Why the megastar of Polish cinema "The Witcher" Michal Zhebrowski got married only at the age of 37

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

A glorious warrior and a noble nobleman, the Witcher and the Polish hetman, as well as a modern hero-lover - this is a short list of the roles of the star of Polish cinema Michal Zhebrovsky, whose non-trivial charisma and brutal appearance determined the nature of his role. Having entered the top ten most popular actors in Poland, as well as among the ten most handsome men in the country, he is loved and recognized not only in his homeland. His filmography includes many international projects, including Russian ones.

The handsome actor is magnificent and organic in any role he plays, therefore it is not surprising that films with Michal's participation are a resounding success all over the world. Moreover, the actor is adored not only by the female part of the audience, but also by the male. Masculinity and brutality, nobility and sentimentality, as well as extraordinary natural data are the links of the chain that have created a stellar image for our hero. Today we will recall some of the roles of Zhebrowski, and also talk about the personal life of the sex symbol of Polish cinema.

Turning the pages of a biography

Michal was born in 1972 in the capital of Poland, Warsaw. From an early age, the boy dreamed of an acting career and theatrical stage. Parents, seeing the makings of an artist in their son, fully supported their son in his desires, although they themselves did not have a creative education. Michal's father is a man of a technical profession, his mother is a doctor, head of the maternity ward at the Warsaw clinic.

Raising a son in relative severity, the mother and father did not indulge his whims, but at the same time they did not limit freedom. They were taught to respect other people's opinions and work hard to achieve their plans. According to the actor himself, he owes his successes to his relatives, who guided him on the right path and believed his talent.

Curiously, since childhood, Michal saw himself as an artist not at all in cinema, but in theater. He was very impressed by the lively attention of the public, so he gladly went on stage during his school years, participating in creative competitions. The future actor, while still a lyceum student, attended a circle of reciters and repeatedly took prizes for the best reading of literary works.

At the same time, it must be said that in other subjects Michal could not boast of such success. The exact sciences did not come to his mind at all. - he now recalls with a smile.

After graduating from the Warsaw General Education Lyceum in 1991, Zhebrovsky immediately became a student at the State Higher Theater School in Warsaw (now the Academy). It was here that he got his first acting experience. A talented third-year student with an attractive appearance was invited to star in two television plays at once: "AWOL" and "Let's Rent a Room …" (1993). A year later, he made his theatrical debut as Jimmy Porter in the play Look Back in Anger.

The theatrical stage became for Michal what he dreamed and dreamed of from a young age. And his artistic career developed excellently. After graduation, for several years Zhebrovsky worked exclusively as a theater actor. Theater critics all unanimously noted that a talented actor fully gets used to the roles he plays, forcing the viewer to sincerely empathize and believe in what he creates on stage. And, of course, Michal's bright attractive appearance and mature acting skills could not go unnoticed by filmmakers.

Michal Zhebrovsky and cinema. Roles that made the actor famous

The role in the TV series Glory and Praise, which tells about the life of the Polish intelligentsia in the period 1914-1947, became a landmark for Michal. Zhebrowski's acting work was noticed by the patriarch of Polish cinema - Oscar-winning director Jerzy Hoffman. He was just picking up the cast for the filming of his historical melodrama With Fire and Sword (1999) based on the novel of the same name by Henryk Sienkiewicz.

The role of the gentry Jan Skshetuski was offered to the young actor Michal Zhebrovsky, which Hoffman never regretted. And Michal at one point became famous and in demand, and not only in the domestic cinema.

But in order to play the noble pan, the artist had to work hard on himself: to improve his horse riding art, and also to learn fencing. But all efforts were not in vain, because Hoffman later invited Zhebrovsky more than once to roles in his films.

Zhebrovsky so brilliantly embodied the image of a noble Polish officer that he fell in love with millions of viewers, and especially spectators, not only in Poland, but also in Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Spain and other countries where the film was screened. The success of the film was also facilitated by its showing at the Cannes Film Festival.

For more information about filming the epic "With Fire and Sword", star cast and much more, read: What and why the director Hoffman changed in the popular novel "With Fire and Sword" while shooting the film.

Michal Zhebrowski was so wonderful both as a type and as an actor that he immediately received several offers from eminent masters of Polish cinema. Andrzej Wajda gave Michal the lead role in the drama "Pan Tadeusz" (1999), which at times added to the popularity of the actor. It is not surprising that after that he topped the rating of the most popular Polish film actors.

And in 2002 Zhebrovsky appeared in a cameo role in a war drama "Pianist" cult director Roman Polansky.

However, a triumph in the same year, 2002, was for Zhebrovsky the release of the fantasy series The Witcher, in which he played the main character - Geralt of Rivia, nicknamed the White Wolf. This role made the actor a megastar of Polish cinema.

For this work, he was nominated for an award from the Polish Film Academy in the category "Male lead", and according to Zhebrowski himself, on occasion, taxi drivers still thank him for Geralt.

One of the main roles went to Michal (warrior Zemovit) in the film "When the sun was god" (2003) - the master of Polish cinema Jerzy Hoffmann, who created a free adaptation of the historical novel "The Old Tradition" by Jozef Kraszewski. In this film, the actor was again brought together by fate with Bogdan Stupka (Popel). Our hero looked very organically in the film in a duet with the Russian film actress Marina Aleksandrova (Dziva).

Over time, his filmography was replenished with new films, where his bright dramatic talent as an actor was manifested with renewed vigor: Magdalena Pekozh "Strikes" (2004) and Andrzej Severin "Who never lived …" (2005).

In 2007, a new milestone began in Zhebrovsky's career; he was invited by Russian director Vladimir Khotinenko to play the role of Polish hetman Kibovsky in the historical film drama "1612", which describes the stage of Russian history at the beginning of the 17th century, called the Time of Troubles. The Polish actor starred in the role of the hetman in love with the princess Ksenia Godunova.

The first experience of filming in Russia turned out to be so successful that soon the actor gladly accepts the offer of the master of Russian cinema Stanislav Govorukhin to star in a melodrama "In the style of Jazz" (2010).

However, for all the years of working in the cinema, Zhebrovsky did not leave the thought of the theatrical stage. During his career, Michal had to cooperate with various theaters, but as experience has shown, the actor, by virtue of his character, did not always agree with the orders and laws of a particular temple of art. Therefore, in 2010, he co-founded his own theater called "The Sixth Floor" and is now educating young actors himself.

By the way, Michal Zhebrovsky is still in demand and has been filmed a lot. Since 2011, he began to star in the title role of professor-surgeon Andrzej Falkowicz in the popular Polish TV series Good and Evil.

The personal life of the sex symbol of Polish cinema

The star of Polish cinema for a long time remained single, carefully hiding his personal life from annoying fans and journalists. And they, in turn, wondered how this stately handsome man could remain unmarried for so long and did not give him a pass.

In fact, Michal was waiting for the only one who is in grief and joy … Before his eyes there was always and is an example of his parents, who have been living in love and harmony for the past sixty years. Therefore, only at the age of 37, the status “married” appeared in Zhebrovsky's biography. The actor's chosen one was marketer Alexandra Adamchik, who is 14 years younger than her famous husband.

Their love story is quite amazing. For the first time, the future spouses saw each other when Michal was eighteen, and Olya (so affectionately calls his wife Michal) was five years old. The girl's mother was friends with the actor's older sister; their families often spent their holidays together. Years later, the couple met by chance at a marketing course and never parted.

In 2009, Poland's main heartthrob finally got married, having married his beloved. In March 2010, they had a son, Franciszek, followed by a second. His happy parents named him Henrik.

Michal and Alexandra have been married for 11 years. This is a very beautiful, harmonious and happy couple, but there is one "but": the favorite actor of Michal Zhebrovsky's wife is … Ryan Gosling!

Awards, honors, hobbies

During his entire creative career, Zhebrowski was awarded many cinematic and theater awards, he was nominated for the Golden Eagle for Best Actor, and in 2015 the Ministry of Culture of Poland was awarded the bronze medal Zasłużony Kulturze Gloria Artis. And this list can be continued.

However, it should be noted that the actor is a versatile personality, and Michal's sphere of interests is not limited to cinema: many fans know him as a talented singer, he is fond of boxing and golf. He still does not leave his favorite hobby.

Continuing the topic of the stars of Polish cinema, read: How a terrible accident began a new life: The star of Polish cinema - Anna Dymna.