Goran Višnjić

Goran Višnjić (; born 9 September 1972) is a Croatian actor who has appeared in American and British films and television productions. He is best known in the United States for his roles as Dr. Luka Kovač in '' ER'' and Garcia Flynn in '' Timeless'', both NBC television series. For ''ER'', he and the cast were nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He is the son-in-law of Croatian film director and former head of Croatian Radiotelevision (1991–95), Antun Vrdoljak. He moved to the United States in the late 1990s.

Early life

Višnjić was born on 9 September 1972 in Šibenik, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia. He has one sibling, an elder brother, Joško. His father, Željko, was a bus driver, and his mother, Milka, worked in a market. He appeared in plays throughout his childhood and made his screen debut at the age of 16 in the controversial Yugoslav film, ''Braća po materi'' (1988), playing a young Ustasha.

In 1990, at the age of 18, Višnjić served one-year of obligatory military service in the Yugoslav People's Army as a paratrooper. Only weeks after his military discharge in 1991, as Yugoslavia began to dissolve, he joined the nascent Croatian Ground Army. After leaving the army, he moved to Zagreb to study at the Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career

Višnjić was the youngest actor to be chosen for the title role in Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'' at the Dubrovnik Summer Theatre Festival. Originally cast as Laertes and understudy to Hamlet, he took over the role when the star dropped out of the production shortly before the first performance. He portrayed the doomed prince from 1994 to 2000, winning several Orlando Awards (the equivalent of the Tony Award). During an episode of '' ER'', he demonstrated his expertise in the part of Hamlet, by reciting an excerpt from the "To be, or not to be" soliloquy in Croatian.

Prior to ''ER'', he found work in local TV productions and landed a Tuborg beer commercial that aired in Europe. Višnjić also had small speaking roles in films such as '' The Peacemaker'', '' Committed'' and ''Practical Magic''. In 1998, he appeared in Madonna's music video "The Power of Good-Bye", and had a cameo in the movie ''Rounders''. It was his role as Risto, the Bosnian driver in ''Welcome to Sarajevo'' that led then-producer Jack Orman to offer him a role as a doctor to replace the departing George Clooney in the sixth season of ''ER'' in late 1999, eventually becoming the show's male lead by the start of season 12, having taken over from the departing star Noah Wyle, who left after the finale of season 11. By season 14, however, he was only making a limited number of appearances, before completely leaving the show early in season 15 (15x03: "The Book of Abby").

While starring on ''ER'', Višnjić worked on other projects. He starred in the British film '' Doctor Sleep'' (2002), alongside Shirley Henderson and Miranda Otto. He co-starred in '' The Deep End''; voiced Soto in ''Ice Age'', and starred in ''The Last Will'' and ''Doctor Sleep''. In 2004, he starred in the television miniseries ''Spartacus'' and the Croatian movie and television series ''Long Dark Night''. He appeared with Jennifer Garner in '' Elektra'' (2005). In 2005, Višnjić was one of four finalists for the role of James Bond, eventually losing out to British actor Daniel Craig, with whom he would appear in ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo''.

In 2008, Višnjić starred in the film ''Helen'', alongside Ashley Judd as Judd's character's husband David in the drama, which made its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

He appeared alongside Carla Gugino in a segment of the 2009 film ''New York, I Love You'', an anthology set in New York. Višnjić's segment was directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev. The segment was cut from the theatrical release of the film but was included in the DVD version.

Višnjić appeared in the historical drama ''The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler'', about a young Polish woman who saved the lives of many Jewish children in wartime Warsaw, filmed in Riga, Latvia. It was produced for ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'' and aired on CBS on 19 April 2009. He completed a role in Mike Mills' independent film, '' Beginners''. In late 2009, he was cast as Samson in the miniseries '' The Deep'', shown on BBC One in 2010.

He appeared as Andrija Hebrang in the historical drama ''Tito'' on Croatian television. He later appeared in the unsold 2010 pilot of ABC's ''Boston's Finest'', playing a disgraced cop who works with a female officer to solve crimes while trying to clear his name. In 2011, he appeared in the two-episode season three finale of the television series ''Leverage'', as international crime financier Damien Moreau, his first guest appearance on an English-language television program. In 2011, he played Dragan Armansky, the head of a security agency, in ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'' and he has signed on to play this role for the entire film trilogy produced and distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment. He was featured on a four-episode arc of the American television series ''Pan Am''; he played a Yugoslavian attaché to the United Nations.

In 2014, Goran played John Woods, the husband of Molly Woods, in ''Extant'', produced by Steven Spielberg. Although the series was renewed in late 2014, Višnjić left the series early in the second season.

From 2016 to 2018, he played former NSA asset Garcia Flynn in NBC's time travel television series '' Timeless''.

In 2019, Višnjić portrayed Ante Gotovina in the Antun Vrdoljak-directed film ''General''. His performance, along with the film itself gained overwhelmingly negative reviews with many critics, including Milivoj Jukić and Jurica Pavičić calling his portrayal "the worst performance of his career". The critically and commercially panned film was screened at the Pula Film Festival.

Visnjic played Nikola Tesla