Darko Perić ( sr-cyr, Дарко Перић; born 25 March 1977) is a Serbian actor. He is best known for playing Helsinki in the Spanish crime thriller series '' La Casa de Papel (Money Heist)''.

Early life

Perić was born in

Kladovo Kladovo ( sr-Cyrl, Кладово, ; ro, Cladova or ) is a town and municipality located in the Bor District of eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube river. The population of the town is 8,913, while the population of ...

on 25 March 1977. He showed interest in the arts from a very young age; his first time onstage came at the age of six, when a Cuban singer invited him to sing "

Guantanamera "Guantanamera" (; Spanish: (the woman) from Guantánamo) is perhaps the best-known Cuban song and that country's most-noted patriotic song, especially when using a poem by the Cuban poet José Martí for the lyrics. The official writing credi ...

". That moment inspired him to perform in every school play. In 1991, at the start of the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and insurgencies that took place in the SFR Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2001. The conflicts both led up to and resulted from ...

, his dreams of going to animation school in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

were halted. His parents decided that he should instead become a doctor. He was sent to veterinary school in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

in Romania, where he rediscovered his passion for the cinema and theatre thanks to his student friends at the Romanian Film Academy. During that time, he continued to study medicine while acting in short films. In 1994, Perić moved to the Romanian city of

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

, where he continued his studies of medicine and performed in live theatre. After six years of living in Timișoara, he finished his studies and graduated with honours in veterinary medicine. While there, he had also gotten involved in the local

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

and

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

scenes, singing in bands and organizing events in the local cultural centre, where he met many international artists. This inspired him to move to Germany, where he settled in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. He continued to act in short films there until 2004, when he moved to Spain and chose

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

as a place to live.

Career

Perić was cast in his first major Spanish job in the series ''Crematorio'' for

Canal + Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow und ...

in 2010. In 2015, he performed in '' A Perfect Day''. In 2016, he was cast in the Atresmedia produced series '' Sea of Plastic / Mar de plástico'', in which he played Oso, a Ukrainian gangster and the main villain in the series. His best known role is of Helsinki in the crime thriller series '' Money Heist'' (2017–2021). The series was acquired by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

, which helped it become one of the most watched shows, winning the Best Drama at the Emmy Awards in 2018.

Personal life

Perić teaches

Qigong ''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...

around the world in masterclasses titled "Qigong: Physical and Mental Preparation for Actors". He is an avid basketball fan.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* 1977 births Living people Serbian male television actors 20th-century Serbian male actors 21st-century Serbian male actors People from Kladovo {{Serbia-actor-stub