Pszoniak, Wojciech

(1942-)

   Actor, known for his theatrical and film performances in Poland and France. Pszoniak delivered his finest performances in the films directed by Andrzej Wajda. He starred in Wajda's 1971 West German production, Pilatus and Others, and received acclaim for his role as an entrepreneurial Jew, Moryc Welt, in the celebrated The Promised Land (1975). For his role of Maximilien Robespierre in Wajda's Polish-French coproduction Danton (1983), Pszoniak received several awards and critical praise. He delivered an equally memorable performance in the Holocaust biopic Korczak (1990), starring as Dr. Janusz Korczak, a figure of great importance for both Polish and Jewish cultures, who refused to abandon "his orphans" and died with them in Treblinka. In 1996 Pszoniak played a strong supporting role in another Holocaust drama directed by Wajda, Holy Week.

   Pszoniak appeared in about seventy films. At the beginning of his career he had lead roles in Andrzej Żuławski's unusual historical drama Devil (1972/1988), Jan Rybkowski's historical reconstruction The Nest (1974), Andrzej Trzos-Rastawiecki's courtroom drama Convicted (1976), and Witold Leszczynski's mediation on filmmaking Recollections (1978). Toward the end of the 1970s, he also appeared in Janusz Majewski's The Gorgon Affair (1977), Edward Zebrowski's The Hospital of Transfiguration (1979), Filip Bajon's Aria for an Athlete (1979), and Piotr Szulkin's Golem (1980). He delivered an excellent performance in Jerzy Kawalerowicz's Austeria (1983). After his move to France in the 1980s, Pszoniak appeared, mostly in supporting roles, in a number of French and German films directed by Gerard Krawczyk, Claude Zidi, Etienne Perier, and Pierre Boutron. He also acted in Agnieszka Holland's Angry Harvest (1985) and To Kill a Priest (1988). In the 1990s, and in recent years, while continuing his appearances in French films, Pszoniak started again to act in Polish films. For example, he starred in Henryk Dederko's political satire Bajland (2000) as fictional presidential candidate Jan Rydel.

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof