Visnjic: Don’t be Afraid of Failure in America

The Croatia-born actor with a Hollywood address Goran Visnjic is known to the audience from films like “The Peacemaker", “The Price Of Silence", “The Counselor", “Electra", “Ice Age", “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and many more, and not to mention his unforgettable role in the hit series “ER", and a strain of other successful TV projects such as “Extant", “Red Widow", “Pan Am", “Crossing Lines" and others.

Recently, Visnjic had an interview and he was asked how an actor from Eastern Europe, such as himself, can become a movie star in America. When it comes to making it in Hollywood, is it a matter of luck, or working hard and being prepared to overcome any difficulties? Here is what Goran Visnjic had to say about this.

Before coming to America I had played a lot of roles back in my home country Croatia. I've actually been a member of the theater group since the early age of nine. I graduated from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb, and I was 21 years old when I played Hamlet at the National Theater in Zagreb. For me that was my first big break. In fact, director Michael Winterbottom saw me playing this role and invited me to audition for "Welcome to Sarajevo". It was my debut role on the American screen. The film had its premiere in New York and Los Angeles, and fortunately received great critics.

My current agent had seen me perform and decided to contact me. She immediately offered me to stay and try my luck with acting in the USA. Here everybody is entitles to the same rights and opportunities. Most of my colleagues have also fought their way through, starting from the bottom and working their way up, investing a lot of time and energy, and sacrificing a lot of things as well. Visnjic has also put in a lot of hard work in order to make a successful career. Back in his home Croatia, Visnjic has received three awards for best actor, one of which was for his role in "Hamlet".