1933-08-18 Paris, France
Roman Polański (born 18 August 1933) is a Polish-French film director, producer, writer and actor. Born in Paris to Polish parents, Polański relocated with his family to Poland in 1937. After surviving the Holocaust, he continued his education in Poland and became a critically acclaimed director of both art house and commercial films. Polański's first feature-length film, Knife in the Water (1962), made in Poland, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He has since received five more Oscar nominations, and in 2002 received the Academy Award for Best Director for his film, The Pianist. He has also been the recipient of two Baftas, four Césars, a Golden Globe and the Palme d'Or. He left Poland in 1961 to live in France for several years, then moved to the United Kingdom where he collaborated with Gérard Brach on three films, beginning with Repulsion (1965). In 1968 he moved to the United States, immediately cementing his burgeoning directing status with the 1968 groundbreaking Academy Award winning horror film Rosemary's Baby. In 1969, Polański's pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered while staying at the Polańskis' Benedict Canyon home above Los Angeles by members of the Manson Family. Following Tate's death, Polański returned to Europe and spent much of his time in Paris and Gstaad, but did not make another film until he filmed Macbeth (1971) in England. The following year he went to Italy to make What? (1973) and subsequently spent the next five years living near Rome. However, he traveled to Hollywood to direct Chinatown (1974) for Paramount Pictures, with Robert Evans serving as producer. The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, and was a critical and box-office success; the script by Robert Towne won for Best Original Screenplay. Polański's next film, The Tenant (1976), was shot in France, and completed the "Apartment Trilogy", following Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby. In 1977, after a photo shoot in Los Angeles, Polański was arrested for the sexual abuse of a 13 year old girl. He was charged with rape but pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor. To avoid sentencing, Polański fled to his home in London, and then moved on to France the following day. He has had a U.S. arrest warrant outstanding since then, and an international arrest warrant since 2005. Polański continued to make films such as The Pianist (2002), a World War II-set adaptation of Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman's autobiography of the same name, which echoed some of Polański's earlier life experiences. Like Szpilman, Polański escaped the ghetto and the concentration camps while family members were killed. The film won three Academy Awards including Best Director, the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or, and seven French César Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. He then released the successful films Oliver Twist (2005), To Each His Own Cinema (2007), and The Ghost Writer (2010), completed while under house arrest. In September 2009, Polański was arrested by Swiss police, at the request of U.S. authorities, when he traveled to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival. In October 2009, the U.S. requested his extradition; however, on July 12, 2010, the Swiss rejected that request and instead declared him a "free man" after releasing him from custody.
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La scripte | Lui-même | 2026-06-02 |
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Mia Farrow, en clair-obscur | Self - Filmmaker (archive footage) | 2025-04-23 |
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Chaos: The Manson Murders | Self | 2025-03-06 |
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Breakdown: 1975 | Self - Director of Chinatown (archive footage) | 2025-12-18 |
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La Saga Rassam-Berri, le cinéma dans les veines | Self | 2023-05-17 |
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Deneuve, la reine Catherine | Self (archive footage) | 2022-01-19 |
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Polański, Horowitz. Hometown | Self | 2021-08-20 |
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Françoise Dorléac, de L'Homme de Rio aux Demoiselles de Rochefort | self | 2021-12-31 |
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Bandes Originales: Alexandre Desplat | Self | 2020-08-13 |
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Valerie | 2019-08-07 | |
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Manson: Music from an Unsound Mind | Self (archive footage) | 2019-08-13 |
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J'accuse | Concertgoer (uncredited) | 2019-09-30 |
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Polanski, le travail à l'oeuvre | Self | 2019-11-04 |
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Françoise Dorléac, une promesse | Self | 2018-07-10 |
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Mansfield 66/67 | Self - Filmmaker(archive footage) | 2017-01-29 |
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Face of Evil: The Charles Manson Murders | 2015-08-15 | |
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Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans | Self (archive footage) | 2015-05-16 |
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Roman by Polanski | 2015-07-17 | |
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Toil And Trouble: Making 'Macbeth' | Self | 2014-09-23 |
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Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau | Self (archive footage) | 2014-08-24 |
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Henri Langlois vu par... | Self | 2014-07-27 |
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Seduced and Abandoned | Self | 2013-05-20 |
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Weekend of a Champion | Himself | 2013-10-09 |
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Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out | Self (archive footage) | 2012-09-09 |
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Komeda, Komeda... | Self | 2012-09-28 |
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Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir | Self | 2012-10-09 |
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Une Journée particulière | Self | 2012-05-16 |
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Close Up | Self (archive footage) | 2012-09-30 |
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Remembering 'Rosemary's Baby' | Self | 2012-01-01 |
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Carnage | Neighbor | 2011-09-16 |
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Catherine Deneuve, belle et bien là | Self (archive footage) | 2010-04-11 |
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Cracow by Polanski | 2010-06-28 | |
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Komeda: A Soundtrack for a Life | Self | 2010-05-07 |
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Uuden aallon jäljillä | Self (archive footage) | 2009-03-14 |
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Memories of a Young Pianist | Man in Tavern (archive footage) | 2009-11-03 |
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Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired | Self (archive footage) | 2008-01-18 |
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Rower | Boy who wants to buy a bicycle | 2008-11-22 |
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Caos calmo | Steiner | 2008-02-08 |
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Il falso bugiardo | Self (archive footage) | 2008-07-03 |
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Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story | Self (archive) | 2007-11-08 |
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Rush Hour 3 | Det. Revi | 2007-08-08 |
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Il était une fois... « Tess » | Self | 2007-03-16 |
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Polanski par Polanski | Self | 2006-12-03 |
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Twist by Polanski | 2006-01-24 | |
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The Best of Twist: Sets, Costumes & Photography | 2006-02-13 | |
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Filming 'Tess' | Self | 2004-09-28 |
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Tess: The Experience | Self | 2004-09-28 |
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Tess: From Novel to Screen | Self | 2004-09-28 |
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Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood | Self | 2003-03-09 |
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Knife in the Water: A Ticket to the West | Self | 2003-08-01 |
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Two Gangsters and an Island | Self | 2003-08-25 |
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A British Horror Film | Self | 2003-01-01 |
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Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood | Self (archive footage) | 2003-03-09 |
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Histoires de festival | Self (archive footage) | 2002-04-16 |
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Zemsta | Józef Papkin | 2002-10-04 |
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Sharon Tate: Murdered Innocence | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 2002-10-29 |
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Polanski y los ojos del mal | Himself | 2002-04-16 |
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The Unbeatable Bruce Lee | 2001-12-18 | |
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Hommage à Alfred Lepetit | Self | 2000-02-16 |
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Ljuset håller mig sällskap | Self | 2000-08-26 |
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The Ten Commandments of Creativity | Self | 2000-02-01 |
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Ostatnie zdjecia | Self | 2000-01-02 |
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Rosemary's Baby: A Retrospective | Self | 2000-10-03 |
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The Last Days of Sharon Tate | Self (archive footage) | 1999-07-25 |
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Playboy: The Story of X | Self (archive footage) | 1998-01-01 |
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Dracula: The True Story | Himself | 1997-01-01 |
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Elle s'appelait Françoise | Self | 1996-12-12 |
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Empire of the Censors | Self | 1995-05-28 |
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Sex, Lies and Jerzy Kosinski | 1995-04-11 | |
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Una pura formalità | Inspector | 1994-05-15 |
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Grosse fatigue | Roman Polanski | 1994-05-18 |
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Dracula in the Movies | 1992-01-01 | |
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Hugh Hefner: Once Upon a Time | Self (archive footage) | 1992-01-01 |
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Back in the USSR | Kurilov | 1992-02-07 |
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En attendant Godot | Lucky | 1989-06-03 |
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Frantic | Taxi Driver (uncredited) | 1988-02-19 |
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Clive James Meets Roman Polanski | 1984-01-01 | |
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Chassé-croisé | 1982-03-24 | |
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Ciné regards: Tess: Roman Polanski | Self | 1979-09-01 |
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The Evolution of Snuff | 1978-11-30 | |
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Le locataire | Trelkovsky | 1976-05-26 |
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Chinatown | Man with Knife | 1974-06-20 |
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Blood for Dracula | Gambler | 1974-08-13 |
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Weekend of a Champion | Self | 1972-02-24 |
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Che? | Mosquito | 1972-12-07 |
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Con bravura | Caroler | 1972-07-01 |
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Polanski Meets Macbeth | Self | 1972-01-01 |
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Ciao, Federico! | Self (uncredited) | 1970-10-28 |
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The Magic Christian | Solitary Drinker | 1969-12-12 |
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Mia and Roman | Himself | 1968-07-09 |
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The New Cinema | Self | 1968-01-01 |
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The Fearless Vampire Killers | Alfred | 1967-11-13 |
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Tonite Let's All Make Love in London | Self | 1967-09-26 |
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Valley of the Dolls: A World Premiere Voyage | Himself | 1967-12-20 |
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Lionpower from MGM | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1967-01-01 |
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The Nomad | Self | 1967-02-27 |
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Repulsion | Spoon Player | 1965-06-01 |
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La rivière de diamants | Random Citizen | 1964-07-22 |
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Nóż w wodzie | Young Man (voice) | 1962-03-09 |
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Le gros et le maigre | the lean | 1961-12-01 |
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Ostrożnie yeti | Driver | 1961-01-20 |
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Samson | Partner of Malina's Blackmailer (uncredited) | 1961-09-11 |
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Niewinni czarodzieje | Dudzio | 1960-12-17 |
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Do widzenia, do jutra... | Romek | 1960-05-25 |
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Zezowate szczęście | Tutor (uncredited) | 1960-04-04 |
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Lotna | Musician (uncredited) | 1959-09-27 |
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Gdy spadają anioły | Old Woman | 1959-10-14 |
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Lampa | A passer-by (uncredited) | 1959-01-01 |
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Co řekne žena... | Dancer | 1958-09-26 |
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Dwaj ludzie z szafą | Bad Boy | 1958-04-22 |
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Kanał | Resistance Member pushed into a Sewer (uncredited) | 1957-04-20 |
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Koniec nocy | 'Mały' | 1957-12-21 |
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Wraki | Romek | 1957-09-02 |
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Nikodem Dyzma | Porter (uncredited) | 1956-10-29 |
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Trzy starty | Basia's Brother | 1955-10-25 |
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Zaczarowany rower | Adaś | 1955-12-25 |
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Godzina bez słońca | 1955-01-01 | |
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Pokolenie | Mundek | 1955-01-26 |
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Trzy opowieści | Genek "Mały" (segment 2) | 1953-04-24 |
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The Stalking Moon | Fabrice Fournier |