Well-known Cypriot actor Spyros Stavrinides died on Sunday morning at the age of 79, the Cyprus Actors Union in a post on social media.

His death is a great loss for Cypriot theatre and for the arts in general in our country, President Nikos Christodoulides said.

“Spyros Stavrinides’ strong imprint on the stage will keep his memory alive and he will be a source of inspiration for the younger servants of the theatre,” he added.

“Spyros has been an emblematic figure of Cypriot theatre, with a brilliant career spanning over five decades,” the union, of which he was a founding member, said.

“We express our heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones. Our thoughts are with them in these difficult times. Have a good trip, Spyros. Your legacy will live forever in our hearts and the theatre you loved so much,” it added.

Stavrinides was born in Nicosia in 1946, studied theatre at the Evis Gavrielides school and later at the Karolos Koun Art Theatre School in Athens, where he worked as an actor.

Returning to Cyprus, he collaborated with CyBC Theatre (1969-1971) and since 1972 with the Cyprus Theatre Organisation (Thoc), where he was a key member since 1990.

He successfully performed a number of roles in Cypriot, Greek and international dramas, classical and contemporary, such as Medea, Oedipus the Tyrant and The Buried Child.

In film, he received the State Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Eternal Student (2001), while in 2021 he was honoured with the Thoc Grand Prize for his 50-year contribution to Cypriot theatre.