Date of Birth9 September 1972, Sibenik, Croatia
Nickname
Sime (pronounced SHIH-meh)
Height
6' 4" (1.93 m)
Spouse
Ivana Vrdoljak (8 May 1999 - present) 1 child Trivia
The younger of two sons.
Father was a bus driver; mother worked in a food market.
Trained as a paratrooper in the Croatian army at age 18, and volunteered to stay on for an additional three months during the war with Serbia.
Appeared in Madonna's 1998 music video, "The Power of Goodbye."
Named People magazine's Sexiest Import (1999)
Last name is pronounced 'VISH-nyich'
Trained at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb.
The youngest actor to be chosen for the coveted title role in Shakespeare's Hamlet, he portrayed the doomed Prince for 6 years from 1993 to 2000, at the internationally acclaimed Dubrovnik Summer Theatre Festival in Croatia, winning several coveted Orlando Awards (the equivalent of the Tony Award). During an episode of "ER," "Luka" demonstrated his expertise in the part of Hamlet, by reciting the, "To be or not to be," soliloquy in Croatian. In the same episode, demonstrated his skill in one of his hobbies, by "Luka" fencing with "Carter."
Hobbies are fencing, swimming, and diving.
Is married to a Croatian sculptor named Ivana, daughter of film director Antun Vrdoljak.
Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world [2000]
When word came through that he had been accepted in the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb, his brother volunteered to take his place in the Army so he could study his craft.
At age 18, he trained during peacetime for basic crowd control and as a paratrooper in the Yugoslavian People's Army (YNA). He ended up fighting in Slovenia, which proclaimed independence, when the YNA was ordered to attack this now former republic within the federation Yugoslavia. When Goran's tour of duty was done (by the time of his return, Croatia had declared their independence), the Serbian fraction of the YNA was already fighting the Croatian fraction in a civil war. He volunteered to join the new Croatian Army, breaking his own promise to himself never to pick up a gun again.
Appeared in an anti-fur billboard campaign for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals with his dog, Bugsy, beginning in January 2003. The ads read: "If you wouldn't wear your dog, please don't wear any fur." The campaign was PETA's first in eastern Europe.
Wind surfs and practices kung fu.
Has a large scar on his stomach from gastric ulcer surgery.
May 26, 2002 - Donated 1000 pounds in prize money that he won on a Croatian quiz show, giving it to the country's theatres. At the time, he had never been on a TV quiz show.
In a full-page article entitled, "Goran Visnjic Dr. Do Good" in the February 2005 issue of In Style magazine, he announced his support for, and collaboration with, the IFAW's (International Fund for Animal Welfare) efforts to save wildlife and the environment, by becoming a spokesperson for that organization's efforts to protect whales and fur bearing seals.
Named as the Best Croatian actor in 2004 according to the votes of the visitors of internet magazines.
Named as the Best Croatian actor in 2004 (for role in the movie _"Duga mracna noc" (2004)_) according to the votes of the famous Croatian newspaper "Vecernji list".
Named "One of TV's Sexiest Men" in June 5-11 2005 TV Guide.
On June 19, 2005 he received Croatia's highest cultural honor, the Vladimir Nazor award for "Best Realization of a Theatrical Performance - Film" for his performance in the Pula Film Festival award-winning film, Duga mracna noc (2004). Each year the "Vladimir Nazor" is awarded to the nation's top artists in the areas of: literature, music, painting and sculpture, theater, film and architecture. The awards ceremony took place at the Dverce Palace in Zagreb where the Minister of Culture handed out the awards.
Croatian citizen.
Shares birthday with writer Leo Tolstoy, Italian writer Cesare Pavese, French officer Alfred Dreyfus, singer Michael Bublé, actors Michelle Williams, Adam Sandler and Hugh Grant.
Graduated from the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Zagreb. Dated actress Lucija Serbedzija (daughter of Rade Serbedzija) for four years while they were there.
Is a huge fan of the show, "Stargate SG-1"
Ranked #18 in Croatian-based monthly film magazine "Hollywood" in «Best Croatian Male Movie Stars of All Time» list. (November 2005)
Ranked #1 in Croatian Internet IskonPortal Magazine's "Top 10 Sexiest Croatian Movie Stars of 2005" list. (January, 2005)
Adopted a baby boy born 19 April 2007 in Los Angeles, California. They have named him Tin Visnjic.
His last name was derived of both Croatian and Serbian word "visnja", which means cherry. Therefore Visnjic means "of the cherry".
Visnjic is common Serbian surname (i.e. famous Serbian popular poet of Serbian epic poetry from 19th century was Filip Visnjic).
Personal Quotes
"When somebody is attacking your hometown, and you're just sitting in the basement, you feel really useless. I felt I had to do it to defend my country. That's normal." - on why he extended his military service.
"I'm working with a dialect coach, but it's not helping. I want everyone to understand what I am talking about, like 'peritoneal lavage', you know, these medical expressions... I don't want to lose my accent, I just want it to become smaller."
"Every time I perform, I work really hard to give part of myself to the audience. Then I do an interview and I read some story that just isn't true, or someone draws a crazy conclusion about my life, and it's such a betrayal. It hasn't happened here, but in Croatia, I've had to stop reading about myself. I don't think actors mean to be secretive - they just don't want strangers looking through their kitchen window." - on why he doesn't give many interviews.
"I don't understand the word 'hunk.'" - "Calgary Sun, " Jan. 30, 2000
"The first time I came here it was 10 days, then 15 days, then three months. Now this time I have to stay to April. I'm slowly getting stuck here and I miss Europe."
"I would really like to do theatre in my native language because that would be like so relaxed after ER ... English ... those medical words!"
"ER is a pretty big deal in Croatia. When my agent called and told me about this show, I said, 'Are we talking about the same ER?' And I thought about it for half a second and then said, 'Yes, of course!' I was watching them in Croatia when I was still at the Academy of Dramatic Arts, and now I'm working with them."
"Making my English better is a hard job, a slow job. But it's getting better. Three years ago it would have taken me a half hour to say this sentence."
"This cute woman walked into my favourite bar in Gavella, Croatia, about 5 years ago. When I saw her I said "Uh-oh, that's it". But I was shy, so I didn't ask her out until a couple of days later, when I finally found someone who knew her phone number."
"I was happy to do it when I saw the chance of helping out the local theatre scene ... I am delighted to be able to help the theatres where I grew up and learned my profession. I have never forgotten my past."
Several years ago I saw a video of a seal hunt in Canada and was shocked. I just couldn't believe that sort of thing was still happening in the 21st century. But it was. The way seals are killed is so inhumane. They're clubbed then pulled across the ice with big hooks. I mean, I have a pretty strong stomach from being on ER all these years, but it still disgusts me. Once you see a video like that it's really hard to sit on the sidelines and say "Who cares."
