[citation needed] Because of his political activities, he was forced into exile for seven years following the coup of 1967.

From 1981 to 1984, Vassilikos served as the deputy director of the Greek state television channel ERT.

[citation needed] In 1983, he married a lyrical singer, Vasso Papantoniou (born 1939), with whom he had a daughter, Evridiki.

His best-known work is the political novel Z (1967), which has been translated into 32 languages and was the basis of the film Z, directed by Costa-Gavras.

[2] Vassilikos ran in the 2014 Greek local elections as a PASOK candidate for counsellor in the city of Athens.