Biographie
George Michael Houvardas was born in Sydney, Australia, on January 3, 1982, to Anastasia Houvardas, a teacher, and Michael Houvardas, an accountant. His father, Michael, the youngest of four siblings, immigrated with his family from the Greek island of Lesvos. His mother, Anastasia, was born in Australia to Greek immigrant parents, also from Lesvos.
George is the middle child of three brothers, positioned between the eldest, Steven, and the youngest, Anthony. During his teenage years, he worked with his family in various family-owned restaurants and function centers. Even now, despite his ongoing career in the arts, he continues to work alongside his brothers and parents at Piato Restaurant in Sydney. He remarks, "There's no better environment to observe natural human behavior and character than a restaurant."
Throughout his school years, George's passion for acting and the arts remained dormant, as no drama or arts subjects were available. After completing Year 12, he studied construction management and spent four years working in the building industry. It was during this period, while attending TAFE for his building studies, that he accidentally discovered the Actors College for Theatre and Television, located just a block away. He enrolled in a two-week acting course, reigniting his passion for acting. At the end of the course, he resigned from his construction job and surprised his parents with a theatre performance, declaring his intention to focus on acting.
After enrolling at Screenwise, George quickly caught the attention of producers, landing his first major role as 'Carbo' on 'Packed to the Rafters,' which became Australia's highest-rated series. He demonstrated his versatility with roles such as a psycho hitman on the acclaimed series 'East West 101,' 'Rev,' a reformed priest in the comedy film 'Chasing Comets,' and 'Dib,' a timid bikie in the gritty drama '1% (Outlaws).'
In 2019, George returned to television with the highly praised British/Australian dramedy series 'Frayed,' portraying the megalomaniac politician 'Chris.' In 2020, he reprised his breakout role as 'Carbo' in Amazon Prime's 'Back to the Rafters.
