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My Big Fat Greek Wedding

FILM · 2002 · GERMANY

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

25 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026

  • My Big Fat Greek Wedding — production image

25 Interesting Facts About My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Interesting Facts (21)

  1. #001

    Tom Hanks's wife, Rita Wilson, saw the play and suggested to her husband that he make a film version of it. In an interview with the German magazine Cinema, Nia Vardalos said that when Hanks called her, she hung up because she did not believe it was really him.

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  2. #002

    According to Nia Vardalos, paying for meals during the film turned out not to be a problem. Everywhere the film was shot, local Greek restaurants would send plenty of free food once they learned about it.

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  3. #003

    All of the guests on the bride's side at the wedding are members of Nia Vardalos's family.

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  4. #004

    The opening scene, in which Nia Vardalos and Michael Constantine set off early in the morning to open the restaurant, was one of the last scenes shot. Vardalos said that all the other actors had finished their scenes and left, so the sadness she and Constantine showed in that car scene reflected the tearful goodbyes they were saying.

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  5. #005

    In the age of home video, it had one of the longest theatrical runs of any film, playing for 52 weeks, 28 of them in wide release (more than 600 theaters). For reference, it played eleven weeks longer than Titanic (1997), the highest-grossing domestic film of the time.

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  6. #006

    Toula is seen booking a business trip under the name "Doreen Christakos," which is the name of Nia Vardalos's mother.

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  7. #007

    During the wedding ceremony, the actors were so tired that no one could dance properly.

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  8. #008

    When Ian is baptized as a Greek Orthodox, he is given the Greek name Ioannis. Ioannis means John in English, which is also the real name of the actor, John Corbett. Ian is the Scottish Gaelic version of the same name, which comes from the Hebrew name Jochanan or Yochanan.

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  9. #009

    In the restaurant scene of Toula and Ian's first date, on a high shelf there is something resembling two glass jars, one filled with oranges and the other with apples. Toula explains in the film that the root meaning of her surname is orange. During the toast at Toula and Ian's wedding, Toula's father explains this and adds that Ian's surname, Miller, means apple root in Greek. This was hidden in the early stages of Toula and Ian's courtship.

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  10. #010

    Fiona Reid, who plays Ian's mother in the film, is only 10 years older than John Corbett, who plays Ian in real life. At the time of shooting they were 51 and 41 years old, respectively.

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  11. #011

    The song playing at the wedding reception, "All My Only Dreams," first appeared in That Thing You Do! (1996), the film written, directed and produced by Tom Hanks, who also produced this film.

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  12. #012

    Despite playing Greek characters, Lainie Kazan is of Sephardic Jewish descent and Andrea Martin is of Armenian descent.

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  13. #013

    On the film's poster, the two E's in the word "Greek" are styled to resemble the Greek letter sigma, so the letters read as "S" rather than "E." To a Greek speaker, the title reads as "My Big Fat Grssk Wsdding."

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  14. #014

    Nia Vardalos is a graduate of Ryerson University, and the university was used in many scenes of the film. Kerr Hall is the school where Ian Miller teaches, and the Rogers Communications building stands in for Harry S. Truman College.

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  15. #015

    Nia Vardalos's parents (the real-life Gus and Maria) can be seen several times during the reception scene. They are the only ones who greet and congratulate Toula and Ian at the very start of the scene. Later, during the bride's father's conversation with Taki and the rest of the family, they can be seen sitting at a table. After the speech, Maria and Gus return to this table and sit next to the character they inspired.

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  16. #016

    Andrea Martin had to wear a wig to play Aunt Voula.

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  17. #017

    "Zorba" is a male name and means "live each day" in Greek.

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  18. #018

    In the film, Windex is seen being used for everything, including washing a car. However, it turns out that Windex should never be used to wash any vehicle's windshield, because it corrodes the thin porous metal between the panes of glass.

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  19. #019

    Lainie Kazan is of Russian Jewish descent, despite playing a Greek character.

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  20. #020

    When Toula meets Ian's parents, they ask whether Armenia is close to Greece. Andrea Martin is of Armenian descent, despite playing a Greek character.

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  21. #021

    Ian was baptized in the Greek church in order to be married there. This is not required.

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Characters & Cast (1)

  1. #022

    The scene in which Andrea Martin playfully grabs John Corbett's hair was improvised. Martin had forgotten her lines, played with Corbett's hair (Corbett stayed in character and went along with her), remembered her lines and continued. Nia Vardalos said it worked out very well, and they decided to print the take and use it.

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Easter Eggs & References (1)

  1. #023

    As Toula walks onto her home's porch in her blue nightgown, the Greek god of love, Eros, can be seen in the background.

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Deeper Meaning (1)

  1. #024

    The outdoor church scenes were shot at Holy Trinity Russian Orthodox Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The interior church footage comes from St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church in Toronto.

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Career & Awards (1)

  1. #025

    It was originally developed by Nia Vardalos as a one-woman stage show. The film had a special preview in July 2001 at Montreal's Just For Laughs comedy film festival while she was performing on stage in the same city.

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Related pages

Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

  • IMDb IMDb title page (trivia)

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