Hristo Naumov Shopov ( bg, Христо Наумов Шопов; born 4 January 1964) is a
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n actor. Shopov's father,
Naum Shopov
Naum Hristov Shopov ( bg, Наум Христов Шопов; 27 July 1930 – 18 April 2012) was a Bulgarian actor. He appeared in more than thirty films since 1960. His son Hristo Shopov
Hristo Naumov Shopov ( bg, Христо Наумо ...
, was a famous Bulgarian actor as well.
He is most noted for his 2004 portrayal of
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of J ...
in
Mel Gibson
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...
's ''
The Passion of the Christ
''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film produced, directed and co-written by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as Mary M ...
''. Shopov revived his role as Pilate in the 2006 film ''
The Inquiry
The Inquiry was a study group established in September 1917 by Woodrow Wilson to prepare materials for the peace negotiations following World War I. The group, composed of around 150 academics, was directed by the presidential adviser Edward Hou ...
''. His dual roles as Pilate make him, along with
Frank Thring
Francis William Thring (11 May 1926 – 29 December 1994) was an Australian character actor in radio, stage, television and film; as well as a theatre director. His early career started in London in theatre productions, before he starred in Ho ...
, one of two actors to twice portray a character directly responsible for authorizing the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He has become one of Bulgaria's most successful actors, making his debut in 1981 with ''Dishay, choveche'' (Breathe, Man!). His body of work includes many Bulgarian films such as ''
Vchera
''Yesterday'' ( bg, Вчера, italic=yes) is a 1988 Bulgarian drama film directed by Ivan Andonov and based on Vlado Daverov's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. It stars Hristo Shopov, Sofiya Kuzeva and Georgi Staykov as students at ...
'' (Yesterday) and ''Sledvay me'' (Follow Me). He has also appeared in several low-budget US film productions including ''Phantom Force'', ''Target of Opportunity'' and ''
Alien Hunter
''Alien Hunter'' is a 2003 American-Bulgarian science-fiction-thriller film directed by Ronald Krauss and starring James Spader, Carl Lewis and Leslie Stefanson.
Plot
In 1947 New Mexico, a radio operator receives a bizarre signal, coming from Ros ...
''. In his homeland, he is best known for his role in the movie ''Vchera'', which became a symbol of several generations. The movie tells the story of young Bulgarians studying in an elite English language school during Communist rule.
Mary Soan, an assistant director of the film ''
I Am David
''I am David'' is a 1963 novel by Anne Holm. It tells the story of a young boy who, with the help of a prison guard, escapes from a concentration camp in an unnamed Eastern European country and journeys to Denmark. Along the way, he meets many p ...
'', suggested that he would be suited for the role of Pilate to Shaila Rubin, who was casting the film. After Hristo and Gibson had a brief conversation, Hristo was given the part. Shopov also played the role of Pontius Pilate in the 2006 film ''The Inquiry'', which also cast
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
as Emperor Tiberius.
Selected filmography
External links
*
www.hristoshopov.com – Biography, filmography, photos... of Hristo Shopov
Bulgarian male film actors
1964 births
Living people
Male actors from Sofia
{{Bulgaria-actor-stub