Lithuanian heritage actors & actresses
Lithuanian actors and actresses
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Sarune Urbonaviciene aka Sharune was born in South Lithuania. She is of Lithuanian descent. Since early age she studied music and participated in numerous concerts around Europe. Her first feature lead was violinist Eva in crime thriller 'Play With Me' directed by Yezid Jimenez in 2014. Since then, she works in film medium on both sides of camera.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Monika Valkunaite is a high energy dramatic actress with a quirky side. Born and raised in Lithuania. She lived in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy and Portugal. She is fluent in several languages and accents. Graduated from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2015. Based in Barcelona.- Actress
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Aiste Dirziute is known for Men in Black: International (2019), The Summer of Sangaile (2015) and Paradise (2023).- Actress
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Algina Lipskis is a Lithuanian born British actress and writer, trained at Sylvia Young Theatre School in London. Her first lead role was as Natasha in the 2007 feature film 'Natasha' directed by the late Jag Mundhra. She appeared in the acclaimed BBC Drama 'The Lost Prince' (2003) created by the renowned director Stephen Poliakoff as Princess Anastasia. She's also starred in 'Telling Lies' (2008), 'Ibiza Undead' (2016), 'Action Team' (2018), 'In Search of Fear' (2021), and 'Night Explorers: The Asylum' (2022).- After 12 years as an award-winning classical pianist in Lithuania and a degree in Entertainment Management from a prestigious Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, Tekle Baroti is now an actress gaining recognition in film and on stage in London. With a list of many independent shorts and theatre productions, she got her first big break in "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" (Walt Disney Pictures, dir. Joachim Rønning, 2019). Since moving to London, Tekle has not only become an active presence in the local performing community (became a founding member of the Sedos Improv group) but also established connections in Lithuania by joining the Women in Film and TV organization.
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Viktorija Faith was born in Lithuania and is a British Actress and Singer-Songwriter. Her first debut was at the age of 7 years old, where she performed in theatre, television and small independent plays. From 1995 to 2001, Viktorija attended the Classical Music School in Lithuania (Vilniaus City, Karolinisckiu) as a classical pianist along with pop singing, acting and dance training. Moving to London, Viktorija continued developing her talents by attending "Musica Nova Academy", East London's Performing Arts College where she wrote her first songs and subsequently graduated from the University of West London. Viktorija speaks several languages, yet has written most of her songs in English. In 2014, Viktorija released her song "The One" which reached the #4 spot on the Top 20 Charts in Lithuania and maintained this position for 5 weeks. "The One" also reached the top playlists of European, Lithuanian and Russian online radio stations. As an independent performing artist, Viktorija, has won multiple awards from various international singer-songwriter competitions such as Lithuania's X-factor where she excelled to the Final 12, Latvian Baltic Voice, Eurojurmala, Youthvision in Baku and Stars Of Albion in London. Performing on some of the biggest stages in the UK, including: Watford Colosseum, Ministry of Sound, 338 Studio, festivals and others. Viktorija Faith's early success as a Singer-Songwriter, inspired her to do more and in 2016, she began traveling back and forth from London to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. Viktorija studied with famed acting coach Ivana Chubbuck who taught celebrities such as Beyoncé, Halle Berry, Charlize Theron, Brad Pitt, Jake Gyllenhall and many more. In 2017, Viktorija Faith was acting on three top BBC Network television shows, Eastenders, The Split and Silent Witness; as well as a few independent films, writing her own script.- Actress
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Actress Severija Janusauskaite was born in Lithuania. In 2005, she graduated from Theatre and Cinema Academy in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Worked with theatre director J. Vaitkus in Youth Theatre of State in Vilnius, then started work in cinema. There were movies in Lithuania such as Anarchy in Zirmunai (2010) by Saulius Drunga which won the best debut award in the international Moscow film festival, Honningfellen (2008) by Per-Olav Sørensen, "Two Hours" by R. Cekuolyte, "Expermen" by R. Marcinkus, "Comma" by J. Pavloff, "Violence" by V. Tinteris, "The Fortress of Sleeping Butterflies" by A. Puipa , "Chasing Solace" by E. Fulcher and many other Lithuanian and international projects.
In 2012, the actress started her work with Russian directors. She played the lead role in Anna Melikyan's movie "The Star" and won the best actress award in the open Russian film festival Kinotavr, the National Academy of Russia Golden Eagle Award for the best supporting role, was nominated as best actress and the discovery of the year by NIKA Awards and Russian Guild of Critics Awards for best acting. From 2012-2016, the actress performed the lead roles in Russian movies such as "Norwegian" by A. Zvantsova, "Godfather" by T. Alpatov, "Exact Address" by O. Aleynikova, "Poka net" by M. Dovzhenko , "DreamFish" by A. Bilzho and many others. She also appeared in "Polina" directed by Olias Barco and "Optimists" by Aleksey Popogrebskiy.
Severija Janusauskaite also works as a voice over artist and the music composer for theatre performances. She speaks in Lithuanian, English and Russian. She lives in Vilnius.- Sandra Dauksaite is a Lithuanian actress born in Kedainiai. Her first lead role was in Lithuanian and Finnish co-production feature film "Santa" by Marius Ivaskevicius. The film was nominated in the Lithuanian Cinema Awards for a Silver Crane award as the Best Feature Film. Since then Sandra has played a lead role in Armenian film "The Last Inhabitant" by Jivan Avetysian. It was screened in "Venice Production Bridge" at the 74th Venice international film festival and won the "Best Feature" award at Scandinavian International Film Festival in Finland. Sandra also played an episodic role in a Swedish TV series " Moscow Noir" directed by Mikael Hafstrom, Johan Brisinger and Martten Klingberg in 2018. Her most recent lead role is in un upcoming feature film " A Man for Money" directed by Justinas Krisiunas. Sandra has played the lead tole in numerous TV series such as " Tobula kopija" where she played twins, "Laisves kaina. Partizanai", "Disidentai" (Russian agent Ale) and a number of other Lithuanian films ant TV series.
Sandra is fluent in English, Russian and Lithuanian. She has a basic knowledge of Spanish.
Sandra is currently acting in a theatre as well. - Actress
- Producer
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Simona Milinyte - Simonna is a singer, actress, voiceover artist and media personality born in Lithuania. She is living in Los Angeles now. She had her radio show, national tour, 2 albums. Simonna's self titled perfume line is coming up. She participated in the biggest music contest in Europe - Eurovision National election and in the National Final came 7th. Simona Milinyte also has finished New York Film Academy "Acting for film". In addition to all this, Simonna also has California State University certification for Victim Advocacy and Bachelor of Arts of Communication university degree, which makes her unique in this industry because, she is willing to work so hard to put her project's name's out into the public of her hundreds of thousands of fans on Twitter, Instagram and plenty more. Celebrities such as Tom Cruise, Paris Hilton, Seth Rogen follows her on twitter and Instagram. Simonna has also booked many new roles for the upcoming years, due to her commitment and dedication to her craft. Simonna is a guest star in "NCIS: Los Angeles" season finale episode which aired on CBS. In 2019, Simonna started to host her own radio show called "Bleav In Sports Gossip" about sports and entertainment industry. Her podcast airs every week and is available on iHeartRadio, iTunes, Spotify, Google play and etc.
Simonna is a lead in a new short movie "Robot Romance" with Golden Globe winner, Oscar nominee for the Best actress Sally Kirkland. This film has won several pf prestigious awards at film festivals, including being a winner of: DRUK International Film Festival - Short film Critics Choice Award. World Film Carnival - Singapore "Best Short Film"; Virgin Spring Cinefest - Silver Award "Best Short Film"; Simonna is playing a lead role in several movies, new TV comedy series, she is series regular voiceover actress in the new upcoming animation series, lead in a horror thriller "The Blackstone" movie where Simona transformed into a ghostly woman. Also acting in the drama "Hollywood Rooftop" which is directed by Brett Leonard who did a movie with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. People, Entertainment Weekly, Yahoo Celebrities, LA Times, BBC wrote about Simonna.
Simonna is getting over 3.5 million views on her Twitter profile. One of the music videos (with Harry Potter movies star) https://youtu.be/lPl8GnniJ2I
Here is some of her work other work: Animation series Maui Kitty's Day Play (series regular, voiceover), horror movie"The Blackstone" (lead role / the main ghost); Horror Thriller "The Great Illusion" (With Selma Blair, Graham Greene); "Robot Romance" with Golden Globe winner, Oscar nominee for the Best actress Sally Kirkland;Guest star in "NCIS: Los Angeles" season finale; 'Hollywood Rooftop" (Director is Brett Leonard who directed movie with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe), Detectives/Crime short movie' Insane' , upcoming comedy episodes "First Month Is For Free"; "Mirroring Michael Jackson"; "Jesus And The Others" (with Golden Globe Winner Peter Coyote); "Due Justice" (with Steve Guttenberg and Tara Reid); horror movie "Last One Standing", medieval times era movie "Rose in The Flame"; "Justice with Judge Mablean", crime drama "Chaaw" and etc.
To date, she's released two albums, "12" and "Simonna".
Simonna has been in 56th, 57th, 58th Grammy's consideration list. Simonna's new singles Say to Me, Rush for love, My Eyes on You came out on her official VEVO channel and is being played by radio stations, clubs worldwide. New music video featuring "Harry Potter" actor Devon Murray has been announced with trailer . Music video was released In 2017 on VEVO, MTV channels. To add. in Grammy's consideration list, Simonna's song and name is next to Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Sia, Shakira and other major artists.- Actress
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Originally born in Lithuania, Milda set foot on the dance floor at the age of 5. She fell in love with Ballroom and Latin dancing right away and grew up competing nationally and internationally at the highest level. After coming to Canada, life steered Milda in a slightly different direction when, at the age of 17, she got offered a contract for the North American Premiere of "Dirty Dancing" in Toronto, making her the youngest member of the cast. Through the run of the show, as a Featured Ballroom dancer, she realized that her true calling was performing for a wider audience instead of a panel of judges. She subsequently decided to pursue her newfound passion in acting, training in scene study, script analysis, on-camera work, and improvisation.
Milda landed her first lead role in "The Pin," taking on the challenge of learning Yiddish for the part. Her performance in the film was described in the New York Times as "...a revelation." More recently, in her film "Un Traductor," (official selection of Sundance'18) she portrayed Olga, a young troubled mother struggling with the reality of her child dying from leukemia. She has since moved to New York City, where she continues to work in Film, TV, and Theatre.
She also has a lifelong goal of making a mark for her home country of Lithuania and to be an inspiration for everyone to follow their dreams.- Actress
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Ingeborga Dapkunaite was born on 20 January 1963 in Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, USSR. She is an actress, known for Seven Years in Tibet (1997), Mission: Impossible (1996) and Hannibal Rising (2007).- Gabija Jaraminaite was born on 5 May 1972 in Lithuanian SSR, USSR [now Lithuania]. She is an actress, known for Together For Ever (2015), Ashes in the Snow (2018) and Tokyo Trial (2017). She has been married to Linas Ryskus since 2015. They have two children.
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Ieva Andrejevaite was born on the 21st of November in Russia, but grew up in Vilnius, Lithuania. Now she is based in London, UK.
Ieva is an aspiring Lithuanian actress, who is not only known for her work in her home country but also for her impressive work in Russian film and television. Ieva graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre acting in 2011. Between the years 2009 until 2011 Ieva worked in the Russian Drama Theatre of Lithuania and played a lead role in a contemporary dance play called Little Red Riding Hood based on the book by Märta Tikkanen. The following year she filmed the Lithuanian TV-series Road of Wine and Road of Courage both directed by Raimundas Banionis. To some of her past Russian work include the TV-series Cold Dish (dir.Vladimir Nahabtsev Jr.), Crossroads of Destiny (dir. Artiom Nasybulin) and Farsta (dir. Egor Baranov) and the feature films Moscow Never Sleeps (dir. Johnny O'Reilly) and Dragons (dir. Indar Djendubaev). Ieva also plays the female lead Viola in the new Russian TV-series Under Correction (dir. Oleg Fomin), which will be released in 2017.
Ieva can also be seen in international projects such as the TV-series Mission Bayern and Mythos Silberpfeile both directed by Saskia Weisheit (Germany), the feature film Kill your friends directed by Owen Harris (UK), Winter Thaw (US-LT co-production) and the upcoming feature film Ashes in the snow (US-LT co-production) directed by Marius Markevicius, which will have its premiere in 2017.
To Ieva's latest credits include the supporting role in the Russian feature Good Boy, which won the Grand Prix at the most renowned Russian Film Festival Kinotavr and as the lead, Emilia, in the Lithuanian feature film Emilia directed by Donatas Ulvydas, which will be released in February 2017.- Agne Grudyte was born on 9 July 1986 in Siauliai, Lithuanian SSR, USSR [now Siauliai, Lithuania]. She is an actress, known for Sniffer (2013), Flight Crew (2016) and Single Valentine (2013).
- Regina Arbaciauskaite was born on 5 November 1951 in Siauliai, Lithuanian SSR, USSR. She is an actress, known for Riesutu duona (1977), Nerami rudens diena (1975) and Devil's Bride (1974).
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Ruta Lee was born on 30 May 1935 in Montréal, Québec, Canada. She is an actress, known for Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Witness for the Prosecution (1957) and Funny Face (1957). She was previously married to Webster Bernard Lowe Jr..- Jurgita Jurkute is an Eastern European actress and TV host born in Lithuania. She has finished her acting studies in the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (2012). Jurgita's career began in the famous Lithuanian TV series "Moterys meluoja geriau" (Women are better liars) in 2008. Latter on she acted in the Italian TV series "I serchi nell'acqua" directed by Umberto Marino, starring Alessio Boni, Vanessa Incontrada. After finishing her studies she was invited by Lithuanian director Agne Marcinkeviciute to play the role of Atali in a detective "Vardas tamsoje" (A Name in the Dark) (2013). In 2014 she played a part in Lithuanian feature film "Pakeliui" (On the Way) directed by Lithuanian director Ricardas Marcinkus and a Lithuanian cult comedy "Valentinas uz duru" (Valentine is Behind the Door) directed by Evaldas Kubilius. In 2016 she played a supporting role in Russian feature film "The Heritage of Love" directed by Aleksandr Vasilev, starring Aleksandr Baluev, Marat Basharov, Dima Bilan, Svetlana Ivanova, Tatyana Liutaeva, Vladislav Vetrov. The lates movie where Jurgita played a leading role come out in the beginning of 2020. "Tobulas pasimatymas" (The Perfect Date) was directed by Robertas Razma, starring Leonardas Pobedonoscevas, Eimutis Kvosciauskas, Goda Petkute, Giedrius Arbaciauskas. Next to acting she is a well known Lithuanian TV hostess working with the leading TV projects in the country. She also is an active member of several suicide prevention movements. Jurgita is fluent in Lithuanian, English, Russian and a bit Spanish.
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Kristina Orbakaite was born in Moscow and spent much of her childhood between Sventoji, the home of her father's parents, and Moscow, the home of her mother's parents. After the couple divorced in 1973, she was brought to Moscow by her mother, Alla Pugacheva, and lived with her maternal grandparents.
At the age of 7, she debuted in the Soviet children's television program "Veseliye Notki" with the song "Solnyshko Smeetsa". In 1982, she was cast in the leading role of Lena Bessoltseva in Chuchelo (1984), a film by Rolan Bykov based on the Vladimir Zheleznikov play of the same name. Production began in 1982 and the film premiered in 1984. It became a critical success, not only in Russia but also overseas, and turned Orbakaite into a child star.
Alongside her acting, Orbakaite continued with her budding singing career. In 1983, she sang "A znayesh, vse yesche budet" (You know, it will all happen yet) in a duet with her mother. In 1985, she sang the song "Pust' Govoryat" in the popular TV program "Utrenyaya Pochta".
Now a young woman, Kristina appeared in the films Vivat, gardemariny! (1991), Gardemariny III (1992), Blagotvoritelnyy bal (1993), and Limita (1995). In 1992, she sang "Pogovorim" (We'll talk) at a holiday show sponsored by her mother. The song became a hit and launched Orbakaite as a pop star. In 1994, she released her debut album titled "Vernost".
Having met with success in film and music, Orbakaite tried her hand at the theater, appearing in 1995 as Helen Keller in an adaptation of Gibson's The Miracle Worker on the stage of the Moscow Artists' Theater. She subsequently received an award from the Russian Ministry of Culture for best female theatrical performance.
In 1996, Orbakaite joined her mother, Alla Pugacheva, her step-father, the singer Philipp Kirkorov, and her husband, the singer Vladimir Presnyakov on a family performance tour through the United States titled "Zvezdnoye Leto". During this tour, she performed for the first time at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Later the same year, Orbakaite released her second album, titled "Nol' Chasov, Nol' Minut".
In 1998, Orbakaite released her third solo album, "Ty". It included 12 new songs, 5 of which were suggested by Alla Pugacheva from compositions created for her, including "Muzikant", "Navsegda", "Pegiy Pes", "Smorodina", and "Ptitsy". She also appeared in the films Doroga, dorogoi, dorogaya... (1997) and Fara (1999).
In 2000, Orbakaite won at the World Music Awards in Monte Carlo as the best-selling Russian singer. Later that year, she released her fourth album, titled "May".
In 2002, she released her fifth album, "Ver v chudesa" and appeared in the television series Moskovskaya saga (2004). She again became Russia's best-selling singer and won the World Music Awards for the second time. In 2003, she released her sixth album, "Pereletnaya ptitsa" and in 2005, she released her seventh album, "My life". The same year, she won the MUZ-TV award in the category "Best female singer".
In 2006, Orbakaite appeared in the comedy Lyubov-Morkov (2007) together with Gosha Kutsenko. The film was a hit in Russia, bringing in a domestic box office of $11.5 million, and spawning two sequels, with the second film coming out in 2008 and the third in 2011. Amid filming the series, Orbakaite released her eight album, titled "Slyshish - eto ya" (Listen - it's me).
In 2011, Orbakaite celebrated her 40th birthday and, as part of celebrating the year, unveiled a new performance program and a new album, both titled "Potseluy na bis". Two years later, in April 2013, she released a new music video for her song "Maski" and began a tour of the Baltic countries. She also received the award of "Honored Artist of the Russian Federation" from Russian President Vladimir Putin.- Actress
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Ann Jillian was born on January 29, 1950 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA as Ann Jura Nauseda to Lithuanian immigrant parents. Her career began as a child actress in the 1960s. She is possibly best known for her role as Cassie Cranston on the 1980s sitcom It's a Living (1980). She is also known for her work on Mae West (1982), Babes in Toyland (1961), and Gypsy (1962). She has been married to Andy Murcia since March 27, 1977. They have one child.- Actress
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Joanna Shimkus was born on 30 October 1943 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. She is an actress and producer, known for The Virgin and the Gypsy (1970), Zita (1968) and The Uninvited (1969). She was previously married to Sidney Poitier.- Nijole Ozelyte was born on 3 March 1954 in Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, USSR [now Lithuania]. She is an actress, known for Dead Mountaineer's Hotel (1979), Zvangutis (1974) and Deystvuy po obstanovke! (1985).
- Dovile Kundrotaite is a Lithuanian actress born in Kaunas. She has finished her acting studies in the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. Dovile's career began in an international production "War & Peace" directed by Tom Harper, starring James Norton, Paul Dano and Lily James in 2016. On the same year she acted in a TV film "Jack The Ripper" directed by Sebastian Niemann After that she was cast in a Lithuanian TV series "Meile Gydo/Love Cures" and in 2018 she played a nun in the feature film "The Owl Mountain" that has won The Diamond Award in the European Independent Film Awards, The Best Picture and Best Original Score in the Festigious International Film Festival in 2018. 2019 was a highlight of Dovile's career as she got cast in a Lithuanian comedy "Vestuves/The Wedding" directed by Vygantas Bachmackij where she played the lead role and was nominated as best leading actress in Lithuanian film awards "Silver Crane" 2020. After that she has been working both in Lithuanian and international productions. The most recent works include Netflix TV series "Clark", directed by J. Akerlund, where Dovile Kundrotaite has been cast as Elizabeth Oldgren, one of the original victims from the bank robbery in Sweden. And a leading role in a feature film "Remember to blink" (dir. Austeja Urbaite), for which the actress had to learn french. Dovile Kundrotaite is fluent in Lithuanian, English, can speak french and a little Russian
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Gabija Siurbyte was born in 1982 in Vilnius, Lithuania. She is a producer and actress, known for Redirected (2014), Defiance (2008) and Sasha Was Here (2018).- Actress
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- Casting Department
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Dorthea Lauren Allegra Lapkus is an American actress, comedian, impressionist and pod-caster. Lapkus is known for portraying Susan Fischer in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black (2013-2014, 2019) and Jess in the HBO comedy-drama series Crashing (2017-2019). She has also appeared in the television series Are You There, Chelsea? (2012), Hot in Cleveland (2012), Clipped (2015), The Big Bang Theory (2018-2019), and Good Girls (2020-2021), and in the films Jurassic World (2015), The Unicorn (2018), and The Wrong Missy (2020). She played the voice role of Lotta in the animated comedy series Harvey Girls Forever! (2018-2020).- The archetypal screen tough guy with weatherbeaten features--one film critic described his rugged looks as "a Clark Gable who had been left out in the sun too long"--Charles Bronson was born Charles Buchinsky, one of 15 children of struggling parents in Pennsylvania. His mother, Mary (Valinsky), was born in Pennsylvania, to Lithuanian parents, and his father, Walter Buchinsky, was a Lithuanian immigrant coal miner.
He completed high school and joined his father in the mines (an experience that resulted in a lifetime fear of being in enclosed spaces) and then served in WW II. After his return from the war, Bronson used the GI Bill to study art (a passion he had for the rest of his life), then enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. One of his teachers was impressed with the young man and recommended him to director Henry Hathaway, resulting in Bronson making his film debut in You're in the Navy Now (1951).
He appeared on screen often early in his career, though usually uncredited. However, he made an impact on audiences as the evil assistant to Vincent Price in the 3-D thriller House of Wax (1953). His sinewy yet muscular physique got him cast in action-type roles, often without a shirt to highlight his manly frame. He received positive notices from critics for his performances in Vera Cruz (1954), Target Zero (1955) and Run of the Arrow (1957). Indie director Roger Corman cast him as the lead in his well-received low-budget gangster flick Machine-Gun Kelly (1958), then Bronson scored the lead in his own TV series, Man with a Camera (1958). The 1960s proved to be the era in which Bronson made his reputation as a man of few words but much action.
Director John Sturges cast him as half Irish/half Mexican gunslinger Bernardo O'Reilly in the smash hit western The Magnificent Seven (1960), and hired him again as tunnel rat Danny Velinski for the WWII POW big-budget epic The Great Escape (1963). Several more strong roles followed, then once again he was back in military uniform, alongside Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine in the testosterone-filled The Dirty Dozen (1967).
European audiences had taken a shine to his minimalist acting style, and he headed to the Continent to star in several action-oriented films, including Guns for San Sebastian (1968) (aka "Guns for San Sebastian"), the cult western Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) (aka "Once Upon a Time in The West"), Rider on the Rain (1970) (aka "Rider On The Rain") and, in one of the quirkier examples of international casting, alongside Japansese screen legend Toshirô Mifune in the western Red Sun (1971) (aka "Red Sun").
American audiences were by now keen to see Bronson back on US soil, and he returned triumphantly in the early 1970s to take the lead in more hard-edged crime and western dramas, including The Valachi Papers (1972) and the revenge western Chato's Land (1972). After nearly 25 years as a working actor, he became an 'overnight" sensation. Bronson then hooked up with British director Michael Winner to star in several highly successful urban crime thrillers, including The Mechanic (1972) and The Stone Killer (1973). He then scored a solid hit as a Colorado melon farmer-done-wrong in Richard Fleischer's Mr. Majestyk (1974). However, the film that proved to be a breakthrough for both Bronson and Winner came in 1974 with the release of the controversial Death Wish (1974) (written with Henry Fonda in mind, who turned it down because he was disgusted by the script).
The US was at the time in the midst of rising street crime, and audiences flocked to see a story about a mild-mannered architect who seeks revenge for the murder of his wife and rape of his daughter by gunning down hoods, rapists and killers on the streets of New York City. So popular was the film that it spawned four sequels over the next 20 years.
Action fans could not get enough of tough guy Bronson, and he appeared in what many fans--and critics--consider his best role: Depression-era street fighter Chaney alongside James Coburn in Hard Times (1975). That was followed by the somewhat slow-paced western Breakheart Pass (1975) (with wife Jill Ireland), the light-hearted romp (a flop) From Noon Till Three (1976) and as Soviet agent Grigori Borsov in director Don Siegel's Cold War thriller Telefon (1977).
Bronson remained busy throughout the 1980s, with most of his films taking a more violent tone, and he was pitched as an avenging angel eradicating evildoers in films like the 10 to Midnight (1983), The Evil That Men Do (1984), Assassination (1987) and Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989). Bronson jolted many critics with his forceful work as murdered United Mine Workers leader Jock Yablonski in the TV movie Act of Vengeance (1986), gave a very interesting performance in the Sean Penn-directed The Indian Runner (1991) and surprised everyone with his appearance as compassionate newspaper editor Francis Church in the family film Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus (1991).
Bronson's final film roles were as police commissioner Paul Fein in a well-received trio of crime/drama TV movies Family of Cops (1995), Breach of Faith: A Family of Cops II (1997) and Family of Cops III: Under Suspicion (1999). Unfortunately, ill health began to take its toll; he suffered from Alzheimer's disease for the last few years of his life, and finally passed away from pneumonia at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in August 2003.
Bronson was a true icon of international cinema; critics had few good things to say about his films, but he remained a fan favorite in both the US and abroad for 50 years, a claim few other film legends can make. - Actor
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Laurence Harvey was a British movie star who helped usher in the 1960s with his indelible portrait of a ruthless social climber, and became one of the decade's cultural icons for his appearances in socially themed motion pictures.
Harvey was born Zvi Mosheh Skikne on October 1, 1928 in Joniskis, Lithuania, to Ella (Zotnickaita) and Ber Skikne. His family was Jewish. The youngest of three brothers, he emigrated with his family, to South Africa in 1934, and settled in Johannesburg. The teenager joined the South African army during World War II, and was assigned to the entertainment unit. His unit served in Egypt and Italy, and after the war the future Laurence Harvey returned to South Africa and began a career as an actor. He moved to London after winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He then did his apprenticeship in regional theatre, moving to Manchester in the 1940s. The tyro actor reportedly supported himself as a hustler while appearing with the city's Library Theatre. Even at this point in his life he was known to be continually in debt and adopted a firm belief in living beyond his means, a pattern that would continue until his premature death. His lifestyle would often dictate working on less worthy projects for the sake of a paycheck.
His film debut came in House of Darkness (1948), and he was soon signed by Associated British Studios. His early film roles proved underwhelming, and his attempt to become a stage star was disastrous - his debut in the revival of "Hassan" was a notorious flop. After failing in the commercial theater in London's West End, Harvey joined the company of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon for the 1952 season. Regularly panned by critics during his stint on the boards in the Bard's works, he built up his reputation as a personality by becoming combative, telling the press that he was a great actor despite the bad reviews. Someone was listening, as Romulus Pictures signed him in 1953 and began building him up as a star.
Harvey was cast as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (1954), a film that exemplified the main problem that kept Harvey from major stardom (but subsequently would serve him quite well in a handful of roles): his screen persona was emotionally aloof if not downright frigid. Despite his icy portrayal of the great romantic hero Romeo, Harvey attracted enough attention in Hollywood to be brought over by Warner Bros. and given a lead role in King Richard and the Crusaders (1954).
In Old Blighty with Romulus after his Hollywood adventure, Harvey met his future wife Margaret Leighton on the set of The Good Die Young (1954). Other film appearances included I Am a Camera (1955) and Three Men in a Boat (1956), the latter becoming his first certified hit, and even greater success was to come. The colorful Harvey, a press favorite, became notorious for his high-spending, high-living ways. He found himself frequently in debt, his travails faithfully reported by entertainment columnists. More fame was to come.
After making three flops in a row, Harvey began a brief reign as the Jack the Lad of British cinema with the great success of Room at the Top (1958). That film and Look Back in Anger (1959), which was also released that year, inaugurated the "kitchen sink" school of British cinema that revolutionized the country's film industry and that of its cousin, Hollywood, in the 1960s.
Harvey was born to play Joe Lampton, if not in kin, then in kind. Lampton was a working-class bloke who dreams of escaping his social strata for something better. It was a perfect match of actor and role, as the icy Harvey persona made Joe's ruthless ambition to climb the greasy pole of success fittingly chilling. In bringing Joe to life on the screen, Harvey was more successful than Richard Burton (a far better actor) had been in limning the theater's Jimmy Porter in the film adaptation of John Osborne's seminal "Look Back in Anger," despite Burton's own working-class background. Burton's volcanic use of his mellifluous voice, a great instrument, is much too hot for the the small universe on the screen, a case of projection that is so intense that it overwhelms the character and the film (it took Burton another half-decade to learn to act on film, and a half-decade more to lose that gift). Whereas Burton had to learn to rein it in, Harvey's already tightly controlled persona made the social-climbing Lampton resonate. Harvey fits the skin of the character much better than does Burton. Despite not being an authentic specimen, the success of his performance as a working-class man-on-the-make proved to be the vanguard of a new generation of screen characters that would be played by the real thing: Albert Finney, Tom Courtenay, Terence Stamp and Michael Caine, among others. "Room at the Top" signaled the appearance of the New Wave of British cinema. For his role as Joe, Harvey received his first (and only) Academy Award nomination.
While historically significant, "Room at the Top" is no longer ranked at the summit of other, more contemporary kitchen-sink dramas, such as Karel Reisz's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), Tony Richardson's A Taste of Honey (1961) and Lindsay Anderson's This Sporting Life (1963), or even John Schlesinger's provincial comedy Billy Liar (1963), films that made stars out of the authentic working-class/provincial actors Finney, Alan Bates, Richard Harris and Courtenay, respectively. The virtue of the film is its emotional honesty about the manipulation of personal relationships for social gain in postwar Britain, a system that after a decade under the Conservatives had become self-satisfied and complacent. In its portrayal of class warfare, the film offers the most intense critique of the British class system offered by any film from the British New Wave, including "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning," which never leaves the confines of the working-class strata its main character, Arthur Seaton, is stuck in and ultimately reconciled to.
That Joe chooses a woman other than the one he really loves in order to gain social mobility, engaging in emotional manipulation of other human beings, is a brutal indictment of the class structure of postwar Britain. Joe, on his way to his wedding and his great chance, has lost his humanity. His failure is symbolic of Britain's failure as well. It is the haughtiness and narcissism of the actor Harvey (qualities his screen persona engenders in film after film) that elucidates Lampton's weakness. A further irony of Harvey's effective, if ersatz, portrayal of working-class Joe is that it made him such a success - he soon went off to Hollywood to play opposite box-office titan Elizabeth Taylor in BUtterfield 8 (1960), thus losing out on further opportunities to appear in the British New Wave he helped introduce. As well as supporting Taylor in her Oscar-winning turn in "Butterfield 8" (the two became close friends), a badly miscast Harvey also co-starred as Texas hero Col. James Travis in John Wayne's bloated budget-buster The Alamo (1960).
With the exception of the lead in the British Jungle Fighters (1961)- a war picture that was decidedly NOT New Wave - Harvey did not appear again in a major British film until 1965, when he returned to the other side of the pond to reprise Joe in the "Room" sequel Life at the Top (1965). However, if he had never gone Hollywood, he might never have been cast in his other signature role: Raymond Shaw, the eponymous The Manchurian Candidate (1962). Once again, the match of actor and character was ideal, as Harvey's coldness and affect-free acting perfectly embodied the persona of the programmed assassin. The film, and Harvey's performance in it, are classic.
In this Hollywood interlude, Harvey also appeared in the screen adaptations of Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke (1961) opposite the great Geraldine Page, Oscar-nominated for her role, and the artistically less successful Walk on the Wild Side (1962), supported by the legendary Barbara Stanwyck, French beauty Capucine and a young Jane Fonda. The critics were less kind to his acting in these outings, and, indeed, the rather elegant Harvey does seem miscast as Dove Linkhorn, the wandering Texan created by hardboiled Nelson Algren, reduced to working in an automotive garage by the exigencies of the Great Depression. Critics were even less kind when Harvey tried to follow in Leslie Howard's footsteps in the remake of Of Human Bondage (1964).
Although he could not know it then, Harvey had reached the zenith of his career. In 1962 he won the Best Actor prize at the Munich film festival in 1962 for his role in The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962). Honors for Harvey were few after this point. He co-starred with Paul Newman and Claire Bloom in Martin Ritt's film version of the Broadway re-envisioning of Akira Kurosawa's cinematic masterpiece Rashomon (1950). The result, The Outrage (1964), in which Newman played a murderous Mexican bandit and Harvey his victim, was an unqualified flop that still boggles the mind of viewers unfortunate enough to stumble upon it, so outrageous is the idea of casting Newman as a Mexican killer (a role originated by Rod Steiger on the Broadway stage). Harvey, very often a wooden presence in his less inspired performances, was appropriately upstaged by the tree he remained tied to throughout most of the film.
Along with "Life at the Top," Harvey appeared in support of Oscar-winner Julie Christie in John Schlesinger's Darling (1965), an allegedly "mod" look at the jaded and superficial existence of what was then termed the "jet set." Despite its "New Wave"-like cutting and visual sense, "Darling" - which was embraced wholeheartedly by Hollywood and originally had been envisioned as a vehicle for Shirley MacLaine - was, at its heart, an old-fashioned Hollywood-style morality play, a warning that the wages of sin lead to emotional emptiness, hardy a revolutionary idea in 1965. Christie was excellent - particularly as she metamorphosed from Dolly-bird to a more mature sort of hustler - and first-male lead Dirk Bogarde always proved an interesting actor, but it was Harvey who most clearly embodied the zeitgeist of the picture. Once again, his coldness did him well as he limned the executive who manipulates and is manipulated by Christie's Diana character.
Harvey had become at this point a kind of good-luck charm for actresses with whom he appeared. Simone Signoret, Elizabeth Taylor and Christie won Best Actress Oscars after appearing in films with him, and Geraldine Page and "Room at the Top" co-star Hermione Baddeley were both Oscar-nominated in the period after appearing opposite Harvey. Alas, no one else collected kudos in a Harvey picture: he reached the high-water mark of his career in 1962, and his star was already in in decline to a murkier, less-lustrous part of the Hollywood/international cinema firmament.
Another irony of Harvey's career is that, despite ushering in the British New Wave and a cinema more independent of the meat-grinder ethos of the Hollywood and British studios catering to popular taste, he would have been better served in the 1930s and 1940s as a contract player at a major studio. Like Michael Wilding (who also became the third husband of Harvey's first wife, Margaret Leighton), another handsome man of limited gifts who nonetheless could be quite affecting in the right role, Harvey's career likely would have thrived under the studio system, with an interested boss to guide him. Like Minniver Cheever, however, he was unfortunate to have been born after his time.
As it was, the next (and last) decade of Harvey's screen life was a disappointment, with the actor relegated to less and less prestigious pictures and international co-productions that needed a "star" name. In the 1970s, Harvey became largely irrelevant as a player in the motion picture industry. His luck had run out. Good friend Liz Taylor, whose string of motion picture successes had also run its course, had him cast in Night Watch (1973), and he directed the last picture in which he appeared, Welcome to Arrow Beach (1973). If he had lived, he might have made the transition to director (he had earlier directed The Ceremony (1963) and finished directing A Dandy in Aspic (1968) after the death of original director Anthony Mann).
Laurence Harvey died on November 25, 1973, from stomach cancer. He publicly revealed that he was dismayed by being afflicted with the fatal disease, as he had always been careful with the way he ate. Sadly, his personal luck, just as capricious as his professional career, had also gone into eclipse. One of the more colorful characters to grace the screen was dead at the age of 45, exiting the stage far too soon for the legions of fans that still admired him despite the downturn in his fortunes.- Laimonas Noreika was born on 27 September 1926 in Joniskis, Lithuania. He was an actor, known for Treasure Island (1972), War and Peace (2007) and Eksperiment doktora Absta (1969). He died on 31 May 2007 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
- Kaz Garas was born on 4 March 1940 in Kaunas, Lithuania. He is an actor, known for Mean Creek (2004), Strange Report (1969) and Most Wanted (1976).
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With eye-catching good looks, blond Lithuanian-born actor Jacques Sernas (aka Jack Sernas) is best known for cutting a fine figure in European costumers and spectacles in the 1950s and 1960s. Born on July 30, 1925, his father died when he was a year old and the boy would be raised by his mother in Paris. After schooling there he joined up as a French Resistance fighter during W.W.II. Captured by German forces and imprisoned for over a year in Buchenwald, he was eventually freed.
Sernas originally studied medicine in the early postwar years but acting soon caught his fancy. He made an unbilled movie debut in the French film Miroir (1947) starring Jean Gabin. In the years to come Italian/European action films would dominate his screen time. Audience attention grew in proportion with a variety of comedies, dramas, costumers and adventures including Lost Youth (1948) [Lost Youth]; Stolen Affections (1948) [Stolen Affections]; Il falco rosso (1949) [The Red Falcon] in which he played the title role; Bluebeard (1951); the costumed romancer Anita Garibaldi (1952) [Anita Garibaldi]; and Lulù (1953) co-starring with Valentina Cortese.
The actor hit major international attention after being cast as Paris opposite sex sirens Rossana Podestà and Brigitte Bardot in Helen of Troy (1956) and Hollywood itself took brief notice, handing him a starring role in the Warner Bros. war film Jump Into Hell (1955) and a few TV guest parts. When nothing came of it, he returned to Italy and was for the most part relegated to supporting characters, making one lasting impression as a fading matinée idol in Fellini's masterpiece La Dolce Vita (1960).
Other Italian/European films in and around this decade included Goddess of Love (1957) co-starring Belinda Lee; The Nights of Lucretia Borgia (1959); Duel of Champions (1961) starring Alan Ladd; The Centurion (1961) in which he co-starred with John Drew Barrymore; Duel of the Titans (1961) starring musclemen Steve Reeves and Gordon Scott; 55 Days at Peking (1963) starring Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner, which filmed in Spain; The Secret Agents (1965) [aka The Dirty Game] starring Henry Fonda, which filmed in Germany; the "spaghetti western" Fort Yuma Gold (1966), Midas Run (1969) starring Fred Astaire and Richard Crenna, which filmed in Italy and England; and the Italian/US co-production Hornets' Nest (1970), a war drama starring Rock Hudson.
As the years rolled by Sernas was seen less and less on film and more and more on Italian TV. Into the millennium he appeared in a few elderly roles, one being a 2003 TV movie about Pope John XXIII. Jacques died at age 89 on July 3, 2015 in Rome.- James Tratas was born in Vilnius, Lithuania in 1988.
From 2009 to 2014 he studied at Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre where he obtained the bachelor's degree in acting. He started to work actively in film, TV and theatre in his first year of studies and gained national recognition before receiving a diploma. His first national break was after portraying a ruthless villain in a cult Lithuanian TV series Pasmerkti.
Soon after obtaining diploma in 2014, he left Lithuania to pursue an international acting career. Since then he worked in films with Oscar winning directors (Nikita Mikhalkov, Gabrielle Salvatores) in different countries such as UK, USA, Russia and Czech Republic.
He's currently residing in London where he continues to work in film, TV, and theatre. - Arunas Sakalauskas is known for Patriotai (2016), P.O.W. (2003) and People We Know Are Confused (2021).
- Egle Gabrenaite was born on 24 September 1950 in Moscow, Russia. She is an actress, known for Nova Lituania (2019), Mano vaikystes ruduo (1977) and V zone osobogo vnimaniya (1978).
- Actor Leonardas Pobedonoscevas was born on November 15, 1979 in Vilnius, Lithuania, to Tatjana (Cole) and Leonidas Pobedonoscevas. The Lithuanian actor Leo has performed in many Lithuania and international theater, films, television shows, commercials, video games and cartoon voice over projects. 1998-2004 Studied acting under Rimas Tuminas at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre (Theatre and Film Department) in Vilnius, Lithuania. 2002 to present: Resident actor in the State Small Theatre of Vilnius (Art Director Rimas Tuminas - www.vmt.lt). 2007 Master's Degree in Performing Arts (Acting). Half year Traveled around South - East Asia (2014). 2015 - 2016 Lived in Bali (Indonesia). Fluent in Lithuanian, English and Russian. He lives in Vilnius.
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Mindaugas Papinigis is an Eastern European actor from Lithuania. A touch of destiny has given him an exceptional voice. His natural talent and incredibly relatable performance in films has made Mindaugas a shooting star in Lithuania. Since then he has acted in such international projects as "Sobibor" by Konstantin Khabenskiy, Mini-series "War &Peace" by Robert Dornhelm starring Clemence Poesy and Malcolm McDowel and "Transsiberia" by director Brad Anderson where he acted alongside Ben Kingsley and many more. Mindaugas is fluent in Lithuanian, Russian and English, he also speaks a bit of Spanish, Portuguese and Polish. In Lithuania Mindaugas Papinigis is best known for his roles in cult action movies by director Emilis Velyvis such as "Zero. Alyvine Lietuva", "Zero II", "Zero III" and "Redirected". His more recent work includes Lithuanian TV series "Partizani: the price of freedom", soap opera "The Inheritor", and a Swedish series "Moscow Noir" by Mikael Håfström, Johan Brisinger and Mårten Klingberg in 2018.- Casting Director
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Donatas Simukauskas is an Eastern European actor. He was schooled in acting at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. The breakthrough role of Donatas' career was in a cult Lithuanian comedy "Zero: Alyvine Lietuva" in 2006 where he played a corrupt police officer. After that came numerous roles in local and international productions such as "Die Flucht/March of Millions" directed by Kai Wessel, TV mini-series "War &Peace" by Robert Dornhelm starring Clemence Poesy and Malcolm McDowel, Japanese TV series "Clouds Over the Hill". Among the highlights of Donatas' career there are roles in feature films "The Crown Jewels" directed by Ella Lemhagen starring Alicia Vikander and Bill Skarsgard, "Gitel" directed by Robert Mullan where Donatas played Rabbi Ozerovski and a Lithuanian blockbusters "Zero II" and "Redirected" where Donatas astablished himself as a prominent comedy actor. His most recent work include Swedish TV series "Moscow Noir" by Mikael Håfström, Johan Brisinger and Mårten Klingberg in 2018 and "Kalifat" in 2020 and a feature film "Sasha Was Here" nominated for Best First Feature in Tallin Black Nights Festival in 2018 and Golden Duke in Odessa International Film Festival in 2019.- Darius Gumauskas was born on 20 May 1974. He is an actor, known for Kharms (2017), Emilia (2017) and Kolekcioniere (2008).
- Mindaugas Capas was born on 13 March 1959 in Rusné, Lietuvos Respublika. He is an actor, known for Transsiberian (2008), Captain Blood: His Odyssey (1992) and Importinis jaunikis (2020).
- Born in 1962. In 1984 completed BA in acting in Lithuanian school of Arts. 1984-92 acted in National Drama Theater of Kaunas. In 2002 he got MA degree in directing, University Victoria, Canada. Since 2004 he is acting and directing in various theaters in Lithuania.
Sakalas Uzdavinys was the first one who started professional castings of actors in Lithuania as it was never popular there. He brought it from Canada as he lived and worked there for ten years.
He has performed in more than 11 motion movies and 50 theatrical plays,among which there are several plays where he was contributing as director. - Valda Bickute was born on 25 October 1980 in Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, USSR. She is an actress, known for Christmas. Uncensored (2012), Nereikalingi zmones (2008) and Kolekcioniere (2008).
- Kostas Smoriginas was born on 22 April 1953. He is an actor, known for Christmas. Uncensored (2012), Nereikalingi zmones (2008) and Nuodemes uzkalbejimas (2007).
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Iveta Drulyte is an International Actress based in London.
Trained in the United Kingdom as well as Europe Iveta is a confident screen and stage performer delivering in multiple languages and accents. Alongside acting Iveta Drulyte is also trained in screen combat, voice and movement.
Iveta is known for Bad Day at the Office, Should Have Waited (2024) and Prey (2023)- Solveiga Mykolaityte is a Lithuanian professional actresses/model, known as one of the very successful supermodels belonging from Lithuania. Solveiga Mykolaityte was born and brought up in a small town in Lithuania. She faced many challenges and had to struggle a lot at the beginning of her career. At the age of 15 years, she went to her first modeling Audition but was rejected due to her overly athletic figure.
- Agne Sataite is known for Importinis jaunikis (2020), Laikinai Jusu (2023) and Vyru svajones (2023).
- Introducing Diana Krüger, the talented Lithuanian actress now making waves in Germany. With a lifelong passion for performance and a diverse dance background, Diana commands attention on both stage and screen. From intense crime dramas to enchanting romances, she infuses every role with depth, authenticity, and undeniable charisma. Her international experience and dedication ensure she continually captivates audiences worldwide. Keep an eye on Diana Krueger-she's a star on the rise.
- Vilma Kutaviciute was born on June 15, 1988 in Vilnius, Lithuania. She grew up in a family of composers and finished musical school playing piano. In 2008 Vilma was enrolled in RATI-GITIS (Russian Academy of Theater Arts), in the course of Leonid Heyfets, a famous Russian director and professor.
After graduation she worked at Vakhtangov Theater starring as Tatiana in "Eugene Onegin". In Praktika theater Vilma played in a number of productions directed by Ivan Vyrypaev. In this period she also began her career as a screen actress. Her film debute was in Break Loose (2013) by Aleksey Uchitel. Today Vilma's best-known feature films and TV series are Trudnye podrostki (2019), The Humorist (2019), Trotsky (2017).
In 2015 Vilma Kutaviciute made her debut as a director staging "Nameless Star" by Mihail Sebastian at Ermolova Theater. In 2017 she studied directing from Eimuntas Nekrosius at Meno Fortas Theater in Vilnius, Lithuania. - Actress
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Gintare Parulyte is known for Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003), And He Said Yes! (2022) and Is That, Like, Your Real Job? (2019).- Vilma Raubaite is known for Ghetto (2005), Behind Closed Doors (2023) and Laisves kaina. Partizanai (2017).
- Saule Sakalauskaite is a young Eastern European actress born in Vilnius, Lithuania. She has recently finished her studies in Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. Now Saule works in the National Drama Theatre of Kaunas where she plays in numerous performances. Saule's career in cinema has started with a film "Sirdys" in 2018 directed by Justinas Krisiunas. In the film Saule has played the role of Sandra. Her most recent role was in an upcoming comedy drama "Everything, Nothing and Something Else" by a Ukrainian director Marina Kondratieva.
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Neringa Nekrasiute is known for Importinis jaunikis (2020), Duburys (2009) and Neringa Nekrasiute: Oro bucinukas (2001).- Milda Vysniauskaite is known for Kulkos Tavo Kailyje and Invisible (2019).
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Edgar Bechter is known for Pasmerkti. Pajurio dziazas (2019), Ko nezino vyrai (2022) and Tarp musu, berniuku (2016).- Rimante Valiukaite was born on 5 March 1970 in Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, USSR [now Vilnius, Lithuania]. She is an actress, known for Defiance (2008), The Castle (2020) and The Keeper of Time (2004).
- Vytautas Rumsas Jaunesnysis is known for Ko nezino vyrai (2022), Dar paziuresim (2009) and As Gyvas (2023).
- Toma Vaskeviciute was born on 3 July 1986 in Vilnius, Lithuania. She is an actress, known for Anarchy in Zirmunai (2010), Non-Present Time (2014) and The Generation of Evil (2021).
- Agne Sataite is known for Importinis jaunikis (2020), Laikinai Jusu (2023) and Vyru svajones (2023).
- Vitalija Mockeviciute was born on 11 January 1969 in Nedzinge, Lithuanian SSR, USSR [now Nedzinge, Lithuania]. She is an actress, known for Runner (2021), Importinis jaunikis (2020) and Trys Milijonai Euru (2017).
- Gaile Butvilaite was born in Vilnius, Lithuania. She was 2 years old when she and her family moved to Caracas, Venezuela. Her father is a well renowned Violinist and her mother is a former ballet artist current Ballet Director at LNOBT. Following her parent's footsteps at 5 years old she began studying Violin and Piano at the Emil Friedman Conservatory and at 10 years old, she began studying classical ballet. After 18 years growing up in Venezuela she studied Architecture and moved to Milan and London, then returned to Lithuania and graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, BA in acting. Since then she has been working non stop performing main roles at the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre and Oskaras Korsunovas Theatre, in TV miniseries and films. In 2020 she was nominated for a "Golden Cross of the Stage" Awards, for the dramaturgy of the performance "Slowmotion" at the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre. She is based in Spain
- Mindaugas Capas was born on 13 March 1959 in Rusné, Lietuvos Respublika. He is an actor, known for Transsiberian (2008), Captain Blood: His Odyssey (1992) and Importinis jaunikis (2020).
- Zhivila Roche is known for Tales of the Unexpected (1979), Persuasion (1971) and Wives and Daughters (1971).
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Melody Lipskis is known for In Search of Fear (2023).- Ruta Gedmintas was born on 23 August 1983 in Canterbury, Kent, England, UK. She is an actress, known for A Street Cat Named Bob (2016), The Strain (2014) and The Lost Samaritan (2008).
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Julija Steponaityte was born on 1 July 1992 in Lithuania. She is an actress, known for The Summer of Sangaile (2015), Personal Shopper (2016) and Man Dvim Keli (2014).- I was born in Lithuania on the 12th April 1987. As a child, I explored and communicated in various languages of art: dance, singing, drawing, playing guitar, acting, until I finally realized that I can fit everything into acting. The opportunity to be someone else, to learn about myself, to experience, understand and embody the values, sins, challenges, daily routines, joys, and anxieties of others - the list can go on forever- fascinated me. Acting has become a passion of my life because every time I act, I feel that I'm being heard. The audience, watching me play a character, would think, smile, laugh, remember or cry, but they would always FEEL something. And feeling inspires to MOVE, make a CHANGE, and if I can be a part of it, my job is worthy. I graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Theatre Education (LEU, Vilnius) in 2009. I performed in many theatre shows in Lithuania and then moved to the UK to further my career. I then joined the International School of Screen Acting and graduated in 2011. My recent credits include: 2019, Television, Dancer, Somewhere in London (SWIL2), Big Deal Films, Michael Dapaah 2018, Television, Maria, Right Swipe, Invisible Darkness, Ricky J. Payne 2018, Stage, Mona, Feel More, Proforca Theatre Company, David Brady/ Harriet Rose Lambert 2017, Audio, Lilya Grankin, Doctor Who - The Night Witches, Big Finish Productions, Helen Goldwyn I am also a member of Lithuanian Theatre Company in London (Kito Vejo Teatras), which has toured UK and Switzerland recently. I am fluent in English, Lithuanian and Russian.
- Sigita Pikturnaite is a film and theatre actress. She was born and raised in Kelme, Lithuania. She was educated at Klaipeda University with a Bachelor degree and Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy with a Masters degree. Since her graduation, Sigita has been working in a various cinema, TV, radio, music and theatre projects.
Sigita has attended acting masterclasses of Method Acting with Barry Primus as well as Meisner technique with Steven Ditmyer and the improvisation classes with Beatrix Brunscho.
Sigita is a member of Lithuanian Actors Guild and and an active member of Vilnius Actors Studio. - Sarunas Zenkevicius was born on 28 March 1990 in Svencioneliai, Lithuania. He is an actor, known for Endex (2019), Runner (2021) and Sugrizimas (2015).
- Gytis Pintulis is known for You Are My Diamond Film (2023), The Generation of Evil (2021) and Laikinai Jusu (2023).
- Tadas Gudaitis is known for The Purple Mist (2019), Monikai reikia meiles (2019) and Tobula Kopija (2015).
- Kristina Kazlauskaite was born on 13 February 1953 in Kaunas, Litovskaya SSR, USSR. She is an actress, known for Riesutu duona (1977), And All Their Men (2019) and Farewell (2010).
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Bria Vinaite was born on 10 June 1993 in Lithuania. She is an actress and writer, known for The Florida Project (2017), Untitled Bria Vinaite Project and The OA (2016).- Rytis Valiunas is known for Right in the Left Lane (2022), Kunigo nauda velniai gaudo (2015) and Brooklyn Coven (2020).
- Rytis Saladzius is known for Crucifixion (2019), Vestuves/the Wedding (2019) and Owl Mountain (2018).
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Started the band FOJE in 1983, one of the most popular bands in his home country. They released 14 albums during 1983-1997. The band won all the possible music awards in their country. FOJE toured European and American clubs and had an audience of 60,000 people at their last show in Vilnius. It is still a record of all times in Lithuania.
Andrius Mamontovas is also acting in movies and was invited to play Hamlet, directed by one of the most important theatre directors in the world today - Eimuntas Nekrosius. The play is still on the world tour since 1997 and has been performed in 40 countries around the world (180 times to date).
After his former band split, Mamontovas started solo career. Until now He has released 11 albums. Also he's well known in Lithuania as the producer, who gave life to many artists of Lithuania. Mamontovas is even responsible for the first Lithuanian house and rap recordings, back in 1990. He wrote soundtracks for several short films and music for the theatre play "Ivanov" by Chekhov (directed by E.Nekrosius) at Teatro Argentina in Rome (Italy) in 2002.
In 2004 Andrius Mamontovas was the main act at the festival by the Brandenburg Gates in Berlin, when the new members (including Lithuania) joined the European Union that year. In the end of 2005, Mamontovas formed a band, called LT United, to represent Lithuania at the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest where they won the 6th place with the song "We Are The Winners Of Eurovision".
In 2007, Andrius started The Street Musicians Day. He called everyone to come out and play on the streets. On the first Saturday of May, around 700 people played their music all day long on the streets of Vilnius (capitol of Lithuania). It looks like this event will spread into other cities and will be joined by more people, because in 2009 around 5000 musicians came out to play on the streets of 46 cities and towns of Lithuania.
In 2008, Mamontovas received the Jin Jue Award for Best Music (film "Loss" by Maris Martinsons) at Shanghai International Film Festival. Andrius wrote the whole soundtrack and also played one of the main roles in it.
In 2009 DVD "Koncertas Park West Chicago" was released. The show was filmed at one of Chicago's famous clubs Park West Chicago after Andrius Mamontovas made a huge tour in his home country Lithuania, celebrating his 20 years of touring since 1989. 30 concerts in the open air were sold out. Also in 2009 Andrius played one of the main characters in the movie "Amaya" by Maris Martinsons along with world famous actors Kaori Momoi and Dexter Fletcher. "Amaya" was filmed in Hong Kong. Andrius is also composed music for this film.- Migle Grakauskaite is known for Dievu miskas (2005) and Strays (2011).
- Gintare Smigelskyte is known for Man reikia meiles (2023), Rezidentai (2014) and Sviesoforas (2017).
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Character actor, dramatic leading man, or hilarious comic foil? With an astonishing range of roles already under his belt, John C. Reilly has played an eclectic host of rich characters to great effect over the years, from seedy ne'er-do-wells, to lovable, good-natured schlepps.
The fifth of six children, John Christopher Reilly was born in Chicago, to a father of mostly Irish descent, and a Lithuanian-American mother, and was brought up on Chicago's tough Southwest territory. His father, also named John, ran an industrial linen supply company business. On the amateur stage from age eight, Reilly trained at the Goodman School of Drama and eventually became a member of Chicago's renowned Steppenwolf Theatre.
His film break came with a small role in the Vietnam War drama Casualties of War (1989), wherein Brian De Palma liked his work so much during the early stages that he recast him in a major role by the start of shooting as a soldier bent on rape. Reilly gained momentum throughout the 1990s and showed his dazzling stretch of talent in such films as Days of Thunder (1990), Shadows and Fog (1991), What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) and The River Wild (1994). He became a major stock player in director Paul Thomas Anderson's films, while finding some of his best roles in Hard Eight (1996) as a compulsive gambler, Boogie Nights (1997) in which he played a narcissistic porn star, and in Magnolia (1999) as a compassionate policeman. He went on to earn further critical points for his role of the soldier sent to the front lines in Terrence Malick's war epic The Thin Red Line (1998).
On stage, Reilly has wowed audiences in "The Grapes of Wrath" on Broadway, "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "Othello" at Steppenwolf, and earned an Outer Critics Circle Award and Tony nomination for "True West" alongside another impeccable character player Philip Seymour Hoffman. Reilly finally received the film recognition he deserved in 2002 with a slew of choice, high-profile parts in The Hours (2002), The Good Girl (2002), Gangs of New York (2002), and especially Chicago (2002) as the put-upon husband, Amos Hart, who is played for a patsy by murderous wife Roxie (Renée Zellweger). For this last part, he received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor.
Since then his stock has risen considerably, and he has further widened his cinematic repertoire, appearing in everything from dramatic roles - We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), The Aviator (2004) and Carnage (2011) - to broader comic turns - Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Step Brothers (2008), Cyrus (2010) and Cedar Rapids (2011). Most recently, he has voiced the lead in Disney's animated smash Wreck-It Ralph (2012).
Reilly is married to producer Alison Dickey.- Actor
- Producer
Vaslov Goom is known for Masters of the Air (2024), Rights of Man (2023) and Portrait of God (2019).- Actor
- Director
- Domas Siaulytis is known for Problemo (2018).
- Actress
- Casting Department
- Casting Director
Aiste S. Gram was born Aiste Gramantaite in Siauliai, Lithuania. She was educated at Siauliai University Gymnasium. In 2006, she moved to the U.K., to study Journalism, Film & Media. During her studies, Aiste was a member of Sherman Cymru Youth Group, where she started acting in English. This led to her applying to East 15 Acting School in Essex, where she graduated with a Masters degree in 2011. Since her graduation, Aiste has been working in the U.K. and across Europe. Her roles are varied in range and background, and to date she portrayed many different nationalities on screen.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Neringa Nekrasiute is known for Importinis jaunikis (2020), Duburys (2009) and Neringa Nekrasiute: Oro bucinukas (2001).- Donatas Svirenas is known for Dievu miskas (2005).
- Dovydas Stoncius is known for Trys Milijonai Euru (2017), Tarp musu, mergaiciu (2018) and Gautas Iskvietimas (2016).
- Algimantas Masiulis was born on 10 July 1931 in Surdegis, Anyksciu, Lithuania. He was an actor, known for Diamonds for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat (1975), The Ballad of the Valiant Knight Ivanhoe (1983) and Treasure Island (1972). He died on 19 August 2008 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
- Donatas Ivanauskas is known for Zero. Alyvine Lietuva (2006), Gautas Iskvietimas (2016) and Zero 2 (2010).
- Milda Noreikaite is a Lithuanian actress born in Vilnius. She finished acting school at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. Her first lead role in cinema was in a short film "After Rave" that was nominated for a Silver Crane for Best Student Work in Lithuanian Film Awards. Since then Milda has played in such international productions as the documentary drama series "The Last Czar" directed by Adrian McDowall and Gareth Tunley, Norwegian TV series "Occupied" in 2019, Swedish TV series "Moscow Noir" by Mikael Håfström, Johan Brisinger and Mårten Klingberg in 2018. The most recent highlight of Milda's career is the lead role in an upcoming feature film "People We Know Are Confuzed" directed by Tomas Smulkis.
Milda is fluent in Russian, English and Lithuanian.
Milda is currently acting in numerous theatre performances. She has been working with a legendary Lithuanian theatre director Eimuntas Nekrosius in many of his last productions. - Donatas Banionis was a popular Lithuanian actor known for Nobody Wanted to Die (1965), Myortvyy sezon (1968), and Solaris (1972).
He was born Donatas Juozas Banionis on April 28, 1924, in Kaunas, Lithuania. His mother, Blazhaitite-Banionene Ona, was a homemaker. His father, Juozas Banionis, was a tailor who took part in the Russian Revolution of 1917, was wounded in the Russian Civil War, then became a political prisoner, and briefly emigrated to Brasil during the 1920s. Young Banionis was raised with his elder sister during the years of Lithuanian independence before WWII.
In 1941 Donatas Banionis was hired by the famous Lithuanian theatrical director Juozas Miltinis and became an actor at the newly formed Panevezys Drama Theatre. He studied acting under Juozas Miltinis and graduated from the Panevezys Acting Studio in 1945. In 1947 Banionis made his film debut: he appeared in a cameo role in 'Marite' (1947). His first major film work was the role of adventurer Daus in 'Adomas nori buti zmogumi' (Adam Wants to Be a Man 1959) by director Vytautas Zalakevicius.
Long before becoming an acclaimed actor Banionis tried to escape from the Soviet Union at the end of the Second World War; but he failed to join his Lithuanian compatriots when they fled the Soviets. Soon the Iron curtain became impenetrable from either side. However, in 1970, as a member of an official Soviet delegation, he made his first visit to the Lithuanian community in Chicago. Then Banionis, being already a famous actor, came to realize that his former compatriots earned their good living and nice homes by working very hard from very poor beginnings. At that time, Banionis enjoyed a highly privileged life as a top film-star in the Soviet Union. He was awarded the State Prize in 1975, and was received by such Soviet leaders as Leonid Brezhnev and Mikhail Gorbachev.
Banionis earned critical acclaim for his role of Vaitkus in 'Niekas nenorejo mirti' (Nobody Wanted to Die, 1966) by director Vytautas Zalakevicius. A powerful film, it was even dubbed the "Lithuanian Seven Samurai." Banionis' tragical character Vaitkus is the undecided one among the Lithuanian "brothers in the woods", who are fighting against the Soviets after the end of the Second World War. Banionis demonstrated his range as a comedian in the comic role of a priest in 'Beregis avtomobilya' (Watch Out for the Automobile, 1966) by director Eldar Ryazanov. Banionis' sweet character blends well with the stellar ensemble of actors, such as Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Oleg Efremov, Andrey Mironov, Anatoliy Papanov, Evgeniy Evstigneev, Georgi Zhzhyonov, and other Russian film stars.
Donatas Banionis is a refined intellectual actor with effortless style. His mastery of timing, his powerful silence, and his reserved energy shines in his major film-works; such as in 'King Lear' (1969) by Grigoriy Kozintsev, in 'Solaris' (1972) by Andrei Tarkovsky, in 'Goya - oder Der arge Weg der Erkenntnis' (1971) by director Konrad Wolf, in 'Begstvo mistera Mak-Kinli' by director Mikhail Shvejtser, in 'Beethoven - Days in a Life' (1976) by director Horst Seemann, and in other films.
One of his memorable film-works is the character of a Russian spy 'Ladeinikov' in 'Myortvy Sezon' (The Dead Season, 1968) by director Savva Kulish. That film role provided Banionis with an auspicious connection. In 2004, the actor had a meeting with the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Putin confirmed that he made up his mind to become an intelligence officer after seeing Banionis in the role of a Russian spy.
In his later works Donatas Banionis constitutes the link between cinema of the past and contemporary Lithuanian film. He showed reserved and convincing work in the role of 'The old man' in 'Kiemas' (Courtyard, 1999), a reflective film about a Lithuanian father and his family's depressing fate in the 1970's Soviet Union. He worked with director Aleksandr Buravskiy in 'Attack on Leningrad' (2006), a film about the historic siege during the Second World War; where his acting partners are Gabriel Byrne, Mira Sorvino, Aleksandr Abdulov, Kirill Lavrov, Mikhail Efremov and others.
During his acting career spanning over sixty five years, Donatas Banionis played over 50 roles in film and on television. He also played over 100 stage roles, mainly at the Panevezys Juozas Miltinis' Drama Theatre. Banionis was designated People's Actor of the USSR (1974), and People's actor of the Lithuanian Republic (1973). He is Chevalier of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas.
Donatas Banionis lived in the city of Panevezys, Lithuania. He was Honorable Citizen of Panevezys (1999). Actor died of heart related problems on 4th of September 2014 in Panevezys, Lithuania. He was ninety years old. - Actor
- Composer
Marius Jampolskis is an Eastern European actor born in Kaunas, Lithuania. He has finished his acting studies in the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. Marius' first role in cinema was a Lithuanian TV series "Gedimino, 11" in 2001. He played a leading role of Gena in an adventure comedy "Khottabych" directed by Piotr Tochilin in 2006. After that came numerous Lithuanian TV series and feature films. The highlights of Marius' career are his role in a feature film "The Colectress" directed by K. Buozyte in 2008 for which Marius received the Silver Crane Award for Best Actor in Lithuanian Film Awards in 2008 and the lead role in a Lithuanian sci-fi feature film "Aurora/Vanishing Waves" directed by Kristina Buozyte also awarded with the Silver Crane for the Best Actor in Lithuanian Film Awards in 2013. Besides that, the film won 14 awards in various film festivals such as Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film, Austin Fantastic Fest, Jameson CineFest - Miskolc International Film Festival, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival. Marius has tried his also hand in a horror genre in a film "The Cellar" directed by Ricardas Matacius in 2014. Recently Marius has developed his passion for comedy acting and has starred in popular Lithuanian TV series "Apie mus ir Kazlauskus", Lithuanian comedies "Trys Milijonai Euru"in 2017 and "Pats Sau Milijonierius" in 2019 both directed by Tadas Vidmantas. His latest role was in TV film "Pasmerkti. Pajurio Dziazas" directed by Ramunas Rudokas in 2019.
Marius is fluent in Russian and Lithuanian, he also speaks English very well.- Jonas Virsilas is known for Broken Branches (2019).
- Actress
- Make-Up Department
- Director
Ieva Delininkaityte is known for Yeva Deli: Raabta (2019), Meiluzes (2023) and Gautas iskvietimas 3 (2016).- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Algimantas Kundelis was born on 2 July 1936 in Vyzeciai, Lithuania. He was a director and actor, known for Suaugusiu zmoniu zaidimai (1967), Nerami rudens diena (1975) and Visi pries viena (1986). He died on 21 August 2002 in Vilnius, Lithuania.