Tony Mendez: A Local Artist and Former CIA Officer in "Argo"
By: Dana Chicklas
Updated: September 24, 2012
KNOXVILLE, MD - Imagine working undercover for your country.
"A job where nobody knows what you've done, but in fact what you did that day is save the world," says Antonio Mendez, a retired CIA agent and accomplished artist.
Or what about not being able to talk about not just one secret mission, but a career full of them.
"I say 25 years smooth as silk, that's the way I look at it, so far so good," says Tony.
Accomplished artist and former CIA officer, Tony Mendez, is speaking out about one of his riskiest missions to the world.
"The code you're supposed to adhere to is, 'never celebrate your successes or explain your failures, just stand mute.' Now what I'm doing is celebrating our successes, but at the same time, we're taking those lessons and passing them on," says Tony.
He wrote the book "Argo," and now Warner Brothers is making it into a movie; Tony is played by Ben Affleck.
The movie tells the story of Tony disguised as a Hollywood producer making the fake science-fiction film "Argo" to help six Americans escape Iran. He says it's important to be an observer of your own operation.
"And I all of a sudden said to myself, 'do I really want to do this? Should I be doing this?' So I quickly reviewed the bidding and said, 'yep, feels okay. Let's go for it,' " says Tony.
Although some critics told Affleck he under-played Tony's role throughout the film, Tony said he got it right.
"He said, 'Hey Tony, we're going to make this movie about your life and everybody's going to know what a hero you are, how do you feel about that?' My answer was, 'feels good,' " says Tony.
From the paintbrush to master disguises, Tony Mendez may be a man of mystery but he's made a difference; one that's even written down, partially, in history.
"A job where nobody knows what you've done, but in fact what you did that day is save the world," says Antonio Mendez, a retired CIA agent and accomplished artist.
Or what about not being able to talk about not just one secret mission, but a career full of them.
"I say 25 years smooth as silk, that's the way I look at it, so far so good," says Tony.
Accomplished artist and former CIA officer, Tony Mendez, is speaking out about one of his riskiest missions to the world.
"The code you're supposed to adhere to is, 'never celebrate your successes or explain your failures, just stand mute.' Now what I'm doing is celebrating our successes, but at the same time, we're taking those lessons and passing them on," says Tony.
He wrote the book "Argo," and now Warner Brothers is making it into a movie; Tony is played by Ben Affleck.
The movie tells the story of Tony disguised as a Hollywood producer making the fake science-fiction film "Argo" to help six Americans escape Iran. He says it's important to be an observer of your own operation.
"And I all of a sudden said to myself, 'do I really want to do this? Should I be doing this?' So I quickly reviewed the bidding and said, 'yep, feels okay. Let's go for it,' " says Tony.
Although some critics told Affleck he under-played Tony's role throughout the film, Tony said he got it right.
"He said, 'Hey Tony, we're going to make this movie about your life and everybody's going to know what a hero you are, how do you feel about that?' My answer was, 'feels good,' " says Tony.
From the paintbrush to master disguises, Tony Mendez may be a man of mystery but he's made a difference; one that's even written down, partially, in history.
