# Rade Šerbedžija

Rade Šerbedžija (Serbian Cyrillic: Раде Шербеџија, pronounced; born 27 July 1946) is a Croatian actor, director and musician. He is known for his portrayals of imposing figures on both sides of the law. He was one of the best known Yugoslav actors in the 1970s and 1980s. He is internationally known mainly for his role as Boris the Blade in Snatch (2000), his supporting roles in such Hollywood films as The Saint (1997), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), X-Men: First Class (2011), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010), and Taken 2 (2012); and for his recurring role as former Soviet Army General Dmitri Gredenko in Season 6 of TV action series 24.
Šerbedžija is a four-time recipient of the Golden Arena for Best Actor, Croatia’s highest filmmaking honors. He won the Critics Award for Best Actor at the 51st Venice International Film Festival for his performance in Before the Rain (1994). He was awarded the International Press Academy’s Mary Pickford Award, an honorary award “for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to the Entertainment Industry”, in 2019.

## Early life

Rade Šerbedžija was born on 27 July 1946 in the village of Bunić in the Lika region of Croatia, then part of Yugoslavia. His parents were ethnic Serbs who fought in the Second World War as Partisans. Šerbedžija was raised as an atheist.

## Career in Yugoslavia

In 1969, he graduated from the Academy of Dramatic Arts of the University of Zagreb and then worked as a theatre actor in the City Drama Theatre Gavella and at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb. While still a student, Šerbedžija started to play leading roles in films and theatre productions. His stage roles included Oedipus and Richard III. His performance as Hamlet in 1974 in Dubrovnik catapulted him into stardom.
Šerbedžija landed his first major film role in 1968 in the Branko Ivanda-directed Gravitation. He had various notable roles in Yugoslav films, among others in Bravo maestro (1978), Journalist (1979), Banović Strahinja (1981), Kiklop (1982) and San o ruži (1986). He was also among the leading actors in several TV series, such as in Prosjaci i sinovi (1971), U registraturi (1976), and Putovanje u Vučjak (1986).
Šerbedžija taught as a professor at the University of Zagreb from 1979 to 1981 and at the University of Novi Sad from 1987 to 1991.
Šerbedžija was one of the most well-known actors in Yugoslavia, in addition to being one of the most beloved. Prior to leaving his home country, Šerbedžija had starred in over 40 films. He was also one of the main supporters of the KPGT Yugoslav theater, a project initiated to unite the different Yugoslav state theaters into a single troupe.
Šerbedžija is a four-time recipient of the Golden Arena for Best Actor at the Pula Film Festival; in 1978 for Bravo maestro, in 1986 for Evening Bells (Večernja zvona), in 2010 for 72 Days (Sedamdeset i dva dana), and Fishing and Fishermen's Conversations (2020).
In 2000, Šerbedžija founded the Ulysses Theater with Borislav Vujčić on the Brijuni islands. In a co-production between the Ulysses Theatre and the National Theatre in Belgrade, for his role in the 2019 adaptation of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Šerbedžija received the Zoran Radmilović Award, the Croatian Theatre Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and the Orlando Award. The same year, he won his second Vladimir Nazor Award for “Lifetime Achievement - Film Art”.

## International career

In 1988, Šerbedžija appeared in two films that were released in the West; Hanna's War and Manifesto.
As war broke out in Yugoslavia, Šerbedžija initially moved to Serbia in 1992, then Slovenia before eventually spending some time in London, England at the invitation of actor and friend Anthony Andrews. While in London, Šerbedžija met with Macedonian-American director Milcho Manchevski who cast him in his 1994 film Before the Rain. The performance earned him a Critics Award for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival.
Šerbedžija has had supporting roles in Hollywood films such as Mission: Impossible 2, Mighty Joe Young, The Saint, Eyes Wide Shut, Snatch, and Space Cowboys among others. He is usually known for playing villains.
He had a cameo in Batman Begins; he was asked to reprise his cameo role in The Dark Knight, but declined.
In 2001, he starred in a television production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical South Pacific as French plantation owner Emile de Becque. He also appeared in the BBC spy-thriller show Spooks for one episode as a villain. In 2005 he played Captain Blake in Rupert Wainwright's remake of The Fog, and had a supporting role in the NBC science fiction series Surface. In 2007 he played Athos Roussos in Jeremy Podeswa's feature film adaptation of Anne Michaels' novel Fugitive Pieces.
His performance in the Canadian film Fugitive Pieces (2007) was nominated for a Genie Award and Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor.
He portrayed Dmitri Gredenko on the sixth season of the hit Fox show 24.
In 2009 Šerbedžija was cast in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 as the famous foreign wandmaker Gregorovitch. In 2014, Šerbedžija appeared in six episodes of Downton Abbey as Prince Kuragin, a Russian exile and long-ago lover of the Dowager Countess Violet Crawley, portrayed by Dame Maggie Smith.
In 2019, Šerbedžija was awarded the International Press Academy’s Mary Pickford Award, an honorary award “for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to the Entertainment Industry”.

## Other work

Šerbedžija is also known for his poetry readings and music. He has released four poetry books and four music albums. He recorded the award-winning ballad "Ni u tvome srcu" with Bosnian vocalist Kemal Monteno. While in London, Šerbedžija stayed at actress Vanessa Redgrave's residence and the two became friends. With Redgrave, Šerbedžija founded the Moving Theatre Company.
In 2017, Šerbedžija signed the Declaration on the Common Language of the Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks and Montenegrins.

## Personal life

Šerbedžija married Ivanka Cerovac in 1969. They have a son, film director Danilo (b. 1971), and a daughter, actress Lucija (b. 1973). The couple divorced in 1987.
Šerbedžija met his second wife, Lenka Udovički, the sister of Serbian politician Kori Udovički, in Subotica in 1990 and they married in 1991. With his second wife, he has three daughters: Nina, Vanja, and Mimi. The girls grew up in London during their early years, then moved to California due to their father's acting career.
Šerbedžija's parents left Vinkovci as Serb refugees for Belgrade in 1991, due to the Croatian War of Independence.
In 1992, while at a club in Belgrade, an intoxicated youth swore at Šerbedžija, calling him "Serb traitor", then shot his gun in the air. The youth himself was from Lika, as was Šerbedžija. Šerbedžija took his wife and at the time, only daughter Nina, and left Zagreb and Belgrade, and settled in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Šerbedžija has called himself "Yugo-nostalgic", and in 2011, said that times were better in Socialist Yugoslavia than now. Šerbedžija owns property in London, Hollywood, California, Rijeka, and Zagreb. As of January 2011, he reportedly spends most of his time in Rijeka together with his wife Lenka.
Šerbedžija is a citizen of Croatia, North Macedonia, and Slovenia.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1967 | Iluzija | Mladic koji ubija Branka | |
| 1967 | Black Birds | | |
| 1968 | Osveta | | Short film |
| 1968 | Seansa | | |
| 1968 | Gravitation | Boris Horvat | |
| 1969 | Dio è con noi | | |
| 1969 | Sedmina - Pozdravi Marijo | Niko | |
| 1970 | Papagaj | Mladić | |
| 1970 | Passing Days | | |
| 1970 | Red Wheat | Južek Hedl | |
| 1970 | Kainov znak | Milan | |
| 1971 | Putovanje na mjesto nesreće | Vlatko | |
| 1971 | Beggars and the sons | Matan Špalatrin | |
| 1971 | The Pine Tree in the Mountain | Domobran kicoš | |
| 1972 | Poslijepodne jednog fazana | Obijesni mladić | |
| 1972 | Rođendan male Mire | | |
| 1972 | Zvezde su oči ratnika | Učitelj Rade | |
| 1973 | Pelikani | | |
| 1973 | Živjeti od ljubavi | Davor | |
| 1973 | Begunec | Ivan | |
| 1974 | In the registrature | Ivica Kičmanović | |
| 1974 | Acting Hamlet in the Village of Mrdusa Donja | Hamlet | |
| 1974 | Tojota Korola 1000 | | |
| 1974 | Obešenjak | | |
| 1974 | Nocturno | Lucio | |
| 1974 | The Republic of Užice | Četnički oficir Kosta Barac | |
| 1977 | Noćna skela | | |
| 1977 | Hajka | Lado | |
| 1978 | Bombaški proces | Josip Broz Tito | |
| 1978 | Bravo maestro | Vitomir Bezjak | |
| 1979 | Journalist | Vlado Kovač | |
| 1979 | Živi bili pa vidjeli | | |
| 1979 | The Return | Komandir milicije | |
| 1979 | Usijanje | Tomo | |
| 1980 | Gospodjica | | |
| 1981 | Tuga | | |
| 1981 | Duvanski put | Tomo | |
| 1981 | Banović Strahinja | Abdulah | |
| 1982 | Variola Vera | Doktor Grujić | |
| 1982 | Cyclops | Ugo | |
| 1982 | 13. jul | Kapetan Mitrović | |
| 1982 | Tamburaši | | |
| 1982 | Život i priča | | |
| 1983 | Zadah tela | Pančo Vila | |
| 1983 | Kvit posao | Jozo | |
| 1983 | Noć poslije smrti | Lucio Klarić | |
| 1984 | In the Jaws of Life | Intelektualac | |
| 1984 | Pejzaži u magli | Lelin otac | |
| 1984 | Una | Professor Mišel Babić | |
| 1985 | Life Is Beautiful | Harmonikaš | |
| 1985 | Horvatov izbor | Krešimir Horvat | |
| 1986 | San o ruži | Valent | |
| 1986 | Večernja zvona | Tomislav K. Burbonski | |
| 1987 | Die Verliebten | Dušan | |
| 1987 | Hudodelci | Raka | |
| 1988 | Zagrljaj | | |
| 1988 | Tartif | | |
| 1988 | Manifesto | Emile | |
| 1988 | Hanna's War | Captain Ivan | |
| 1989 | Čovjek koji je volio sprovode | Hinko | |
| 1989 | Seobe II | De Ronkali | |
| 1990 | Karneval, anđeo i prah | | |
| 1990 | Majstori mraka | | |
| 1992 | Dezerter | Pavle Trušić | |
| 1993 | Kontesa Dora | Karlo Armano | |
| 1994 | Magareće godine | Narrator | |
| 1994 | Before the Rain | Aleksandar | |
| 1995 | Urnebesna tragedija | Kosta | |
| 1995 | Two Deaths | Colonel George Lapadus | |
| 1995 | Belma | Josip Papac | |
| 1996 | Memento | The Officer | |
| 1996 | Broken English | Ivan | |
| 1997 | Nečista krv | Gazda Marko | |
| 1997 | Balkan Island: The Last Story of the Century | Rusty | |
| 1997 | The Saint | Ivan Tretiak | |
| 1997 | The Truce | Mardenou the Greek | |
| 1998 | Mighty Joe Young | Andrei Strasser | |
| 1998 | Polish Wedding | Roman | |
| 1998 | Prague Duet | Jiri Kolmar | |
| 1999 | Eyes Wide Shut | Mr. Milich | |
| 1999 | The Sweet Sounds of Life | Bruno Maier | |
| 1999 | Stigmata | Father Marion Petrocelli | |
| 2000 | Space Cowboys | General Vostow | |
| 2000 | Mission: Impossible 2 | Dr. Nekhorvich | |
| 2000 | Snatch | Boris 'The Blade' Yurinov | |
| 2000 | Je li jasno prijatelju? | Milan Rajić | |
| 2002 | The Quiet American | Inspector Vigot | |
| 2003 | Quicksand | Oleg Butraskaya | |
| 2003 | The Cruelest Day | Miran Hrovatin | |
| 2004 | EuroTrip | Tibor | |
| 2004 | Golemata voda | Old Lem | |
| 2004 | Rade Šerbedžija Live in Budva | Himself | |
| 2004 | The Fever | Diplomat | |
| 2005 | The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam | Imam Muaffak | |
| 2005 | Batman Begins | Homeless Man | |
| 2005 | The Fog | Captain William Blake | |
| 2005 | Short Order | Paulo | |
| 2005 | Go West | Ljubo | |
| 2006 | Moscow Zero | Sergei | |
| 2006 | The Elder Son | Maxim Sarafanov | |
| 2007 | Balkanski sindrom | Old Alen | |
| 2007 | Hermano | Carlos Avileda | |
| 2007 | Tesla | Narrator | |
| 2007 | Shooter | Mikhayo Sczerbiak / Michael Sandor | |
| 2007 | Fugitive Pieces | Athos Roussos | |
| 2007 | Battle in Seattle | Dr. Marić | |
| 2007 | Say It in Russian | Raf Larin | |
| 2007 | Pravo čudo | Toma | |
| 2007 | L... Kot ljubezen | Big Daddy | |
| 2007 | Love Life | Arie | |
| 2008 | Quarantine | Yuri Ivanov | |
| 2008 | The Eye | Simon McCullough | |
| 2009 | Middle Men | Nikita Sokoloff | |
| 2009 | Thick as Thieves | Nicky Petrovich/Victor Korolenko | |
| 2010 | Lonesdale | | |
| 2010 | Kao Rani Mraz | Stari Vasa Ladački | |
| 2010 | 72 Days | Mane Paripović | |
| 2010 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 | Gregorovitch | |
| 2011 | 5 Days of War | Col. Demidov | |
| 2011 | Tatanka | Vinko | |
| 2011 | X-Men: First Class | Russian General | |
| 2011 | Shun Li and the Poet | Bepi | |
| 2011 | In the Land of Blood and Honey | Gen. Nebojsa Vukojevich | |
| 2012 | The Fourth State | Onjegin | |
| 2012 | Taken 2 | Murad Krasniqi | |
| 2012 | The Third Half | Don Rafael Cohen | |
| 2012 | Ustanicka ulica | Vraneš | |
| 2013 | Cry of the Butterfly | Ray | |
| 2013 | The Double | Frightening Old Man | |
| 2014 | The Legend of Hercules | Chiron | |
| 2014 | Tekken 2: Kazuya's Revenge | The Minister | |
| 2015 | Tesla: Iznad maste | Milutin Tesla | |
| 2015 | Sparrows | Tomislav | |
| 2016 | The Porcupine | Stoyo Petkanov | |
| 2016 | Tesla | Professor Petrov | |
| 2016 | The Promise | Stephan | |
| 2016 | The Liberation of Skopje | Gjorgjija | Also director and writer |
| 2017 | Anka | Biljeznik | |
| 2017 | Hedgehog's Home | Narrator | Short film; Serbo-Croatian version |
| 2017 | The Executrix | Arthur | |
| 2017 | The Last Prosecco | Desiderio Ancillotto | |
| 2018 | Proud Mary | Luka | |
| 2018 | Murderous Trance | Dr. Dabrowski | |
| 2018 | What's This Country Called Now? | Ismet Tabakovic | Short film |
| 2019 | Caviar | Pappy | |
| 2020 | Fishing and Fishermen's Conversations | Petar Hektorović | |
| 2024 | Air Force One Down | Rodinov | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1966 | Prikupljanje hrabosti | Skalper | TV film |
| 1966 | Sedam sati i petnaest minuta | Tomica | TV film |
| 1968 | Maratonci | | TV series; 1 episode |
| 1969 | Meteor | | TV film |
| 1969 | Čamac za kron-princa | | TV film |
| 1970 | Sam čovjek | | TV miniseries; 3 episodes |
| 1971 | Prosjaci i sinovi | Matan Špalatrin | TV series |
| 1974 | Obraz uz obraz | Himself | TV series; 1 episode |
| 1974 | U registraturi | Ivica Kicmanović | TV series; 7 episodes |
| 1975 | Pesma | Mića Ranović | TV series; 6 episodes |
| 1976 | The Republic of Užice | Četnički oficir Kosta Barac | TV series; 1 episode |
| 1977 | Nikola Tesla | Nikola Tesla | TV series; 9 episodes |
| 1979 | Ivan Goran Kovačić | Ivan Goran Kovačić | TV film |
| 1980 | Sedam plus sedam | Himself | TV series; 1 episode |
| 1982 | Nepokoreni grad | | TV series; 1 episode |
| 1983 | Kiklop | Ugo | TV series; 4 episodes |
| 1986 | Putovanje u Vučjak | Krešimir Horvat | TV series; 14 episodes |
| 2001 | South Pacific | Emile De Becque | TV film |
| 2003 | Spooks | Viktor Schvitkoy | TV series; 1 episode |
| 2005 | Surface | Dr. Aleksander Cirko | TV series; 6 episodes |
| 2007 | 24 | Dmitri Gredenko | TV series; 8 episodes |
| 2007 | Fallen | Dr. Lukas Grasic | TV miniseries |
| 2008 | My Own Worst Enemy | Yuri Volkalov | TV series; 2 episodes |
| 2009 | CSI: Miami | Alexander Sharova | TV series; 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Downton Abbey | Prince Kuragin | TV series; 6 episodes |
| 2016 | The Five | Jâkob Marosi | TV miniseries; 6 episodes |
| 2017 | Mata Hari | Emil Guimet | TV series; 2 episodes |
| 2017 | The Blacklist | Dr. Bogdan Krilov | TV series; 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Better Things | Arnold Hall | TV series; 1 episode |
| 2018–2019 | Strange Angel | Professor Filip Mesulam | TV series; 12 episodes |
| 2020 | Strike Back | Kalmedi | TV series; 1 episode |
| 2022 | Slow Horses | Nikolai Katinsky | TV series |
| 2022 | The Old Man | Old Suleyman Pavlovic | TV series |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Group | Award | Result | Notes |
| 1979 | Pula Film Festival | Best Actor | Won | Bravo maestro |
| 1986 | Pula Film Festival | Best Actor | Won | Evening Bells |
| 1994 | Venice Film Festival | Best actor | Won | Before the Rain |
| 1996 | New Zealand Film and TV Awards | Best Foreign Performer | Won | Broken English |
| 2006 | Monaco International Film Festival | Best Actor | Won | Short Order |
| 2007 | Rome Film Fest | Best actor | Won | Fugitive Pieces |
| 2008 | Satellite Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Nominated | Fugitive Pieces |
| 2008 | Vancouver Film Critics Circle | Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film | Nominated | Fugitive Pieces |
| 2009 | Genie Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | Nominated | Fugitive Pieces |
| 2012 | Tetouan International Mediterranean Film Festival | Best Actor | Won | Io sono Li |