Famous US actor and film producer John Malkovich said a recent DNA test revealed he is almost half Romanian.
The actor, 71, portrays Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache in the film The Yellow Tie, set for release in cinemas next month.
He said he knew his paternal grandparents were European.
“It came out that I’m 43% Romanian. Almost no Jewish, nothing African, the rest was Czech, which gives a little sense to the story about the city of Brno. Back then, at my grandfather’s birth, the area was still under the Habsburg Empire. Not long after, of course, the empire fell apart, with the end of the First World War. That’s all I know, that’s what the DNA test showed,” he said during an interview for ProTV.
John Malkovich has visited Romania several times, starring in at least two plays in the city of Timisoara.
His most important project, however, is the biographical drama inspired by the life of renowned Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache. The movie, shot entirely in Romania and directed by the conductor’s son, Serge Ioan Celebidachi, spans more than seven decades, following the conductor’s journey from a strict childhood in interwar Romania to an acclaimed international career.
To portray Celibidache, Malkovich trained with conductor Konrad von Abel, a student of the Romanian.
The film will appear in cinemas across the country on November 14.
(Photo source: Inquam Photos | Cornel Putan)
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