Zachary Laoutides

He is of Sephardic, Greek, Turkish and Slovenian heritage. Laoutides surname originates from the Arabic musical instrument oud; his paternal grandmother's family was from the Aegean Islands and the Biblical town of Smyrna, the Mizrahim Sephardi-proper communities of Turkey modern day Izmir. His Eastern European ancestry were ethnic minorities from the Austrian Empire and Russia Empire; Slovenian with some Polish and Scandinavian. His Jewish heritage traces back to Levite rabbinical families Halevi and Benveniste of the 11th to the 15th century in Barcelona. His background includes, Moroccan Jewish, Indian Jewish and distant Latino roots from his father’s grandmother.

The Los Angeles Film Forum Awards critics called him "the best natural independent actor of 2018 and a master at subtlety." He was named one of the Top Indie actors to look for in 2019.

In 2017 Laoutides premiered the film Black Ruby at the London Independent Film Awards. The movie was the first to be shot with an iPhone 7. He earned nine nominations in London. and Rome. Laoutides also changed his eye color, skin tone and hair color for his role in the movie. His performance was compared with Montgomery Clift and Marlon Brando.

Laoutides debuted in Adios Vaya Con Dios, the film was released worldwide by Indican Pictures on January 19, 2016. Laoutides starred in the film and wrote the screenplay while living in an urban Latino neighborhood, about a half white and half Mexican gang member trying to leave the barrio. Adios Vaya Con Dios was the first movie cinematically to use real gangs and streets artists. Laoutides was nominated as Best Actor and Best Screenplay writer at the Bel Air Film Festival where Adios Vaya Con Dios earned an Official Selection and Runner-up for Best Audience Feature Film.

In 2016 Laoutides wrote and starred in Arise from Darkness an official selection at Film Invasion L.A. based on true events in the early life of psychic Lazaro Ruben Torres, who was declared clinically dead five times . Laoutides composed and produced several tracks for the movie's soundtrack. Laoutides was nominated for Best Screenplay and shared in the nominations for Best Feature Film and Best Director. The film received three four stars reviews from Examiner.com, Inquisitr and The Levity Ball with critics comparing Laoutides performance to the opening of Javier Bardem's character Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men (film).

In 2014 Laoutides co-founded Ave Fenix Pictures with Mónica Esmeralda León. Ave Fenix Pictures is the first Latino film studio in Chicago.

Zachary Laoutides (born December 13, 1986) is an American film actor and writer based in Chicago, Illinois. He was nominated as Best Actor and Best Screenplay writer at the Bel Air Film Festival in 2014 for his work in Adios Vaya Con Dios. He was also the finalist out of Chicago for Simon Fuller's XIX Entertainment nationwide talent search for new actors. He is the co-founder of Ave Fenix Pictures an independent and international film company based in Chicago, Los Angeles and Mexico, and is the founder of the La Raza filmmaking movement.

Laoutides was born in 1986 in Chicago where he studied media and journalism. He spent his early years working in community outreach and introducing the performing arts to youth at risk. He resides in Chicago and is still active in community outreach working with Mónica Esmeralda León.