The Most Famous

ACTORS from Czechia

This page contains a list of the greatest Czech Actors. The pantheon dataset contains 13,578 Actors, 25 of which were born in Czechia. This makes Czechia the birth place of the 36th most number of Actors behind Israel, and Philippines.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Czech Actors of all time. This list of famous Czech Actors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Czech Actors.

1. Lída Baarová (1914 - 2000)

With an HPI of 70.24, Lída Baarová is the most famous Czech Actor. Her biography has been translated into 26 different languages on wikipedia.

Lída Baarová (born Ludmila Babková; 7 September 1914 – 27 October 2000) was a Czech actress who for two years was the mistress of the Nazi propaganda minister of Germany, Joseph Goebbels.

2. Barbara Bouchet (b. 1943)

With an HPI of 66.56, Barbara Bouchet is the 2nd most famous Czech Actor. Her biography has been translated into 36 different languages.

Barbara Bouchet (born Bärbel Gutscher; 15 August 1943) is a German-born actress, dancer, and model, active in the United States and Italy. She is regarded as a sex symbol in genre films of the 1960s and 1970s. Born in German-occupied Czechoslovakia, Bouchet's family emigrated to the United States after the Second World War. She began her acting career in the '60s, appearing in small roles in films such as In Harm's Way and guest parts on television series such as Star Trek and The Virginian. She had more prominent film roles in Casino Royale (1967), in which she played Miss Moneypenny, and Sweet Charity (1969). Bouchet moved to Italy in the 1970s, becoming an Italian citizen and starring in a large number of genre films, including thrillers (gialli), crime films (poliziotteschi), and sex comedies (commedia sexy all'italiana). Her best known appearances in Italian cinema include the films Don't Torture a Duckling (1972), The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972) and Caliber 9 (1972). Bouchet effectively retired from acting in the early 1980s, transitioning to a career producing fitness videos and books and opening a gym in Rome. She has since made some further appearances acting in film and television, including a small role in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (2002).

3. Herbert Lom (1917 - 2012)

With an HPI of 66.25, Herbert Lom is the 3rd most famous Czech Actor. His biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru (11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012), known professionally as Herbert Lom (Czech pronunciation: [ɦɛrbɛrt lom]), was a Czech-British actor with a career spanning over 60 years. His cool demeanour and precise, elegant elocution saw him cast as criminals or suave villains in his younger years, and professional men and nobles as he aged. Highly versatile, he also proved a skilled comic actor in The Pink Panther franchise, playing the beleaguered Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in seven films. Lom’s other notable films included The Ladykillers (1955), War and Peace (1956), Spartacus (1960), El Cid (1961), Mysterious Island (also 1961), The Phantom of the Opera (1962), and The Dead Zone (1983). He also originated the role of the King of Siam in the original West End production of The King and I, and starred on the 1960s television drama The Human Jungle.

4. Libuše Šafránková (1953 - 2021)

With an HPI of 64.42, Libuše Šafránková is the 4th most famous Czech Actor. Her biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Libuše Šafránková (7 June 1953 – 9 June 2021, married as Abrhámová) was a Czech actress. Her husband was actor Josef Abrhám. Her breakthrough was the title role in the 1973 film Three Wishes for Cinderella, which is considered a Christmas film classic in many parts of Europe. In the 1970s and 1980s, she played leading roles in many fairy-tale films. Her later films include the Oscar-winning Kolya (1996), for which she received the Czech Lion Award for Best Actress in a film in 1996. In 2008 she received the prize Hvězda mého srdce (Star of My Heart), awarded by Czech Television. She died two days after her 68th birthday.

5. Vladimír Menšík (1929 - 1988)

With an HPI of 63.15, Vladimír Menšík is the 5th most famous Czech Actor. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Vladimír Menšík (9 October 1929 – 29 May 1988) was a Czech actor and entertainer. He is considered one of the greatest Czech comedians, storytellers and improvisers.

6. Josef Abrhám (1939 - 2022)

With an HPI of 62.84, Josef Abrhám is the 6th most famous Czech Actor. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Josef Abrhám (14 December 1939 – 16 May 2022) was a Czech film and theatre actor.

7. Jean-Gaspard Deburau (1796 - 1846)

With an HPI of 62.17, Jean-Gaspard Deburau is the 7th most famous Czech Actor. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Jean-Gaspard Deburau (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ ɡaspaʁ dəbyʁo]; born Jan Kašpar Dvořák; 31 July 1796 – 17 June 1846), sometimes erroneously called Debureau, was a Bohemian-French mime. He performed from 1816 to the year of his death at the Théâtre des Funambules, which was immortalized in Marcel Carné's poetic-realist film Children of Paradise (1945); Deburau appears in the film (under his stage-name, "Baptiste") as a major character. His most famous pantomimic creation was Pierrot—a character that served as the godfather of all the Pierrots of Romantic, Decadent, Symbolist, and early Modernist theater and art.

8. Jana Brejchová (b. 1940)

With an HPI of 60.01, Jana Brejchová is the 8th most famous Czech Actor. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Jana Brejchová (born 20 January 1940) is a Czech film actress. She has appeared in more than 70 films since 1953. She was married to director Miloš Forman and later actor Vlastimil Brodský. Her younger sister Hana was also an actress who has appeared in the Miloš Forman films Loves of a Blonde and Amadeus.

9. Vlastimil Brodský (1920 - 2002)

With an HPI of 59.94, Vlastimil Brodský is the 9th most famous Czech Actor. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Vlastimil Brodský (15 December 1920 – 20 April 2002) was a Czech actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films, and is considered a key figure in the postwar development of Czech cinema. One of his best-known roles was as the title character in Jakob der Lügner for which won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 25th Berlin International Film Festival. He also played the king in the hit children's TV series Arabela and as Alois Drchlík in The Visitors. His final film role was as a pensioner named Frantisek in Autumn Spring. This role earned him his first and only Czech Lion (a prestigious film award), for best actor.

10. Zdeněk Svěrák (b. 1936)

With an HPI of 59.72, Zdeněk Svěrák is the 10th most famous Czech Actor. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Zdeněk Svěrák (born 28 March 1936) is a Czech actor, humorist, playwright and scriptwriter, and one of the most well-known and popular Czech cultural personalities. Since 1968 he has appeared in 32 films.

People

Pantheon has 25 people classified as Czech actors born between 1796 and 1980. Of these 25, 10 (40.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Czech actors include Barbara Bouchet, Jana Brejchová, and Zdeněk Svěrák. The most famous deceased Czech actors include Lída Baarová, Herbert Lom, and Libuše Šafránková. As of April 2024, 7 new Czech actors have been added to Pantheon including Josef Abrhám, Jan Werich, and Jan Tříska.