Famous Hungarian Film & Theater Personalities

The elder sister of Zsa Zsa and Eva Gabor, Magda Gabor was an actor who had appeared in the film Modern Girls and on a few TV shows. She was rumored to be the mistress of the Portuguese ambassador to Hungary and had later married 6 times.

While he initially wished to follow in his prosecutor father’s footsteps to be a lawyer, Otto Preminger later discovered his love for theater. A master stage director, he later signed with Fox as one of its first independent filmmakers. He soared to fame with the 1944 film Laura.  

Starting as a child actor, Ahna Capri later soared to fame with her role of Tania in the movie Enter the Dragon. Her other notable roles were in films such as Piranha and Payday and in series such as Dan August. She died in a fatal car crash.

Legendary Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr initially relied on cinema verité to portray the lives of ordinary people in his films. He later gained international fame with iconic films such as Sátántangó and even launched a film school in Sarajevo. He is also known for his signature long takes and long-running movies.

Known for his 2’9” frame, Mihaly “Michu” Meszaros initially gained fame in the Hungarian National Circus and later as part of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He is best remembered for his portrayal of an alien, wearing a full-body costume, in the NBC series ALF.

Hungarian-origin Slovak actor Vica Kerekes started her career with the Slovak movie Konečná stanica. Also known as Vica, she later soared to fame with her award-winning roles in films such as Ki/Be Tawaret and Seven Days of Sin. She also appeared in the popular Slovak-Czech series Odsúdené.

Renowned character actor S. Z. Sakall lost all of his 3 sisters in Nazi concentration camps. A talented stage actor in both Austria and Germany, he later gained international fame with his roles in movies such as Casablanca and Ball of Fire. He earned the nickname Cuddles for his affable appearance.

While actor Paul Lukas initially ruled the Hungarian stage and worked in several productions of Austrian filmmaker and theater director Max Reinhardt, he later moved to the US. He is best remembered for his Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning portrayal of Kurt Muller in the film Watch on the Rhine.

Best known for his Academy Award-winning work in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond was regarded as a prominent pillar of the American New Wave movement. He was also known for his signature use of colors, natural light, and the technique of flashing or pre-fogging.

A Jewish Hungarian, Andrew G. Vajna fled to Canada alone at age 12, helped by Red Cross, and later met his parents, who had fled to LA. Initially a wig maker, he later owned 2 production companies and introduced the Hungarian National Film Fund, which financed the Oscar-winning movie Son of Saul.

Though she married a Nazi officer at age 15, to avoid deportation, Hungarian Jewish actor Eva Bartok was later hounded by Hungarian Communists. She then moved to the US and gained fame with movies such as The Crimson Pirate. She also claimed to have had a daughter with singer Frank Sinatra.

Apart from being the Marchioness of Bath, Anna Thynn was also a fine actor, known by her stage name, Anna Gaël. She had started dating Alexander Thynn, Viscount Weymouth, known to be a womanizer, while still married to French director Gilbert Pineau. She has also previously worked as a reporter.

Hungarian actor and model Andrea Osvárt is also a linguist, well-versed in a number of languages, such as Italian and German. She has also been interested in dance since age 13. After appearing in countless commercials, she bagged a role in the Brad Pitt starrer 2001 movie Spy Game.

Hungarian model Zita Gorog began modeling at 18 and later traveled to over 20 countries, working for brands such as Mont Blanc, Benetton, Nivea, and Nissan. She has also been featured in publications such as Playboy, Vogue, and Cosmopolitan, and has appeared in movies such as the Underworld franchise.

Best known for her works with the Private Media Group, Hungarian porn star Katalin Vad is also known as Michelle Wild. She once maintained a column on FHM and hosted a radio show. The AVN and Venus Award winner is now a mother and has vowed never to return to porn.

Though Hungarian geologist Laszlo Toth moved to Australia to pursue his career, his lack of English skills had him working at a soap factory. He later made headlines for damaging Michelangelo's Pietà at the Vatican with a hammer, screaming that he was Christ. He was sent to an asylum later but wasn’t charged.

Remembered for his contribution to the development of American New Wave films, László Kovács was a Hungary-born American cinematographer, known for his work on films like Easy Rider, and Five Easy Pieces. Recipient of three Lifetime Achievement Awards, he had worked with many reputed directors and was a member of the board of directors of the American Society of Cinematographers

Born to stage-entertainer parents, Hungarian-American animator and filmmaker George Pal scripted history as the second-most-nominated exiled Hungarian at the Academy Awards. He is best remembered for his Puppetoons series and his sci-fi and fantasy movies such as The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine.

Apart from being a rock and heavy metal singer, who has also worked with the Danish band King Diamond, Livia Zita is also a talented voiceover artist who specializes in accented English for commercials. She has also lent her voice to video games and animation films.

While he initially studied math and engineering, Emeric Pressburger later quit studies due to his father’s sudden death. He worked as a journalist and screenwriter in Berlin but had to flee to England after being chased by the Nazis. He later collaborated with Michael Powell to produce films such as Black Narcissus.

Best known for his performance as Saul Ausländer in the Academy Award-winning movie Son of Saul, Hungarian actor Geza Rohrig grew up in foster care and was initially interested in music. He is also a talented poet, who has dealt with themes such as the Holocaust in his works.

Initially known as “the new Dietrich,” actor and opera singer Ilona Massey grew up amid poverty and funded her singing lessons by working as a dressmaker’s apprentice. From performing on radio and in night clubs, she later rose to be the quintessential temptress in films such as Love Happy.

Known as The Hungarian Rhapsody in the US, actor Vilma Bánky was a star of silent films such as The Son of The Sheik. She was also an avid golfer who had won club championships and dealt in real estate, too. She also funded a children’s foundation with her husband.

Known for his short stories and plays reflecting the life in Budapest, author Ferenc Molnár never identified with any particular literary movement. His best-known works include the short story anthology Muzsika and the novel The Paul Street Boys. Initially an aspiring lawyer, he later worked as a war correspondent.

After earning a law degree, André de Toth decided to become an actor and was prominent in the Budapest theater scene before becoming a filmmaker. His eyepatch once led him to be interrogated in Egypt by people who thought he was an Israeli military leader. His best-known works include House of Wax.

Best known for his Academy Award-winning debut film Son of Saul, Hungarian director László Nemes is the son of director András Jeles. A Sorbonne alumnus, he later assisted director Béla Tarr. His other notable projects include Napszállta, or Sunset, and the short film With a Little Patience.

The daughter of theater personality Stephan Balint, Hungarian-born violinist and performer Eszter Balint grew up with her father’s Squat Theatre troupe in New York. Apart from her critically acclaimed albums, such as Flicker, she is also known for her appearances in films and series such as Shadows and Fog and Louie.

Hungarian filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó is best known for his award-winning film White God. He is married to screenwriter Kata Wéber, who often collaborates with him, and their miscarriage inspired his film Pieces of a Woman, which earned actor Vanessa Kirby an Academy Award nomination.

Typecast in gentle and soft-spoken characters in films such as Gilda and Spellbound, Hungarian-American actor Steven Geray initially gained fame in the Hungarian stage circle, before performing in London and then moving to the US. Some believe he was forced to leave Europe after being hounded for impersonating Hitler and Mussolini.

Hungarian actor Erika Marozsan has primarily starred in Hungarian films and German TV shows and has also appeared in international films such as Sniper 2. The green-eyed beauty is a trained ballet dancer. She was previously part of Hungary’s New Theater group and now performs as part of the Kaposvár Theater.

The daughter of renowned Hungarian food critic Egon Ronay, Edina Ronay started her career as an actor, with roles in series such as The Avengers and The Champions. Now a fashion designer, she has her own label. She is also known as the mother of English actor/writer Shebah Ronay.

After earning a law degree, Miklos Jancso fought in World War II and eventually studied film direction. He gained international fame with his films The Round-Up and The Red and the White. His signature style of films were named political musical. He also repeated the characters Pepe and Kapa in his films.

Hungarian-born actor Bill Nagy was raised in Canada and later settled in Britain, where he had most of his acting projects. A regular in the London stage circuit, he performed in West End shows and later bagged minor roles in many movies. He was initially a ballroom dancer.

Renowned Hungarian sculptor Amerigo Tot was also a talented actor. Best known to international audiences for his role in The Godfather Part II, he spent most of his life in Rome, a city he had fled to during the rise of the Nazis. His ceramic works usually showcased abstract and mythological figures.

Born to popular Hungarian actor Oscar Beregi Sr., Oscar Beregi is best known to audiences for his recurrent appearances in various roles in The Twilight Zone. He initially managed a restaurant in Chile and later worked as a salesman in the US. He was also a breeder of Hungarian sheep dogs.

Hanna Hertelendy, also known as Hanna Landy, began her career with Hungarian theater, appearing in plays of Shakespeare and Chekhov. After moving to the US, she was seen in several series, such as Peter Gunn and Barnaby Jones, and in movies such as Rosemary's Baby and The Girl from Petrovka.

Hungarian-American actor Janos Prohaska is best known to audiences for his roles as monsters or animals in series such as Star Trek and Gilligan's Island. He also appeared regularly on The Andy Williams Show, as The Cookie Bear. He and his stuntman son, Robert, died in a plane crash while filming a series.