Herec (English: ''Actor'') is a Czech drama television series directed by Peter Bebjak. It is set in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in the 1950s. The title role in the series, the young actor Stanislav Láník, is played by Jan Cina. Láník finds himself in a difficult situation: State Security takes advantage of his homosexuality and uses him as bait to compromise influential figures, in exchange for help with his acting career.

Jenovéfa Boková Jenovéfa Boková (born 16 May 1992) is a Czech actress and violinist. At the 2018 Czech Lion Awards she won the category of Best Actress, for her performance in the film '. For her performance in the 2013 film '' Revival'', she received a nomina ...

Emília Vášáryová Emília Vášáryová, Doctor Artis Dramaticae ( hon.) (; born 18 May 1942) is a Slovak stage and screen actress, whom '' Variety'' and other publications refer to as the "First Lady of Slovak Theater". During a career of more than five decades ...

Martin Finger Martin Finger (born 16 December 1970) is a Czech actor. Selected filmography Film * ''Walking Too Fast'' (2010) * '' Long Live the Family!'' (2011) * ''I, Olga Hepnarová'' (2016) * '' Toman'' (2018) * ''Metanol'' (2018) * '' The Word'' (2022) ...

and

Adrian Jastraban Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the main ...

also star in the series. The three-part series was broadcast every Sunday evening on the

ČT1 ČT1 (ČT Jedna, Česká televize 1, "''Jednička''") is a Czech public television channel operated by Czech Television. ČT1 is a general-purpose channel, broadcasting family-oriented television, Czech films, news, and documentaries. History ...

channel from 11 to 25 October 2020.

Cast

* Jan Cina as Standa Láník *

as Anežka Láníková, Standa's sister *

as Božena Hrubá, Standa's and Anežka's grandmother *

as Captain Jindřich Korčák, StB officer *

as Karel Štěpánský, landlord and Communist *

Jan Nedbal Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

as Zdeněk Špork, Anežka's fiancée *

Luboš Veselý Luboš is a Slavic male given name meaning ''love'' and used mostly in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In Slovakia with spelling Ľuboš. The name is a short form of names like: Luboslav, Lubomir. Notable bearers * Ľuboš Bartečko, Slovak ...

as Professor Viktor Hél *

Pavel Batěk Pavel ( Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian: Павел; Czech, Slovene, and (although Romanian also uses Paul); ; ; ) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pavel may refer to: People Given ...

as Colonel Vladimír Kempný *

Elizaveta Maximová Elizaveta Maximová, born Elizaveta Maximovna Shvachko, (born 16 March 1992) is a Czech actress. Selected filmography Films * '' Droneman'' (2020) * ''Je suis Karl'' (2021) * '' Borders of Love'' (2022) * ''Světýlka'' (2024) TV series * ' ...

as Marta Švarcová, actress *

Judit Bárdos Judit Bárdos, married Pecháček (born 12 May 1988) is a Slovak actress of Hungarian ethnicity. She is the daughter of politician Gyula Bárdos and journalist Ágnes Bárdos. Bárdos won the Best Actress Award at the 2012 The Sun in a Net Awa ...

as Eva Doležalová, amateur actress * Alexander Bárta as Daneš *

Julius Oračko Julius may refer to: People * Julius (name), a masculine given name and surname (includes a list of people with the name) * Julius (nomen), the name of a Roman family (includes a list of Ancient Romans with the name) ** Julius Caesar (100– ...

as Farkaš *

Vasil Fridrich Vasil ( Bulgarian and Macedonian: Васил, Georgian: ვასილ) is a Bulgarian, Macedonian and Georgian masculine given name. It may refer to: * Vasil Adzhalarski, Bulgarian revolutionary, an IMARO leader of revolutionary bands * Vasil A ...

as Vaněk * Jevgenij Libezňuk as Colonel Blochin *

Lukáš Latinák Lukáš Latinák (born 28 February 1977) is a Slovak film, television, and stage actor.For biographical information related to Lukáš Latinák, use their general links. He is a recipient of three ''OTO'' Awards in the main categories. Latiná ...

as Pasák * Dana Černá as secretary *

Jiří Šimek Jiří (; ''YI-RZHEE'') is a Czech masculine given name, equivalent to English George. Notable people with the name include: B *Georg Benda (Jiří Antonín Benda), Czech composer, violinist and Kapellmeister *Jiří Baborovský, Czech physica ...

as Karel Semerád

Episodes

Reception

Awards and nominations

The series was nominated for the prestigious TV award

Prix Europa PRIX EUROPA – The European Broadcasting Festival – is Europe's largest annual tri-medial festival and competition. The event takes place in the third week of October in Berlin, Germany. PRIX EUROPA awards the best European Televisi ...

alongside well-known European series such as My Brilliant Friend or

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

. In January 2021, the series was nominated for the Czech Film Critics' Award in the non-cinema category. In the same month, the Czech Film and Television Academy also announced the nominations for the Czech Lions. The series received 7 nominations in the following categories: best actress in a leading role (Jenovéfa Boková), best actor in a leading role (Jan Cina), best actress in a supporting role (Elizaveta Maximová), best screenplay (Petr Bok and Pavel Gotthard), best cinematography (Martin Žiaran), best editing (Marek Kráľovský) and best television film or miniseries. It has won in best television film or miniseries category.

References

{{CzechLionBestTelevisionFilmMiniseries Czech drama television series 2020 Czech television series debuts Czech Television original programming Czech LGBTQ-related television shows Czech Lion Awards winners (television series) Czech television miniseries