Voutsas was born in Athens, in 1931. He studied drama at the Drama School of the Macedonian Conservatory of Thessaloniki and made his stage and screen debut in 1953. In 1961 his breakthrough came when Giannis Dalianidis a Greek film director gave him a leading role in his phenomenally successful youth melodrama O Katiforos. He soon became one of the best and most popular comic actors of his generation and created personal groups, starring in many Greek comedies by top playwrights and classics like Aristophanes' The Wasps (as Philokleon), Moliere's Le bourgeois gentilhomme (title role) etc. He has always been more committed to being a theatrical actor. In an interview at Athens daily newspaper To Vima, he said "Playing in movies has helped me a lot, but I was always committed to the theatre and that was my highlight"