Nico Lathouris

WriterActor

Nico Lathouris (born 1944) is an Australian actor and writer. He is best known for his roles as George Polides in the 1993 romantic comedy film The Heartbreak Kid and as George Poulos in the 1994 television teen drama spin-off Heartbreak High. In both, he plays a Greek Australian patriarch, father of the protagonist, Nick (Alex Dimitriades). Lathouris was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film at the 1993 Australian Film Institute Awards. He is also the co-screenwriter of Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024). Lathouris is a second-generation Greek Australian, born to Greek parents in Melbourne. In 1977, he performed on stage with the Nimrod Theatre Company for David Hare's play, Fanshen. Lathouris has worked on the television series Police Rescue. At the 1991 Australian Film Institute Awards he was nominated for the AFI Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama. He also appeared in George Miller's film Mad Max (1979) as a car mechanic. He also ran film and drama workshops for the Australian Film Commission. He is best known for his roles as George Polides in the 1993 romantic comedy film The Heartbreak Kid and as George Poulos in the 1994 television teen drama spin-off Heartbreak High. In both, he plays a Greek Australian patriarch, father of the protagonist, Nick (Alex Dimitriades). Lathouris was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film at the 1993 Australian Film Institute Awards. He is also credited by Dimitriades as his mentor on the film and credited the success of the TV series to Lathouris' role as dramaturge, coaching the younger cast members. He helped to develop realistic characters from a whole variety of ethnic backgrounds. The series marked a big shift in the way that life in Australia is represented in TV drama. In the past, many shows had not reflected all the different cultures that exist side by side in Australia's big cities, and Heartbreak High broke the mould by acknowledging and celebrating the country's cultural mix. Lathouris is co-screenwriter (alongside George Miller and Brendan McCarthy) of Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024). At the 42nd Saturn Awards he was nominated with Miller and McCarthy for the Saturn Award for Best Writing. The trio was also nominated by the Film Critics Circle of Australia for Best Script/Screenplay. Description above from the Wikipedia article Nico Lathouris, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Birthday

Zodiac Sign

Genres

Total Films

Nicos Lathouris, Nicolas Lathouris, Nick Lathouris, Νικόλας Λαθούρης

Also known as (male)

Place of Birth

Birthday

Zodiac Sign

Genres

Total Films

Nicholas Lathouris, Nicos Lathouris, Nicolas Lathouris, Nick Lathouris

Also Known As (male)

Place of Birth

Popular works

Media

Creative career

actor

13 Works

producer

0 Works

director

6 Works

writer

4 Works

other

2 Works

Serenades

Set in the 1890s in the central desert region of Australia, 'Serenades' tells the tale of Jila who is conceived when her Afghan cameleer father wins her Aboriginal mother in a card game.

5.0

Year:

2001

What I Have Written

This intellectual, witty Australian drama offers an intriguingly sophisticated look into adultery. Too say too much about this plot would give away the secrets and surprises that gradually unfold, so what follows is the barest sketch. The story features two couples from Melbourne (both played by the same actors) whose lives and romantic troubles seem to overlap or perhaps intertwine in unexpected ways. University lecturer Christopher and his wife Sorrel comprise the main couple. A recent trip to Europe seems to have brought their marriage close to ruins. Avery and Gillian also experience marital turmoil when Avery gets involved with an older French seductress, Catherine.

4.0

Year:

1996

Gino

Gino Pallazetti is in love with Lucia Petri and his career as a stand up comedian is about to take off.

0.0

Year:

1994

The Heartbreak Kid

Christina (Claudia Karvan) is a school teacher from a wealthy Greek-Australian background, engaged to a lawyer and content with the traditional course of her life. She begins teaching at an inner-city working-class school and she finds her ideas challenged by the students. Involving herself in a campaign by a group of non-anglo students to form a soccer club in a school where the racist PE teacher only supports Australian Rules Football, Christina starts falling in love with aspiring soccer player, 17 year old Nick (Alex Dimitriades). The ensuing affair forces Christina to challenge herself, her family and the culture she lives in. Managing to effectively combine comedy with a refreshing examination of contemporary ethnic relationships in Australia, beautifully acted by a young cast, and insightfully scripted.

5.4

Year:

1993

Death in Brunswick

A reserved man in need of a job, Carl Fitzgerald finds employment at a Greek restaurant. Upon meeting waitress Sophie, Carl begins dating the attractive woman. Though it seems things are improving for Carl, an unexpected situation leads to the death of Mustafa, a shady coworker, and Carl must figure out how to cover up the incident. Unsure of what to do, Carl enlists the help of his buddy, Dave, to get rid of Mustafa's corpse.

6.0

Year:

1991

Father

On a TV tabloid show, Iya Zetnick exposes Joe Mueller as the Nazi war criminal who killed her family.

5.6

Year:

1990

Jigsaw

On the first morning of her honeymoon after a whirlwind 3 week romance, successful business woman Virginia Bond finds herself both a widow and the prime suspect in her husband's murder. Desperately attempting to piece together the jigsaw of her husband's life, Virginia and police detective Broulle uncover political and business connections involving mullions of dollars worth of real estate. As the true picture of the man she impulsively married emerges, Virginia plunges deeper into a web of danger and conspiracy.

0.0

Year:

1990

Rikky and Pete

Rikky and her brother Pete struggle to keep their lives from spinning out of control in small town Australia.

4.3

Year:

1988

Wrong World

David Trueman is a young doctor who dreams of going to South America to practice medicine among the disenfranchised. Arriving in Bolivia, he encounters enough corruption and oppression to drive him away from his dreams and into the drug scene. Disillusioned and escaping to the U.S., he meets Mary, a young heroin addict who shares his angst. As the two commiserate, their bleak outlook lightens, promising a glimmer of hope for the both of them.

0.0

Year:

1985

Where the Green Ants Dream

The Australian Aborigines (in this film anyway) believe that this is the place where the green ants go to dream, and that if their dreams are disturbed, it will bring down disaster on us all. The Aborigines' belief is not shared by a giant mining company, which wants to tear open the soil and search for uranium.

6.9

Year:

1984

Desolation Angels

Three beautiful girls decide to escape their upper class private school for a weekend and take off to a remote resort town. Unfortunately, the town has been taken over by a group of psychopaths who stalk the girls, one by one, turning their carefree vacation into a nightmare of terror.

4.0

Year:

1982

Mad Max

In the ravaged near-future, a savage motorcycle gang rules the road. Terrorizing innocent civilians while tearing up the streets, the ruthless gang laughs in the face of a police force hell-bent on stopping them.

6.7

Year:

1979

St. Vincent's Revue Film

Lathouris performs in mime: barefoot, in white makeup and a top hat, he wanders around Sydney, humorously aggravating a group of nuns (most of whom are played by men), who chase him down and beat him. He then wakes up in hospital, where he receives treatment.

0.0

Year:

1971