Goran Višnjić
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Goran Višnjić ( ; born 9 September 1972) is a Croatian actor. He is best known for his roles as Dr.
Luka Kovač Luka Kovač is a fictional character from the NBC television series '' ER''. The role was portrayed by Goran Višnjić from the sixth season episode, "Leave It to Weaver", which aired on September 30, 1999 until the thirteenth season episode, "T ...
in '' ER'' and Garcia Flynn in '' Timeless'', both
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
television series. For ''ER'', he and the cast were nominated for two
Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...
.


Early life

Višnjić was born on 9 September 1972 in
Šibenik Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...
,
SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), commonly abbreviated as SR Croatia and referred to as simply Croatia, was a ...
,
SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...
. 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 Ustaša. In 1990, at the age of 18, Višnjić served one-year of obligatory military service in the
Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...
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 Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
to study at the Academy of Dramatic Art.


Career

Višnjić was the youngest actor to be chosen for the title role in
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 natio ...
's ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
'' at the
Dubrovnik Summer Festival The Dubrovnik Summer Festival (; ) is an annually-held summer festival instituted in 1950 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. It is held every year between 10 July and 25 August. On more than 70 open-air venues of Renaissance-Baroque city of Dubrovnik a rich ...
. Originally cast as Laertes and understudy to
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
, 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 three national awards. 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 "To be, or not to be" is a speech given by Prince Hamlet in the so-called "nunnery scene" of William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'' (Act 3, Scene 1). The speech is named for the opening phrase, itself among the most widely known and quoted lines ...
"
soliloquy A soliloquy (, from Latin 'alone' and 'to speak', ) is a speech in drama in which a character speaks their thoughts aloud, typically while alone on stage. It serves to reveal the character's inner feelings, motivations, or plans directly to ...
in Croatian. Prior to ''ER'', he found work in local television productions and landed a Tuborg beer commercial that aired in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. Višnjić also had small speaking roles in films such as '' The Peacemaker'', ''
Practical Magic ''Practical Magic'' is a 1998 American romantic fantasy film based on the 1995 novel '' Practical Magic'' by Alice Hoffman. The film was directed by Griffin Dunne and stars Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing, ...
'' and '' Committed''. In 1998, he appeared in
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
's music video " The Power of Good-Bye," and had a cameo in the film ''
Rounders Rounders is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a wooden, plastic, or metal bat that has a cylindrical end. The players score b ...
''. It was his role as Risto, the Bosnian driver in '' Welcome to Sarajevo'' that led then-producer John Wells to offer him a role as a doctor to replace the departing
George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and philanthropist. Known for his leading man roles on screen in both blockbuster and independent films, Clooney has received numerous accolades, including two Ac ...
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 Noah Strausser Speer Wyle (; born June 4, 1971) is an American actor, writer, producer and director. He rose to fame as John Carter in the NBC medical drama '' ER'' (1994–2009), receiving five Emmy Award nominations, three Golden Globe Award ...
, 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. While starring on ''ER'', Višnjić worked on other projects. He co-starred in '' The Deep End''; starred in and co-produced '' Posljednja volja''; voiced Soto in ''
Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...
'' and starred in '' Close Your Eyes'', alongside
Shirley Henderson Shirley Henderson (born 24 November 1965) is a Scottish actress. Her accolades include two Scottish BAFTAs, a VFCC Award and an Olivier Award, as well as BAFTA, BIFA, London Critics' Circle, Chlotrudis, Gotham, and Canadian Screen Award n ...
and
Miranda Otto Miranda Otto (born 16 December 1967) is an Australian actress. She is the daughter of actors Barry Otto, Barry and Lindsay Otto and the paternal half-sister of actress Gracie Otto. Otto began her acting career in 1986 at age 18 and appeared in a ...
. In 2004, he starred in the television miniseries ''
Spartacus Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Historical accounts o ...
'' and the film '' Duga mračna noć''. He next appeared with
Jennifer Garner Jennifer Anne Garner (born April 17, 1972) is an American actress. Born in Houston, Texas and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, Garner studied theater at Denison University and began acting as an understudy for the Roundabout Theatre Company ...
in '' Elektra''. In 2005, Višnjić was one of the four finalists for the role of
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
, eventually losing out to British actor
Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English actor. His accolades include two National Board of Review Awards, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. ...
, with whom he would appear in ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo''. In 2009, Višnjić appeared alongside
Carla Gugino Carla Gugino ( ; born August 29, 1971) is an American actress. After early roles in the films '' Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989), '' This Boy's Life'' (1993), '' Son in Law'' (1993), and '' Snake Eyes'' (1998), Gugino received wider recognition fo ...
in a segment of the film ''
New York, I Love You ''New York, I Love You'' is a 2008 American romantic comedy-drama anthology film consisting of eleven short films, each by a different director. The shorts all relate in some way to the subject of love and are set among the five boroughs of Ne ...
'', an anthology set in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. Višnjić's segment ''Apocrypha'' was directed by
Andrey Zvyagintsev Andrey Petrovich Zvyagintsev (, ; born 6 February 1964) is a Russian filmmaker. His film '' The Return'' (2003) won him a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Following ''The Return'', Zvyagintsev directed '' The Banishment'' (2007) and '' ...
. The segment was cut from the theatrical release of the film but was included in the DVD version. He next starred in '' Helen'', alongside
Ashley Judd Ashley Tyler Ciminella, known professionally as Ashley Judd (born April 19, 1968), is an American actress and activist. She grew up in a family of performing artists, the daughter of country music singer Naomi Judd and the half-sister of country ...
as Judd's character's husband David, which made its world premiere at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...
. Višnjić appeared in '' The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler'', about a young Polish woman who saved the lives of many
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
children in wartime
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, filmed in
Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
,
Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
. It was produced for ''
Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas Citybased greeting card company. It is the longest-ru ...
'' and aired on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
on 19 April 2009. He completed a role in
Mike Mills Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., hi ...
' film, ''
Beginners ''Beginners'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy drama film written and directed by Mike Mills. Based on the coming out of Mills' father at the age 75, five years before his death, it tells the story of a man reflecting on the life and death of ...
''. In late 2009, he was cast as Samson in '' The Deep'', shown on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
in 2010. He appeared as Andrija Hebrang in the television miniseries '' Tito''. He later appeared in the unsold 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. He also 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 ''The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'' (original title in ) is a psychological thriller novel by Swedish author Stieg Larsson. It was published posthumously in 2005, translated into English in 2008, and became an international bestseller. ''T ...
'' and he has signed on to play this role for the entire film trilogy produced and distributed by
Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...
. He was featured on a four-episode arc of the television series ''
Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...
''; he played a Yugoslavian attaché to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
. In 2014, Višnjić played John Woods, the husband of Molly Woods, in ''
Extant Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Exta ...
'', produced by
Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...
. Although the series was renewed in late 2014, he left the series early in the second season. From 2016 to 2018, he played former
NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the director of national intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and proces ...
asset Garcia Flynn in
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
's '' Timeless''. In 2019, Višnjić portrayed
Ante Gotovina Ante Gotovina (born 12 October 1955) is a Croatian retired lieutenant general and former French senior corporal who served in the Croatian War for Independence. He is noted for his primary role in the 1995 Operation Storm. In 2001, the Intern ...
in the
Antun Vrdoljak Antun Vrdoljak (; born 5 June 1931) is a Croatian film actor and director, sports official, and head of Croatian Radiotelevision during the Yugoslav Wars. Between the 1960s and early 1990s he was mainly a film artist. In the early 1990s he became ...
-directed film ''
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
''. His performance, along with the film itself gained overwhelmingly negative reviews with many critics, including Milivoj Jukić and
Jurica Pavičić Jurica Pavičić (born 2 November 1965 in Split) is a writer, columnist and film critic. Pavičić's screenplay for ''Witnesses'' (''Svjedoci''), Vinko Brešan's 2003 film, won the Golden Arena for Best Screenplay in the 2003 Pula Film Festiv ...
calling his portrayal "the worst performance of his career." The critically and commercially panned film was screened at the
Pula Film Festival Pula Film Festival () is an annual Croatian film festival, established in 1954. It is held in a Roman amphitheater known as the Pula Arena. Pula Film Festival is the oldest Croatian film festival and is usually held in the summer, in July or Aug ...
. Višnjić played
Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...
in the twelfth series of ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'', appearing in the fourth episode, " Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror," first broadcast on 19 January 2020. In early 2020, Višnjić was cast as
Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been i ...
in the unsold ABC pilot ''The Brides'', which was written by
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (born 1973) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for the television series ''Glee'' (2011–2014), ''Big Love'' (2009–2011), '' Riverdale'' (2017– ...
. In 2024, Višnjić returned to the stage starring opposite
Zrinka Cvitešić Zrinka Cvitešić (born 18 July 1979) is a Croatian film, television and theatre actress. Biography The elder of two daughters, Zrinka Cvitešić was born in Karlovac, in the Karlovac County to Ivan and Višnja Cvitešić. Her mother played ...
and Goran Grgić in
Ivo Vojnović Ivo Vojnović (9 October 1857 – 30 August 1929) was a writer from Dubrovnik. Biography Vojnović was born in Dubrovnik as the first son of Count Konstantin Vojnović (1832–1903) and Maria de Serragli (1836–1922) on 9 October 1857 in D ...
's ''Ekvinocijo'', directed by Krešimir Dolenčić at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. He also appeared in the final season of '' Vikings: Valhalla'' as
Erik the Red Erik Thorvaldsson (), known as Erik the Red, was a Norse explorer, described in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first European settlement in Greenland. Erik most likely earned the epithet "the Red" due to the color o ...
.


Recognition

Višnjić was named ''
People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
''s Sexiest Import in 1999 and "One of TV's Sexiest Men" in the June 5–11, 2005 ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
''. He was ranked #18 in ''Hollywood'' in ''Best Croatian Male Movie Stars of All Time'' list in November 2005. He was also named as the Best Croatian Actor in 2004 for his role in the movie '' Duga mračna noć'', according to the votes of ''
Večernji list (also known as '; ) is a Croatian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian daily newspaper published in Zagreb and Mostar. History and profile was started in Zagreb in 1959. Its predecessor ' ('Evening Courier') appeared for the first time on 3 June 1957 in ...
''.


Personal life

His wife, Eva (born Ivana Vrdoljak) is an artist and sculptor, and the daughter of film director
Antun Vrdoljak Antun Vrdoljak (; born 5 June 1931) is a Croatian film actor and director, sports official, and head of Croatian Radiotelevision during the Yugoslav Wars. Between the 1960s and early 1990s he was mainly a film artist. In the early 1990s he became ...
, who controversially headed
Croatian Radiotelevision ''Hrvatska radiotelevizija'' ( HRT), or Croatian Radiotelevision, is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite. HRT is divided into three ...
from 1991 to 1995. The couple have two adopted children and one biological child. They resided in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
until 2021, and have three homes in Croatia –
Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
,
Šibenik Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...
and
Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...
. Višnjić acknowledged paternity of a daughter, Lana Lourdes Rupić, whom he fathered in 2006 with a Croatian woman, Mirela Rupić. In 2021, Višnjić and his family moved from Los Angeles to
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.


Filmography


Film


Television


Music videos


Web series


Theatre


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Visnjic, Goran 1972 births 20th-century Croatian male actors 21st-century Croatian male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American people of Croatian descent American male film actors American male television actors American male stage actors American male voice actors Croatian male film actors Croatian male stage actors Croatian male television actors Croatian male voice actors Croatian emigrants to the United States Croatian emigrants to the United Kingdom Croatian soldiers Military personnel of the Croatian War of Independence Living people People from Šibenik Croatian Theatre Award winners Golden Arena winners Vladimir Nazor Award winners Academy of Dramatic Art, University of Zagreb alumni