Alexis Georgoulis

A household name in his native Greece, actor Alexis Georgoulis also became familiar to English-language audiences with roles in romantic comedy "My Life in Ruins" (2009) and period drama "The Durrells" (ITV, 2016-). Born in the Greek town of Larissa, Thessaly to a store owner father and nursery teacher mother in 1974, Georgoulis studied Civil Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens before he decided to pursue a career in acting instead. After graduating from Athens' Iasmos Drama School he made his screen debut in short film "Tou kanenos to rodo" (1999) and shortly after enjoyed a minor role in modern Greek tragedy "Original Sin" (1999). Georgoulis achieved his big break in 2001 when he was cast as rebellious love interest Sotiris in sitcom "Eisai to tairi mou" (Mega Channel, 2001-02). The show proved to be a hit with both viewers and critics alike, and helped Georgoulis land leading roles in several crime films. He starred as a troubled investor wrongly accused of being an assassin in "The Bubble" (2002) an escaped convict in "Too Late Tomorrow" (2002) and a blackmailer in "Blackmail Boy" (2003), and also enjoyed the supporting role of Jordan in "Kourastika na skotono tous agapitikous sou" (2002). Georgoulis then appeared in forbidden love tales "Erastis ditikon proastion" (Mega Channel, 2004) and "Liubi" (2005), playing a florist who enters into a relationship with an heiress in the former and a man who falls for his mother's Russian immigrant care worker in the latter. Following a three-episode stint on detective drama "Oi istories tou astynomou Beka" (Alpha Channel, 2006-08), Georgoulis was cast in his first English-language production, "My Life in Ruins" (2009), where he played Nia Vardalos' tour bus driver love interest Poupi. He then made a rare foray into villain territory when he played George in Greek immigration tale "A Green Story" (2012) before co-writing and starring in "Marionetes" (2015) as a journalist who returns to his now unrecognizable Athens hometown to investigate his best friend's murder. A year later he landed the recurring role of lovable and eccentric taxi driver Spiros in pre-war Corfu-set family drama "The Durrells" (ITV, 2016-). During his spell on the show, Georgoulis also played Tonia Sotiropoulou's lover in "Everything Is Wonderful" (2017) and then a younger version of her father in "Road Narrows" (2018), before joining her on screen for a third time in political thriller "Perfidious" (2018).