Check this out — you’re not gonna believe it. There’s this Greek actor who played a Mayan king in a movie most people forget about, but honestly, I think it’s a total masterpiece. At first, I was convinced the film was about an Inca king, and I even had my post titled “The Greek Who Played an Inca King.” But then I looked it up on IMDb — turns out, it’s all about a Mayan king in Kings of the Sun (1963). And the best part? The Greek actor in question is George Chakiris. Yeah, that really cool guy! You might know him from West Side Story (1961), where he kills it as Bernardo — the leader of the Sharks — and snagged both the Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. But in Kings of the Sun, he’s playing a Mayan king named Balam. To be honest, I had no idea he was Greek, but that’s all changed now.
Oh, and by the way, I used to think the Mayans and Incas were basically the same civilization. Nope. Totally different worlds. The Mayans were chilling in Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America) and hit their peak around 200–900 CE. The Incas? They were ruling the Andes in South America (Peru, Chile, Ecuador) much later, in the 1400s and 1500s. The Incas didn’t have a written language — instead, they used quipu (knotted strings) — to keep track of stuff. Meanwhile, the Mayans had a full-blown written language, which is just mind blowing when you think about it.
Both civilizations built insane stone cities, worshipped tons of gods, and when the Spanish arrived, they were conquered. But on a brighter note, that leads us to an amazing film — Kings of the Sun — which is an absolute epic. It’s got everything — awe-inspiring scenery, action, adventure, a pretty awesome love story, a Greek actor (lol), and so much more. I probably saw it when I was really young, but I’m so glad I’ve watched it again now, at an older and wiser age.
Seriously, if you’re into epic movies with history, adventure, and that timeless vibe, you gotta check this one out. It’s an incredible hidden gem. The movie also stars Yul Brynner, so you know it’s going to be good.
The Greek Who Played a Mayan King in Kings of the Sun
Kings of the Sun races forward with relentless speed, but here’s the core of the story: Hunak Ceel, a ruthless warrior leader, and his followers ruthlessly drive a group of Mayans from their homeland. Amidst the chaos, George Chakiris rises to become the new King of the Mayans.
However, his journey to leadership is fraught with danger as he must first outwit and escape his enemies’ grasp. As the newly crowned king, George commands loyal followers of his own, and together they prepare for a daring escape through a hidden passage, risking everything to reclaim their future.
Balam, the Mayan king, holds a mighty title with authority, but to secure his future — and his reign — he must rally his people to leave their ancestral land and journey to a new home. With ruthless enemies closing in, an immediate and daring escape from the area becomes his only hope for survival.
He urgently demands that a coastal village evacuate their homes and set sail with him, but first, he must persuade their own Mayan leader of the urgent necessity to abandon everything they know. I believe the way this plays out is truly powerful, with compelling reasons convincingly presented, making for a gripping and heartfelt challenge to leadership and loyalty.
What about this? The Mayan leader’s only condition for his agreement is that Balam promises to marry his daughter and make her queen of the Mayans. Reluctantly, Balam agrees, though his heart is heavy with doubt. Just as they prepare to set sail in the hope of finding a new home, their enemies appear, threatening to thwart their escape. With tense urgency, they manage to sail away in the nick of time. However, their journey is overshadowed by tragedy — someone is killed.
I’m not really sure why he said he wanted to choose his own wife, since the Mayan leader’s daughter was Shirley Anne Field, who played Ixchel. Not only is she extremely beautiful, but she also has a pretty unusual name.
After sailing away on their boats, they finally reach new land, but not without some real struggle. There were moments when some of the crew even wanted to turn back and head home. The part where they ask the Priest to call on their gods for help? Classic moment. It almost felt like a Jason and the Argonauts Movie Myth Tribute, with King Balam (George Chakiris) playing the Odysseus of his time and place.
Their arrival doesn’t go unnoticed by the Native Americans already living nearby where the Mayans have settled, which also gave me a bit of a Troy-like vibe. Their new settlement is surrounded by a tall wall, clearly built to keep out any intruders.
Yul Brynner plays Chief Black Eagle, who’s seen strangers before and believes they might be a threat. He’s ready to take action.
It doesn’t take long for Chief Black Eagle to try to capture Balam, who, at this point, has no idea who he’s really up against.
Instead of Balam getting captured, it’s Chief Black Eagle who ends up as a prisoner of the Mayans. The Mayans believe they need a human sacrifice to receive a blessing from their gods and ensure their new land prospers. Black Eagle seems like the perfect candidate for such an offering. The Mayans even worship a water god — kind of like their own Poseidon or Neptune, the god of the sea.
Black Eagle is deeply distressed about being sacrificed to gods he doesn’t believe in, but what can he do? He’s caught in their trap, with very few options left.
The planned sacrifice of Chief Black Eagle unfolds atop a newly built Mayan temple, but not before a series of powerful, stirring words are spoken — words that echo from the ancient past into the future.
George Chakiris, playing Balam, recognizes the wisdom in Chief Black Eagle’s stirring words and decides to set him free — though not without a great deal of drama along the way. Fortunately for Balam, his decision proves crucial, because Chief Black Eagle’s people have come to rescue him.
If it means war, so be it. The Native Americans have driven others out before, and they’re willing to do it again. But after Balam’s act of mercy and the respect he earns from Chief Black Eagle, everything begins to change, leading to a different path forward.
It’s not all smooth sailing, however, thanks to a complicated love triangle centered around the beautiful Ixchel, played by Shirley Anne Field. Tensions run high, and it sparks another fierce confrontation between Balam (George Chakiris) and Chief Black Eagle (Yul Brynner).
But the danger escalates when Hunac Ceel, Balam’s fiercest enemy, and his loyal warriors track them down. The stakes couldn’t be higher — who will survive, and who will meet their doom? You’ll have to watch Kings of the Sun to find out. The battle for survival is about to reach its climax.
More About George Chakiris: The Greek Actor Who Played a Mayan King
George Chakiris, born on September 16, 1932, is an American actor and dancer. He was born in Norwood, Ohio, to Greek parents — Stelianos (Steve) and Zoe (Anastasiadou) Chakiris — who had moved to America from Turkey. He grew up with seven siblings, so he’s one of eight!
His family moved out to Long Beach, California, when he was about 12, in 1944. George went to Jefferson Junior High and then finished high school at Woodrow Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach in 1950. He even went to Long Beach City College for a year, but he knew he really wanted to dance, so he dropped out and headed for Hollywood. Before making it big, he worked in the advertising department at May Company, a department store, and studied dance at night.
In his early days, George Chakiris had some cool appearances, like performing “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” with Marilyn Monroe in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), though he didn’t get credited for it.
He actually made his film debut at just 15 in 1947, singing in the chorus of Song of Love. He also popped up in White Christmas (1954). You can spot him doing the wedding dance in the classic MGM musical Brigadoon (1954), and he also appeared in There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954).
Interestingly, early in his career, he was sometimes cast in roles that weren’t Caucasian — like playing a Puerto Rican in West Side Story and a native Hawaiian in Diamond Head. George Chakiris’s big break came when he appeared as an uncredited dancer in White Christmas (1954). He was in a close-up shot with Rosemary Clooney while she was singing “Love, You Didn’t Do Right by Me.” That one shot actually got a lot of fan mail, and because of the buzz, Paramount signed him to a movie contract. Chakiris joked, “I got lucky with the close-up with Rosemary.”
George Chakiris: West Side Story
Around 1958, feeling a bit frustrated with how his Hollywood career was going, Chakiris decided to head to New York. By then, West Side Story was already a hit on Broadway, running for a year, and Chakiris went in to audition for Jerome Robbins. He ended up landing the role of Riff in the London production, playing the leader of the Jets. The show opened on the West End later that year, and Chakiris got great reviews — he stayed with it for almost 22 months.
Then, the Mirisch Brothers bought the film rights to West Side Story and actually screen-tested Chakiris. They thought his darker complexion suited him better for Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks, so they cast Russ Tamblyn as Riff instead. Filming took about seven months, and the movie came out in 1961.
It was a huge hit, and Chakiris took home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. That win really kicked off his long-term deal with the Mirisch Company.
George Chakiris: Kings of the Sun and his Career Journey
After West Side Story, Chakiris played a doctor in Diamond Head (1963), starring alongside Charlton Heston. In the early ’60s, he also tried his hand at a pop singing career, scoring a couple of minor hits. In 1960, he even recorded a single with producer Joe Meek. He released two albums that made it onto the charts — George Chakiris and Memories Are Made of This — which peaked at No. 28 and No. 45 in the US.
By May 1962, his fee for movies was reported to be around $100,000. His next film for the Mirisch Brothers was Flight from Ashiya (1964), shot in Japan with Yul Brynner and Richard Widmark. They also reunited him with Brynner in Kings of the Sun (1963), an epic about the Mayans — which you’ve just read about — but unfortunately, it didn’t do well at the box office.
Chakiris headed to Italy to film Bebo’s Girl (1964) with Claudia Cardinale. He even took on a pretty different role — playing a Greek terrorist in Cyprus in the British film The High Bright Sun (1965), starring Dirk Bogarde. In 1967, he appeared alongside Catherine Deneuve and Gene Kelly in Jacques Demy’s French musical The Young Girls of Rochefort.
Around that time, he did a nightclub act at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas — his first stage work since West Side Story. The show was a hit, and that led to him getting an offer to perform with Jose Ferrer in a TV production of Kismet (1967).
Chakiris later said that all the movies he did after West Side Story felt like “a waste of time… it was hard to take them seriously… it was my fault and no one else’s.” I don’t really agree with him on that, though. In my opinion, Kings of the Sun is a classic film.
In the 70s and 80s, Chakiris was all over TV, both in Britain and the U.S. He guest-starred on shows like Hawaii Five-O, Police Surgeon, Thriller, Notorious Woman, Wonder Woman, Fantasy Island, CHiPs, Matt Houston, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Poor Little Rich Girls, Hell Town, and Murder, She Wrote. One of his memorable roles was in the final episode of The Partridge Family (aired March 22, 1974), where he played an old high school boyfriend of Shirley Partridge (played by Shirley Jones). Their goodbye kiss was actually the last scene of the show’s run.
Later in his career, Chakiris kept busy with lots of TV appearances. He had a recurring role on Superboy as Professor Peterson from 1988 to 1990, and also guest-starred on shows like Human Target and the miniseries The Girls of Lido.
On March 23, 1998, he made a special appearance at the 70th Academy Awards during the “Oscar’s Family Album” segment — a historic moment where 70 actors who had won both competitive and honorary Oscars sat together onstage.
Interestingly, his hobby of making sterling silver jewelry turned into a whole new career — he started his own brand, George Chakiris Collections, featuring handmade, original sterling silver jewelry.
As of the time I’m writing this post, the guy behind “The Greek who played a Mayan King” is still alive and well in his 90s…
Another hidden gem you might enjoy is the MGM musical comedy Athena (1954), which has some subtle Greek mythology themes woven into the story.
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