For Matt Dillon, the chance of playing one of his acting heroes was something the Oscar- nominated actor “could not resist.”

Dillon, who is the recipient of the Thessaloniki Film Festival’s Golden Alexander award, was at the festival in Greece with Jessica Palud’s “Being Maria,” which was screened Sunday. In the film, Dillon plays Marlon Brando during the shooting of Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Last Tango in Paris.”

“Brando is very influential not just on me, but all actors. He changed the whole game, multiple times,” he said. “I liked the script and thought the depiction was fair and honest. Later on, I was like, ‘You idiot! Why did you choose to do this?’ It was difficult, but I liked the challenge.”

Dillon was open about the sensitivity of the material he was dealing with in “Being Maria.” Adapted from Vanessa Schneider’s “My Cousin Maria Schneider: A Memoir,” the film focuses on the trauma experienced by the young actor on set and how it would come to shape the rest of her life.

Dillon said he “had a lot of empathy for Schneider.” “I can identify somewhat with being a young person, not really having agency over what you’re doing, what you can say and setting boundaries … I was very moved by the performance of Anamaria Vartolomei in the film and very proud to have been a part of this.”

Dillon was concerned the film “would become a political movie of some kind, a dogmatic movie.” “This is not a story about feminism, it’s a story about a human being,” he said. “The mistake is to simplify this thing, that these men did this horrible thing to this woman. Her life was already unstable because of her family background. When she got to that set, it was the worst possible scenario.”

Van Der Beek reveals cancer diagnosis: James Van Der Beek has been diagnosed with colorectal cancer, a spokesperson for the actor said.

The actor, 47, known for the teen drama “Dawson’s Creek,” said he had been “privately dealing with this diagnosis” and was taking steps to address it.

“There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good,” Van Der Beek said.

He and wife Kimberly have six children.

In an upcoming TV special, Van Der Beek and other celebrities will participate in a strip tease to bring awareness to prostate, testicular and colorectal cancer testing and research.

‘Venom 3’ tops box office: “Venom: The Last Dance” enjoyed another weekend at the top of the box office. The Sony release starring Tom Hardy added $26.1 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. It was a relatively quiet weekend for North American movie theaters. Charts were dominated by big studio holdovers, like “Venom 3,” “The Wild Robot” and “Smile 2,” while audiences roundly rejected the Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Robert Zemeckis reunion “Here,” which opened to only $5 million.

Nov. 5 birthdays: Singer Art Garfunkel is 83. Singer Peter Noone is 77. TV personality Kris Jenner is 69. Actor Robert Patrick is 66. Singer Bryan Adams is 65. Actor Tilda Swinton is 64. Actor Tatum O’Neal is 61. Actor Seth Gilliam is 56. Actor Luke Hemsworth is 44. Actor Annet Mahendru is 39. Guitarist Kevin Jonas is 37.