Profile: Constantinos ‘Costas’ Kilias

While Constantinos ‘Costas’ Kilias has almost 30 years of experience as a legal practitioner in Victoria, you may also recognise him from the legal battle that unfolded on our television screens in the iconic Australian film The Castle.

The film has embedded itself as a classic in Australian culture. It portrays a David vs Goliath story of the legal battle that ensues when a working-class family, the Kerrigans, are told they must vacate their beloved family home to make way for infrastructural expansion. Kilias portrays Darryl Kerrigan’s neighbour, Farouk, in the film.

Kilias is the son of Greek immigrants who arrived in Australia in 1954. He graduated from the University of Melbourne in 1984 and was admitted to the Victorian Bar.

Before his recent appointment to the bench, Kilias worked as a barrister, dealing primarily with criminal matters. He is well regarded in the legal sphere for his fair manner and a sharp mind, a contrast to his character in The Castle who famously threatened to have a friend ‘come to your house, put a bomb in your car and blow you to the sky’. He is an advocate for legal aid and was a key supporter of the Law Council of Australia’s Legal Aid Matters Campaign in 2016.

Kilias has appeared in a handful of other films, including The Wog Boy and The Kings of Mykonos, as well as the Australian television series City Homicide. You may have also heard him on SBS radio, where he has worked as a football presenter.

Kilias is one of three barristers to be appointed to the Magistrate’s Court of Victoria, with Alanna Duffy and Timothy Hoare also being appointed by Victorian Attorney-General Martin Pakula.

‘These three new magistrates bring decades of collective experience to the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria and I congratulate them on their appointment’, Pakula said in a statement.

When asked how he felt about his appointment, Kilias told The Herald Sun that he was ‘excited, honoured and humbled to have been appointed a magistrate’.

Or in the words of Darryl Kerrigan, ‘you little ripper’.

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Written By
James Janke
James Janke

James Janke is founding partner at Hamilton Janke Lawyers, and has more then decade of experience as a Criminal Defence Lawyer. Admitted to both the Supreme Court of New South Wales and High Court of Australia