# Alec Secăreanu

Alexandru "Alec" Secăreanu (Romanian:; born 4 December 1984) is a Romanian actor. He gained international recognition for playing Gheorghe in the 2017 film God's Own Country.

## Early life

Alexandru Secăreanu was born in Bucharest. He completed drama study at the Caragiale Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography in 2007.

## Career

After appearing in a number of Romanian films, Secăreanu appeared in his first English-language role in director Francis Lee's God's Own Country (2017), in which he played a Romanian migrant worker Gheorghe, who begins a relationship with a sheep farmer played by British actor Josh O'Connor on a farm in rural West Yorkshire. Lee had insisted on casting a Romanian actor in the role of Gheorghe. After winning the role, he worked on a farm for two weeks before filming. His performance in God's Own Country earned him a London agent, membership of Equity (formerly officially titled the British Actors' Equity Association), and a nomination for 2017 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) in Best Actor category.

## Personal life

As of 2017, Secăreanu lives in Bucharest.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2007 | Scurta Revedere (Short Goodbye) | | Short film; Vlad Fenesan, director |
| 2008 | Numele meu este… (My Name Is...) | | Short film; Dorin Moldoveanu, director |
| 2008 | Ultima zi din cariera de taximetrist a lui 5-9 (The Last Day of His Taxi Driver Career 5-9) | | Short film; Ivo Baru, director |
| 2011 | Adalbert's Dream | Motostivuitoristu | Credited as Alexandru Secareanu; Gabriel Achim, director |
| 2011 | Ursu' (Bear) | | Short film; Evgeny Gromik, director |
| 2011 | Mătăsari | Alex | Short film; Piperkoski Ilija, director |
| 2013 | Treizeci (Thirty) | Răzvan | Short film; Credited as Alexandru Secareanu; Victor Dragomir, director |
| 2014 | Love Bus: cinci povești de dragoste din București (Love Bus: Five Love Stories from Bucharest) | George | Omnibus film composed of five different episodes; Episode 5 Cișmigiu; Andrei Georgescu, director |
| 2015 | Candy Crush | George | Short film; Andrei Georgescu, director |
| 2016 | Minte-mă frumos în Centrul Vechi (Remember Me Nicely in the Old Town) | Barman | Directed by Iura Luncasu |
| 2016 | Tudo | Seba | Directed by Iura Luncasu |
| 2016 | Love | | Short film; Franz Galo, director |
| 2016 | Chosen | Schacht | Directed by Jasmin Dizdar |
| 2017 | God's Own Country | Gheorghe Ionescu | Main role; directed by Francis Lee |
| 2017 | The Best Customer | Postman/Policeman (voice) | Animation/Short film; Serghei Chiviriga, director |
| 2018 | Doing Money | Luca | BBC Two TV movie; Lynsey Miller, director |
| 2020 | Amulet | Tomaz | Directed by Romola Garai |
| 2020 | Ammonite | Dr. Lieberson | Directed by Francis Lee |
| 2020 | The Bike Thief | The Rider | Directed by Matt Chambers |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | Daria, iubirea mea | Florin Cernea | |
| 2007 | Cu un pas înainte | | |
| 2007 | One Step Ahead | | 2 episodes ("Striptease" and "Punct. Și de la capăt") |
| 2011 | Pariu cu viața | Rapitor 1 | 2 episodes ("E scris în stele" and "O doamnă și un vagabond: Partea 2") |
| 2014 | Fetele lu' dom' Profesor | Marcel | |
| 2017 | The Saint | Bashir | |
| 2019 | Baptiste | Constantin Baracu | BBC TV |
| 2020 | Strike Back: Vendetta | Zayef Hiraji | Sky One, Cinemax TV series, 7 episodes |
| 2021 | RUXX | Andrei Dobrev | HBO Europe TV series, 8 episodes |
| 2022 | Spy/Master | Victor Godeanu | HBO Europe TV series |
| 2023 | Happy Valley (TV series) S3 | Darius Knezevic | BBC, 6 episodes |
| 2024 | The Veil S1 | Emir | Hulu, 2 episodes |
| 2024 | Moonflower Murders | Stefan Leonida | PBS Masterpiece Theatre, 3 episodes |

### Stage

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 2018 | Gundog | Guy | Royal Court Theatre |
| | This is a Set Up | Ovidiu Ohanesian | National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest |
| 2015 | Fight Club | Tyler Durden | Teatrul Apropo, Bucharest, Romania |
| | Recviem | | National Theatre Bucharest |
| 2013 | Immaterial Retrospective of the Venice Biennale | | Romanian Pavilion, Venice |
| 2012 | Crisis (Crize – the Gay Version) | | Teatrul Tabu, Bucharest |
| | Ferdinand the VIII | | Comedy Theatre, Bucharest |
| | Flowers, Movies, Girls & Boys | | Godot Café, Bucharest |
| | Get Out! | | O2G |
| | No One | | Metropolis Theatre, Bucharest |
| | Of Mice and Men | | Port (Casandra Studio) |
| | The Forest, Captain's Bride | | Nottara Theatre, Bucharest |

## Accolades

| Award | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
| British Independent Film Awards | 2017 | Best Actor | God's Own Country | Nominated | |