Géza Röhrig (, ; May 11, 1967) is a Hungarian actor and poet. He is best known for his role in the 2015 film ''

Son of Saul ''Son of Saul'' () is a 2015 Hungarian historical drama film directed by László Nemes, in his feature directorial debut, and co-written by Nemes and Clara Royer. It is set in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II, and follows ...

'', which won the Grand Prix at the

2015 Cannes Film Festival The 68th Cannes Film Festival took place from 13 to 24 May 2015. Coen brothers, Ethan and Joel Coen were the Co-Presidents of the Jury for the main competition, marking the first time that two people co-chaired the jury. Since the Coen brothers ...

, the

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

for Best Foreign Language Film and the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for Best Foreign Language Film.

Life and career

Géza Röhrig was born in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. His mother left the family after he was born, and his father died when he was four, so Röhrig spent his childhood in foster care. From the age of 12 he was raised by a Jewish family. In the 1980s, he was the frontman of an

underground music Underground music is music with practices perceived as outside, or somehow opposed to, Popular music, mainstream popular music culture. Underground styles lack the commercial success of popular music movements, and may involve the use of avant-g ...

band called ''Huckleberry'' (also known as ''HuckRebelly''), whose concerts were almost always interrupted by the communist authorities. At university he studied Hungarian and Polish, and after a visit to

Auschwitz Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...

during a study tour in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, he decided to become an

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tran ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He portrayed poet Attila József in a film by József Madaras. He studied filmmaking under

István Szabó István Szabó (; born 18 February 1938) is a Hungarian film director, screenwriter, and opera director. Szabó is one of the most notable Hungary, Hungarian filmmakers and one who has been best known outside the Hungarian language, Hungarian- ...

. He published two collections of poems on the theme of the

Shoah The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, ' (literally "Book of Incineration", 1995) and ' ("Captivity", 1997). He graduated from the

Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest The Academy of Drama and Film in Budapest (, SZFE) is an educational institution founded in 1865 in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867), Hungary. It became a university in 2000 and the name was changed to University of Theatre and Film Arts ...

with a degree in

filmmaking Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

. Since 2000, he has lived in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

borough of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he received a degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary and has been a kindergarten teacher at Hannah Senesh Community Day School in Brooklyn. He is married, and has four children. He has published many collections of poetry.

Work

Prose

Poetry

* * * * * * * *

Filmography

Film

Television

*1989: ''Közjáték'', episode '' Mrożek: Levélkék'' (director) *1989: ''Eszmélet'' by József Madaras, episodes 1 and 2: Attila József *1990: ''Armelle'' by Jacek Lenczowski: Piotr

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rohrig, Geza 1967 births Living people Jewish Hungarian actors 21st-century Hungarian male actors Hungarian male film actors Hungarian male television actors 20th-century Hungarian male actors Hungarian expatriates in the United States Hungarian male poets 20th-century Hungarian poets 21st-century Hungarian poets