Vilim "Vili" Matula (born 5 March 1962) is a Croatian actor, director, activist, and politician. He serves as a representative in the

Croatian Parliament The Croatian Parliament () or the Sabor is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Croatia. Under the terms of the Constitution of Croatia, Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the nation, people and is vested with legislative power. ...

for

green left The term green left refers primarily to a political affiliation that combines elements of green politics and left-wing politics in countries where the term is used. It is primarily a social justice and human rights oriented ideology, with an exp ...

coalition We Can!. Matula's acting roles include '' S.P.U.K.'', ''

Infection An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

'',

100 Minutes of Glory ''100 Minutes of Glory'' () is a 2004 Croatian biographical drama film directed by Dalibor Matanić. The film tells the story of Slava Raškaj, a turn-of-the-century artist, often described as Croatian Frida Kahlo. Title The title of the movie ...

, '' Wallenberg: A Hero's Story'', ''

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the historical novel '' Schindler's Ark'' (1982) by Thomas Keneally. The film follows ...

,'' and ''

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'' is an absurdist, existential tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare's ''Hamle ...

''. He works with the Kerempuh Satirical Theatre in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

Early life

Matula attended elementary and high school in Zagreb and was a member of the

Zagreb Youth Theatre ZeKaeM, abbreviated from Zagreb Youth Theater () is a theatre in Zagreb, Croatia formerly run by the Union of Pioneers of Yugoslavia. Since 2014, its director is . The theater is also important for its school for children. History It was founded o ...

college. In 1978, Matula started his own theatre group, "Domaći" before enrolling in the Academy of Dramatic Art in 1980. After graduating in 1985, he joined Zagreb's Comedy Theatre. In 1988, Matula co-founded Zagreb's Acting Studio, intended for developing acting skills with techniques such as the

Strasberg Strasberg is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * John Strasberg (born 1941), American actor, director, teacher and writer, son of Lee and Paula, brother of Susan * Lee Strasberg (1901–1982), Polish-born American actor, directo ...

Method Method (, methodos, from μετά/meta "in pursuit or quest of" + ὁδός/hodos "a method, system; a way or manner" of doing, saying, etc.), literally means a pursuit of knowledge, investigation, mode of prosecuting such inquiry, or system. In re ...

, the Chekhov Technique, Meyerhold's Biomechanics, and the

Alexander Technique The Alexander technique, named after its developer Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869–1955), is an alternative therapy based on the idea that poor posture causes a range of health problems. The American National Center for Complementary a ...

. In 1993, Matula attended the Summer Acting Programme at the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. From 1987 to 1997, he was employed in the drama ensemble of the Zagreb Youth Theatre.

Career

Acting

In 2000, he participated in the launching of the Boal Forum Theatre by invitation from

theatrologist Theatre studies (sometimes referred to as theatrology or dramatics) is the study of theatrical performance in relation to its literary, physical, psychological, sociological, and historical contexts. It is an interdisciplinary field which also enco ...

and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

critic Nataša Govedić. In 2001, Matula started his collaboration with Damir Bartol Indoš and The House of Extreme Music Theatre Group Kugla. In 2008, he appeared in a supporting role in ''Metastases'', for which he won a Marul award and a Croatian Theatre Award. He was nominated for an Apollo Prize at the Belgrade Culture Festival. Matula has appeared in ''

Tranquilizer Gun A dart gun is an air rifle that fires a dart. The dart is tipped with a hypodermic needle and filled with a sedative, vaccine or antibiotic. A dart gun containing a sedative is called a tranquillizer gun ( also spelled tranquilizer gun, tranquil ...

'', '' Is It Clear, My Friend?'', ''

'', ''

Long Dark Night ''Long Dark Night'' () is a 2004 Croatian film dealing with World War II in Croatia and its aftermath. It was directed by Antun Vrdoljak and starred Goran Višnjić. It was Croatia's submission to the 77th Academy Awards for the Academy Award fo ...

,'' and ''Šuma summarum''. For his role in ''100 Minutes of Glory'', Matula won Best Supporting Actor at the

Pula Film Festival Pula Film Festival () is an annual Croatian film festival, established in 1954. It is held in a Roman amphitheater known as the Pula Arena. Pula Film Festival is the oldest Croatian film festival and is usually held in the summer, in July or Aug ...

. He has also appeared in productions of '' Wallenberg: A Hero's Story'', ''

,'' and ''

(''where he played Horatio). His television work includes guest roles on '' Zakon!'', ''

Naša mala klinika Naša mala klinika (Our Little Clinic) was a Slovenian comedy series broadcast by Pop TV respectively, between 2004 and 2007. Seven seasons were broadcast. The series was written by Marko Pokorn, Rok Vilčnik and Branko Đurić "Đuro", who als ...

,'' and ''Žutokljunac''. Matula has also filmed and produced television specials and shorts for the

Motovun Film Festival The Motovun Film Festival is an annual film festival established in 1999 and held in the small town of Motovun, Croatia until 2023, when it moved to a new location, Petehovac in Gorski Kotar. It usually takes place over five or six days in late ...

. Matula has recorded several hundred

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the liste ...

s. His

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

discography includes reciting works by

August Šenoa August Ivan Nepomuk Eduard Šenoa (; originally Schönoa; 14 November 1838 – 13 December 1881) was a Croatian novelist, playwright, poet, and editor. Born to an ethnic German and Slovak family, Šenoa became a key figure in the developmen ...

Ivan Goran Kovačić Ivan Goran Kovačić (; 21 March 1913 – 12 July 1943) was a Croatian poet and writer. Early life and background He was born in the town of Lukovdol, Vrbovsko municipality, in Gorski Kotar, to a Croat father, Ivan Kovačić, and Transylvani ...

Ante Kovačić Antun "Ante" Kovačić (June 6, 1854 – March 10, 1889) was a Croatian writer who is best known for his magnum opus work '':hr:U registraturi, U registraturi''. Biography Early life Born to a family of Croats, Croatian peasants in Hrvatsk ...

Vladimir Nazor Vladimir Nazor (30 May 1876 – 19 June 1949) was a Croatian poet and politician. During and after World War II in Yugoslavia, he served as the first President of the Presidency of the Croatian Parliament (Croatian head of state), and first ...

, and

Miroslav Krleža Miroslav Krleža (; 7 July 1893 – 29 December 1981) was a Croatian writer who is widely considered to be the greatest Croatian writer of the 20th century. He wrote notable works in all the literary genres, including poetry ('' The Ballads o ...

. He provided vocals for three songs on the ''Punk Cabaret'' album by Stanislav Kovačić. He voiced several characters on the Croatian-American animated film ''

The Elm-Chanted Forest ''The Elm-Chanted Forest'' (''Čudesna šuma'') is a 1986 Yugoslav animated musical film; in the U.S., it is also known as ''Fantasy Forest''. It was the first full-length film directed by Milan Blažeković, and also the first animated feature pr ...

,'' Chum in the Croatian dub of ''

Finding Nemo ''Finding Nemo'' is a 2003 American animated comedy-drama adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, co-directed by Lee Unkrich, and produced by Graham Walters, from ...

'' (2003), and Sterling in the Croation dub of ''

Cars 3 ''Cars 3'' is a 2017 American animated sports comedy-adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is a sequel to '' Cars 2'' (2011) and the third film in the ''Cars'' franchise. It was directed by Brian Fe ...

'' (2017).

Politics

Matula was a member of the

League of Communists of Croatia League of Communists of Croatia (, SKH) was the Socialist Republic of Croatia, Croatian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ). It came into power in 1945. Until 1952, it was known as Communist Party of Croatia (, KPH). The party ...

, as well as delegate in the 11th and final convention of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Croatia, which resulted in the first democratic elections in 1989 of the

Socialist Republic of Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), commonly abbreviated as SR Croatia and referred to as simply Croatia, was a ...

, then part of the

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

. Matula has opposed the

Right to the city The Right to the City is a concept and slogan that emphasizes the need for inclusivity, accessibility, and democracy in urban spaces. The idea was first articulated by French philosopher Henri Lefebvre in his 1968 book , in which he argued that ...

movement PravoNaGRAD in Zagreb as well as neo-fascism. He's one of the founders of the Actor's Union, of which he was also a president. Matula is a member of the coordinating committee of Zagreb is OURS! (Zagreb je NAŠ!), a progressive citizen platform registered as a green-municipalist party. In the Zagreb municipal elections of 2017, Matula entered as a candidate in the borough council of Donji grad as vice president. His focus included council suppression and corrupt behavior of city authorities. In 2019 he became a founding member of the citizen platform We can! (Možemo!) that formed a green-left coalition for the 2020 parliamentary election. He was elected to the Croatian Parliament with six other members of the coalition. In 2017, Matula signed the

Declaration on the Common Language The Declaration on the Common Language ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Deklaracija o zajedničkom jeziku, Декларација о заједничком језику, separator=" / ") was issued in 2017 by a group of intellectuals and NGOs from Bosnia and He ...

of the

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

Bosniaks The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

, and

Montenegrins Montenegrins (, or ) are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common ancestry, culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro. Montenegrins are mostly Orthodox Christians; however, the population also includes ...

.Signatories of the Declaration on the Common Language
official website, retrieved on 2018-08-16.

Selected filmography

Television

Film

Awards

* 1988: Orestija Award for ''Orestija'' * 1989: Dubravko Dujšin, Veljko Maričić, and Golden Laughter awards for the play ''Dekadencija'' * 1998: Veljko Maričić, Mila Dimitrijević,

, and Croatian Theatre awards for Best Actor and Best Monodrama for "Münchhausen" * 2004:

Golden Arena for Best Supporting Actor The Golden Arena for Best Supporting Actor is an annual award, given by the Pula-based cinema circle at the Pula Film Festival, to honour the actors who gave outstanding performances in a supporting role. The Golden Arena is considered the Balkan ...

* 2008: Marul and Croatian Theatre awards for supporting role in

Metastases Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spreading from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, ...

* 2010: Marul and Golden Laughter awards at the Kerempuh Satire Festival for ''Balon'' * 2010: Orlando Award at the

Dubrovnik Summer Festival The Dubrovnik Summer Festival (; ) is an annually-held summer festival instituted in 1950 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. It is held every year between 10 July and 25 August. On more than 70 open-air venues of Renaissance-Baroque city of Dubrovnik a rich ...

for lead role in

Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works " The Nose", " Viy", "The Overcoat", and " Nevsky Prosp ...

Revizor ''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' (, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the play was revised for an 1842 edition. Based ...

* 2019: Apollo Prize and Marul Award for Best Actor in ''Govori glasnije!''

References

External links

*
Biography from Kerempuh Satirical Theater
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matula, Vili 1962 births Living people Male actors from Zagreb 21st-century Croatian male actors 20th-century Croatian male actors Croatian actor-politicians Croatian male actors Croatian male television actors Croatian male film actors Croatian male stage actors Croatian male voice actors Croatian theatre directors Croatian comedians Croatian dramatists and playwrights Croatian Theatre Award winners Vladimir Nazor Award winners Signatories of the Declaration on the Common Language Croatian LGBTQ rights activists Representatives in the modern Croatian Parliament Politicians from Zagreb Theatre people from Zagreb Možemo! / We Can! politicians