Famous Czech Men

Ivan Reitman is a screenwriter and film and TV producer and director. He is a co-owner of The Montecito Picture Company. He attended McMaster University, where he studied music. After being fired from his first job at a TV channel, he went on to produce stage productions. Later on, he began producing films as well. 

Antonín Dvořák was a Czech composer who achieved worldwide recognition for his works. His life and career inspired the 1980 historical biographical film Concert at the End of Summer, in which Dvořák was played by actor Josef Vinklář. Canadian children's author Ian Krykorka has based many of his works on some of Antonín Dvořák's operas.

Hailed as one of the greatest logicians since Aristotle, Kurt Gödel was Austrian-born American mathematician, logician, and philosopher, who earned international stardom for his incompleteness theorem. Also credited with developing a technique called Gödel numbering, he later started working on Mathematical Platonism, a philosophical theory that failed to attract wide acceptance.

Miloš Forman was a Czech and American screenwriter, film director, actor, and professor. He is remembered for directing the 1975 psychological comedy drama film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which became the second film to receive all five major Oscars. During his career, Forman won two Oscars, a César Award, and three Golden Globe Awards among other prestigious awards.

Born to professional tennis players, Czech-American tennis legend Ivan Lendl has eight Grand Slam titles under his belt. Known for his topspin groundstrokes, he later turned coach and was responsible for three Grand Slams of Andy Murray. Lendl also has a few Celebrity Tour golf wins in his kitty.

Petr Čech is a Czech retired football player who is currently serving as a performance and technical advisor for the popular English club Chelsea. During his playing career, Čech played as a goalkeeper and is often counted among the greatest goalkeepers of all time. Petr Čech is also considered the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the Premier League.

Milan Kundera is a Czech writer who became a naturalized French citizen in 1981 after going into exile in France in 1975. Although his Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked four years after going into exile, he received Czech citizenship in 2019, thanks to his achievements as a writer. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards, such as the Jerusalem Prize.

Ferdinand Porsche was an Austrian-German automotive engineer. He is credited with founding one of the most popular car companies in the world, Porsche AG. He is also credited with creating the Lohner-Porsche mixed hybrid, the first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle. During World War II, Porsche was a prominent contributor to the German war effort.

Vaclav Havel was a Czech statesman, poet, playwright, and author. He is best remembered for his service as the President of the Czech Republic from 1993 to 2003. He also served as the President of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until its dissolution in 1992. Havel was a recipient of several awards including the Gandhi Peace Prize and Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Josef Bican was an Austrian-Czech footballer who played as a forward. According to Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation, Bican scored more than 950 goals in 624 official matches, which makes him the second-most prolific goalscorer of all time in recorded history. In 2000, Josef Bican was honored with the Golden Ball by the IFFHS. 

Jiří Procházka is a Czech mixed martial artist and the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He first achieved national prominence in 2011 when he won the gold medal at the Czech National Championships for Muay Thai. Jiří Procházka also won the inaugural Czech GCF Light Heavyweight Championship title as well as the inaugural Rizin FF Light Heavyweight Championship title.

Herbert Lom was a Czech actor best remembered for his versatility as he portrayed suave villains during his younger days and then moved on to playing professional men as he aged. He also proved his comedy skills in The Pink Panther franchise. Lom worked well into his 80s before retiring in 2002. He died 10 years later in his sleep.

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor reigned as the king of Bohemia from 1346 until his death in 1378. In 1355, he became the first king of Bohemia to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Later, he was crowned king of Burgundy in 1365, making him the sole king of the Holy Roman Empire and all its kingdoms.

Bedrich Smetana was a Czech composer remembered for his opera, The Bartered Bride. Considered the father of Czech music, Smetana was a prodigy whose first public performance came at age six. He then went on to establish himself as one of the most important composers of Czech music. Smetana has been honored with a Walk of Fame star in Vienna.

Adam Ondra is a Czech rock climber who specializes in bouldering and lead climbing. Widely regarded as the leading climber of his generation, Adam is the first and only male athlete so far to win World Championship titles in both lead climbing and bouldering in the same year. Adam Ondra is considered the greatest professional rock climber of all time.

Dominik Hašek is a Czech retired ice hockey player who played as a goaltender. He is counted among the greatest goaltenders and is credited with leading his national team to its first Olympic gold medal. In 2014, he was made an inductee of the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017, Hašek was mentioned in the 100 Greatest NHL Players list.

Leos Janacek was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, and teacher. He is credited to have created an original, modern musical style inspired by Moravian and other Slavic folk music. He was deeply influenced by folklore and by the works of his contemporary and friend,  Antonín Dvořák. The Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra is named in his honor. 

The First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, Alexander Dubček, was no stranger to politics as a child, being the son of a Communist Party member. He resisted the Nazi occupation, while his liberal policies later led Soviet authorities to invade Czechoslovakia. He eventually died in a car crash.

Miloš Zeman is a Czech politician and the current President of the Czech Republic. An influential politician, Zeman served as the Prime Minister of the country from 1998 to 2002. Miloš Zeman achieved popularity as the leader of the Social Democratic Party and is credited with reviving the party into one of the major political forces in the Czech Republic.

Tomáš Berdych is a Czech retired tennis player. Renowned for his powerful serve and forehand, Berdych is often counted among the best players to have never won a grand slam title. One of the most popular players to have emerged from the Czech Republic, Tomáš Berdych helped his team win the Davis Cup in 2012 and 2013.  

Vladimir Kulich is a Czech-Canadian actor best known for his portrayal of Buliwyf in the 1999 American historical action film, The 13th Warrior. He has also appeared in popular TV series like Vikings. Prior to his acting career, Vladimir Kulich played professional ice hockey and tried his hand at many other things, including a whitewater river rafting business.

Austrian architect Adolf Loos is often compared to American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in terms of his contribution. Loos believed architecture shouldn’t contain the extra elements and ornaments promoted by Art Nouveau. Mostly known for his residential projects, he built modern buildings such as the Goldman and Salatsch Building.

John Amos Comenius was a Czech philosopher, theologian, and pedagogue. Regarded as the father of modern education, Comenius is credited with introducing many educational concepts and innovations such as education for women, equal opportunity for poor children, and universal and practical instruction among other innovations. He also led schools and served as an adviser for governments across Protestant Europe.

Petr Korda is a Czech retired tennis player best known for winning the Australian Open singles in 1998. He also won the Australian Open doubles in 1996 as well as the 1994 Hopman Cup for his country. In July 1998, Petr Korda tested positive for doping. He retired the following year shortly before he was to serve a 12-month ban.

Jan Žižka was a Czech general and military leader. Today, he is regarded as a national hero in the Czech Republic for his role in the Battle of Grunwald and the Hussite Wars. Renowned for his innovative and unorthodox war tactics, Jan Žižka pioneered the usage of gunpowder.  He has been immortalized in video games, novels, and films.

Albrecht von Wallenstein was a Bohemian statesman and military leader best remembered for his role in the Thirty Years' War. During the war, he served as the supreme commander of the armies of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II.  By the time of his death, Wallenstein was one of the most influential and richest men in the Holy Roman Empire.

Jan Veselý is a Czech basketball player who has represented his country in important tournaments like the EuroBasket Championships and Olympic Games. A four-time Turkish League champion and three-time Turkish Cup winner, Veselý is renowned for his versatility as he can play as a power forward as well as in center positions.

Jan Hammer is a Czech-American musician, record producer, and composer. He is best known for his work in the popular American crime drama series, Miami Vice, for which he composed and produced music for 90 episodes. Jan Hammer is also known for his collaboration with some of the most influential rock and jazz musicians like John McLaughlin and Mick Jagger.

Jan Švankmajer is a Czech former artist and filmmaker. A self-proclaimed surrealist, Švankmajer's stop-motion animation work has greatly influenced artists like Brothers Quay, Terry Gilliam, Caroline Leaf, Vera Neubauer, Nina Gantz, and Tomasz Bagiński among many others. Jan Švankmajer is a recipient of many prestigious awards such as the Golden Bear, FIAF Award, and Raymond Roussel Society Medal.

Karel Čapek was a Czech writer, critic, and playwright. He is best remembered for his science fiction work, including his play Rossum's Universal Robots and his novel War with the Newts. Credited with introducing the word robot, Karel Čapek's works were celebrated after World War II. He was also nominated for the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature on seven occasions.

Radek Štěpánek is a Czech retired tennis player best known for winning the 2012 Australian Open and the 2013 US Open along with Leander Paes in men's doubles. Štěpánek also won the Davis Cup for his country in 2012 and 2013. At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Radek Štěpánek won the bronze medal in the mixed doubles event.

Jiří Veselý is a Czech tennis player who was part of the 2013 Davis Cup winning team The current Czech No. 1 in singles, Veselý has won two titles on the ATP Tour so far. His best Grand Slam result came in the 2016 and 2018 Wimbledon where he reached the fourth round of the competition on both occasions.

John Huss was a Czech philosopher and theologian. He is credited with inspiring a Proto-Protestant Christian movement called Hussitism, which started in the Kingdom of Bohemia before spreading across the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. He also inspired the Bohemian Reformation, which is regarded as one of the most important social, political, and religious movements of the early modern period.

John of Nepomuk was the saint of Bohemia (present-day Czech Republic) who is usually depicted with a halo of five stars, symbolizing the stars that hovered over the Vltava River at the time of his murder. John of Nepomuk, who was drowned at the behest of Wenceslaus of Luxembourg, was beatified and canonized in 1721 and 1729 respectively. 

Patrik Berger is a Czech retired footballer who won four trophies playing for Liverpool between 1996 and 2003. Renowned for his powerful strikes and strong left foot, Berger was named Czech Footballer of the Year in 1996. He also competed in important tournaments for his national team and helped his team reach the finals of the 1996 UEFA European Championship.

Antonín Panenka is a Czech former football player best known for winning the 1976 UEFA European Football Championship with the Czechoslovakia national team. In 1980, he was named Czechoslovak Footballer of the Year. Antonín Panenka is credited with popularizing panenka, a style of penalty named after him.