NOWICKI, JAN

(1939-)

Popular film and theater actor, affiliated since 1965 with Krakow's Old Theater (Teatr Stary), voted by theFilmreaders to be the best Polish film actor for 1983. Following his graduation from the Kraków State Acting School (PWST) in 1964, Nowicki appeared inAndrzej Wajda's historical epicAshes(1965) and starred inJerzy Skolimowski'sThe Barrier(1966). His reputation was growing at the beginning of the 1970s thanks to leading roles inAndrzej Kondratiuk'sThe Hole in the Ground(1970) andScorpio, Virgo, andSagitarius(1973),Krzysztof Zanussi'sFamily Life(1971), andWojciech Has'sHospital under the Hourglass(1973).His leading role in a Polish love story,Anatomy of Love(Anatomia miłości, 1972), directed by Roman Załuski, was popular among audiences.

In 1976 Nowicki started to appear in a number of Hungarian films, several of them directed by his wife, internationally known director Marta Meszaros. These includeNine Months(1976),Diary for My Children(1987), andThe Unburied Man(2004), among others. In Poland, he excelled playing a terminally ill man in Zanussi'sSpiral(1978) and appeared in strong supporting roles in films directed byEdward Żebrowski(In Broad Daylight, 1980),Piotr Szulkin(Golem, 1979), andWojciech Marczewski(Nightmares, 1979). In the 1980s, Nowicki maintained his popularity in Poland with films such asSylwester Chęciński's crime dramaThe Big Rook(1983) and starring as Prince Hans Heinrich XV von Teuss inFilip Bajon's historical epicThe Magnate(1987). After 1989 Nowicki continued his work in Hungarian film and more often appeared in Polish entertainment films such as Jarosław Zamojda'sYoung Wolves(Młode wilki, 1995) andOlaf Lubaszenko'sThe Sting(1997).