The Top 5 Greeks Working in Hollywood in 2018

Many Greeks in Hollywood, as well as in the music and fashion industries, experienced great success this past year.

Looking back at all the important accomplishments of Greeks in entertainment in 2018, there are a few who stand out among the rest for what they achieved and the marks they left on their respective industries. We picked five of the top-achieving Greek people in entertainment, as we did in 2017, and listed them below.

Yorgos Lanthimos

Perhaps one of the biggest rising stars in Hollywood, Yorgos Lanthimos has had an incredible year. His new film, “The Favourite”, stars some major Hollywood A-listers (Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz) and is a critical darling which has been nominated for five Golden Globes so far.

After his Greek film “Dogtooth” made a splash on the international scene in 2010, being nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, Lanthimos has been working with top talent from the U.S. and the U.K. He has made a series of English-language movies which have earned him a reputation as a unique visionary in Hollywood. His latest venture, starring last year’s Academy Award-winner Emma Stone, is his most prominent and well-received movie to date.

Mary Katrantzou

The Athens-born, London-based fashion designer Mary Katrantzou has made a splash on red carpets and fashion shows across the world in 2018. Fashion-forward celebrities such as Cate Blanchett, and royalty, including Princess Beatrice, donned many bold Katrantzou outfits at awards shows and screenings throughout the year. The designer was also honored with a retrospective titled “Mary, Queen of Prints”, and she designed part of the internationally famous Victoria’s Secret fashion show.

Tina Fey

As one of the most well-known Greek people working in show business, Tina Fey had an especially great year in 2018. She debuted her Broadway show, “Mean Girls”, based on her cult hit movie of the same name, which was later given Broadway.com’s Audience Choice Award. Fey was also honored at “Variety’s” Power of Women event and was awarded the Comedy Excellence Award by the Writers’ Guild Association. This incredible female writer/producer/actor has had an exceptional year by any measure, being recognized for her work and her contributions to the entertainment industry.

Kelly Clarkson

This year, audiences fell in love with Kelly Clarkson as one of the new judges on “The Voice”, with one of her country singer contestants, Chevel Shepherd, actually winning the latest season. Additionally, Clarkson was asked to perform at several prestigious events including the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, the US Open ceremony, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, where she was applauded for singing live during an event when many other performers chose to lip sync due to the extreme cold. You will be seeing even more of Clarkson next year, since she has signed a deal to create her own daytime talk show.

George Kallis

George Kallis has worked as a film composer on a number of productions and feature films over the years. In 2018, his work was internationally recognized, winning both the “Breakthrough Composer of the Year” award and “Best Score for a Feature Film” for his work on “Last Knight”. The Greek-Cypriot composer has been racking up prestigious credits in the past year, and you can expect to see his name often in Hollywood credits from here on out.

Honorable Mention: Ted Sarandos

If Ted Sarandos hadn’t been mentioned in the Greek Reporter’s 2017 “Greeks Working in Hollywood” list, he definitely would have made this year’s list as well. During 2018, the Creative Content Officer of Netflix continued to expand the power of the streaming giant all over the world, and he made Netflix the first service to rack up more Emmy nominations (112) than HBO in 18 years.

Netflix was even given the “Entertainer of the Year” award by the Associated Press for its groundbreaking role in Hollywood in 2018. Under Sarandos’ guidance, Netflix has also been one of the first services to implement innovative approaches to content, including making their content interactive and allowing audience members to influence outcomes, as they did for the “Black Mirror” episode of “Bandersnatch”.

Who do you think will be the Greeks making waves in Hollywood in 2019? Let us know.