Andrzej Rausz is a theatre and film actor. He was born on 7th April, 1937, in Bydgoszcz. He graduated from a secondary school in Cracow. While living there, he got an education as a Zootechnics/Animal Science Engineer. He developed an interest in theatre already during his studies and started performing at 38 Theatre in Cracow.
In the years 1960-1977, he worked for Teatr Lalki i Maski Groteska (“Groteska” Puppet and Mask Theatre) and for the Helena Modrzejewska National Old Theatre in Cracow. During his career, he was also involved in the Modjeska Theatre in Legnica and in the Contemporary Theatrein Wrocław. In the years 1981-1995, he performed at the Ludwik Solski Theatre in Tarnów, where he debuted in front of the local audience with a role in the stage production Hamlet (Tragiczna historia Hamleta księcia Danii).
His screen début came with the short film Most directed by Janusz Majewski, in 1960. A year later, he was cast for his first ever full-length film. It was the war drama Ogniomistrz Kaleń / The Artillery Sergeant Kalen directed by Ewa Petelska and Czesław Petelski, a story about the fight of Polish soldiers with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) in the Bieszczady Mountains.
In 1964, he played the cyborg Traumer, assistant of professor Foss (Jan Machulski) in the TV film production Docent H. by Janusz Machulski. In 1990, he played as an SS officer in the bio-pic drama Życie za życie. Maksymilian Kolbe / Life for Life directed by well-known Polish film director Krzysztof Zanussi,which takes place in 1941 at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. The main character in the film was played by Christoph Waltz, an actor from Austria, famous for his performances in Inglorious Basterds and Django.
He also appeared in a number of TV series, including the TV series Układ krążenia, in which he played as Józek, a patient of a village herbalist, and in the TV series Popielec from 1982, the latter of which focused on the life in a Polish village during the German occupation of Poland.
The actor was a member of the Polish Actors Association (ZASP / Związek Artystów Scen Polskich).
He died on 24th May, 2017, in Tarnów, aged 80.
Selected Filmography
- 1960 – “Most”, dir. by Janusz Majewski
- 1961 – “Ogniomistrz Kaleń” / “The Artillery Sergeant Kalen”, dir. by Ewa Petelska, Czesław Petelski
- 1962 – “Dziewczyna z dobrego domu” / “New Year’s Eve”, dir. by Antoni Bohdziewicz
- 1968 – “Docent H.”, dir. by Janusz Majewski
- 1969 – “Urząd”, dir. by Janusz Majewski
- 1970 – “Lokis. Rękopis profesora Wittembacha” / “The Bear”, dir. by Janusz Majewski
- 1973 – “Zazdrość i medycyna” / “Jealousy and Medicine”, dir. by Janusz Majewski
- 1978 – “Układ krążenia” (TV series, ep. 5)
- 1978 – “Ślad na ziemi” (TV series, ep. 4)
- 1980 – “Olimpiada ‘40” / “Olympics 40”, dir. by Andrzej Kotkowski
- 1982 – “Popielec” (TV seriaes, ep. 2)
- 1984 – “W starym dworku, czyli niepodległość trójkątów” / “In an Old Manor House or The Independence of Triangles”, dir. by Andrzej Kotkowski
- 1990 – “Życie za życie. Maksymilian Kolbe” / “Life for Life”, dir. by Krzysztof Zanussi
