Foreign media paid tribute to Jerzy Stuhr. These are the words every actor would like to read about himself.

On July 9, the media reported the death of Jerzy Stuhr, a legendary film and theatre actor. The artist, who had long struggled with numerous health problems, died at the age of 77. He left behind an impressive film output and a lot of successes and memories from his fruitful acting career. He began it in the 1970s, as a co-host of “Spotkania z balladą”. A decade later, Jerzy Stuhr left for Italy, where he worked as an actor, director and teacher. In doing so, he entered the pages of not only Polish but also Italian film history.

Italian press on Jerzy Stuhr’s achievements

The information about the death of the Polish actor was reported by the Italian magazine “La Stampa”. The author of the article described Stuhr as “An eclectic interpreter, gifted with excellent dramatic qualities and able to move simultaneously in different areas of entertainment”. He also mentioned the films with the actor’s participation, directed by Nanni Moretti, namely “Il caimano” (2006), “Habemus Papam” (2011) and “The Sun of the Future” (2023), as well as achievements and awards. “In 1994, Stuhr made his directorial debut with ‘Spis cudzoloniczny’. His second film, ‘Storie d’amore’ (1997), won several international awards and was presented in competition at the Venice International Film Festival, where it received the Fipresci Award, the La Navicella – Sergio Trasatti Award, the Anicaflash Award and a special mention from the OCIC jury. In 1999, he returned to the Venice Film Festival with ‘Seven Days in the Life of a Man’, for which he received another special mention from the OCIC,” wrote the magazine “La Stampa”.

But that’s not all. The author of the article also recalled Jerzy Stuhr’s meeting with artists of Italian theatre and cinema, namely Michele Placido and Adriana Asti. “As a director, theatre teacher and actor, Stuhr staged in Italy ‘Il contrabbasso’, a monologue by Patrick Süskind (1980), ‘The Ashes of Ceneri’ by Harold Pinter directed by the author (1997) and ‘I reverendi’ directed by Sławomir Mrożec (2001)” – added the magazine.