Nick Giannopoulos is a Australian stand-up comedian

Comedian

A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...

, film and TV actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

. He is best known for his comedy stage show Wogs Out of Work alongside George Kapiniaris

George Kapiniaris

George Kapiniaris is Greek Australian television actor, stage actor and comedian.-Career:Kapiniaris broke through in the stage show Wogs Out of Work with Nick Giannopoulos. He then starred in the Melbourne based television sitcom Acropolis Now with Giannopoulos, Simon Palomares and Mary Coustas...

 and the television sitcom Acropolis Now

Acropolis Now

Acropolis Now was an Australian sitcom set in a Greek bar of the same name that ran for 63 episodes from 1989 to 1992 on the Seven Network. It was created by Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris and Simon Palomares, who also starred in the series. They were already quite well known for their comedy...

and is an exponent of wog comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

.

Early life

Nick is an actor/writer/producer/director. He was born in Melbourne, Australia, the first born son of Greek Migrant parents. He grew up mainly in the inner Melbourne suburbs of Fitzroy & Richmond. His main schools were Abbotsford Primary School & Richmond High School. He completed his HSC at Taylors College in 1980. In 1981 he was accepted into the Drama course at Rusden State College where he also majored in Media Studies majoring in Film. He left Rusden halfway through his course when he auditioned and was accepted into the Drama School at the prestigious Victorian College Of The Arts. He graduated in 1985 with a Degree in Dramatic Arts.

Career

In 1987-90 he toured Australia with ethnic comedy stage show: "Wogs Out Of Work", which he also co-wrote and produced. A huge success it played to over 750,000 people. In 1989-92 he starred in TV sitcom "Acropolis Now" for 5 seasons (63 episodes) which he also created and co-wrote. In 1990 he toured Australia with the play "The Heartbreak Kid" in which he played the lead role. In 1990-1991 he toured Australia with the stage production of "Acropolis Now Live", which he also co-wrote & produced. In 1991 he played Danny Zuko in the David Atkins production of the musical "Grease" at the Footbridge Theatre in Sydney. In 1993-1995 he toured Australia with ethnic comedy stage show: "Wog-A-Rama", which he also wrote, produced & directed. In 1996-1998 he toured Australia with ethnic comedy stage show: "Wogboys" which he also wrote, produced & directed. In 1999 he starred in the feature film "The Wog Boy" which he also co-wrote & produced. It went on to gross more than 12 million dollars at the Australian Box office becoming one of the most popular Australian films of all time. In 2000-02 he toured Australia with ethnic comedy stage show: "Wog Story", which he also wrote, produced & directed. In 2003 he starred in the feature film "The Wannabes" which he also co-wrote & produced. In 2004 he hosted & produced the TV special "Greece Is The Word" which was watched by over 3 million people on the Seven Network and repeated before the Athens Olympics Opening Ceremony. In 2005 he developed a new comedy series "Get Nicked" that was commissioned by the Seven Network but which was unfortunately canceled just before going into production. Nick has been announced as the host of new variety/talent show "The Singing Office" starting on Fox 8 in September '07. Nick has won numerous awards including 2 Mo Awards for Best Comedy performer of the year in 1998/99. The Comedy Star of The Year award at the Australian Movie Exhibitors Convention in 2001. The IF Award for Most Successful Box Office Australian film of the year for 2000.

Comedy career

Giannopoulos co-created and starred in the ground breaking stage show Wogs Out of Work which remains one of the highest grossing Australian created live shows of all time. He has followed up Wogs Out of Work with the Wog Boys, Wog-A-Rama and Wog Story stage shows. Giannopoulos has also made appearances at the Melbourne Comedy Festival,
as well as co-author books

Television career

Giannopoulos was one of the creators and stars of the television sitcom Acropolis Now

Acropolis Now

Acropolis Now was an Australian sitcom set in a Greek bar of the same name that ran for 63 episodes from 1989 to 1992 on the Seven Network. It was created by Nick Giannopoulos, George Kapiniaris and Simon Palomares, who also starred in the series. They were already quite well known for their comedy...

. It was a popular TV show based on proud and loud Greek-Australians maintaining a Greek café in Melbourne. It consisted of 5 seasons with 3 main characters throughout the shows series. The show aired from 1989 until 1992, on Channel Seven

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

.

Film career

His film credits include The Wog Boy

The Wog Boy

The Wog Boy is a 2000 Australian motion picture comedy starring Nick Giannopoulos, Vince Colosimo, Lucy Bell, Abi Tucker, John Barresi, Stephen Curry, Hung Le, Geraldine Turner, Tony Nikolakopoulos and Derryn Hinch. -Plot:...

(2000), which is the 15th highest grossing Australian movie of all time. He also stars in Wog Boy 2: Kings of Mykonos

Wog Boy 2: Kings of Mykonos

The Wog Boy 2: Kings of Mykonos is a 2010 Australian motion picture comedy sequel to the 2000 film The Wog Boy, starring Nick Giannopoulos, Vince Colosimo and Costas Kilias. It was released in Australia on 20 May 2010 and UK on 7 January 2011.-Plot:...

and The Wannabes

The Wannabes

The Wannabes is a 2003 Australian comedy film starring Nick Giannopoulos, Russell Dykstra, Isla Fisher, Ryan Johnson, Michael Carman, Lena Cruz, Tony Nikolakopoulos, Costas Kilias, Chantal Contouri and Felix Williamson...

External links