Risto Kübar (born 4 December 1983) is an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n stage, voice, and film actor.

Early life and education

Risto Kübar was born on 4 December 1983 in the small borough of

Kose Kose () is a small borough () in Harju County, 39 kilometers (24 miles) southeast of Tallinn, Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Kose Parish and lies next to Pirita River. At the 2011 Census, the settlement's population was 2,097. ...

. His older brother is sidecar motocross racer Silver Kübar. He attended Kose Secondary School from 1990 until 1999, followed by studies at the

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

Old Town Educational College (VHK), graduating in 2002. After graduation from VHK he was accepted to the Estonian Music and Theatre Academy of Dramatic Art (now, the

Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...

) where he studied in courses under the tutelage of actor and teacher

Priit Pedajas Priit Pedajas (born 21 January 1954) is an Estonian actor and theatre director. Biography Pedajas was born 21 January 1954 in Tallinn. In 1976, he graduated from the Tallinn State Conservatory' Performing Arts Department. From 1979 until 198 ...

, graduating in 2006. Among his graduating classmates were Inga Salurand, Lauri Lagle, Mari-Liis Lill, Laura Peterson,

Ursula Ratasepp Ursula Ratasepp (born 17 June 1982) is an Estonian stage, film and television actress. Early life and education Ursula Ratasepp was born in Tallinn in 1982. She is the older sister of actress Katariina Ratasepp (born 1986). She studied drama at ...

, Britta Vahur, and Sergo Vares.

Career

Theatre

While still a student, Kübar made his stage debut at

Estonian Drama Theatre The Estonian Drama Theatre () is a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia. It has the role of a national theatre for Estonia. The Estonia Theatre is located next door. History The building that houses the Estonian Drama Theatre was originally built for the ...

in ''Finis nihili'', a play written by

Madis Kõiv Madis Kõiv (5 December 1929 – 24 September 2014) was an Estonian writer, philosopher and physicist. Education Kõiv attended school in Tartu after the second World War, graduating in the early 1950s with a degree in nuclear physics. Kõiv wo ...

. This was followed by a role in

William 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 nation ...

's ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

''. In 2006, just after graduation, he began working at

Theatre NO99 Theatre NO99 was a theatre in Tallinn, Estonia that began to operate in February 2005. It was a state-owned repertoire theatre that has its own building with two theatre halls in central Tallinn. The theatre closed in 2019. The theatre's name ...

in Tallinn, where he made his debut in

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

's ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' () is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition later that year in Saint Petersburg, via A.F. Marks Pu ...

''. Kübar performed at the

Tallinn City Theatre Tallinn City Theatre () is a repertory theatre located in the medieval old town of Tallinn, Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from ...

in a production of

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

's ''

Animal Farm ''Animal Farm'' (originally ''Animal Farm: A Fairy Story'') is a satirical allegorical novella, in the form of a beast fable, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of anthropomorphic far ...

'', and the

Vanemuine Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It is the first Estonian language, Estonian-language theatre. Stemming from the Vanemuine Society (1865), the theatre's first performance was Lydia Koidula's ''Saaremaa Onupoeg'' ("The cousin from S ...

theatre in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

, where he played the role of guitarist Jaanus Nõgisto in the rock opera ''

Ruja Ruja was one of the foremost Estonian rock bands of the 1970s and 1980s. The name of the band comes from a neologism "ruja", for science fiction, though there are people who believe that "ruja" is actually made up of the first letters of the ba ...

'' in 2008;Vanemuine
''Tema ongi Eesti teatri uus täht!'' 15 August 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2016. a production based on the Estonian rock band of the same name. He was engaged at Theatre NO99 until 2014, where he was also involved in the international co-production ''Three Kingdoms'' by

Simon Stephens Simon Stephens (born 6 February 1971) is a British-Irish playwright, musician and Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having taught on the Young Writers' Programme at the Royal Court Theatre for many years, he is ...

(directed by Sebastian Nübling). For his performance in ''

Orpheus Descending ''Orpheus Descending'' is a three-act play by Tennessee Williams. It was first presented on Broadway on March 17, 1957, with Maureen Stapleton and Cliff Robertson, under the direction of Harold Clurman, but had only a brief run (68 performa ...

'' by

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

(directed by Nübling), Kübar was voted Young Actor of the Year 2013 by the professional journal '' Theater heute''. He joined the Munchner Kammerspiele, where he became a member of the ensemble from 2014 to 2015, under the direction of intendant

Johan Simons Johan Simons (born 1 September 1946) is a Dutch theatre director. Simons received his education at the Rotterdam Dance Academy and the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts. He also taught directing in Maastricht for a number of years. Career S ...

. From 2015 until 2018 Kübar was a member of the ensemble of the Belgian theatre NTGent, before its structure changed in 2018 under the new artistic director

Milo Rau Milo Rau (born 1977) is a Swiss theatre director, journalist, playwright, essayist, and lecturer. In 2007 he founded a theatre and film production company, the International Institute of Political Murder (IIPM), and from 2018 until 2023 was the ...

. Kübar featured in ''Die Fremden'', a production of NTGent and the German

Ruhrtriennale The Ruhrtriennale ( compound of ''Ruhr'' and ''triennale'' "lasting 3 years"), also known as Ruhr Triennale, was founded in 2002 and is a music and arts festival in the Ruhr-area of Germany which runs between mid-August and mid-October, and happen ...

festival, directed by

. On 2 September 2016 ''Die Fremden'' premiered in the Kohlenmischhalle of the Zeche Auguste Victoria in Marl, Germany as part of the Ruhrtriennale 2016. The premiere in Ghent took place on 21 September 2016 in the Floralies Hall. On 1–2 October 2016, Kübar returned to the Theatre NO99 in a production of the play ''Spectacular Lightshows of Which U Don't See The Effect''. The two-man show, with Belgian actor Benny Claessens, caused some controversy for the amount of nudity and the homosexual theme, but garnered positive reviews. In February 2018, Kübar performed with NTGent, director Florian Fischer and actress Lien Wildemeersch ''To name herstory'', which was an adaptation of ''Don Quixote: which was a dream'' (1986) by

Kathy Acker Kathy Acker (April 18, 1947 isputed– November 30, 1997) was an American experimental novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, critic, performance artist, and postmodernist writer, known for her idiosyncratic and transgressive writing that deal ...

. The press called Kübar's idiosyncratic style perfect in its content, inventor of a new language that, despite its bizarre character, communicates immediately with the audience. In 2018 he joined the

Schauspielhaus Bochum The Schauspielhaus Bochum is one of the notable drama theatres in Germany. It is located on Königsallee in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, ...

ensemble, where he appeared in ''Die Jüdin von Toledo'' (dir.Johan Simons), and in the co-production with NTGent ''Orestes in Mosul'' (dir.

Film

Kübar made his film debut as a

voice actor Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

in the 2006 animated short film ''Maraton'' for Eesti Joonisfilm. He followed this as a voice extra in the feature-length

Heiki Ernits Heiki Ernits (born 24 March 1953) is an Estonian animator, illustrator, and film director. He graduated from the Tallinn Pedagogical Institute as a teacher of arts and crafts. He has created 19 animated films and illustrated over 30 children's ...

and Janno Põldma-directed Estonian animated children's film ''

Leiutajateküla Lotte ''Lotte from Gadgetville'' (, ) is a 2006 Estonian/Latvian feature-length animated film directed by Heiki Ernits and Janno Põldma. The film's characters first appeared in ''Lotte reis lõunamaale'' (''Lotte Goes South''), an Estonian animated TV ...

'' (English: ''Lotte from Gadgetville''). He became more widely known when he played a starring role in the 2011

Rainer Sarnet Rainer Sarnet (born March 3, 1969) is an Estonian film director whose work started in animation. He then worked in advertising and publishing. His works include ''November November is the eleventh and penultimate month of the year in the J ...

-directed '' Idioot''; an adaptation of

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian literature, Russian and world literature, and many of his works are consider ...

's ''

The Idiot ''The Idiot'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform ) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal ''The Russian Messenger'' in 1868–1869. The titl ...

''.

Recognition and awards

* Voldemar Panso award (2004) * Kristallkingake award (Adolf Rühka, ''Adolf Rühka lühikene elu'') (2006) * Estonian Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actor (The Trickster, ''Three Kingdoms'') (2011) * Estonian Cultural Endowment of the Arts (2013) * '' Theater heute'' Young Actor of the Year (2013) *

Arlecchino Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters ( Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Z ...

for Best Supporting Actor for ''Dit zijn de namen'' (2016), written by Tommy Wieringa and directed by Philipp Becker

Personal life

On 6 October 2014, Kübar penned an

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

addressed to Estonian lawyer Varro Vooglaid, who is the foundation chairman of the Foundation for the Protection of the Family and Tradition (SAPTK) (

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

: ''Perekonna ja Traditsiooni Kaitseks''). The letter, printed in the daily Estonian newspaper ''

Postimees is an Estonian daily newspaper established on 5 June 1857, by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. In 1891, it became the first daily newspaper in Estonia. Its current editor-in-chief is Priit Hõbemägi. The paper has approximately 250 employees. ''P ...

'', was a personal and public appeal that took aim at Vooglaid's

anti-gay Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or antipathy, m ...

sentiments and opposition towards the

gender-neutral Gender neutrality (adjective form: gender-neutral), also known as gender-neutralism or the gender neutrality movement, is the idea that policies, Gender-neutral language, language, and other social institutions (social structures or gender roles) ...

civil partnership law passed by the Estonian Parliament; a ''cohabitation agreement'' that gives the same legal protections to same-sex couples that are available to opposite-sex couples. In the letter, Kübar publicly

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

, making him one of the first well-known Estonian celebrities to do so.Postimees
''"Ei ebanormaalsusele" ehk kuidas Varro Vooglaid mind tappa tahab.'' 6 October 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kubar, Risto 1983 births Living people People from Kose Parish Estonian male stage actors Estonian male film actors Estonian male voice actors Estonian gay men Estonian LGBTQ actors Gay actors Estonian expatriates in Germany 21st-century Estonian male actors Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni