The Most Famous

ACTORS from Poland

This page contains a list of the greatest Polish Actors. The pantheon dataset contains 13,578 Actors, 76 of which were born in Poland. This makes Poland the birth place of the 17th most number of Actors behind China, and Turkey.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Polish Actors of all time. This list of famous Polish 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 Polish Actors.

1. Klaus Kinski (1926 - 1991)

With an HPI of 70.46, Klaus Kinski is the most famous Polish Actor. His biography has been translated into 54 different languages on wikipedia.

Klaus Kinski (German: [klaʊs ˈkɪnskiː] , born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor. Equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality, he appeared in over 130 film roles in a career that spanned 40 years, from 1948 to 1988. He is best known for starring in five films directed by Werner Herzog from 1972 to 1987 (Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Woyzeck, Fitzcarraldo, and Cobra Verde), who would later chronicle their tumultuous relationship in the documentary My Best Fiend. Kinski's roles spanned multiple genres, languages, and nationalities, including Spaghetti Westerns, horror films, war films, dramas, and Edgar Wallace krimi films. His infamy was elevated by a number of eccentric creative endeavors, including a one-man show based on the life of Jesus Christ, a biopic of violinist Niccolò Paganini directed by and starring himself, and over twenty spoken word albums. Kinski was prone to emotional and often violent outbursts aimed at his directors and fellow cast members, issues complicated by a history of mental illness. Herzog described him as "one of the greatest actors of the century, but also a monster and a great pestilence." Posthumously, he was accused of physically and sexually abusing his daughter Pola. His notoriety and prolific output have developed into a widespread cult following and a reputation as a popular icon.

2. Pola Negri (1897 - 1987)

With an HPI of 66.62, Pola Negri is the 2nd most famous Polish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 51 different languages.

Pola Negri (; born Barbara Apolonia Chałupiec [apɔˈlɔɲa xaˈwupʲɛt͡s]; 3 January 1897 – 1 August 1987) was a Polish stage and film actress and singer. She achieved worldwide fame during the silent and golden eras of Hollywood and European film for her tragedienne and femme fatale roles. She was also acknowledged as a sex symbol of her time. Raised in the Congress Kingdom of Poland, Negri's childhood was marked by several personal hardships: After her father was sent to Siberia, she was raised by her single mother in poverty, and suffered tuberculosis as a teenager. Negri recovered, and went on to study ballet and acting in Warsaw, Poland, becoming a well-known stage actress there. In 1917, she relocated to Germany, where she began appearing in silent films for the Berlin-based UFA studio. Her film performances for UFA came to the attention of Hollywood executives at Paramount Pictures, who offered her a film contract. Negri signed with Paramount in 1922, making her the first European actress in history to be contracted in Hollywood. She spent much of the 1920s working in the United States appearing in numerous films for Paramount, establishing herself as one of the most popular actresses in American silent film. In the 1930s, during the emergence of sound film, Negri returned to Europe, where she appeared in multiple films for Pathé Films and UFA, and also began a career as a recording artist. She made only two films after 1940, her last screen credit being in Walt Disney's The Moon-Spinners (1964). Negri spent her later life largely outside the public sphere. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1951, and spent the remainder of her life living in San Antonio, Texas. In 1987, aged 90, she died of pneumonia secondary to a brain tumor for which she refused treatment.

3. Hanna Schygulla (b. 1943)

With an HPI of 65.20, Hanna Schygulla is the 3rd most famous Polish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 44 different languages.

Hanna Schygulla (German: [ˈhana ʃyˈɡʊla] ; born 25 December 1943) is a German actress and chanson singer associated with the theater and film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. She first worked for Fassbinder in 1965 and became an active participant in the New German Cinema. Schygulla won the 1979 Berlin Silver Bear for Best Actress for Fassbinder's The Marriage of Maria Braun, and the 1983 Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for the Marco Ferreri film The Story of Piera.

4. Lilli Palmer (1914 - 1986)

With an HPI of 59.76, Lilli Palmer is the 4th most famous Polish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Lilli Palmer (German: [ˈlɪ.li ˈpal.mɐ] ; born Lilli Marie Peiser; 24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a German actress and writer. After beginning her career in British films in the 1930s, she would later transition to major Hollywood productions, earning a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance in But Not for Me (1959). Other notable roles include in the comedy The Pleasure of His Company (1961), the Spanish horror film The House That Screamed (1969), and in the miniseries Peter the Great (1986), which earned her another Golden Globe Award nomination. For her career in European films, Palmer won the Volpi Cup, and the Deutscher Filmpreis three times.

5. Daniel Olbrychski (b. 1945)

With an HPI of 58.87, Daniel Olbrychski is the 5th most famous Polish Actor. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Daniel Marcel Olbrychski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈdaɲɛl ˈmart͡sɛl ɔlˈbrɨxskʲi]; born 27 February 1945) is a Polish film and theatre actor who is widely considered one of the greatest Polish actors of his generation. He appeared in 180 films and TV productions and is best known for leading roles in several Andrzej Wajda movies including The Promised Land and also known for playing a defector and spymaster Vassily Orlov alongside Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie in the movie Salt.

6. Tommy Wiseau (b. 1955)

With an HPI of 58.44, Tommy Wiseau is the 6th most famous Polish Actor. His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Thomas Pierre Wiseau (born October 3, 1955) ( wiz-OH or WY-zoh; born Tomasz Wieczorkiewicz) is a Polish-American actor and filmmaker. He is known for writing, producing, directing, and starring in the 2003 film The Room, which has been described by many critics as one of the worst films ever made and has gained cult status. He also co-directed the 2004 documentary Homeless in America and created the 2015 sitcom The Neighbors. Many details about Wiseau's personal life (including his age, source of wealth, and background) remain unverified, and as such have been the subject of intense fan speculation and various conflicting reports. The 2013 non-fiction book The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made by Greg Sestero, as well as its 2017 film adaptation, chronicle the making of The Room and Wiseau's life behind the scenes.

7. Barbara Brylska (b. 1941)

With an HPI of 58.39, Barbara Brylska is the 7th most famous Polish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Barbara Brylska (born 5 June 1941) is a Polish actress who gained critical acclaim in the 1960s and was featured in numerous films throughout the countries of the Warsaw Pact including the Soviet Union. She is noted especially for her role as Nadya in the 1976 Soviet comedy film Irony of Fate.

8. Anny Ondra (1903 - 1987)

With an HPI of 56.90, Anny Ondra is the 8th most famous Polish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Anny Ondra (born Anna Sophie Ondráková; 15 May 1903 – 28 February 1987) was an Austrian (German) and Czech film actress. She began her career in 1920 and appeared in Czech, German, Austrian, French and English films. In 1933, she married German boxing champion Max Schmeling.

9. Dita Parlo (1906 - 1971)

With an HPI of 56.44, Dita Parlo is the 9th most famous Polish Actor. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Dita Parlo (born Grethe Gerda Kornstädt or Gerda Olga Justine Kornstädt; 4 September 1908 – 12 December 1971) was a German film actress.

10. Aleksander Krupa (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 56.23, Aleksander Krupa is the 10th most famous Polish Actor. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Aleksander Krupa (born 18 March 1947), often credited as Olek Krupa, is a Polish-American actor, active in film and television roles and best known for playing villains and/or criminals, such as in Eraser, Blue Streak, Home Alone 3 as Peter Beaupre and The Italian Job as Mashkov. He also notably portrayed a Bosnian Serb general engaged in genocide against Bosnian Muslims in 2001's Behind Enemy Lines and portrayed the President of Russia in 2010's action thriller film Salt. Krupa continued to have minor roles in many Hollywood movies, such as X-Men: First Class, Hidden Figures, and The Fate of the Furious.

People

Pantheon has 95 people classified as Polish actors born between 1757 and 1995. Of these 95, 50 (52.63%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Polish actors include Hanna Schygulla, Daniel Olbrychski, and Tommy Wiseau. The most famous deceased Polish actors include Klaus Kinski, Pola Negri, and Lilli Palmer. As of April 2024, 19 new Polish actors have been added to Pantheon including Gisela Hahn, Leon Niemczyk, and Olga Desmond.