Bartosz Bielenia

Bartosz Bielenia was born on 15 May 1992 in Białystok, Poland, and quickly displayed a remarkable talent for performance. He made his theatrical debut at the astonishingly young age of seven, appearing as the titular character in The Little Prince at the Aleksander Wegierko Dramatic Theatre, a milestone that foreshadowed a prolific stage career. After completing his secondary education, Bielenia enrolled at the prestigious AST National Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków, graduating in 2016 and earning a reputation for intensity and versatility. From 2013 onward he became a regular at Kraków’s Bagatela Theatre, where his compelling portrayal of the consumptive Ippolit Terentyev in Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot garnered critical acclaim. His subsequent engagements at the Helena Modrzejewska National Old Theatre (2014‑2017) and the New Theatre in Warsaw (since 2018) solidified his status as a leading figure in contemporary Polish theatre, where he has been praised for his nuanced physicality, vocal control, and the ability to inhabit complex psychological states.

The breakout moment for Bielenia on the international screen arrived with the 2019 film Corpus Christi, in which he delivers a hauntingly sincere performance as Mateusz, a young man who pretends to be a priest. His portrayal earned him the Polish Academy Award for Best Actor, as well as Best Actor honors at the El Gouna Film Festival, the Chicago International Film Festival, and the Stockholm International Film Festival. In December 2019 he received the prestigious Zbigniew Cybulski Award, and the following year was named a Shooting Star by European Film Promotion and won the European Film Award for Best Actor. Bielenia’s cinematic momentum continued with a role as Sebastian in the Netflix crime‑thriller Prime Time (2021), and his inclusion in Forbes’s “30 under 30” list highlighted his impact beyond the screen. Today, Bielenia remains an influential cultural figure, celebrated for his commitment to challenging roles, his collaborative spirit, and his continual contribution to both Polish and international cinema.