Radosław Smużny was born in 1977 in Toruń. He is a stage and film actor, as well as a culture manager. He graduated from the National Academy of Dramatic Art in Warsaw and Studio L’Art in Kraków.
Between 1999 and 2010 he was connected with the Teatr Wiczy alternative theatre in Toruń, where he performed in almost all the most-signifcant plays directed by Romuald Wicza Pokojski: ,,Po prostu” (“Just Like That”) (2003), ,,Czyściciel dywanów” (“Carpet Cleaner”) (2004), ,,Dobro” (“Good”) (2004), ,,Cesarz” (“The Emperor”) (2005), “Instant” (2006), ,,Emigranci XX” (“Emigrants XX”) (2007), ,,Dobroć, nasza dobroć” (“Goodness, Our Goodness”) (2016).
Smużny began his acting career in 1992 in independent productions of the Łowcy Absurdu group in Toruń.
His first film role was in 2000 as a guest appearance in the TV series ,,Twarze I Maski” (“Faces and Masks”), directed by Feliks Falk. At the same time he was building his career abroad.
In 2003 he made a guest appearance in the Hollywood production
“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”, starring Russell Crowe, and directed by Peter Weir, who made such films as “The Truman Show”, “Dead Poets Society” and “Picnic at Hanging Rock”.
During the production of the next Weir film, “The Way Back”, Smużny acted as a consultant for the Polish language by preparing Jim Sturgess and Saoirse Ronan for their roles. He also made guest appearances opposite Colin Farrell and Ed Harris. The film tells a story of a group of convicts who escape from a Soviet labour camp in Siberia under the leadership of a Polish soldier arrested by the NKVD in 1939. The fugitives achieved the impossible – they walked over 8 thousand kilometres from the camp near Yakutsk to India through Mongolia, the Gobi Desert, Tibet and the Himalayas.
In addition, Smużny played the leading role in the Swedish film “The Blueberry War”, directed by Lars-Göran Pettersson, a feature comedy film about Polish workers collecting forest fruits in Sweden.
The actor was engaged in creating an independent cinema movement in Toruń. In 2004 at the International Film Festival Tofifest, Smużny performed live in the experimental film directed by Piotr Matwiejczyk ,,Na scenie” (“On the Stage”). In 2005 he appeared in Waldemar Grzesik‘s independent film ,,Brat czeka na końcu drogi” (“The Brother Waiting at the End of the Road”), which received many awards. He performed in ,,Późną nocą” (“Late at Night”) directed by Jacek Banach and Przemysław Komorniczak (2006), and in Caissa (2011), directed by Marcel Woźniak, in which he had one of the two leading roles. However, he most-frequently appeared in Marcin Gładych‘s productions: ,,Jadą z Mrożkiem” (“Driving with Mrożek”) (2009), ,,Odrobina starości” (“A Little Old Age”) (2010),,, Hakerzy Wolności “(“Freedom Hackers”) (2010), and,, Panoptikon “(2011).
In 2016 he took part in an experimental film-science project of Instytut B61, Ewolucja gwiazd (Stellar Evolution), directed by Piotr and Bartłomiej Bartos, where he appeared alongside Wojciech Mecwaldowski. In 2017 he played in two significant short feature films. Michał Szcześniak’s Spitsbergen was nominated for the Jan Machulski Polish Independent Film Award at the festival in Gdynia.
In the film, Smużny appeared with two other artistes from Toruń – Magdalena Czerwińska and Marek Kossakowski. In the same year he played a leading role in “Alternator Love Story”, directed by Mayo Kucharski, in which he portrayed a mechanic whose nickname was “Starter”.
In the latest film by Marcin Gładych, Smugi, he played himself, as the film tells the story of his extraordinary artistic family.
Currently he is a player in the Kujawsko-Pomorski Music Theatre in Toruń, the Teatr Gdynia Główna theatre, and the Wiczy Theatre, reactivated in Gdynia.
Selected filmography
- 2000 – „Twarze i maski”/”Face and Masks” (TV series)
- 2003 –,,Pan I władca na końcu na świata”/ “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” dir. Peter Weir
- 2004 – „Na scenie”/”On the Stage” dir. Piotr Matwiejczyk
- 2005 – „Brat czeka na końcu drogi”/”The Brother Waiting at the End of the Road” dir. Waldemar Grzesik
- 2010 – „The Way Back” dir. Peter Weir
- 2006 – „Późną nocą”/”Late at Night” dir. Jacek Banach and Przemysław Komorniczak
- 2007 – „The Blueberry War” dir. Lars-Goran Pettersson
- 2009 – „Jadą z Mrożkiem”/”Driving with Mrożek” dir. Marcin Gładych
- 2010 – „Odrobina starości”/”A Little Old Age” dir. Marcin Gładych
- 2010 – „Hakerzy wolności”/”Freedom Hackers” dir. Marcin Gładych
- 2011 – „Caissa” dir. Marcel Woźniak
- 2011 – „Panoptikon” dir. Marcin Gładych
- 2011 – „Reszta jest milczeniem”/”The Rest Is Silence” dir. Paweł Hejbudzki
- 2017 – „Smugi” dir. Marcin Gładych
- 2017 – „Alternator Love Story” dir. Mayo Kucharski
- 2017 – „Spitsbergen” dir. Michał Szcześniak
Selected awards and distinctions
The winner of a Kujawsko – Pomorskie Film Award Flisak Tofifest (2007); the Recipient of a City of Toruń Scholarship.
