Polish actor
Jerzy Oskar Stuhr
(
Polish pronunciation:
[?j???
??tur]
; born 18 April 1947) is a
Polish
film and theatre actor.
[1]
[2]
He is one of the most popular, influential and versatile Polish actors. He also works as a
screenwriter
,
film director
and drama professor. He served as the
Rector
of the
Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts
in Krakow for two terms: from 1990 to 1996 and again from 2002 to 2008.
Life and career
[
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]
Stuhr was born in
Krakow
.
[1]
His ancestors, Leopold Stuhr and Anna Thill, migrated within
Austria-Hungary
from
Mistelbach
to
Krakow
shortly after their wedding in 1879.
[3]
Having obtained a degree in
Polish literature
from the
Jagiellonian University
in 1970,
[2]
Stuhr spent the next two years studying acting at the
Academy for the Dramatic Arts
in Krakow (
Pa?stwowa Wy?sza Szkoła Teatralna
often shortened to
PWST
),
[2]
where he became a professor.
From the early 1970s, Stuhr appeared in Polish theatre and worked in film productions, making his debut with the role of
Beelzebub
in
Adam Mickiewicz
's
Dziady
directed by
Konrad Swinarski
.
[1]
Having met film director
Krzysztof Kie?lowski
in the mid-1970s, he continued to work with him until Kie?lowski's death in 1996. To an international audience, Stuhr may be best known for his minor role as thick-witted hairdresser Jurek in Kie?lowski's
Three Colors: White
, in which he starred alongside
Julie Delpy
,
Janusz Gajos
, and
Zbigniew Zamachowski
. In Poland and nearby countries, he is probably best known for the part of Max in
Juliusz Machulski
's 1984
dystopian
cult comedy
Seksmisja
(one of the most popular Polish movies), and ? to a younger audience ? for lending his voice to the talking donkey in the
dubbed
Polish version of the
Shrek
trilogy. Other important films include Kie?lowski's
The Scar
(
Blizna
, 1976),
Camera Buff
(
Amator
, 1979) and Part 10 of
The Decalogue
series (1988), Machulski's
Kingsize
(1987),
Kiler
(1997) and
Kiler 2
(1999), and Zanussi's
Life for Life
(1988). Stuhr also worked with Polish directors
Agnieszka Holland
,
Andrzej Wajda
and
Krzysztof Zanussi
.
In 1985, Stuhr made his own directorial debut staging the Polish version of
Patrick Suskind
's play
The Double Bass
, in which he also played the (only) role. In spite of the production's success, it was not until 1995 that Stuhr began directing films as well, with
List of Adulteresses
(
Spis cudzoło?nic
) based on a novel by
Jerzy Pilch
. Critics favourably compared his next effort
Love Stories
(
Historie miłosne
, 1997) to Kie?lowski's work. The film consists of four unconnected episodes with Stuhr playing the lead role in each. Further movies directed by Stuhr are
Big Animal
(
Du?e zwierz?
, 2000 ? based on a Kie?lowski screenplay), and
Tomorrow's Weather
(
Pogoda na jutro
, 2003). For these two, Stuhr employed the Polish
alternative rock
band
Myslovitz
who composed the title tracks and also had walk-on roles in the latter. In an interview with
The Krakow Post
Stuhr admitted that Italian cineaste
Nanni Moretti
influenced his approach to filmmaking.
[4]
From 1990 to 1997, and again from 2002, Stuhr held the position of
rector
at the Krakow National Drama School, where he had learned his craft two decades before. He formally obtained the title of professor in Dramatic Arts in 1994.
[1]
Stuhr's son
Maciej
(born 1975) is an actor in his own right, who has played alongside his father in Kie?lowski's
Decalogue X
(1988),
Pogoda na jutro
(2003), and
Love Stories
(1997).
[5]
His daughter, Marianna (born 1982) is an artist, painter.
In 2004 he was a member of the jury at the
26th Moscow International Film Festival
.
[6]
He is the chairman of the board of supervisors at Krakow's Jozef Tischner Children's Hospice and has been a supporter of this foundation since 2004.
He was head of the jury of the
2nd Odesa International Film Festival
which took place in
Odesa
from 15 to 23 July 2011.
[7]
He has worked with
RMF FM
and has also written books such as
Escape forward!
(
Ucieczka do przodu !
) and
The Stuhrs: Family Stories
(
Stuhrowie: Historie Rodzinne
).
In Autumn 2011 Stuhr suffered what he thought was a severe
throat infection
, but eventually he was diagnosed with
laryngeal cancer
. He spent most of the following eight months in hospitals in
Gliwice
,
Krakow
and
Zakopane
, undergoing treatment including surgeries,
radiotherapy
, and
chemotherapy
. His daughter, herself a cancer survivor, advised him to write a diary to keep himself mentally busy during that difficult time. In 2012 it was published by
Wydawnictwo Literackie
publishing house under the title
Tak sobie my?l?...
(which roughly translates as
So I am thinking...
). His illness was widely covered by Polish media, and he received feedback from cancer patients around the country for whom his openness was comforting. Eventually he described his cancer as "the most important role of my life".
[8]
As of April 2013, his cancer is in remission and he resumed both stage and voice acting.
In 2022, he caused a road collision in Krakow while
driving under the influence of alcohol
. In 2023, the Appeals Court in Krakow upheld the previous verdict which pronounced him guilty of causing the accident and drink driving. He had his driving license confiscated and was banned from driving motor vehicles for the period of three years.
[9]
Awards and recognition
[
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]
11 November 1997, by decision of President
Aleksander Kwa?niewski
, in recognition of his prominent addition to
Polish national culture
Jerzy Stuhr was awarded the Commander's Cross of the
Order of Polonia Restituta
.
12 November 2008 he received
Złota Kaczka (Golden Duck)
being chosen the
century's best actor of comedy
.
Stuhr was appointed to the
European Film Award
for his fourfold role in
Love stories
. He is a laureate of the
Venice Film Festival
. He also has received numerous other Polish and international awards in recognition of his work, including:
Voice acting
[
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]
Jerzy Stuhr became very popular with younger viewers after he provided the voice for
Donkey
in the Polish dubbed version of
Shrek
(as well as in
Shrek 2
,
Shrek the Third
and in video games, based on the Shrek movies). Stuhr also provided the voice of
Mushu
the dragon in Disney's
Mulan
and
Mulan 2
, and for the Larry Laffer character in
Larry 7
game.
Filmography
[
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Actor
[
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Director and screenplay writer
[
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Voice in Polish Dub
[
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References
[
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External links
[
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2010?2019
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