Biography:

Franciszek Pieczka was born in 1928 in Godów, Poland. He studied at the Politechnika Gliwicka and Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Teatralna in Warsaw until 1954. Pieczka’s first engagement was at the theater in Jelenia Góra.

In 1950 he had already started acting in Andrzej Wajda’s student films. Wajda cast Pieczka, as well as Roman Polanski, for his feature film debut about young people during the German occupation in WWII, Pokolenie. Pieczka’s collaboration with Wajda has continued throughout his career.

He also worked with internationally known directors like Krzysztof Zanussi, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Wanda Jakubowska, Rainer Simon, and István Szabó. From 2007 to 2009, Pieczka played in over thirty episodes of the Polish television comedy Ranczo.

Besides his work for film and television, he has also acted on stage, including at the Teatr Powszechny in Warsaw since 1975. Franciszek Pieczka is one of the most prolific Polish actors.