Roman Polanski
Directing
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 Polańskis' 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.
TV Shows(22)
The Playboy Murders
Self (archive footage)
2023
Helter Skelter: An American Myth
Self - Widower of Sharon Tate (archive footage)
2020
28 minutes
Self
2012
Leçon de Cinéma
Self
2004
Un film et son époque
Self
2003
Scene by Scene
Self
1997
E! True Hollywood Story
1996
Na siehste!
Self
1987
Wedden, dat..?
Self
1986
Na sowas!
Self
1982
Wortwechsel
Self
1982
7 sur 7
Self
1981
Wetten, dass..?
Self
1981
Bavarian Film Awards
Self
1979
Cérémonie des César
Self - Presenter
1976
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self
1975
Apostrophes
Self
1975
Spécial cinéma
Self
1974
Le Grand Échiquier
Self
1972
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
1968
Apropos Film
Self
1967
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Movies(117)
Breakdown: 1975
Self - Director of Chinatown (archive footage)
2025
Mia Farrow: Shadows and Light
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
2025
Chaos: The Manson Murders
Self
2025
The Family
Self
2023
Deneuve, la reine Catherine
Self (archive footage)
2022
Françoise Dorléac, from The Man from Rio to The Young Girls of Rochefort
self
2021
Polanski, Horowitz. The Wizards From the Ghetto
Self
2021
In The Tracks Of - Alexandre Desplat
Self
2020
Polanski, le travail à l'oeuvre
Self
2019
An Officer and a Spy
Concertgoer (uncredited)
2019
Manson: Music from an Unsound Mind
Self (archive footage)
2019
Valerie
2019
Françoise Dorléac, une promesse
Self
2018
Mansfield 66/67
Self - Filmmaker(archive footage)
2017
Face of Evil: The Charles Manson Murders
2015
Roman by Polanski
2015
Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans
Self (archive footage)
2015
Toil And Trouble: Making 'Macbeth'
Self
2014
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau
Self (archive footage)
2014
Henri Langlois vu par...
Self
2014
Weekend of a Champion
Himself
2013
Seduced and Abandoned
Self
2013
Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir
Self
2012
Close Up
Self (archive footage)
2012
Komeda, Komeda...
Self
2012
Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out
Self (archive footage)
2012
A Special Day
Self
2012
Remembering 'Rosemary's Baby'
Self
2012
Carnage
Neighbor
2011
Cracow by Polanski
2010
Komeda: A Soundtrack for a Life
Self
2010
Catherine Deneuve, belle et bien là
Self (archive footage)
2010
Memories of a Young Pianist
Man in Tavern (archive footage)
2009
On the Trail of the New Wave
Self (archive footage)
2009
Bicycle
Boy who wants to buy a bicycle
2008
Il falso bugiardo
Self (archive footage)
2008
Quiet Chaos
Steiner
2008
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
Self (archive footage)
2008
Rush Hour 3
Det. Revi
2007
Once Upon a Time... 'Tess'
Self
2007
Polanski par Polanski
Self
2006
The Best of Twist: Sets, Costumes & Photography
2006
Twist by Polanski
2006
Tess: From Novel to Screen
Self
2004
Filming 'Tess'
Self
2004
Tess: The Experience
Self
2004
Two Gangsters and an Island
Self
2003
Knife in the Water: A Ticket to the West
Self
2003
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
Self
2003
A British Horror Film
Self
2003
Sharon Tate: Murdered Innocence
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2002
The Revenge
Józef Papkin
2002
Polanski y los ojos del mal
Himself
2002
Heart of the Festival
Self (archive footage)
2002
The Unbeatable Bruce Lee
2001
Rosemary's Baby: A Retrospective
Self
2000
Light Keeps Me Company
Self
2000
Tribute to Alfred Lepetit
Self
2000
The Ten Commandments of Creativity
Self
2000
Last Pictures
Self
2000
The Last Days of Sharon Tate
Self (archive footage)
1999
Playboy: The Story of X
Self (archive footage)
1998
Dracula: The True Story
Himself
1997
Elle s'appelait Françoise
Self
1996
Empire of the Censors
Self
1995
Sex, Lies and Jerzy Kosinski
1995
Dead Tired
Roman Polanski
1994
A Pure Formality
Inspector
1994
Back in the USSR
Kurilov
1992
Hugh Hefner: Once Upon a Time
Self (archive footage)
1992
Dracula in the Movies
1992
En attendant Godot
Lucky
1989
Frantic
Taxi Driver (uncredited)
1988
Clive James Meets Roman Polanski
1984
Chassé-croisé
1982
Ciné regards: Tess: Roman Polanski
Self
1979
The Evolution of Snuff
1978
The Tenant
Trelkovsky
1976
Blood for Dracula
Gambler
1974
Chinatown
Man with Knife
1974
What?
Mosquito
1972
Con bravura
Caroler
1972
Weekend of a Champion
Self
1972
Polanski Meets Macbeth
Self
1972
Ciao, Federico!
Self (uncredited)
1970
The Magic Christian
Solitary Drinker
1969
Mia and Roman
Himself
1968
The New Cinema
Self
1968
Valley of the Dolls: A World Premiere Voyage
Himself
1967
The Fearless Vampire Killers
Alfred
1967
Tonite Let's All Make Love in London
Self
1967
The Nomad
Self
1967
Lionpower from MGM
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1967
Repulsion
Spoon Player
1965
The River of Diamonds
Random Citizen
1964
Knife in the Water
Young Man (voice)
1962
The Fat and the Lean
the lean
1961
Samson
Partner of Malina's Blackmailer (uncredited)
1961
Ostrożnie yeti
Driver
1961
Innocent Sorcerers
Dudzio
1960
Good Bye, Till Tomorrow
Romek
1960
Bad Luck
Tutor (uncredited)
1960
When Angels Fall
Old Woman
1959
Lotna
Musician (uncredited)
1959
The Lamp
A passer-by (uncredited)
1959
What Will My Wife Say to This?
Dancer
1958
Two Men and a Wardrobe
Bad Boy
1958
Koniec nocy
'Mały'
1957
Wraki
Romek
1957
Kanal
Resistance Member pushed into a Sewer (uncredited)
1957
Nikodem Dyzma
Porter (uncredited)
1956
Magical Bicycle
Adaś
1955
Trzy starty
Basia's Brother
1955
A Generation
Mundek
1955
Godzina bez słońca
1955
Three Stories
Genek "Mały" (segment 2)
1953
The Stalking Moon
Fabrice Fournier