János Kulka (born 11 November 1958) is a Hungarian actor. He appeared in more than fifty films since 1980, and is a leading stage actor of his generation in Hungary. He received the Kossuth and Jászai Mari Prize; he is an eternal member of the Society of Immortals.

Early life

Kulka was born in Budapest, but spent most of his childhood in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

, where his father, Frigyes Kulka was an internationally acclaimed surgeon. His father came from Ipolyság (currently Šahy in Slovakia), and was a Holocaust survivor, who lost his family during the war. His mother, Eszter Boleman was recruited as an anchorwoman for the first experimental television broadcasts in Hungary, but the revolution in 1956 interrupted her career. His sister, Janina Kulka is a full professor of pathology at the

Semmelweis University Semmelweis University (Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Semmelweis Egyetem'', ) is a research-led medical school in Budapest, Hungary, founded in 1769. With six faculties and a doctoral school it covers all aspects of medical and health sciences. ...

Career

He started his career as a child actor at the

National Theatre of Szeged The National Theatre of Szeged is the main theatre of Szeged, Hungary. It was built in 1883 by the well-known company of Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer in Eclecticism in art, Eclectic and Baroque Revival architecture, Neo-baroque style. ...

, and wanted to study liberal arts, but eventually changed his mind and was admitted to 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 ...

. After his graduation in 1981, he joined the

National Theatre of Pécs The National Theatre of Pécs is the main theatre of Pécs, Hungary. History Theatrical plays became a regular attraction in the city from the beginning of the 19th century in German and Hungarian language. Most often they were arranged in larger ...

. In 1985 he signed on to the Gergely Csiky Theatre of Kaposvár, which was a leading Hungarian theatre of the time. Kulka considers these years to have a huge impact on his way of acting, and benefitted much from this experience later in his career. From 1993 he was the member of the ''Radnóti Miklós Theatre'' and in 2003 he joined the

Hungarian National Theatre The National Theatre, located in Budapest originally opened in 1837. Since then, it has occupied several locations, including the original building at Kerepesi Street, the ''People's Theatre'' at Blaha Lujza Square, as well as Hevesi Sándor Sq ...

, where he stayed for 10 years. In 2013 he didn't renew his contract mainly due to the departure of

Róbert Alföldi Róbert Alföldi (born 22 November 1967) is a Hungarian actor, director and television host. He was the director of the Hungarian National Theater for five years from 1 July 2008 until 2013. He is best known for his numerous controversial th ...

, who was the director of the theatre for five years. Between 2013 and 2018 he was the member of the ''Katona József Theatre'' in Budapest. Most Hungarians know Kulka as ''Mágenheim doktor,'' an emergency physician of high principles from the series

Szomszédok ''Szomszédok'' (, ''Neighbours'') was a Hungarian television series that ran for 331 episodes between 1987 and 1999 and airing its grand finale on 31 December 1999. The series aired on state-owned broadcaster Magyar Televízió (Hungarian Televis ...

''(Neighbours),'' an extremely popular television programme running between 1987 and 1999, depicting the transition of Hungary from socialism into a democratic state. Besides stage acting, he was a prominent voice actor known as the Hungarian voice of

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, singer, musician and writer. He first gained professional recognition as a member of the English comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie act ...

in House, M.D. and

Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, ...

in The Borgias.

Personal life

He publicly came out as gay in 2013. In 2016 he suffered a serious stroke resulting an

aphasia Aphasia, also known as dysphasia, is an impairment in a person's ability to comprehend or formulate language because of dysfunction in specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine, but aph ...

, which disables his speech and limits his theatrical performances. Ever since he is doing efforts to raise awareness of the disorder.

Selected filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kulka, Janos 1958 births Living people Male actors from Budapest Hungarian male film actors