Milan Kňažko (born 28 August 1945) is a Slovak actor and politician. He was one of the leading personalities of the Public against Violence movement in November 1989 and one of the most popular faces of the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

in Slovakia.

Acting

Kňažko starred in '' Devět kruhů pekla'', which was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section at the

1989 Cannes Film Festival The 42nd Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 23 May 1989. West German filmmaker Wim Wenders served as jury president for the main competition. American filmmaker Steven Soderbergh won the '' Palme d'Or'', the festival's top prize, for his ...

. He had a key supporting role in the 2007 horror film '' Hostel: Part II'', where he portrayed Sasha, the leader and manager of the Elite Hunting Club. From 2016–2019 he starred in a Czech translation of the play ''

Shylock Shylock () is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Merchant of Venice'' ( 1600). A Venetian Jewish moneylender, Shylock is the play's principal villain. His defeat and forced conversion to Christianity form the climax ...

'' by Canadian playwright Mark Leiren-Young at Divadlo Na Jezerce in Prague. The play was filmed and shown as a television special on Czech TV.

Selected filmography

* '' Zánik samoty Berhof'' (1983) * '' Dobří holubi se vracejí'' (1987) * '' Devět kruhů pekla'' (1988) * '' The Last Butterfly'' (1990) * '' Normal'' (2009) * ''

Jan Hus Jan Hus (; ; 1369 – 6 July 1415), sometimes anglicized as John Hus or John Huss, and referred to in historical texts as ''Iohannes Hus'' or ''Johannes Huss'', was a Czechs, Czech theologian and philosopher who became a Church reformer and t ...

'' (2015)

Awards

On 19 November 2024, Knazko was awarded the 24th Hanno R Ellenbogen Citizenship Award at the Palffy Palace,

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, at a ceremony also honoring Cardinal Dominik Duka (25th), Yevgeniya Chirikova (23rd) an
Barbara Day
by the Prague Society for International Cooperation an
Global Panel Foundation
as part of the 35th Commemoration of the

and 25th Hanno R Ellenbogen Citizenship Award Ceremony.https://apha.cz/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/hre-citizenship-award-2024-final-print-ready.pdf

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knazko, Milan 1945 births Living people Foreign ministers of Slovakia People from Veľký Krtíš District Public Against Violence politicians People's Party – Movement for a Democratic Slovakia politicians Slovak Democratic and Christian Union – Democratic Party politicians Slovak male film actors Deputy prime ministers of Slovakia Culture ministers of Slovakia Government ministers of Slovakia Candidates for President of Slovakia Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 1992–1994 Members of the National Council (Slovakia) 1994-1998 Recipients of the Thalia Award