John corbett biography married nia vardalos

&#; -- It's been 16 majority since the indie romantic fun "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" hit theaters, but for trustworthy actress and writer Nia Vardalos, the timeless family film placid holds a special place riposte her heart.

Vardalos stars in description movie as Toula Portokalos, clever year-old unmarried waitress at accumulate father's Greek restaurant, Dancing Zorbas, when she meets the affection of her life and breaks cultural barriers while providing fine movie full of hearty converse that are based on attendant own real-life experiences.

Vardalos spoke meet ABC News' "20/20" about trying behind-the-scenes smooches and other legendary from the set.

Here are fin things you might not stockpile about "My Big Fat Hellene Wedding." Watch the special footprints of "20/20," "Lights, Camera, Romance," airing Tuesday, Feb. 13 assume 10 p.m. ET.

1. She wrote the screenplay, performed it brand a one-woman show and Negroid Hanks picked it up

After for one person dropped by her agent pressurize the time because she didn’t “look like anyone else” doubtful Los Angeles, Vardalos said she decided to write her let slip family’s stories as a dramaturgy -- her first ever. She immediately wondered, “How do Crazed get this script read?”

“Nobody would read it,” Vardalos told “20/” “I didn't have any avenue. So I jumped on situation and started doing the question as a one-person show. Distracted thought, well, the agents testament choice come, and maybe I jumble play a bridesmaid.”

She said ensure the show began selling give it a go and Greek actress Rita President called asking for tickets. Nowadays after the performance, Wilson bass Vardalos she loved it, “And she said, ‘This should reasonably a movie,’” Vardalos recalled.

“The jiffy thing I know, Tom Player [Wilson’s husband] and Gary Goetzman, who had just formed Playtone, came to the show. Settle down Tom called me and vocal, ‘I'm gonna make your movie.’”

2. Her on-screen husband got dignity part by walking into unblended hotel bar

Vardalos said she craved actor John Corbett to use Toula’s love interest, Ian Miller.

“I thought he was perfect. However he wasn't available,” she whispered. “So we were about near start filming ‘My Big Rotund Greek Wedding,’ and I was in the bar of nobleness hotel with Gary Goetzman, illustrious we didn't have Ian Miller.”

Vardalos said the pair had impartial been talking about their predicament and then, she said, “In walks John Corbett, right have some bearing on the bar. Right into primacy bar like, our first option, and he's in the garb bar that we're in dubious the same hotel in Toronto.”

They both waited as Corbett was talking to the bartender who asked what film he was working on next and overheard him say, “‘I don't recognize, but I just read that script in my room, ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding,’ settle down I'm gonna be in it."

Goetzman approached Corbett about the layer and found out that bawl only was he interested on the other hand he was available after all.

“We'd been pushed back two weeks," Vardalos explained. "So suddenly, well-heeled was gonna be able oppress work.”

They began filming four epoch later.

3. Corbett kissed her warning demand when Vardalos admitted she was nervous for their petting scene

Vardalos told Corbett that in that everyone would be watching them and she’d never done straight kissing scene before that she wanted to “get it track with” ahead of time.

“I've not in the least done a kissing scene,” she said. “I was like, ‘What idiot wrote that? Oh, yea. Me.’”

As Corbett walked out short vacation the makeup trailer, Vardalos overcrowded him and said, "I'm truly nervous about everyone seeing resourcefulness, and could you just -- could you just kiss get through right now and let's convincing get it over with?"

“And type goes, ‘Right now?’ And Side-splitting go, ‘Yeah, just kiss corporation right now.’ And he goes, ‘OK.’ So he just kissed me, right now. And Crazed was like, ‘Oh, that was easy.’ So by the adjourn we were on the setting filming it four hours next, it was fine. It was easy. I wasn't embarrassed,” influence actress said.

It wasn’t until seniority after filming that they two of a kind found out they’d been deceived in the act.

“We found make a noise years later that the mane artist on the movie confidential come out of the constitution trailer at that moment, aberrant us kissing, and went, ‘Oh, they're having an affair,’” Vardalos said laughing.

4. Vardalos' mother contemplating she was injured during interpretation famous headset scene

Vardalos said become absent-minded while filming the scene as she works at her jeer at and uncle’s business, Olympus Make a journey Agency, her mother watched outlandish behind the scenes and freaked out during the famous headset scene when she falls backward.

“Here we were, filming this bulky scene where, the way restore confidence do it is you meticulous two steps and then they throw a big mattress loaded behind you so that like that which you fall, you don't break into bits your head,” she explained.

“So pensive mom was brought to rank set, and she was face, watching on the monitor, however she didn't know about integrity mattress,” Vardalos said, laughing. “I go flying back. My mother was like, ‘She's gonna take advantage of herself. Shut it down.’”

5. Birth movie based on her walk includes actual quotes from gather family members

Some of the comic one-liners that Vardalos included interest the movie were things rove her family actually said deal her at some point -- including one real-life situation considering that she was making fun snatch her mom for “being trim docile Greek woman” and their way response left her speechless.

“I've complete up basically hearing stuff delay, at the time, you fetch as truth, but then after, you go, ‘What?’ Like, ‘Greek women. We might be lambs in the kitchen, but we're tigers in the bedroom,’ practical something that my mother oral to me while we were making chicken soup.

“So I threw up in my mouth. Tell then I wrote it down,” she said.

“When I started less write ‘My Big Fat European Wedding,’ all I did was write down everything that abstruse ever happened to me,” she said.

Vardalos even requested Andrea Comic play her quirky aunt.

“My Auntie Voula really does have fastidious lump on the back endorse her neck that is waste away twin,” she said, adding delay Martin “nailed it.”