Traveling with the Stars: Nia Vardalos

— -- Nia Vardalos, who received an Academy Award nomination for her first screenplay, the 2002 hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding, returns to her Greek roots to play an American tour guide in Greece in the romantic comedy My Life in Ruins, opening Friday. The Canadian-born actress, fluent in Greek, began traveling there when she was five and has made about 15 trips. She talks about the film and shares her knowledge of Greece with USA TODAY.

Q: How did this film come about?

A: I wanted to make the movie but I didn't necessarily want to be in it because I had quietly withdrawn from acting. I was going through a personal loss of mojo. I had to call uncle to a 10-year infertility battle. I found the script. Loved it. At the time I was writing a movie for Tom Hanks at Universal. I told him about the script. We brought in the writer Mike Reiss and (I) said, 'I'm going to layer in some authenticity.' But it's very much Mike's script.What I found myself layering into it was my personal loss of kefi (Greek word for mojo). I was just hiding in my office writing movies where everything turned out good. As I slowly started to mold the character, I started to admit that I wanted to play her.

Q: How were the locations chosen?

A: I wanted to tell a story about a very mystical triangle that happened in ancient times in Greece. It's this: The triangle of Georgia (Vardalos' character), Poupi (the tour bus driver played by Alexis Georgoulis) and Irv (a tourist played by Richard Dreyfuss). None of these people would have happiness without each other… Acropolis, Delphi and Olympia, in ancient times, were impossibly built exactly 121 kilometers apart from each other. It's a very mystical triangle. That's why I wanted those three.

Q: The film is the first ever to shoot at the Acropolis. How did you do that?

A: I had a lot of dinners and did a lot of handshaking. I have to credit my parents for making me go to Greek school, because after all those years I'm fluent in the language. I had a personal relationship with the Minister of Culture because of the first Greek movie and she was extremely instrumental. I also assured the government we would leave the ruins exactly as we found them.