Jiří Schmitzer (born 25 October 1949) is a Czech actor and musician, the son of actor
Jiří Sovák. He is a four-time holder of the
Czech Lion Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
Biography
Career
Schmitzer graduated from the
Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
The Department of Dramatic Theatre (, abbreviated DAMU) is one of three departments at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (alongside the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, ...
in 1974, after which he performed at the ''Činoherní studio'' in
Ústí nad Labem
Ústí nad Labem (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 91,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the Ústí nad Labem Region. It is a major industrial centre and, besides being an active river port, is an important railway junction.
...
. From 1985, he was a member of the ''Studio Ypsilon'' ensemble in
Liberec
Liberec (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 108,000 inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse River, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preserved and is pr ...
.
Schmitzer made his television debut in 1966 with the series ''Eliška a její rod''. He first appeared onscreen in the 1967 production ''
Kinoautomat
''Kinoautomat'' was the world's first interactive movie, conceived by Radúz Činčera for the Czechoslovak Pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. At nine points during the film the action stops, and a moderator appears on stage to ...
'', considered the world's first
interactive movie
Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but ...
.
He played prominent roles in such films as ''
Marecek, Pass Me the Pen!'' (1976), ''
Cutting It Short
''Cutting It Short'' (also released as ''Shortcuts'') ( - literraly: First haircut) is a 1980 in film, 1980 cinema of the Czech Republic, Czechoslovak comedy film directed by Jiří Menzel. It is based on the novel ''Postřižiny'' by Czech write ...
'' (1980), ''
The Snowdrop Festival'' (1984), ''
Černí baroni'' (1992), and the television series ''
Chalupáři'' (1975) and ''
Sanitka'' (1984).
In 1997, Schmitzer won his first Czech Lion Award as Best Actor in a Leading Role for the television film ''Bumerang'' (1997). He has since won the award three more times, for the films ''
Beauty in Trouble
''Beauty in Trouble'' () is a 2006 Czech tragicomedy directed by Jan Hřebejk. Eddie Cockrell, writing in '' Variety'', said the " tle comes from the Robert Graves poem, itself adapted into a Czech popular song in the 1980s, and performed in the ...
'' (2006), ''Jako nikdy'' (2013), and ''Staříci'' (2019).
Schmitzer is also a composer, having written music for a number of theatrical productions and films. He is additionally a singer and guitarist, performing humorous folk songs. He has released four studio albums. In 2008, Schmitzer published a collection of his texts in a book titled ''Kanimůra ze Šardonu''.
Personal life
In 1976, under the influence of alcohol, Schmitzer caused a car accident in which a pedestrian died. He was sentenced to three years in prison and released after a year and a half for good behaviour. His father, Jiří Sovák, never forgave him for this, cutting off all contact with his son and eventually disowning him.
Prior to the accident, Schmitzer had acted in several productions with his father, including the film ''Marecek, Pass Me the Pen!'' and the series ''Chalupáři''. In the film they played son and father and in the series, the two played grandson and grandfather, respectively. In the 1977 sci-fi comedy ''
Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea'', Schmitzer voiced a younger version of his father's character.
Selected filmography
Film
Television
Discography
* ''Recitál'' (1997)
* ''Šílenec'' (2000)
* ''Bouda'' (2003)
* ''Sbírka kiksů'' (2008)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmitzer, Jiri
Czech folk singers
Czech guitarists
Czech pop singers
Czech comedy musicians
1949 births
Living people
Male actors from Prague
Czech male film actors
Czech male television actors
20th-century Czech male actors
21st-century Czech male actors
20th-century Czech male singers
Folk-pop singers
Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni
Czech male stage actors
Czech Lion Awards winners
Czech prisoners and detainees
21st-century Czech male singers