50 Fun Facts About My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Who wrote and stars in My Big Fat Greek Wedding?

She earned an Oscar nomination for the screenplay and a Golden Globe nomination for the performance.

In which city is the film set?

It was actually shot mostly in Toronto and inspired by Vardalos's family in Winnipeg.

What is the name of the Portokalos family restaurant?

Toula meets Ian there while he is waiting for a friend.

How old is Toula when the film begins?

Her father Gus wants her married with children as soon as possible.

What is Toula's full first name?

Her father is Costas 'Gus' Portokalos.

What is Ian Miller's job?

In the sequel he has become principal at their daughter's high school.

What does Toula tell her parents she wants to study at college?

Gus is distraught, thinking she means to leave him, until Maria talks him round.

Toula goes to work at which relative's business after her makeover?

Ian spots her through the agency window and asks her to dinner.

What does Toula fear Ian will remember her as from the restaurant?

He remembers her and stays interested anyway.

What class does Toula pretend to be taking as a cover for seeing Ian?

A family friend catches them kissing in a parking lot and the secret is out.

What does Ian agree to do to win over Toula's family?

Gus's objection was that Ian is not a member of the church.

What mistake appears on the wedding invitations?

The family also design hideous bridesmaid dresses.

What gift do Gus and Maria reveal at the wedding reception?

It turns out to be right next door to their own.

In the film's epilogue set six years later, Toula and Ian walk their daughter to what?

Her name is Paris, and she is a teenager by the time of the sequel.

The film began as a one-woman monologue show of what length?

It was developed in the HBO Workshop and Vardalos marketed it through Greek Orthodox churches.

The show was based on the writer's own family in which Canadian city?

And on her own marriage to a non-Greek, the actor Ian Gomez.

Which actress with Greek heritage saw the show and convinced her husband Tom Hanks to see it too?

Hanks's company Playtone then offered to produce the film exactly as Vardalos envisioned it.

Studio executives wanted to change the family's ethnicity to what before Playtone stepped in?

They also wanted a known actress such as Marisa Tomei in the lead; Vardalos refused.

How was John Corbett cast as Ian Miller?

He was in town shooting Serendipity; Vardalos and producer Gary Goetzman offered him the part on the spot.

The Portokalos family house is a real home in which Toronto suburb?

It kept most of its movie ornamentation until 2021, and also played the house next door.

What was the film's production budget?

It grossed $368.7 million worldwide, a return in the thousands of percent.

How much did My Big Fat Greek Wedding gross worldwide?

That made it the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2002.

What was unusual about the film's run to a record domestic gross for a romantic comedy?

It held the record for the biggest gross without a No. 1 weekend until Sing in 2016.

Which 2016 animated film took the record for the highest-grossing movie never to top the weekly box office?

Domestically the Greek Wedding took $241,438,208, still the biggest romantic comedy ever.

The film received an Academy Award nomination in which category?

Vardalos also won Best Debut Performance at the Independent Spirit Awards.

Who directed the first film?

Kirk Jones directed the 2016 sequel and Vardalos herself directed the third.

Which member of NSYNC appears in the film as cousin Angelo?

He returned for both sequels.

Michael Constantine, who plays Gus, won an Emmy in 1970 for playing a principal on which series?

He was born Gus Efstratiou and died in 2021, making the second film his last.

Andrea Martin, who plays Aunt Voula, is a two-time Tony winner best known for which sketch series?

She holds the record for the most nominations for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

John Corbett was best known before the film as Chris Stevens on which series?

He also played Aidan Shaw on Sex and the City and released two country albums.

The film's writer-star honed her comedy at which famous improv troupe, alma mater of many SNL stars?

She wrote and performed in more than ten revues there and won a Joseph Jefferson award.

The 2003 spin-off sitcom My Big Fat Greek Life aired on which network?

It ran from February to April before falling ratings killed it.

In the sitcom, who replaced John Corbett as the husband?

Corbett had already signed on for the series Lucky and was meant to cameo as the best friend.

In 2007 the cast and Playtone sued the studio over what?

They alleged 'Hollywood accounting'; one defendant in an earlier suit claimed the film lost $20 million.

In My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, what does Gus discover about his marriage to Maria?

After fifty years together she refuses to remarry until he proposes properly.

In the sequel, Gus becomes convinced he is descended from which historical figure?

He wants an online ancestry site to confirm it, which is how he finds the certificate.

In the sequel, Paris is accepted to which two universities?

She feels smothered by the clan and applies across the country for some privacy.

How much did My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 gross worldwide?

Against an $18 million budget, despite negative reviews.

Who directed My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3?

It was her directorial debut on the franchise, filmed in Athens and Corfu in summer 2022.

In the third film, the family travels to Greece to deliver what to Gus's childhood friends?

Nick has secretly brought Gus's ashes too, to scatter by the oldest tree in the village.

What is the name of Gus's nearly abandoned home village in the third film?

Its mayor, Victory, lures the family with a fake reunion in hopes they will revive it.

In the third film, who do Toula and Ian discover Peter to be?

Gus never knew he existed.

Which distributor released My Big Fat Greek Wedding in US theaters on April 19, 2002?

The limited release grew into a nationwide rollout by August 2 as word of mouth built.

Who plays Toula's mother, Maria Portokalos?

Gia Carides plays cousin Nikki and Fiona Reid plays Ian's mother Harriet Miller.

Where was Nia Vardalos's one-woman show first developed?

It was then tested in Chicago, Toronto and Europe before a 1997 Los Angeles run at the Hudson Backstage Theatre.

Which actor is Nia Vardalos's real non-Greek husband, whose marriage inspired the story?

Vardalos promoted the sold-out show by marketing it across Greek Orthodox churches in the area.

John Corbett was in Toronto shooting which film when he was overheard talking about the script?

Vardalos and producer Gary Goetzman offered him the part of Ian Miller on the spot.

In which year was My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 released?

The September 8 release was a joint production of Playtone, Gold Circle Films, HBO Films and Focus Features.

How old was Michael Constantine, to whose memory the third film is dedicated, when he died in 2021?

The Emmy-winning actor played patriarch Gus Portokalos in the first two films.

Where did My Big Fat Greek Wedding premiere on February 22, 2002?

It was an international co-production between the United States and Canada.