Biography of Wolfgang Czerny
Wolfgang Czerny is an Austrian actor who has played many leading roles in the theaters of Vienna and Munich in the classical repertoire – in the plays of Shakespeare and Schiller. He is also well known to Russian viewers thanks to his roles in the films “The Last Bogatyr”, “T-34”, “Row-19”.
Pictured: Wolfgang Czerny
Childhood and youth
Wolfgang Czerny was born on August 31, 1984 in Vienna. The whole boy’s family were athletic people, so from an early age he also joined the sport: boxing, acrobatics, fencing, surfing, skiing, horseback riding … He even learned to dance break dance.
A significant part of his sports skills, as well as the specialty of a ski instructor, he received while studying at a sports gymnasium.
When Wolfgang grew up, he wanted to connect his life with medicine. He was inspired by the example of his older brother, a surgeon, and his father, a dentist. Wolfgang, on the other hand, dreamed of becoming a plastic surgeon in a burn center, giving fire victims a chance to return to normal life.
And he really comprehended the intricacies of surgical science at the medical institute for two years. Parents were happy with the choice of the child, especially since he showed great success, being among the best in his course.
Wolfgang Czerny in his youth. Pictured with mom and brother
But the young man had another dream – to become an actor. From an early age, Wolf was in love with cinema. And a certain moment decided that the illusory hopes will acquire a real essence, if you really want to. He dropped out of medical school and entered the drama department of the Vienna Conservatory, later polished his acting skills at the Academy of Dramatic Art in the USA.
Wolf’s father was shocked and convinced his son that he had no acting talent. But, as it turned out, he was wrong.
Wolfgang on stage
Actor career
Wolfgang made his film debut in 2009 with the role of a police officer in the Austrian film Rimini. The directors noticed a young actor with an athletic figure, tall (190 cm) and a beautiful face.
Talent and attractive appearance helped Wolfgang get a role in the German soap opera Love Storm. Handsome Lucas in his performance appeared in almost 200 episodes, broadcast from 2009 to 2010.
As Lucas in “Storm of Love”
In 2012, Czerny received an offer from Russian colleagues. They filmed a series about the love of a Nazi sniper and a Russian girl (Tatyana Arntgolts), divorced on opposite sides of the barricades. Wolfgang was surprised, because he did not know a word of Russian, but agreed for the sake of interest.
Shot from the series “Snipers: love at gunpoint”
And, as he later admitted, he liked the filming process so much that he decided to continue working in Russia. The agent advised him to learn Russian, and now Czerny is fluent in a non-native language, albeit with an accent. According to him, classes with tutors helped him learn Russian and … inconvenience on the set, which motivated him to work harder. Since then, Wolfgang has often played Nazis in films, since Russian cinema has no shortage of films about World War II. But, according to him, he always carefully read the script and did not agree to one-sided roles. For Cherny, it is important to reveal the character of the character in many ways, to make the viewer think, and not just hate.
Wolfgang often appears in films as a Nazi
In 2014, he appeared on the screens in the title role in the film “War Correspondent”, playing an American journalist who is sent on assignment to the east of Ukraine, where hostilities are taking place.
The next project, in which Czerny participated, was also related to the military theme. This time he got one of the roles in the film “Fighters. The last fight”. Here he worked together with Russian actors – Dmitry Dyuzhev, Dmitry Arbenin, Olesya Sudzilovskaya.
Frame from the film “War Correspondent”
Later, Wolfgang Czerny more than once reincarnated as German privates and officers, for example, in the films T-34 (2018), Sobibor (2018), Zoya (2020), Red Ghost (2020).
However, Czerny’s filmography was not limited to films on military subjects. In 2015, he played the role of an Austrian police officer in the American film Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation.
In 2017, the fairy tale “The Last Hero” was released in Russian cinemas, in which he reincarnated as Alyosha Popovich, playing in tandem with Ekaterina Vilkova.
On the set of “The Last Hero”
Good service in the acting business was rendered to him by sports training, thanks to which he manages to independently perform tricks in the frame, calmly stay in the saddle.
It is no coincidence that he easily agreed to participate in the Ice Age project in the 2024 season, in which he paired with figure skater Oksana Domnina. “Not a single sport was given to me as hard as skating!” the actor complained.
Personal life of Wolfgang Czerny
When Wolfgang left for Russia, he was frightened by the cold, the mafia and bears. Only the cold was true, but he was used to winter frosts. But in Russia, he found his love – Muscovite Victoria Slobodyan, the owner of a travel agency.
Wolfgang Czerny and Victoria Slobodyan
Young people met in 2016 at a party in honor of the start of filming the film “Fighters. The last fight”. Czerny at that time still did not know Russian well, but Victoria spoke good English. So they managed to understand each other.
That evening it turned out that young people have many common interests. Then there were two months of correspondence and meetings. Finally, Victoria flew to Wolfgang in Vienna, and they set off on a trip to America.
Victoria and Wolfgang got married in 2019. The wedding took place in Austria, on the lake.
Wedding of Wolfgang and Victoria
In 2024, the couple had a son named Leonard.
Wolfgang Czerny now
In 2024, the mystical film Row 19 was released, which takes place on board an aircraft. Czerny plays one of the main roles. The proposal of the director Alexander Babaev surprised him in a pleasant way, because before that, because of the accent, he was not trusted with the main roles in Russian cinema, if the character was not an ethnic German.
Wolfgang Czerny on the set of Row 19
So this is for him both the first and, uznayvse.ru notes, not the last main role in Russian, and the first experience of filming in the horror film genre, after which Wolfgang, by the way, was afraid to fly on airplanes.
The premiere of the 12-episode drama “In Chair Park” was scheduled for 2024, where the actor got the role of a man with a difficult fate who fell into the millstones of war.
Also scheduled for release in 2024 is the film Legend of SAMBO, which tells how this martial art appeared. Wolfgang Czerny played one of the central characters there – Vasily Oshchepkov, one of the founders of sambo.