Ozren Grabarić

In 1999, after his family returned to Zagreb from Barcelona, Grabarić tried the entrance exam for the Academy of Dramatic Art. He became a student after one try at the exam and graduated in 2006, in the class of Neva Rošić. He graduated with the role of Urban from the Miroslav Krleža play Leda, a role he would later reprise in the Mala scene theatre.

He performed his first leading role in the Travelling Theatre Troup's production of The Lady in Distress, directed by Relja Bašić. Following the role, he spawned a series of leading roles at the Mala Scena Theatre in productions of Proof, Life X 3 and Humble Boy, the latter being part of the first English Language Theatre project in Croatia.

After the performances at the Mala Scene Theatre, he starred in In the Night, directed by Tomislav Pavković at the Kufer Theatre, Bride of the Wind and Vassa Zheleznova in the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb and the children's play Telephone as a part of the Thearto project directed by Zijah Sokolović.[11] During the end of his studies, he performed in numerous Shakespearean productions, including Hamlet as Guildenstern (with Goran Navojec in as the title prince) and King Lear as Edgar, both in the Ulysses Theatre. At the time, Grabarić also appeared Baal in the National Theatre in Rijeka, directed by Slovenian theatre director Eduard Miler.

Upon obtaining a diploma from the Academy of Dramatic Art, in 2006 he was hired as a member of the Gavella Drama Theatre ensemble. His first role in the theatre was in a production of The Master and Margarita.

His breakthrough role came as Nick Bottom in the 2007 Aleksandar Popovski-directed version of A Midsummer Night's Dream in Gavella, for which he won the Ardalion Award and the Croatian Theatre Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The play ran for 144 shows from 21 December 2007 to 28 September 2015, and after the final performance gained cult classic status.[12] He has since performed over twenty roles in the theatre, establishing himself as one of the most versatile performers in the theatre's history.[13][14]

The success of Bottom led him to being cast as the title characters in Tartuffe and Peer Gynt. Both premiering in 2010, his performances were met with rave reviews[15][16][17] and Grabarić was named Actor of the Year by the Drama Commission of Gavella.[18] From 2008 to 2011, he was featured in the ensemble cast lead by Livio Badurina as the title character for the Albert Camus play Caligula. Directed by Tomaž Pandur, the production extensively toured around Europe and South America, including a headline act in International Festival in Bogota, Colombia.[19]

In 2011, he appeared in the Boris Svrtan rendition of Leda as Oliver Urban, making it the third time he had done the role.[20] That same year, he played Bokčilo in Dundo Maroje and Kochkaryov in Marriage. The former earned him and the play's director Marco Sciaccaluga an honourable mention at Dalibor Batušić Awards in 2011 for being "coherent with the sterling thoughts of the Ragusan bard".[21]

2012 saw Grabarić collaborate with Aleksandar Popovski on two more projects, the Goran Stefanovski play Odysseus and the Jean Anouilh version of Antigone. He starred in the first one of these opposite guests Svetozar Cvetković and Jasna Đuričić as the titular character, and in the second one as Creon, opposite Dijana Vidušin. The following year, he performed a Soviet-inspired Porfiriy Petrovich in Crime and Punishment, starring alongside Franjo Dijak as Raskolnikov and Živko Anočić as Razumikhin. Grabarić won the 2013 Ardalion Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Crime and Punishment.[22]

In 2014, he performed Andrei Sergeyevich Prozorov in Three Sisters under the direction of Slobodan Unkovski. For his role as Arturo Ui in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, he was awarded a Veljko Maričić Award for Outstanding Lead Actor at the Mala Scena Festival in Rijeka.[23] In 2016, he starred as Daniel Daréus in As It Is in Heaven, directed by Rene Medvešek.

In 2017, he performed a leading role as Felix in the Tena Štivičić play Invisible, directed by Matjaž Pograjc and dramatised by Dubravko Mihanović, and appeared in the Tesla Anonimus, directed, written and composed by fellow Gavella alum Filip Šovagović.[24]

His portrayal of the title king in the 2017 production of Richard III earned him a nomination for Best Actor in a Play at the 2018 Golden Studio Awards.[25]

In 2019, he would be nominated again for the same award in the same category for his role as Puba Fabriczy in the Miroslav Međimorec-directed play The Glembays. While the play received mixed reviews (with particular criticism directed toward Nataša Janjić and Darko Stazić[26][27]), the performances of Grabarić, Sven Medvešek and Amar Bukvić were well-received and the play won the Golden Studio Award for Artistic Achievement in Theatre.[28]

He achieved his first role in the Zagreb Youth Theatre (colloquially known as ZKM) in a 2004 production of the children's play Dr. Dolittle, directed by Boris Kovačević.[29] With Zoran Čubrilo in the title role, Grabarić portrayed Gic the Pig.[29]

In 2016, he performed in an adaptation of the Ernst Toller work Hinkemann, directed by Igor Vuk Torbica. His starring role as the master of ceremonies, alongside actor Rakan Rushaidat as the title role, received immense critical acclaim, with many calling Hinkemann Grabarić's magnum opus.[3][30] Called a "cultural milestone",[31] critics who have expressed praise for his portrayal include Ana Tasić, Bojan Munjin, Nataša Govedić, Bojana Radović, Milivoj Jukić, Robin Mikulić and Andrija Tunjić.[3]

In 2001, as a student in his second year of the Academy, he made his acting debut at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, in the Apollo-winning play The Fourth Sister, directed by Janusz Kica.[32][33]

In August 2018, Grabarić played poet and playwright Marin Držić in the play Viktorija od neprijatelja, marking his second appearance at the Dubrovnik Summer Games after his 2001 debut.[34] On Držić's 450th birthday, Grabarić was cast by Ivica Kunčević and Hrvoje Ivanković as the renaissance writer. Following his performance, critic Božo Benić stated "Ozren Grabarić does not only delve subtly into wit of Držić, but also presents the layered, defiant and reproachful world of the poet's theater and philosophy, but almost with shocking ease plays all the characters from Držić's literary legacy, including Negromant, the Long Nose, Pomet Trpeza, Stanac and Grižula."[35][36] Grabarić cited actors Maro Martinović and Doris Šarić-Kukuljica as significant help in adopting the 15th-century dialect of Dubrovnik.[36] The same year, he also performed Hinkemann alongside Rakan Rushaidat.

He also performed a sold-out show of the mono-opera Diary of a Madman at the 2019 Dubrovnik Summer Games, on 12 July at the Bokar Fortress.[37][38][39]

In August 2020, Grabarić played the title role in Grižula iliti Plakir, another play by Marin Držić at the Dubrovnik Summer Games, respecting the COVID-19 measures.[40][41][42]

In a co-production with the Split Summer Games and the Ulysses Theatre, Grabarić starred in the Miroslav Krleža musical drama Sprovod u Terezijenburgu, directed by Staša Zurovac and scored by Marijan Nećak.[43][44]

He played Shylock in the 2016 Split National Theatre's production of The Merchant of Venice, for the Split Summer Games.[45] Directed by Russian theatre practitioner Aleksandar Ogarjov, the play was presented in the theatre and the Oceanography Institute near Marjan, Split. Starring as a guest opposite Elvis Bošnjak and Goran Marković, his "flesh and blood" portrayal of the Jewish moneylender was singled out for admiration in the adaptation by Maja Hrgović and Siniša Nikić.[46][47][48]

In 2013, the Ulysses Theatre, lead by Rade Šerbedžija, invited Grabarić to star in Lenka Udovički's adaptation of the Ivo Štivičić play Shakespeare na Kremlju.[49][50] Featuring a Serbian-Croatian ensemble including Dragan Mićanović and Boris Isaković, he played the lead role of Lavrentije.[51]

In 2015, he performed a multi-lingual version of the Gogol short story Diary of a Madman. The sixty-minute monodrama, featuring English, Croatian and Spanish soliloquies, was performed in North Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Slovenia.[52] Theatre critic Milivoj Jukić praised the chemistry between Grabarić and the play's director, Marijan Nećak, which was reflected in the mature and emotionally intense performance of schizophrenia.[53][54][55] The PUF Theatre Festival in Pula gave Grabarić the Gran Prix Award for "the mistral comparison of the individual schizophrenia and analysis of social position and identity through the classic work of Gogol's short story."[56] He also received the Apollo Prize at the INFANT Novi Sad Theatre Festival for the role.

In October 2019, he played Miroslav Krleža to critical praise[57][58] at the Croatian Music Institute, as part of the monodrama Miroslav Krleža o hrvatskoj književnosti (Miroslav Krleža on Croatian Literature).[59]

In February 2020, he starred in an adaptation of the 1976 grotesque Ettore Scola film Down and Dirty, directed by Lenka Udovički at the National Theatre in Belgrade.[60]

Grabarić is also lauded for his numerous film roles.[61] He has starred in Sleep Sweet, My Darling, Koko and the Ghosts, Blurs, Iris, Vegetarian Cannibal, Majka asfalta and Sve najbolje, the latter of which was screened at the 2016 Pula Film Festival. He reprised his role as Josip Milić from Koko and the Ghosts in the franchise's sequels Zagonetni dječak (Enigmatic Boy) and Ljubav ili smrt (Love or Death).

In 2012, he received acclaim for appearing in a leading role as Matija in the Croatian anthology film Hives. The commercially successful film had its national premiere at the 59th Pula Film Festival[62] in Croatia and its international premiere at the 60th San Sebastián International Film Festival[63] in Spain. He gained a Golden Arena for Best Actor nomination for his role.[64][65]

He has appeared in supporting roles in films including the drama Majka asfalta, the children's film Životinjsko carstvo and the comedy Moj dida je pao s Marsa. Production for the latter began in 2009, and Grabarić was revealed to be a part of the project in June 2017.[66] For Moj dida je pao s Marsa he provided a voice and motion-capture performance, and in July 2019, the film closed the 66th Pula Film Festival, achieving several accolades and positive reception. Dramatist and writer Maja Gregl called the film "a fine masterpiece of science fiction."[67] He also performed as a leading man in the 2006 short psychological thriller Sin moj! as troubled physician Andrej Bacelj.

Directed by Eduard Galić, he is set to have a star with Zala Đurić-Ribič, Toni Gojanović and fellow Gavella alum Živko Anočić in the war film Sixth Bus, to be released 2021.[68][69]

On television, he is known for portraying a fictional version of himself in the widely popular comedy series Moja tri zida.[70] He starred in the show alongside prolific actress Jadranka Đokić.[71] He has also appeared in supporting roles in Stipe u gostima, Zakon!, Bitange i princeze, Naša mala klinika and Ko te šiša.

In November 2014, Grabarić was a contestant on the Croatian Radiotelevision show Maestro, in which actors and other public figures are invited to conduct pieces of classical music.[72] After conducting Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, Grabarić was declared the victor of the first season.

He portrayed the gawky and eccentric professor Djuro Marksist in the televised comedy Crno-bijeli svijet, considered one of the most popular Croatian television comedies of the 21st-century.[73][74]

In April 2020, Grabarić appeared in a leading role as the schizophrenic and passive-aggressive Dražen Flajpan on the televised series Director, alongside Mia Melcher, Dean Krivačić, Slavko Sobin and Mile Kekin.[75] The show was created by Bitange i princeze and Crno bijeli svijet director Goran Kulenović.[76]

He has filmed over a hundred radio dramas, narrated audiobooks and provided voice-work for numerous Croatian-language versions of animated motion pictures.[77][78]

His notable radio drama credits include works by Irena Vrkljan, Fyodor Sologub, Leconte de Lisle, Ezra Pound, Jan Neruda, Danijel Dragojević, Ante Kovačić, Miroslav Krleža, Leo Tolstoy, Albert Camus, Alfred Döblin, Benno Meyer-Wehlack, Luigi Pirandello, Gaius Valerius Catullus, Ernest Hemmingway and Alexander Pushkin.[79][80][81][82]

In 2017, Grabarić won the Croatian Actor Award for Best Performance in a Radio Drama.[83][84] In 2018, he contributed vocals for the punk song "Drvljem i kamenjem" from the Stanislav Kovačič Punk Cabaret.[85]

His distinct, nasal yet resonant tenor-baritone voice,[86] similar to the one of Relja Bašić,[87] landed him prolific roles within animation.[88] In 2004, he voiced the protagonist Oto in the Croatian animated family series Nora Fora. In Croatian dubbings, he has voiced characters including Marty the Zebra in the Madagascar film series (2005-2012), Eddie in the Ice Age franchise (2006-2016), Barry Benson in Bee Movie (2007), Lalo in Ratatouille (2007), Crane in the Kung Fu Panda films (2008-2016), Randall Boggs in both Monsters, Inc. (dubbing year 2009) and Monsters University (2013), the title character in Megamind (2010), Le Fou in Beauty and the Beast (dubbing year 2010), Gobber in the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy (2010-2019), King Candy / Turbo and M. Bison in Wreck-It Ralph (2012), Duke Weasleton in Zootopia (2016) and Double Dan in Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018). In 2007, he voiced Michaelangelo in the Croatian version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film and numerous characters, including Jeff Albertson, Cletus Spuckler and Nelson Muntz in the Simpsons film.[89]

During his time as a student at the Academy of Dramatic Art, already amassing dubbing roles in commercially successful films[90] he also provided voice-work for Wade the Duck in the U.S. Acres series, complete with the Garfield franchise, with Filip Šovagović as the title feline and Franjo Dijak as Jon Arbuckle.[91] He is the official Croatian voice for Casper the Friendly Ghost, voicing the character for the Casper's Scare School film and televised series.[78]

He also provided the voice of King Louie in the 2016 Croatian dub of the 1967 classic The Jungle Book.

In 2015, Grabarić appeared in a popular EvoTV commercial with Željko Duvnjak and Sara Stanić, directed by Bruno Anković.[92][93]

In 2017, he starred in a series of Karlovačko beer commercials, directed by Nevio Marasović, as the beer's mascot, guru Đuro.[94] One of the commercials spawned the iconic phrase, "Mislim, dakle ječam" (a parody of "I think, therefore I am", which in Croatian translates "Mislim, dakle jesam") which the beer-loving erudite Grabarić portrayed spouted in the hordeum hills of Slavonia.[94][95]

In addiction to his activity in theatre, film, television, radio and animation, Grabarić is a docent at the Academy of Dramatic Art, teaching diction.[34]