Hunglish.orgHollywood is a definate destination for many Hungarians who have pursued a career in acting, here are a few of them.
Written by Natalie Jaro
Many past and current film stars are American actors and actresses with a Hungarian heritage. Hungary started producing films but a few short years after America did and yet Hungarians have succeeded in infiltrating not only Hungarian film but the American market as well. Hungarian film took hold back in June of 1896 when the first showing of a film on Hungarian soil took place in a converted hat-shop and so started the reels turning in film history in Hungary. But many Hungarian people moved west for varying political and social reasons in Hungary’s history and for those who ended up in Hollywood, here are a few.
Johnny Weissmuller, the best and most well-known actor who ever portrayed Tarzan. He played the role in twelve motion pictures plus he also won five Olympic gold medals and one bronze as one of the world’s best swimmers. Even earlier in history, in the 1800s, Harry Houdini came on the scene, not just as the esteemed magician, but also as an actor and a director. Since 1949, Tony Curtisis another actor who made a name in American film as he starred in over a hundred films like ‘Funny Money’ and who was born of Hungarian parents. Then of course there is Zsa Zsa Gabor, the Hungarian beauty who married seven different times, an actress and a well-known socialite. Born in Budapest, Paul Lukas became a Hungarian-born actor in Hollywood in the 1920s and received the Academy Award for best actor for the film, ‘Watch on the Rhine’. Most known for her role on ‘Green Acres’, Eva Gabor was another of the Hungarian actresses of her time. The actor best known for his role in ‘Gone with the Wind’ as Ashley Wilkes, Leslie Howard was Hungarian while Béla Lugosi was as well. Lugosi was an actor on the screen and on the stage, known most widely for his role as Count Dracula on Broadway and in the film adaptation. Peter Lorre was a Hungarian actor in the 1930s and played roles that were notoriously sinister in crime and thriller genres. Béla Tarr was another screenwriter, film director and former Hungarian actor.
On the radar of today’s film scene, many film stars in Hollywood have the ‘Magyar’ gene. In present day television, the current series ‘Law and Order’ stars a woman by the name of Mariska Hargitay; she too is a Hungarian actress who also starred in the movies ‘Ghoulies’ and ‘Leaving Las Vegas’. Jamie Lee Curtis is another Hungarian actress who starred in movies like, ‘Halloween’, ‘Trading Places’ and ‘A Fish Called Wanda’. Another actor with Hungarian lineage is the main star of ‘The Pianist’, the Oscar winner, Adrien Brody. A focal point of the 1980 film, ‘Fame’, starred Freddie Prinze, the now deceased past actor and stand-up comedian who was also part Hungarian. The infamous Drew Barrymore who starred in ‘ET’ was born of a Hungarian mother and Rachel Weisz was born of a father who was a Hungarian inventor. Jerry Seinfeld, an actor and comedian in America today was born from a Hungarian father while Marton Csokas, the New Zealand actor who acted in ‘Lord of the Rings’ was born of a Hungarian father as well. Goldie Hawn is a legend in the movies and has starred in many roles in her long career, back in 1969 she won a role for best supporting actress in ‘Cactus Flower’. Hawn was born of Hungarian immigrants and Goldie Hawn’s daughter, Kate Hudson is an actress who has starred in movies like, ‘Almost Famous’, a movie she was nominated for a best supporting actress role. Paul Newman the famed actor, among many other things, won an Academy Award in his film ‘The Color of Money’ had a Hungarian lineage. Newman died after a truly astounding career of acting and movie making in Hollywood for over three decades. The Hungarian people are making waves in Hollywood today as much as in yesteryears and as the film industry evolves and changes, Hungarians will no doubt continue to play a part in the history of American film in the future to come.