Andres Raag (born 24 June 1970) is an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n stage, film, radio and television actor and singer with the band L'Dorado since 1993.

Early life and education

Andres Raag was born and attended schools in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

. His mother is actress Kersti Kreismann and his step-father was writer, essayist and theatre director

Mati Unt Mati Unt (1 January 1944 Linnamäe, Voore Parish (now Voore, Mustvee Parish), Jõgeva County, Estonia – 22 August 2005, Tallinn) was an Estonian writer, essayist and theatre director. Biography His first novel, written at the age of 18 af ...

. During his formative years, he spent much of his time with his paternal grandparents. Following his graduation from secondary school he attended the Tallinn State Conservatory (now, the

Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...

), studying drama at the institution's Performing Arts Department. Among his graduating classmates were

Merle Palmiste Merle Palmiste (born 1 November 1970) is an Estonian stage, film and television actress. Early life and education Merle Palmiste was born in Tallinn and raised in the Tallinn subdistrict of Õismäe.

Kaili Närep Kaili Närep (born 16 August 1970) is an Estonian stage, television and film actress whose career began in 1991. She has been engaged at the Ugala theatre in Viljandi and the Endla Theatre in Pärnu, where she also worked as a makeup artist. När ...

Kristel Leesmend Kristel Leesmend (born 30 August 1968 in Tallinn) is an Estonian actress. From 1987 until 1988, Leesmend worked at the Vanalinnastuudio in Tallinn as a costume designer and as a freelance actress. In 1992 she graduated from Estonian Academy of Mu ...

Ivo Uukkivi Ivo Uukkivi (born 11 October 1965) is an Estonian stage, film, radio, and television actor, television producer and, under the nickname Munk, founder of and singer with the punk band Velikije Luki. Early life and education Ivo Uukkivi was born i ...

, Jaanus Rohumaa,

Üllar Saaremäe Üllar Saaremäe (born November 23, 1969) is an Estonian actor, director, politician, and punk band singer. Biography Üllar Saaremäe was born 23 November 1969 in Kohta-Järve. He has two children from his relationship with actress Tiina Mäl ...

Dan Põldroos Dan Põldroos (6 March 1970 – 5 May 2007) was an Estonian stage, television and film actor who began performing on stage at age fifteen. Although mostly known for comedic roles, he was also an accomplished dramatic actor. Põldroos' career ende ...

, Sten Zupping,

Tiina Mälberg Tiina Mälberg (born 16 March 1970) is an Estonian actress. Tiina Mälberg was born and raised in Tallinn. She graduated from Saku Secondary School in 1988, then enrolled at the Tallinn State Conservatory, studying under instruction of theatre and ...

and

Garmen Tabor Garmen Tabor ( Garmen Suurmets; born on 19 April 1968 in Rakvere) is an Estonian actress and theatre director. In 1992 she graduated from the Tallinn State Conservatory's Performing Arts Department. From 1992 until 2002, she worked at Estonian Dra ...

Stage career

In 1990, Andres Raag began an engagement at the Estonian State Youth Theatre, which became the

Tallinn City Theatre Tallinn City Theatre ( et, Tallinna Linnateater) is a repertory theatre located in the medieval old town of Tallinn, Estonia. Tallinn City Theatre was established in 1965 as Estonian SSR State Youth Theatre. In 1992, after the reindependence of ...

in 1992. He is still currently an actor with the theatre. During his years with the Tallinn City Theatre, he has appeared in roles in nearly fifty stage productions, including works by:

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

and Weill, Beckett,

Twain Twain may refer to: People * Mark Twain, pen name of American writer Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835–1910) * Norman Twain (1930–2016), American film producer * Shania Twain (born 1965), Canadian singer-songwriter Places * Twain, California, a ...

, Dumas,

Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

, von Goethe,

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

A. H. Tammsaare Anton Hansen (18 (O.S.)/30 January 1878 – 1 March 1940), better known by his pseudonym A. H. Tammsaare and its variants, was an Estonian writer whose pentalogy '' Truth and Justice'' (''Tõde ja õigus''; 1926–1933) is considered one of ...

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

Martin McDonagh Martin Faranan McDonagh (; born 26 March 1970) is a British-Irish playwright, screenwriter, producer, and director. Born and brought up in London, he is the son of Irish parents. He is known as one of the most acclaimed modern playwrights whose ...

David Storey David Malcolm Storey (13 July 1933 – 27 March 2017) was an English playwright, screenwriter, award-winning novelist and a professional rugby league player. He won the Booker Prize in 1976 for his novel ''Saville''. He also won the MacMillan ...

, and

Jean-Luc Lagarce Jean-Luc Lagarce (14 February 1957 – 30 September 1995) was a French actor, theatre director and playwright.Morris Panych Morris Stephen Panych (born 30 June 1952) is a Canadian playwright, director and actor. Early life Panych was born in Calgary, Alberta and grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. He studied at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, and the Univers ...

's ''Auntie & Me''. In addition to the Tallinn City Theatre, Raag has also made appearances at the

Von Krahl Theatre Von Krahl Theatre ( et, Von Krahli teater) is a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Fi ...

, Old Baskin's Theatre, Kell Kümme, and

Estonian Drama Theatre The Estonian Drama Theatre ( et, Eesti Draamateater) is a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia. It has the role of a national theatre for Estonia. The Estonia Theatre is located next door. History The building that houses the Estonian Drama Theatre was or ...

in Tallinn, the

Ugala Ugala is a theatre in Viljandi, Estonia. The theatre was founded in 1920 opening on January 10 of that year. The first production was Oscar Wilde's " Salome". Ugala's Artistic Directors *1925 - 1926: Andres Särev *1926 – 1928: Eduard Le ...

theatre in

Viljandi Viljandi (, german: Fellin, sv, Fellin) is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu ...

, and the

Kuressaare Kuressaare () is a town on Saaremaa island in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Parish and the capital of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded population on 1 January 2018 was 13,276. Th ...

City Theatre.

Film

Andres Raag made his feature film debut as Ain in the 1989 Valentin Kuik directed

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

-Estonian youth drama ''Perekonnapildid'' for

Tallinnfilm Tallinnfilm is the oldest surviving film studio in Estonia. It was founded as Estonian Culture Film in 1931, and was nationalized in 1940 after Estonia was forced into the Soviet Union. During the first year of Soviet Occupation During Worl ...

. In 1993, he had a small role as a waiter in the joint

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

-Estonian Anssi Mänttäri directed drama film ''The Grey Light of November'', and another role as Contreras in the Ilkka Järvi-Laturi directed comedy-thriller '' Tallinn pimeduses''. Other film appearances include roles in the 2010 Marko Raat directed ''Lumekuninganna'', based on the 1844

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

fairy tale ''

The Snow Queen "The Snow Queen" ( da, Snedronningen) is an original fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published 21 December 1844 in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection'' (''Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Anden Samli ...

''; and the 2011

Katrin Laur Katrin Laur (née Poola, born in 1955, in Tartu, Estonia) is an author, film director, and professor who currently lives in Estonia and Germany. In 1973 in Soviet-occupied Tallinn she graduated from a school that gave an excellent command of Eng ...

directed drama ''Surnuaiavahi tütar''.

Television and radio

Andres Raag has made a number of appearances on Estonian television. He is possibly best recalled, however, as the character of Tom Miller on the long running

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso *Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala *Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by EPTV ...

drama series ''Elu keset linna'' from 2003 until 2006 and again from 2009. He would reprise his role as Tom in the TV3 follow-up series ''Elu keset linna'' in 2012. In 2014, he began playing the role of Gunnar, a driving instructor, on the

Kanal 2 Kanal 2 is a privately owned Estonian television channel. Its literal name in English is "Channel 2". The channel was established by Ilmar Taska. The channel began broadcasting on 1 October 1993. History The channel started broadcasting on O ...

comedy series ''Parim enne''. Other appearances on television include guest roles as Avo on an episode of Kanal 2's crime-drama series ''Kelgukoerad'' in 2007; as Enn Loots on an episode of the

Eesti Televisioon Eesti Televisioon (ETV) ( en, Estonian Television) is an Estonian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Estonian Public Broadcasting. It made its first broadcast on 19 July 1955. History Eesti Televisioon (''Estonian Televisi ...

(ETV) crime-drama series ''Ohtlik lend'' in 2007; as Roger on an episode of the TV3 comedy-crime series ''

Kättemaksukontor ''Kättemaksukontor'' (English: ''Revenge Office'') is an Estonian comedy-crime television series. In the series, a group of women have the organization called "Kättemaksukontor". This organization helps to solve murder cases for the police. The ...

'' in 2009; and as Sten Vaiksoo in two episodes of the TV3 mystery-horror series ''Keeris'' in 2015. Raag has also had roles in several Estonian television mini-series, including: ''Oli mis oli'' in 2004; ''Klass - Elu pärast'' in 2010, which was a follow-up to the 2007

Ilmar Raag Ilmar Raag (born 21 May 1968 in Kuressaare) is an Estonian media executive, actor, screenwriter and film director, best known for his socio-critical film '' The Class''. He has served as CEO of Estonian Television from 2002 to 2005. He is a we ...

directed feature film '' Klass'' about bullying and school violence; and in ''Teise mehe pea'' in 2010. Andres Raag has also appeared in a number of

Estonian Public Broadcasting Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also * ...

television and radio programs for children and a number of

radio theatre Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

plays.

Music

In late 1993, Andres Raag and friends Tarvo Krall, Tarvo Jaaksoo, and Jaan Sööt formed the band L'Dorado. Their first performance took place at the House of the Blackheads in Tallinn in 1994. Over the years, the line-up has changed several times, however Raag has remained the main vocalist. L'Dorado plays a mixture of

Latin music Latin music (Portuguese language, Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Music of Spain, Spain and Portuguese music, Portugal) ...

and

merengue music Merengue is a type of music and dance originating in the Dominican Republic, which has become a very popular genre throughout Latin America, and also in several major cities in the United States with Latino communities. Merengue was inscribed ...

, sung in the

Estonian language Estonian ( ) is a Finnic language, written in the Latin script. It is the official language of Estonia and one of the official languages of the European Union, spoken natively by about 1.1 million people; 922,000 people in Estonia and 160,0 ...

. The current line-up includes: Raag (lead vocals and

conga drums The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

), Krall (vocals, mandolin, and accordion), Jaaksoo (vocals and bass guitar), Toomas Rull (drums), and Anneli Kadakas (drums). To date, the band has released four albums: "Kuuba pulm" (1996), "Karneval" (1998), "Siivutu Sa mulle meeldid nii" (2000), and "Kahe samba vahel" (2003). They have also appeared on several compilation albums.

Personal life

Andres Raag has been in a long-term relationship with Viktorija Gurjev for many years. In 2003, Gurjev gave birth to their daughter Aliis. The family currently reside in Tallinn.err.ee
''Kersti Kreismann: keegi pole mind nii põhjalikult kritiseerinud nagu poeg'' 5 October 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raag, Andres 1970 births Living people Estonian male stage actors Estonian male film actors Estonian male television actors Estonian pop singers 21st-century Estonian male singers Male actors from Tallinn Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni 20th-century Estonian male actors 21st-century Estonian male actors 20th-century Estonian male singers