Nico Lathouris

Born: None

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.


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Mad Max

as Grease Rat
Released: 1979-04-12

In the ravaged near-future, a savage motorcycle gang rules the road. Terrorizing innocent...

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Where the Green Ants Dream

as Arnold
Released: 1984-08-31

The Australian Aborigines (in this film anyway) believe that this is the place where the green...

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Death in Brunswick

as Mustafa
Released: 1991-04-24

A reserved man in need of a job, Carl Fitzgerald finds employment at a Greek restaurant. Upon...

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The Heartbreak Kid

as George
Released: 1993-06-17

Christina (Claudia Karvan) is a school teacher from a wealthy Greek-Australian background,...

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Rikky and Pete

as Con Ionides
Released: 1988-06-09

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

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Serenades

as Mullah Jalal-Shah
Released: 2001-05-31

Set in the 1890s in the central desert region of Australia, 'Serenades' tells the tale of Jila...

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St. Vincent's Revue Film

as uncredited
Released: 1971-01-01

Lathouris performs in mime: barefoot, in white makeup and a top hat, he wanders around Sydney,...

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Desolation Angels

as uncredited
Released: 1982-01-01

Three beautiful girls decide to escape their upper class private school for a weekend and take...

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Gino

as Rocco Petri
Released: 1994-06-01

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

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Wrong World

as Rangott
Released: 1985-11-04

David Trueman is a young doctor who dreams of going to South America to practice medicine among...

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What I Have Written

as Claude Murnane
Released: 1996-07-11

This intellectual, witty Australian drama offers an intriguingly sophisticated look into...

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Jigsaw

as Ed Minter
Released: 1990-01-01

On the first morning of her honeymoon after a whirlwind 3 week romance, successful business...

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The Flying Doctors

as Spiros Polites
First aired: 1986-05-15

The Flying Doctors is an Australian drama series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved...

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Rafferty's Rules

as Kevin Grumley
First aired: 1987-02-12

Rafferty's Rules was an Australian television drama series which ran from 1987 to 1990 on the...

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Water Rats

as Peter Marchand
First aired: 1996-02-12

Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001.

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Police Rescue

as Nicos Angelopoulos
First aired: 1991-02-14

Police Rescue was an Australian television series The series dealt with the New South Wales...

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Phoenix

as Lenny
First aired: 1992-02-13

Phoenix is an Australian police drama television series. Phoenix screened as two thirteen-part...

TV Show page

Phoenix

as Lenny Ryan
First aired: 1992-02-13

Phoenix is an Australian police drama television series. Phoenix screened as two thirteen-part...

TV Show page