Rade Šerbedžija facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rade Šerbedžija
Раде Шербеџија
Šerbedžija at the 12th Satellite Awards in December 2007
Born	(1946-07-27) 27 July 1946 (age 78) Bunić, PR Croatia, Yugoslavia (now Croatia)
Other names	Rade Sherbedgia
Citizenship	Croatia North Macedonia Slovenia
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1967–present
Spouse(s)	Ivanka Cerovac ​ ​ (m. 1969; div. 1987)​ Lenka Udovički ​ ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	5, including Danilo and Lucija

Rade Šerbedžija (born 27 July 1946) is a famous actor, director, and musician from Croatia. He is well-known for playing strong characters in movies. He was one of the most popular actors in Yugoslavia during the 1970s and 1980s.

Around the world, he is known for his roles in Hollywood films. These include Snatch (2000), The Saint (1997), and Eyes Wide Shut (1999). He also appeared in Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), X-Men: First Class (2011), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010). You might also remember him from Taken 2 (2012) or the TV show 24.

Šerbedžija has won many awards for his acting. He has received the Golden Arena for Best Actor four times. This is Croatia's top award for filmmaking. He also won the Critics Award for Best Actor at the 51st Venice International Film Festival. This was for his role in the film Before the Rain (1994). In 2019, he received the Mary Pickford Award for his great work in entertainment.

Early Life and Beginnings

Rade Šerbedžija was born in a village called Bunić. This village is in the Lika region of Croatia. At that time, Croatia was part of a country called Yugoslavia.

His parents were Serbs who fought in World War II. They were part of a group called the Yugoslav Partisans. Šerbedžija was raised without a specific religion.

Career in Yugoslavia

In 1969, Šerbedžija finished his studies at the Academy of Dramatic Art, University of Zagreb. He then started working as a theater actor. He performed at the City Drama Theatre Gavella and the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.

Even as a student, he played main characters in films and plays. Some of his famous stage roles include Oedipus and Richard III. His performance as Hamlet in 1974 made him a big star.

Šerbedžija got his first major film role in 1968. It was in a movie called Gravitation. He acted in many other important Yugoslav films. These include Bravo maestro (1978) and Journalist (1979). He also starred in Banović Strahinja (1981) and Kiklop (1982).

He was also a leading actor in several TV shows. Some of these were Prosjaci i sinovi (1971) and U registraturi (1976).

Šerbedžija also taught acting at universities. He was a professor at the University of Zagreb from 1979 to 1981. Later, he taught at the University of Novi Sad from 1987 to 1991.

Before leaving his home country, Šerbedžija had acted in over 40 films. He was one of the most loved actors in Yugoslavia. He also helped create the KPGT Yugoslav theater. This project aimed to bring together different state theaters.

He won the Golden Arena for Best Actor at the Pula Film Festival four times. He won for Bravo maestro (1978) and Evening Bells (1986). He also won for 72 Days (2010) and Fishing and Fishermen's Conversations (2020).

In 2000, Šerbedžija started the Ulysses Theater. It is located on the Brijuni islands. For his role in the 2019 play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, he won several awards. These include the Zoran Radmilović Award and the Croatian Theatre Award. That same year, he received the Vladimir Nazor Award for his lifetime work in film.

International Acting Career

Šerbedžija at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival.

In 1988, Šerbedžija appeared in two international films. These were Hanna's War and Manifesto.

When the war started in Yugoslavia, Šerbedžija moved. He first went to Serbia, then Slovenia. Later, he lived in London, England. Actor Anthony Andrews invited him to stay there.

In London, Šerbedžija met director Milcho Manchevski. Manchevski cast him in the 1994 film Before the Rain. His acting in this film earned him the Critics Award for Best Actor. This award was given at the Venice Film Festival.

Šerbedžija has played supporting roles in many Hollywood movies. These include Mission: Impossible 2, Mighty Joe Young, and The Saint. He also appeared in Eyes Wide Shut, Snatch, and Space Cowboys. He often plays characters who are villains.

He had a small role in Batman Begins. He was asked to be in The Dark Knight but said no.

In 2001, he starred in a TV musical called South Pacific. He played Emile de Becque. He also appeared in the BBC show Spooks. In 2005, he was in The Fog and the TV series Surface.

In 2007, he played Athos Roussos in the film Fugitive Pieces. His performance in this Canadian film was nominated for awards. These included a Genie Award and a Satellite Award.

He played Dmitri Gredenko in the TV show 24. This was during its sixth season.

In 2009, Šerbedžija was cast in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1. He played Gregorovitch, a famous wandmaker. In 2014, he appeared in Downton Abbey as Prince Kuragin. This character was a Russian exile and an old friend of Violet Crawley.

In 2019, he received the Mary Pickford Award. This award honors artists who have made great contributions to entertainment.

Other Work and Interests

Šerbedžija is also known for his poetry and music. He has published four books of poetry. He has also released four music albums. He recorded a famous song called "Ni u tvome srcu" with singer Kemal Monteno.

While in London, Šerbedžija became friends with actress Vanessa Redgrave. Together, they started the Moving Theatre Company.

In 2017, Šerbedžija signed the Declaration on the Common Language. This declaration supports a shared language for people in several Balkan countries.

Personal Life

Rade Šerbedžija married Ivanka Cerovac in 1969. They have a son named Danilo, who is a film director. They also have a daughter named Lucija, who is an actress. They divorced in 1987.

Šerbedžija met his second wife, Lenka Udovički, in 1990. They married in 1991. With Lenka, he has three daughters: Nina, Vanja, and Mimi. His daughters grew up in London and later moved to California.

Šerbedžija's parents moved to Belgrade in 1991. This was because of the Croatian War of Independence. Šerbedžija himself moved to Ljubljana, Slovenia, with his wife and daughter Nina.

He has said he feels "Yugo-nostalgic". This means he misses the times when Socialist Yugoslavia existed. He owns homes in London, Hollywood, California, Rijeka, and Zagreb. He spends most of his time in Rijeka with his wife.

Šerbedžija is a citizen of Croatia, North Macedonia, and Slovenia.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Rade Šerbedžija para niños