Victor Rebengiuc (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈviktor rebenˈdÍ¡Ê'juk];
known in full as Victor-George Rebengiuc; born February 10, 1933) is
an award-winning Romanian film and stage actor, also known as a civil
society activist. Since 1957, he has been a member of the Bulandra
Theater company, acting in more than 200 roles on that stage alone.
Having had his breakthrough performance with Liviu Ciulei's The Forest
of the Hanged, Rebengiuc became a major figure in Romanian cinema, and
became especially known for his 1986 appearance in Stere Gulea's
Moromeţii. He also starred in films by Dan Piţa (Tănase Scatiu;
Dreptate în lanţuri; Faleze de nisip; The Man of the Day) and Lucian
Pintilie (De ce trag clopotele, Mitică?; Balanţa; Too Late; Last
Stop Paradise; Niki and Flo; Tertium non datur). Rebengiuc was
celebrated for his stage performances, appearing in plays directed by,
among others, Ciulei, Radu Penciulescu, Andrei Şerban, Cătălina
Buzoianu, Yuri Kordonsky, Gábor Tompa and Alexandru Dabija. The
former husband of actress Anca VereÅŸti, he is married to Mariana
Mihuţ, his Bulandra colleague.Rebengiuc's life under the communist
regime provided him an anti-communist perspective, and some of his
1980s films were censored or banned by the country's officials. In
1989, he took part in the Romanian Revolution, when he was among the
people who stormed into the Romanian Television building and broadcast
the downfall of Nicolae CeauÅŸescu and an end to communist rule.
Rebengiuc subsequently spoke out against political forces he believes
stand for the regime's legacy in modern society, and called for the
retrospective condemnation of communism. As a public figure, he has
had a brief career in politics, and, since the mid-1990s, endorses
non-governmental organizations.A native of Bucharest, Rebengiuc hails
from a modest family. After his parents separated when he was three
years old, he and his younger brother were raised by their maternal
grandparents. He grew up on the city's outskirts, in the low-income
quarters, and, as he remembers, his family frequently changed
residence in order to afford the rent. They lived in Dristor, then in
Chiajna, Rahova, Dealul Spirii and ultimately northern Bucharest. His
father Gheorghe, whom the two sons seldom met, was drafted during
World War II, and died fighting in the land Forces during the Battle
of Stalingrad; Victor and his brother were subsequently granted a
pension. His mother worked as a clerk, and, just before her
retirement, was an employee of the Transport Ministry. Rebengiuc
credits his father's genes with his own acting ability. He noted in an
interview: "I was pained by my father's absence and, in a way, I
always felt like there was something missing, although the bond
between us was not strong."Victor Rebengiuc completed his secondary
studies at the Military High School, a school which he is grateful to
for having instilled in him a sense of discipline. After a period of
collaboration with an amateur troupe located in the Vitan area,
Rebengiuc attended the Theater Institute, where he had for his
professor actress Aura Buzescu, whom he credits, alongside Clody
Bertola, with having inspired his technique. Among the artists who
have shaped his work, Rebengiuc also includes the major Soviet actors
Mikhail Zharov and Ruben Simonov, whose performances in films he
followed closely, and his older Romanian colleague Radu Beligan. He
says: "Back when I started I was acting with the amateurs, I was
imitating Beligan. [...] Only when I was undergoing examination at the
Institute, I was told, 'hey, you're imitating Beligan!' And then I
realized it and try to get rid of this thing."
known in full as Victor-George Rebengiuc; born February 10, 1933) is
an award-winning Romanian film and stage actor, also known as a civil
society activist. Since 1957, he has been a member of the Bulandra
Theater company, acting in more than 200 roles on that stage alone.
Having had his breakthrough performance with Liviu Ciulei's The Forest
of the Hanged, Rebengiuc became a major figure in Romanian cinema, and
became especially known for his 1986 appearance in Stere Gulea's
Moromeţii. He also starred in films by Dan Piţa (Tănase Scatiu;
Dreptate în lanţuri; Faleze de nisip; The Man of the Day) and Lucian
Pintilie (De ce trag clopotele, Mitică?; Balanţa; Too Late; Last
Stop Paradise; Niki and Flo; Tertium non datur). Rebengiuc was
celebrated for his stage performances, appearing in plays directed by,
among others, Ciulei, Radu Penciulescu, Andrei Şerban, Cătălina
Buzoianu, Yuri Kordonsky, Gábor Tompa and Alexandru Dabija. The
former husband of actress Anca VereÅŸti, he is married to Mariana
Mihuţ, his Bulandra colleague.Rebengiuc's life under the communist
regime provided him an anti-communist perspective, and some of his
1980s films were censored or banned by the country's officials. In
1989, he took part in the Romanian Revolution, when he was among the
people who stormed into the Romanian Television building and broadcast
the downfall of Nicolae CeauÅŸescu and an end to communist rule.
Rebengiuc subsequently spoke out against political forces he believes
stand for the regime's legacy in modern society, and called for the
retrospective condemnation of communism. As a public figure, he has
had a brief career in politics, and, since the mid-1990s, endorses
non-governmental organizations.A native of Bucharest, Rebengiuc hails
from a modest family. After his parents separated when he was three
years old, he and his younger brother were raised by their maternal
grandparents. He grew up on the city's outskirts, in the low-income
quarters, and, as he remembers, his family frequently changed
residence in order to afford the rent. They lived in Dristor, then in
Chiajna, Rahova, Dealul Spirii and ultimately northern Bucharest. His
father Gheorghe, whom the two sons seldom met, was drafted during
World War II, and died fighting in the land Forces during the Battle
of Stalingrad; Victor and his brother were subsequently granted a
pension. His mother worked as a clerk, and, just before her
retirement, was an employee of the Transport Ministry. Rebengiuc
credits his father's genes with his own acting ability. He noted in an
interview: "I was pained by my father's absence and, in a way, I
always felt like there was something missing, although the bond
between us was not strong."Victor Rebengiuc completed his secondary
studies at the Military High School, a school which he is grateful to
for having instilled in him a sense of discipline. After a period of
collaboration with an amateur troupe located in the Vitan area,
Rebengiuc attended the Theater Institute, where he had for his
professor actress Aura Buzescu, whom he credits, alongside Clody
Bertola, with having inspired his technique. Among the artists who
have shaped his work, Rebengiuc also includes the major Soviet actors
Mikhail Zharov and Ruben Simonov, whose performances in films he
followed closely, and his older Romanian colleague Radu Beligan. He
says: "Back when I started I was acting with the amateurs, I was
imitating Beligan. [...] Only when I was undergoing examination at the
Institute, I was told, 'hey, you're imitating Beligan!' And then I
realized it and try to get rid of this thing."
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