Pawel B. Szajda ( pl, Paweł Szajda ; born January 13, 1982) is an American screen and stage actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Under the Tuscan Sun'', ''Generation Kill'', '' Tatarak,'' and as

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...

Alexei Poletov in the third season of the

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

original

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

space

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

series '' For All Mankind.''

Early life and education

Szajda was born and raised in

Farmington, Connecticut Farmington is a town in Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The population was 26,712 at the 2020 census. It sits 10 miles west of Hartford at the hub of major I-84 interchanges, 20 miles ...

. Szajda's maternal great-grandfather left Poland for

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1912, two years prior to the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He married Szajda's Polish grandmother, had children, and, after the war ended, moved to Poland. In 1964, the family moved back to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, which is where Szajda's mother graduated from college and then returned with the family to Poland. In Poland, she met Szajda's father, and they had Szajda's older sister, Barbara, and two older brothers, Marcin and Adam. Following the introduction of martial law in Poland in 1981, Szajda's family relocated to the United States. Szajda also has a younger brother, Phil. Growing up in the United States, his family spoke Polish and sent Pawel and his siblings to Polish-language school every Saturday. "I thought my parents' decision to send me to Polish-language classes every Saturday ruined my childhood, but it's actually been my stepping stone into acting," Szajda said. He was a Polish Boy Scout. Szajda graduated from Farmington High School in 1999. During his time at the school he participated in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

, was a state champion

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...

, played

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

and was the

marching band A marching band is a group of musical instrument, instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass instrument, brass, woodwind instrument, woodwind, and percus ...

drum major. He also played the title role in the play '' The Foreigner'' by

Larry Shue Larry Howard Shue (July 23, 1946 – September 23, 1985) was an American playwright and actor, best known for writing two oft-performed farces, '' The Nerd'' and '' The Foreigner''. Early life Shue was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and grew up ...

Career

Szajda's acting career started with a commercial for the 1996 Olympics. In 2002, he won a role in '' Under the Tuscan Sun''. Director Audrey Wells had wanted to use an actor from Poland, but due to visa issues, she was forced to look elsewhere and chose Szajda. Szajda plays a Polish immigrant

handyman A handyman, also known as a fixer, handyperson or handyworker, is a person skilled at a wide range of repairs, typically around the home. These tasks include trade skills, repair work, maintenance work, are both interior and exterior, and are so ...

named Pawel, disapproved of by his Italian girlfriend's father. After filming completed on ''Under the Tuscan Sun'', Szajda returned from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

to finish his studies in English literature and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

. He spent a year at Bridgewater State College before moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

to attend Fordham University at the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

campus. He continued to act on screen and on stage while pursuing his education. He appeared in an episode of ''

Hope and Faith ''Hope & Faith'' is an American television sitcom, starring Faith Ford and Kelly Ripa as Hope Shanowski and Faith Fairfield. Hope is a homemaker and mother of three and Faith is her sister, a soap opera star whose character is killed off, leadi ...

'' (2004), ''

Venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...

'' (2005), '' The Infliction of Cruelty'' (2006), and '' Death Without Consent'' (2007). Szajda appeared in the 2008 HBO mini-series ''

Generation Kill ''Generation Kill'' is a 2004 book written by ''Rolling Stone'' journalist Evan Wright chronicling his experience as an embedded reporter with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps, during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. ...

'' (2008) as Corporal Walt Hasser. In the 2009 movie, ''Tatarak'' ( ''Sweet Rush'' in English) by

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winner

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...

, Szajda made his Polish film debut in the leading role of Boguś. The film was a competitor in the 59th

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

. He has played i
The Players Theater
in

an
Makor/Steinhardt Center
at the 14th Street Y in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. In 2022, Szajda had a recurring role in the third season of the

original

space

series '' For All Mankind'' as

Alexei Poletov, a member of

Roscosmos The State Space Corporation "Roscosmos" (russian: Государственная корпорация по космической деятельности «Роскосмос»), commonly known simply as Roscosmos (russian: Роскосмос) ...

' Mars-94 mission and one of the first humans to land on

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

. He is represented by The Glick Agency.

Personal life

Szajda's interests include traveling, photography, drawing, and playing the trumpet. "When we were filming ''Tatarak'' in

Grudziądz Grudziądz ( la, Graudentum, Graudentium, german: Graudenz) is a city in northern Poland, with 92,552 inhabitants (2021). Located on the Vistula River, it lies within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the fourth-largest city in its prov ...

, I took some wonderful photos of the sky—it’s amazing there! Maybe that’s why I’d like to act more in Poland—to be able to visit the country."

Filmography

*1996: ''Furby Commercial'' *1996: ''Pablow, An Olympic commercial in the United States'' *2003: '' Under the Tuscan Sun'' - Pawel *2004: ''

'' (TV Series) - College Guy *2005: ''

'' - Ricky *2007: '' Death Without Consent'' - Sean *2008: ''

'' (TV Mini-Series) - Cpl. Walt Hasser *2009: '' Tatarak'' (''Sweet Rush'' nglish title - Bogus / Marta's lover *2011: '' Blue Bloods'' (TV Series) - Sergei Sokoloff *2011: '' Wygrany'' (The Winner) - Oliver Linovsky *2012: ''

3 Days of Normal 3 Days of Normal is a 2012 American independent film produced by Jared Parsons and Mircea Monroe. The film is directed by Ishai Setton and stars Jace Mclean and Mircea Monroe. The story is about a police officer and a Hollywood actress in the small ...

'' - Trent Callender *2015: '' Agent Carter'' (Episode: "

Snafu SNAFU is an acronym that is widely used to stand for the sarcastic expression Situation normal: all fucked up. It is a well-known example of military acronym slang. It is sometimes bowdlerized to "all fouled up" or similar. It means that the ...

") - Ovechkin *2016: '' Our Kind of Traitor'' - Blue Eyed Killer *2016: ''

Imperium In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic a ...

'' - Vince Sargent *2018: ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'' (Episode: " Twenty-Three Skidoo") - Nikolai Dimitrov *2019: ''

The Haunting of Sharon Tate ''The Haunting of Sharon Tate'' is a 2019 American horror thriller film written and directed by Daniel Farrands, and starring Hilary Duff, Jonathan Bennett, Lydia Hearst, Pawel Szajda, and Ryan Cargill. The film is a fictionalized account of th ...

'' - Wojciech Frykowski *2019: '' Above the Shadows'' - Marjus *2022: '' For All Mankind'' (TV series) - Alexei Poletov

Stage work

*1990s: Charlie Baker, '' The Foreigner'' by

, at Farmington High School *2006: '' The Infliction of Cruelty'' by Sean McManus and Andrew Unterberg at the 10th Annual

New York International Fringe Festival The New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, was a fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It took place over the course of a few weeks in October, spread on more than 20 stages across sev ...

, August 18–26

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Szajda, Pawel American male film actors 1982 births Living people Male actors from Connecticut People from Farmington, Connecticut Bridgewater State University alumni Fordham University alumni American people of Polish descent 20th-century American male actors American male stage actors American male television actors 21st-century American male actors