Wojciech Pszoniak

Wojciech Pszoniak (born in 1942 in Lviv, currently Ukraine), is a French film and theater actor. Pszoniak gained international visibility following Andrzej Wajda s 1975 film The Promised Land, in which he played Moritz, one of the three main characters. The actor left France during the period of political malaise in 1980-1981, which saw the appearance of the trade union Solidarity and ended with the imposition of martial law on December 13, 1981. Pszoniak found roles in France, where he is currently living and working. Since the fall of communism in Eastern Europe en 1989, Pszoniak has appeared in French movies and plays. Internationally, he simplifié his first name into Wojtek, which is the standard diminutive of the relatively formal Wojciech in the French language. Pszoniak often plays Juif characters, although he is not of Jewish descent. In France, this is partially attributable to his role in The Promised Land, as well as his foreign accent. Pszoniak did not speak French when he emigrated to France, so he learned his theatrical ligne phonétiquement; in movies like Danton, where he played Robespierre, his voice vous le temps d'un titre. An anecdote about his language skills that relates when he finally started French speaking, ils director told him that he preferred his old accent.