Goran Visnjic ( , ; born
September 9, 1972) is a Croatian actor who
has appeared in American
films and
television productions. He is best known for his role as Dr.
Luka Kovač in the hit television
series
ER. Now credited as
Goran Visnjic in his English-language work, he adopted the
simplified spelling of his name when he came to the United States
in the late '90s, believing it would be more accessible to American
audiences.
Biography
Early life
Visnjic
was born in the Dalmatian coastal city of
Šibenik
, Yugoslavia, now Croatia
. He
has one older brother, Joško. His father, Željko Višnjić, was a bus
driver, and his mother, Milka, worked in a food market. He appeared
in plays throughout his childhood and made his screen debut at age
16 in the controversial
Yugoslavian film
Braća po materi (1988), playing a young Croatian
extremist.
As
Yugoslavia began to
dissolve, Visnjic was serving a year-long tour of duty with the
Yugoslav People's Army (JNA).
He left the JNA and returned to Šibenik, where he joined the
nascent
Croatian Army in
defending his hometown against JNA-supported
Krajina Serbs.
After
leaving the Croatian Army he moved to Zagreb
to study at
the Academy of
Dramatic Arts
.
Career
Visnjic
was the youngest actor to be chosen for the title role in Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Dubrovnik
Summer Theatre Festival in Croatia.
Originally cast as Laertes, and understudy to Hamlet, he took over
the role when the star dropped out of the production shortly before
the first performance. Visnjic portrayed the doomed prince for
seven years from 1994 to 2000, winning several Orlando Awards (the
equivalent of the
Tony Award). During an
episode of
ER, Luka demonstrated his expertise in the part
of Hamlet, by reciting an excerpt from the "To be or not to be"
soliloquy in Croatian. In the same
episode, he demonstrated his skill in another Shakespeare-related
hobby by fencing with Noah Wyle's character, Dr. John Carter.
Prior to
ER, Visnjic had small speaking roles in films
such as
The
Peacemaker,
Committed
and
Practical Magic. In
1998 he also appeared in
Madonna's music
video "
The Power of
Goodbye", and had a
cameo in
the movie
Rounders. But it
was Visnjic's break-out role as Risto, the Bosnian driver in
Welcome to Sarajevo
that lead then-producer Jack Orman to offer him the role of the
then unnamed doctor who would replace the departing George Clooney
on
ER. Visnjic joined
ER in the sixth season in
late 1999, eventually becoming the show's male lead in mid-season
11. Visnjic made a series of appearances in season 14 before
leaving the show early in season 15, ending his 9 year run on the
medical drama .
Since joining
ER, Visnjic has co-starred in the movie
The Deep End,
voice-acted in
Ice Age, and
starred in
Posljednja
volja and
Doctor
Sleep. More recently, he starred in the television
mini-series
Spartacus
and the Croatian movie and television series
Duga mračna
noć. He appeared with
Jennifer
Garner in the movie
Elektra. During the summer of 2005,
Visnjic was one of four finalists for the role of
James Bond, eventually losing out to British
actor
Daniel Craig. Recently, Visnjic
appeared in
UNKLE's music video for the song
"Burn My Shadow", released in May 2007. Visnjic recently completed
filming the motion picture
Helen with
Ashley Judd. He plays Judd's character's
husband David in the drama which made its world premiere at the
2009 Sundance Film Festival. Visnjic also appears alongside
Carla Gugino in a segment of the
upcoming film
New York, I Love You, an anthology set in
New York. Visnjic's segment was directed by
Andrei Zvyagintsev. Although the
Visnjic/Gugino segment was edited from the theatrical version of
the film, it will be used for promotion online, and will be
included in the DVD version. Visnjic recently appeared in the
historical drama
The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler,
about a young Polish woman responsible for the rescue of Jewish
children in wartime Warsaw, in Riga, Latvia. Produced for Hallmark
Hall of Fame, the film aired on CBS on April 19, 2009. Visnjic is
currently set to begin filming the Mike Mills independent film
"Beginners" alongside Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor.
Personal life
Visnjic is married to Croatian sculptor Ivana Vrdoljak, the
daughter of filmmaker
Antun Vrdoljak.
They
reside in Los
Angeles
, and maintain a home and a boat on the island of
Hvar
, in Croatia. In April 2007, the couple
adopted a baby boy, named Tin after Croatian poet
Tin Ujević. Visnjic has also acknowledged
paternity of a daughter, Lana.
Visnjic has been active in the American and European animal rights
movements, and appeared in photographs alongside his dog Bugsy in
PETA's first Eastern European anti-fur
campaign.
He is currently a representative for both the
International Fund
for Animal Welfare and an Animal Friends Croatia, as well as
providing assistance to a number of small animal-rescue
organizations in southern California
. He has also supported a number of medical
institutions in Croatia through the donation of money or equipment.
Visnjic recently appeared on the nationally broadcast American
benefit program
Stand Up to Cancer. He also served as one
of the faces of
ER on NBC's long-running
The More You
Know campaign, appearing in public service announcements
discussing topics such as family time and tolerance.
Awards
Visnjic was named
People
magazine's Sexiest Import in 1999 and "One of TV's Sexiest Men" in
the
June 5 –
June 11,
2005 TV Guide.
He was ranked #18 in Croatian-based monthly film magazine
Hollywood in
Best Croatian Male Movie Stars of All
Time list in November 2005. He was also named as the Best
Croatian actor in 2004 according to the votes of the visitors of
internet magazines, for his role in the movie
Duga mračna
noć, according to the votes of Croatian newspaper
Večernji list
Filmography
References
- Allen, Ted (2001.) Who Is Goran Visnjic and What Does He
Want? Esquire Magazine: March, 2001.
- www.nbcumv.com/storylines
- BBC celebrates Fry's birthday - Entertainment News,
Weekly International, Media - Variety
-
http://festival.sundance.org/2009/press_industry/releases/2009_sundance_film_festival_announces_films_in_the_premieres_spectrum_new_f/
- Carla Gugino, Goran Visnjic - Entertainment News,
Players, Media - Variety
-
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05022009/gossip/pagesix/scarlett_suffers_direct_blow_167195.htm
- http://www.andrejsala.lv/16/1877/
-
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011051.html?categoryId=13&cs=1&cache=false
- Unkle - War Stories
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