Rade Šerbedžija Last updated January 13, 2026 Croatian actor, director, and musician
Rade Šerbedžija
Born (1946-07-27 ) 27 July 1946 (age 79) Other names Rade Sherbedgia Citizenship Croatia North Macedonia Slovenia Occupation Actor Years active 1967–present Spouses Ivanka Cerovac
( m. 1969
; div. 1987
) Children 5, including Danilo and Lucija
Rade Šerbedžija (Serbian Cyrillic : Раде Шербеџија pronounced [ rǎːde] 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 International Press Academy ’s Mary Pickford Award , an honorary recognition “for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to the Entertainment Industry” in 2019.
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 . [ 4] While still a student, Šerbedžija started to play leading roles in films and theatre productions. [ 5] His stage roles included Oedipus and Richard III . [ 6] His performance as Hamlet in 1974 in Dubrovnik catapulted him into stardom. [ 5]
Šerbedžija landed his first major film role in 1968 in the Branko Ivanda -directed Gravitation . [ 7] [ 8] 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). [ 7] 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). [ 7]
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. [ 7]
Šerbedžija was one of the most well-known actors in Yugoslavia, [ 9] [ 10] in addition to being one of the most beloved. [ 11] Prior to leaving his home country, Šerbedžija had starred in over 40 films. [ 5] He was also one of the main supporters of the KPGT Yugoslav theater, [ 10] a project initiated to unite the different Yugoslav state theaters into a single troupe. [ 12]
Šerbedžija is a four-time recipient of the Golden Arena for Best Actor at the Pula Film Festival ; in 1978 for Bravo maestro , [ 13] in 1986 for Evening Bells (Večernja zvona ), [ 14] in 2010 for 72 Days (Sedamdeset i dva dana ), [ 14] and Fishing and Fishermen's Conversations (2020). [ 15]
In 2000, Šerbedžija founded the Ulysses Theater with Borislav Vujčić on the Brijuni islands. [ 10] [ 16] 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 , [ 17] the Croatian Theatre Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, [ 18] and the Orlando Award. [ 19] The same year, he won his second Vladimir Nazor Award for “Lifetime Achievement - Film Art”. [ 20]
International career Šerbedžija at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival . In 1988, Šerbedžija appeared in two films that were released in the West; Hanna's War and Manifesto . [ 5]
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 . [ 5] While in London, Šerbedžija met with Macedonian-American director Milcho Manchevski who cast him in his 1994 film Before the Rain . [ 10] The performance earned him a Critics Award for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival . [ 21]
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. [ 22] He is usually known for playing villains. [ 8] [ 23]
He had a cameo in Batman Begins ; he was asked to reprise his cameo role in The Dark Knight , but declined.[ citation needed ]
In 2001, he starred in a television production of Rodgers and Hammerstein 's musical South Pacific as French plantation owner Emile de Becque. [ 24] 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 , [ 25] and had a supporting role in the NBC science fiction series Surface . [ 26] In 2007 he played Athos Roussos in Jeremy Podeswa 's feature film adaptation of Anne Michaels ' novel Fugitive Pieces . [ 27]
His performance in the Canadian film Fugitive Pieces Genie Award [ 28] and Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor. [ 29]
He portrayed Dmitri Gredenko on the sixth season of the hit Fox show 24 . [ 30]
In 2009 Šerbedžija was cast in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 as the famous foreign wandmaker Gregorovitch . [ 31] In 2014, Šerbedžija appeared in six episodes of Downton Abbey as Prince Kuragin, [ 32] 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”. [ 33]
Personal life Šerbedžija married Ivanka Cerovac in 1969. [ 37] They have a son, film director Danilo (b. 1971), and a daughter, actress Lucija (b. 1973). [ 37] The couple divorced in 1987. [ 37]
Šerbedžija met his second wife, Lenka Udovički , the sister of Serbian politician Kori Udovički , in Subotica in 1990 and they married in 1991. [ 38] 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. [ 10]
Šerbedžija's parents left Vinkovci as Serb refugees for Belgrade in 1991, due to the Croatian War of Independence . [ 39]
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. [ 40] The youth himself was from Lika , as was Šerbedžija. [ 40] Šerbedžija took his wife and at the time, only daughter Nina, and left Zagreb and Belgrade, and settled in Ljubljana , Slovenia . [ 41] [ 39] Šerbedžija has called himself "Yugo-nostalgic ", [ 42] and in 2011, said that times were better in Socialist Yugoslavia than now. [ 40] 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. [ 39]
Šerbedžija is a citizen of Croatia, North Macedonia , and Slovenia. [ 43]
Filmography 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
References ↑ "Rade Serbedzija Biography" . Film Reference . Retrieved 3 March 2021 . Surname is sometimes transliterated "Serbedgia" or "Serbedjija"; born July 27, 1946, in Bunic kraj Korenice ↑ Nikolić, Bratislav (19 July 2022). "Šerbedžija: Kao Tesla, ja se ponosim svojim srpskim rodom i hrvatskom domovinom" . NOVA portal (in Serbian). Retrieved 19 March 2023 . ↑ Petrov, Sergej (27 December 2013). "Rade Šerbedžija" . vino.rs. ↑ Gogler, Maggie (27 September 2017). "In Conversation With Rade and Danilo Serbedzija" . View of the Arts . Retrieved 3 March 2021 . He also performed at the Gavella Drama Theater and at the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb 1 2 3 4 5 6 McKenna, Kristine (26 February 1995). "MOVIES : From the Ashes of a Ravaged Land : Actor Rade Serbedzija left his native Yugoslavia to continue his career in the acclaimed 'Before the Rain.' It's a story that mirrors his life" . Los Angeles Times . ↑ Rainer, Peter (24 February 1995). "MOVIE REVIEW : Shining a Harsh Light on Balkans War : 'Before the Rain,' an Oscar nominee for best foreign film, is a slick though ultimately uneven tale of fratricidal horror" . Los Angeles Times . 1 2 3 4 "Serbedzija, Rade" . enciklopedija.hr . Miroslav Krleža Institute of Lexicography. 1 2 Pavlic, Vedran (1 July 2018). "World-Famous Croatian Actor Rade Šerbedžija Arrested for Drunk Driving" . total-croatia-news.com . Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021 . ↑ Gorup, Radmila (2013). After Yugoslavia: The Cultural Spaces of a Vanished Land 124. ISBN 978-0-80478-734-5 1 2 3 4 5 Crnkovich, Gordana P. (2012). Post-Yugoslav Literature and Film: Fires, Foundations, Flourishes 32– 33. ISBN 978-1-44117-177-1 1 2 Stanković, Radmila (31 January 2018). "Rade Šerbedžija: People Who Hate Are Unhappy" . Cord Magazine. ↑ "Meet the man who built Belgrade's theatre of broken dreams, where the Yugoslav ideal lived and died" . The Calvert Journal. 27 June 2019. ↑ "68th Pula Film Festival: Bravo Maestro" . pulafilmfestival.hr . Pula Film Festival. [ permanent dead link ] 1 2 "Rade Šerbedžija" . pulafilmfestival.hr . Pula Film Festival. ↑ "Danilo Šerbedžija briljirao u Puli. Njegova Tereza37 proglašena je najboljim filmom, ima 6 Zlatnih Arena" . telegram.hr . HINA. 4 September 2020. ↑ "Ulysses - nezaobilazna kulturna činjenica" . Radio Free Europe (in Serbo-Croatian). 28 June 2010. ↑ "ZAVRŠEN POZORIŠNI FESTIVAL U ZAJEČARU: Šerbedžiji nagrada Zoran Radmilović" . Kurir.rs (in Serbian). 26 October 2019. ↑ "Rade Šerbedžija dobitnik Nagrade hrvatskog glumišta 2019" . hrvatskodrustvopisaca.hr . Croatian Writers Society. ↑ "Rade Šerbedžija i skladatelj Petar Obradović dobili nagradu Orlando" . novilist.hr . Novi List. 25 August 2020. ↑ "Rade Šerbedžija i Nebojša Slijepčević dobitnici Nagrade Vladimir Nazor" . havc.hr . Croatian Audiovisual Centre. 29 May 2019. ↑ "Broken English Cast/Crew" . sonyclassics.com . Sony Pictures Classics. ↑ "Ulysses Theater: Founders" . ulysses.hr . ↑ Elliott, Stuart (19 February 2014). "For Super Bowl, Familiar Ads and Star Endorsements" . The New York Times . ↑ Shales, Tom (26 March 2001). " . The Washington Post . ↑ Holston, Kim R.; Winchester, Tom (2018). Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film Sequels, Series and Remakes: An Illustrated Filmography, Volume II (1996-2016) 90– 91. ISBN 978-1-47662-985-8 ↑ Tucker, Brian (1 August 2005). "NBC's 'Surface' begins shooting in Wilmington" . Avenue Magazine. ↑ Hunter, Stephen (5 June 2008). "A boy's tragedy, love and luck" . Sarasota Herald-Tribune . ↑ "Rade Serbedzija nominated for Canadian film award ´Genie´" . culture.net.hr . Croatian Times. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021 . ↑ "Ribanje i ribarsko prigovaranje" (PDF) . pulafilmfestival.hr . Pula Film Festival. p. 4. [ permanent dead link ] ↑ Adams, Bradley. "24 Season Six Revisited - "A source of constant frustration" . spoilertv.com . ↑ " . tportal/Jutarnji list . 19 November 2009. ↑ Dosani, Rishma (30 June 2018). "Downton Abbey's Rade Serbedzija 'arrested for drink-driving' amid claims he 'nearly took out several cars" . metro.co.uk . ↑ Van Blaricom, Mirjana (1 February 2019). "The International Press Academy Honors Rade Serbedzija With its Prestigious Mary Pickford Award" . pressacademy.com . ↑ "Tribute: Rade Šerbedžija" . Bratislava International Film Festival. ↑ "Kemal Monteno pesmu "Nije htela" posvetio supruzi poznatog pevača" . Blic. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2014 . ↑ Derk, Denis (28 March 2017). "Donosi se Deklaracija o zajedničkom jeziku Hrvata, Srba, Bošnjaka i Crnogoraca" [ A Declaration on the Common Language of Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks and Montenegrins is About to Appear] . Večernji list (in Serbo-Croatian). Zagreb. pp. 6– 7. ISSN 0350-5006 . Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2019 . 1 2 3 Bobanović, Paula (20 December 2013). "Već od prvog trenutka znali su da su suđeni jedno drugome" . 24sata.hr (in Croatian). ↑ "Lenka Udovički: Da bi Rade uspio u Hollywoodu, žrtvovala sam vlastitu karijeru" (in Croatian). 18 August 2006. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2020 . 1 2 3 Jovanka Simic (4 January 2011). "Rade Šerbedžija: Sve mi naše tamo nedostaje" (in Croatian). Retrieved 24 October 2014 . 1 2 3 "Vreme 1064 - Intervju – Rade Serbedzija: Oprostio sam svima" . Nedeljnik Vreme . 25 May 2011. ↑ "B.Katić: Ko je pucao na Šerbedžiju?" . B92 . 3 August 2013. ↑ "SAM arhiva broj 1 - : SAM 17/12/95 - Intervju: Rade Serbedzija, glumac u emigraciji" . yurope.com . ↑ "Rade Šerbedžija dobio makedonsko državljanstvo" . blic.rs . 25 May 2014. ↑ Michael Rosser (25 June 2025). "Dino Mustafic's 'The Pavilion' to open Sarajevo Film Festival 2025" . ScreenDaily . Retrieved 25 June 2025 . External links
Awards for Rade Šerbedžija
1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
SFR Yugoslavia(1988–1992) FR Yugoslavia(1992–2006) Serbia(2006–present)
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