Jacques Sernas
Encyclopedia
Jacques Sernas is a Lithuanian-born French
actor with an international film career.
, Lithuania
, the son of Jokūbas Šernas
, a signatory of the 1918 Act of Independence of Lithuania
, who died when Sernas was a year old. His mother took him to Paris
, France
, where Sernas received his formal education. During World War II
, he joined the French Resistance
and was captured and interned at the Nazi
Buchenwald concentration camp
, near Weimar
, Germany
.
and later as a character actor
. He is perhaps best known for his role as Paris
in the epic film
Helen of Troy
(1956).
His more recent appearances have included appearing as a Cardinale Feltin in the television biographical film
Pope John XXIII (2002) and as Ambasciatore in the television comedy film
Regina dei fiori (2005).
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
actor with an international film career.
Early life and education
He was born in KaunasKaunas
Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and has historically been a leading centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the center of a powiat in Trakai Voivodeship of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. During Russian Empire occupation...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, the son of Jokūbas Šernas
Jokubas Šernas
Jokūbas Šernas was a Lithuanian attorney, journalist, teacher, and banker, one of the twenty signatories to the Act of Independence of Lithuania.Born in Biržai, he studied law at the University of St. Petersburg, graduating in 1914...
, a signatory of the 1918 Act of Independence of Lithuania
Act of Independence of Lithuania
The Act of Independence of Lithuania or Act of February 16 was signed by the Council of Lithuania on February 16, 1918, proclaiming the restoration of an independent State of Lithuania, governed by democratic principles, with Vilnius as its capital. The Act was signed by all twenty...
, who died when Sernas was a year old. His mother took him to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where Sernas received his formal education. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he joined the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
and was captured and interned at the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
, near Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Career
Sernas worked first as a leading manLeading man
Leading man or leading gentleman is an informal term for the actor who plays a love interest to the leading actress in a film or play. A leading man is usually an all rounder; capable of singing, dancing, and acting at a professional level, but never outshining his female co-star...
and later as a character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
. He is perhaps best known for his role as Paris
Paris (mythology)
Paris , the son of Priam, king of Troy, appears in a number of Greek legends. Probably the best-known was his elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, this being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War...
in the epic film
Epic film
An epic is a genre of film that emphasizes human drama on a grand scale. Epics are more ambitious in scope than other film genres, and their ambitious nature helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film...
Helen of Troy
Helen of Troy (film)
Helen of Troy is a 1956 Warner Bros. epic film, based on Homer's Iliad. It was directed by Robert Wise, from a screenplay by Hugh Gray and John Twist, adapted by Hugh Gray and N. Richard Nash...
(1956).
His more recent appearances have included appearing as a Cardinale Feltin in the television biographical film
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
Pope John XXIII (2002) and as Ambasciatore in the television comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
Regina dei fiori (2005).
Filmography
| Year | Title | Genre | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helen of Troy Helen of Troy (film) Helen of Troy is a 1956 Warner Bros. epic film, based on Homer's Iliad. It was directed by Robert Wise, from a screenplay by Hugh Gray and John Twist, adapted by Hugh Gray and N. Richard Nash... |
1956 | epic Epic film An epic is a genre of film that emphasizes human drama on a grand scale. Epics are more ambitious in scope than other film genres, and their ambitious nature helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film... |
Paris Paris (mythology) Paris , the son of Priam, king of Troy, appears in a number of Greek legends. Probably the best-known was his elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, this being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War... |
|
| The Centurion The Centurion (1961 film) Il conquistatore di Corinto is a 1961 historical drama film set in 146 BC in Greece. Against the back-drop of the Battle of Corinth, this movie is centered on a love story between a Roman centurion named Caius Vinicius and Hebe, the daughter of a local governor with anti-Roman sentiments.This... |
1961 | historical drama | Caius Vinicius | |
| Pope John XXIII | 2002 | biographical Biographical film A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their... |
Cardinale Feltin | television film |
| Regina dei fiori | 2005 | comedy Comedy film Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences... |
Ambasciatore | television film |
See also
- List of Lithuanian actors
- List of French actors
External links
- DatabaseDatabaseA database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
(undated). "Jacques Sernas". The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. Retrieved 30 April 2011.