Goran Višnjić

Goran Višnjić
Višnjić in January 2012
Born	(1972-09-09) September 9, 1972 Šibenik, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Residence	Los Angeles, California, USA
Ethnicity	Croat
Education	Academy of Dramatic Arts, University of Zagreb
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1988-present
Spouse(s)	Ivana Višnjić (May 8, 1999–present), two children, Tin and Vigo
Awards	Orlando Award

Goran Višnjić (pron.: /ˈvɪʃnjɪtʃ/ VISH-nyich; Croatian: [ˈʋiʃɲitɕ]; born September 9, 1972) is a Croatian actor who has appeared in American and British films and television productions. He is best known for his role as Dr. Luka Kovač in the 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.

Early life

Visnjic was born in the Dalmatian coastal city of Šibenik, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia. 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 Yugoslav film Braća po materi (1988), playing a young Ustaša.

As Yugoslavia began to dissolve, Višnjić 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 Art, University of Zagreb.

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. He 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, he 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 led 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.

While starring on ER, Visnjic also worked on other projects. He co-starred in the movie The Deep End, voice-acted in Ice Age, and starred in Posljednja volja and Doctor Sleep. In 2004, he starred in the television miniseries Spartacus and the Croatian movie and television series Duga mračna noć. He appeared with Jennifer Garner in the 2005 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. Visnjic appeared in UNKLE's music video for the song "Burn My Shadow", released in May 2007. In 2008, Visnjic starred in the film Helen alongside Ashley Judd as Judd's character's husband David in the drama, which made its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Visnjic also appeared alongside Carla Gugino in a segment of the 2009 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 cut from the theatrical version of the film, it was included in the DVD version.

Visnjic 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, filmed in Riga, Latvia. Produced for Hallmark Hall of Fame, the film aired on CBS on April 19, 2009. Visnjic recently completed a role in the Mike Mills independent film Beginners alongside Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor. At the end of 2009, he was cast in the role of Samson in the Tiger Aspect television miniseries The Deep, shown on BBC One in 2010. He appeared as Andrija Hebrang in the historical drama Tito on Croatian television. Visnjic appeared in the unsold 2010 pilot of ABC Studios' Boston's Finest in which he played a disgraced cop who works with a female officer (played by Katee Sackhoff) to solve crimes while clearing his name. He recently appeared in the two-episode season three finale of the television series Leverage, as international crime financier Damien Moreau, his first guest appearance on an English-language television program. In 2011, Visnjic played the role of Dragan Armansky, the head of a security agency, in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ;he signed on to play this role for the entire film trilogy. He also signed on for a four-episode arc in the ABC television series Pan Am, playing a Yugoslavian attache to the United Nations.

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 Croatian island of Hvar. The couple have two sons, Tin, adopted in 2007 and named after Croatian poet Tin Ujević, and Vigo, born in 2011 to a surrogate mother. Visnjic has also acknowledged paternity of a daughter, Lana, born in 2007.

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.

Recognition

Visnjic was named People magazine's Sexiest Import in 1999 and "One of TV's Sexiest Men" in the June 5–11, 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

Film

Film
Year	Title	Role
1988	Braća po materi	Ustasa terrorist
1993	Paranoja
1995	Vidimo se
1997	Puška za uspavljivanje	Devetka - '9'
	Welcome to Sarajevo	Risto Bavic
	The Peacemaker	Bazta Sergeant
1998	Rounders	Maurice
	Practical Magic	Jimmy Angelov
2000	Committed	Neil
2001	The Deep End	Alek 'Al' Spera
	The Last Will	Bepo Stambuk
2002	Ice Age	Soto (voice)
	Doctor Sleep	Michael Strother
2005	Elektra	Mark Miller
2009	New York, I Love You	Man
	Helen	David Leonard
2011	Beginners	Andy
	The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo	Dragan Armansky
2012	"Execution Style"	The Chemist
	Dark Hearts	Armand
	K-11	Raymond Saxx Jr.
2013	The Counselor

Television

Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Michele va alla guerra	Soldier
1995	Night Watch	U.N. Security Officer	Television film
1998	Tesko je reci zbogom	Davor
1999-2009	ER	Dr. Luka Kovac
2003	American Masters: Robert Capa: In Love and War	Robert Capa	Voice of Robert Capa
2004	Spartacus	Spartacus
2005	Duga mracna noc	Ivan Kolar
2006	Nasa mala klinika	Man on the telephone	Episode: "Bijeli misevi"
2009	The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler	Stefan Zgrzembski
2010	Boston's Finest	Angus Martin	Unsold pilot for ABC
	Tito	Andrija Hebrang
	The Deep	Samson	Mini-series for the BBC
	Leverage	Damien Moreau	Episodes: "The Big Bang Job" "The San Lorenzo Job"
2011-2012	Pan Am	Niko Lonza	Episodes: "One Coin in a Fountain" "The Genuine Article" "Romance Languages" "Truth or Dare"
2013	Red Widow	Nicholae Schiller

Music Videos

Music Videos
Year	Artist	Title	Notes
	Tony Cetinski	"Zivot" ("To Life")	In Croatian
1998	Madonna	"The Power of Goodbye"	Visnjic appears with his naturally grey hair in the video, despite being only 25 at the time.
2007	Unkle	"Burn My Shadow"	Also appears in the accompanying "making of" video released with the music video

Awards and Nominations

Year	Award	Category	Film/TV Show	Result
2000	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	ER	Nominated
2001		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	ER	Nominated
2002	Golden Satellite Award	Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Drama	The Deep End	Nominated
2004	Golden Arena	Best Actor	Duga mracna noc	Won
	Paris Film Festival Award	Best Actor	Doctor Sleep	Won
2011	Gotham Award	Best Ensemble Cast	Beginners	Won

External links

• Goran Višnjić at the Internet Movie Database