greek America Foundation honored Maroulis in their "Forty Under 40" award for 2010, he received a Gabby Award in 2011 in the Performing Arts Category, and won the 2011 Spotlight Award from the Elios Society.

The talented artist has performed across the globe and created his own independent label, Sixth Place Records. Maroulis released his first solo album "Constantine" from his label, which debuted at #75 on the Billboard Charts. Rolling Stone described Maroulis' Rock of Ages role as [the], "play has found a perfect lead in American Idol rocker Constantine Maroulis".

The singer, actor, and producer, who grew up just outside Manhattan in New Jersey, received a B.A. in Fine Arts from the Boston Conservatory.  Maroulis specialized in musical theatre, while studying vocal performance and acting.

The Greek-American entertainer sat down with New Greek TV's President Yanna Darilis, and offered personal insight into his life, which can be viewed by scrolling to the very bottom of this page. Below are the highlights of his interview.

Yanna Darilis: Can you tell us about your background?

Constantine Maroulis: My grandparents came here quite a long time ago in the teens, while my parents were born in the early 1930's in New York. My mother's side is from Ioannina and my father's side is from all over Ithaki. I grew up very traditional. I speak a little bit of Greek, but understand it quite well. My parents have been married over 50 years and live nearby in New Jersey. I see them all the time; it's nice to leave the city (New York) and hang out in the yard.

Yanna Darilis: Do you travel to Greece often?

Constantine Maroulis: Sometimes, but with my Broadway work schedule there is not much time. I love it and I rely on my Greek work ethic to get me through.

Yanna Darilis: How do you relax?

Constantine Maroulis: A lot of my fans know I love sports; I'm a big Yankees fan and I love basketball. In my downtime I enjoy sports, traveling and going down to the Shore.

Yanna Darilis: Can you tell us about your personal life?

Constantine Maroulis: I have a two-and-a-half year old daughter Malena. She's a little Greek baby-she's not 100% Greek but she's very much a Marouli.

Yanna Darilis: What are some of the new projects you're working on?

Constantine Maroulis: I want to step on the other side and help produce new works. There's one piece that I've been working on for a while, called The Toxic Avenger. It's a superhero-comic book-musical based on the 1980's comic book, cartoon and Lloyd Kaufman movie, and a lot of fun. It's a rock, super hero, fun, satirical, crazy piece, and a comedy. We are hoping to bring it to Broadway this year.

Yanna Darilis: What's your favorite place to travel in Greece?

Constantine Maroulis: How can you deny Mykonos?

Yanna Darilis: What message do you want to leave our New Greek TV viewers?

Constantine Maroulis: What message is there, other than love each other. There is a lot of stuff going on in Greece right now and just know that everyone here is thinking of everyone there. We know as Greek people that we will pull through these times of turmoil. It's a beautiful, beautiful place.

To watch Constantine Maroulis' segment on Kalimera USA, scroll to the very bottom of this page.