Roman Polański (born 18 August 1933) is a Polish-French film director, producer, writer and actor. Born in Paris to Polish parents, Polański relocated with his family to Poland in 1937. After surviving the Holocaust, he continued his education in Poland and became a critically acclaimed director of both art house and commercial films. Polański's first feature-length film, Knife in the Water (1962), made in Poland, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He has since received five more Oscar nominations, and in 2002 received the Academy Award for Best Director for his film, The Pianist. He has also been the recipient of two Baftas, four Césars, a Golden Globe and the Palme d'Or. He left Poland in 1961 to live in France for several years, then moved to the United Kingdom where he collaborated with Gérard Brach on three films, beginning with Repulsion (1965). In 1968 he moved to the United States, immediately cementing his burgeoning directing status with the 1968 groundbreaking Academy Award winning horror film Rosemary's Baby. In 1969, Polański's pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, was murdered while staying at the Polański's Benedict Canyon home above Los Angeles by members of the Manson Family. Following Tate's death, Polański returned to Europe and spent much of his time in Paris and Gstaad, but did not make another film until he filmed Macbeth (1971) in England. The following year he went to Italy to make What? (1973) and subsequently spent the next five years living near Rome. However, he traveled to Hollywood to direct Chinatown (1974) for Paramount Pictures, with Robert Evans serving as producer. The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, and was a critical and box-office success; the script by Robert Towne won for Best Original Screenplay. Polański's next film, The Tenant (1976), was shot in France, and completed the "Apartment Trilogy", following Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby. In 1977, after a photo shoot in Los Angeles, Polański was arrested for the sexual abuse of a 13 year old girl. He was charged with rape but pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor. To avoid sentencing, Polański fled to his home in London, and then moved on to France the following day. He has had a U.S. arrest warrant outstanding since then, and an international arrest warrant since 2005. Polański continued to make films such as The Pianist (2002), a World War II-set adaptation of Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman's autobiography of the same name, which echoed some of Polański's earlier life experiences. Like Szpilman, Polański escaped the ghetto and the concentration camps while family members were killed. The film won three Academy Awards including Best Director, the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or, and seven French César Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. He then released the successful films Oliver Twist (2005), To Each His Own Cinema (2007), and The Ghost Writer (2010), completed while under house arrest. In September 2009, Polański was arrested by Swiss police, at the request of U.S. authorities, when he traveled to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival. In October 2009, the U.S. requested his extradition; however, on July 12, 2010, the Swiss rejected that request and instead declared him a "free man" after releasing him from custody.
The Fearless Vampire Killers
(Alfred)
Chinatown
(Man with Knife)
Rush Hour 3
(Det. Revi)
Playboy: The Story of X
(Self (archive footage))
Quiet Chaos
(Steiner)
An Officer and a Spy
(Concertgoer (uncredited))
The Magic Christian
(Solitary Drinker)
The Tenant
(Trelkovsky)
Knife in the Water
(Young Man (voice))
Tonite Let's All Make Love in London
(Self)
A Generation
(Mundek)
Close Up
(Self (archive footage))
Innocent Sorcerers
(Dudzio)
A Pure Formality
(Inspector)
What?
(Mosquito)
The Family
(Self)
Wraki
(Romek)
The Lamp
(A passer-by (uncredited))
Tribute to Alfred Lepetit
(Self)
When Angels Fall
(Old woman)
Bad Luck
(Tutor (uncredited))
Kanal
(Resistance Member pushed into a Sewer (uncredited))
Manson: Music From an Unsound Mind
(Self (archive footage))
Nikodem Dyzma
(Porter (uncredited))
Con bravura
(Caroler)
The Fat and the Lean
(the lean)
Elle s'appelait Françoise
(Self)
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau
(Self (archive footage))
Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir
(Self)
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
(Self (archive footage))
Seduced and Abandoned
(Self)
Weekend of a Champion
(Self)
The Last Days of Sharon Tate
(Self (archive footage))
Il falso bugiardo
(Self (archive footage))
Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans
(Self (archive footage))
Mia and Roman
(Himself)
Rosemary's Baby: A Retrospective
(Self)
Ciao, Federico!
(Self (uncredited))
Last Pictures
(Self)
Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out
(Self (archive footage))
Good Bye, Till Tomorrow
(Romek)
Blood for Dracula
(Gambler)
Weekend of a Champion
(Himself)
Clive James Meets Roman Polanski
Carnage
(Neighbor)
Françoise Dorléac, une promesse
(Self)
Two Men and a Wardrobe
(Bad Boy)
Komeda: A Soundtrack for a Life
(Self)
Back in the USSR
(Kurilov)
Sharon Tate: Murdered Innocence
(Self (archive footage) (uncredited))
Two Gangsters and an Island
(Self)
The New Cinema
(Self)
Repulsion
(Spoon Player)
Toil And Trouble: Making 'Macbeth'
(Self)
Polanski Meets Macbeth
(Self)
Empire of the Censors
(Self)
Faye
(Self (Archive footage))
The Stalking Moon
(Fabrice Fournier)
Knife in the Water: A Ticket to the West
(Self)
Polanski par Polanski
(Self)
Lotna
(Musician (uncredited))
Polanski y los ojos del mal
(Himself)
Dead Tired
(Roman Polanski)
The Revenge
(Józef Papkin)
En attendant Godot
(Lucky)
Three Stories
(Genek "Mały" (segment 2))
Bicycle
(Boy who wants to buy a bicycle)
Magical Bicycle
(Adaś)
Samson
(Partner of Malina's Blackmailer (uncredited))
Chassé-croisé
Koniec nocy
(Mały)
What Will My Wife Say to This?
(Dancer)
Godzina bez słońca
Ostrożnie yeti
(Driver)
Ciné regards: Tess: Roman Polanski
(Self)
Remembering 'Rosemary's Baby'
(Self)
Light Keeps Me Company
(Self)
Sex, Lies and Jerzy Kosinski
Polanski, Horowitz. The Wizards From the Ghetto
(Self)
A British Horror Film
(Self)
The Nomad
(Self)
Grand écran: Roman Polanski Directs in London
(Self)
A Special Day
(Self)
Dracula: The True Story
(Himself)
The Evolution of Snuff
In The Tracks Of - Alexandre Desplat
(Self)
Valley of the Dolls: A World Premiere Voyage
(Himself)
Tess: The Experience
(Self)
Filming 'Tess'
(Self)
The South Bank Show: Roman Polanski
(Self)
Tess: From Novel to Screen
(Self)
The Kid Stays in the Picture
(Self (archive footage))
The Ten Commandments of Creativity
(Self)
Trzy starty
(Basia's Brother)
Cracow by Polanski
Memories of a Young Pianist
(Man in Tavern (archive footage))
Henri Langlois vu par...
(Self)
Twist by Polanski
The Best of Twist: Sets, Costumes & Photography
On the Trail of the New Wave
(Self (archive footage))
Frantic
(Taxi Driver (uncredited))
Once Upon a Time... 'Tess'
(Self)
Catherine Deneuve, belle et bien là
(Self (archive footage))
Polanski, le travail à l'oeuvre
(Self)
Komeda, Komeda...
(Self)
E! True Hollywood Story
Un film et son époque
(Self)
Wetten, dass..?
(Self)
28 minutes
(Self)
Leçon de Cinéma
(Self)
Helter Skelter: An American Myth
(Self - Widower of Sharon Tate (archive footage))
Scene by Scene
(Self)
Na sowas!
(Self)
Spécial cinéma
(Self)
Le Grand Échiquier
(Self)
Bayerischer Filmpreis
(Self)
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
(Self)
The Dick Cavett Show
(Self - Guest)
Apostrophes
(Self)
7 sur 7
(Self)
Apropos Film
(himself)
Wortwechsel
(Self)
The Playboy Murders
(Self (archive footage))
Na siehste!
(Self)
Wedden, dat..?
(Self)
Oliver Twist
(Producer)
Oliver Twist
(Director)
The Pianist
(Director)
The Pianist
(Producer)
The Ninth Gate
(Director)
The Ninth Gate
(Screenplay)
The Ninth Gate
(Producer)
Rosemary's Baby
(Director)
Rosemary's Baby
(Screenplay)
Chinatown
(Director)
Bitter Moon
(Screenplay)
Bitter Moon
(Producer)
Bitter Moon
(Director)
Death and the Maiden
(Director)
The Fearless Vampire Killers
(Director)
The Fearless Vampire Killers
(Screenplay)
Cul-de-sac
(Director)
Frantic
(Director)
Macbeth
(Screenplay)
Macbeth
(Director)
Tess
(Screenplay)
Tess
(Director)
Repulsion
(Screenplay)
Repulsion
(Director)
Pirates
(Director)
The Tenant
(Director)
Pirates
(Screenplay)
The Tenant
(Screenplay)
Knife in the Water
(Screenplay)
Knife in the Water
(Director)
The Ghost Writer
(Director)
The Ghost Writer
(Screenplay)
To Each His Own Cinema
(Director)
The Palace
(Director)
The Palace
(Writer)
Two Men and a Wardrobe
(Director)
Two Men and a Wardrobe
(Writer)
What?
(Screenplay)
What?
(Director)
Carnage
(Director)
Carnage
(Screenplay)
The Lamp
(Director)
Murder
(Director)
A Day at the Beach
(Producer)
A Day at the Beach
(Writer)
The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers
(Director)
When Angels Fall
(Screenplay)
When Angels Fall
(Director)
Mammals
(Director)
Break Up the Dance
(Director)
The Fat and the Lean
(Director)
Break Up the Dance
(Writer)
A Therapy
(Director)
A Toothful Smile
(Director)
Weekend of a Champion
(Producer)
Tower Heist
(Thanks)
Venus in Fur
(Director)
Venus in Fur
(Screenplay)
Le court des grands
(Director)
A Taste for Women
(Screenplay)
Frantic
(Writer)
La rivière de diamants
(Director)
Hedda Gabler
(Stage Director)
An Officer and a Spy
(Director)
Murder
(Writer)
Based on a True Story
(Director)
Based on a True Story
(Screenplay)
An Officer and a Spy
(Writer)
Bad Luck
(Assistant Director)
A Therapy
(Screenplay)
The Ghost Writer
(Producer)
The Lamp
(Screenplay)
Bicycle
(Director)
Bicycle
(Writer)
Captain Jokes Parrot's Disaster of the Caribbean
(Characters)
The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers
(Writer)
The Boat on the Grass
(Writer)
Mammals
(Writer)
The Fat and the Lean
(Producer)
The Girl Across the Way
(Writer)
G.G. Passion
(Co-Producer)
The Fat and the Lean
(Writer)
Cul-de-sac
(Writer)
Weekend of a Champion
(Director)
The King of Ads
(Director)
Koniec nocy
(Assistant Director)
A Toothful Smile
(Screenplay)
The Fearless Vampire Killers
(Story)
Cracow by Polanski
(Idea)
Henri Langlois vu par...
(Director)
To Each His Own Cinema
(Producer)
Chinatown
(Writer)