Akademik

(1952-)

   Generational actor in the 1990s who followed two acting personalities known for their roles in Andrzej Wajda's films: Zbigniew Cybulski and Daniel Olbrychski. Like his predecessors, and unlike the majority of Polish actors, Linda is known almost exclusively for his filmic roles. He started his acting career at the beginning of the 1980s in a series of acclaimed political films, including Agnieszka Holland's Fever (1981) and A Woman Alone (1981/1988), Wajda's Man of Iron (1981) and Danton (1983), Krzysztof Kieslowski's Blind Chance (1981/1987), and Janusz Zaorski's Mother of Kings (1982/1987). He became one of the idols of the Solidarity generation, although most of the films he appeared in were shelved by the censor until 1987. He also starred in Filip Bajon's The Magnate (1987).

   At the beginning of the 1990s, Linda became an icon for another generation, the post-Solidarity generation, and represented its disillusionment with the new reality. He achieved star status by appearing in political action films directed by Władysław Pasikowski, such as The Pigs (1992) and its sequel, The Pigs 2: The Last Blood (1994). Linda's tough and cynical characters aptly reflected the reality of the first period of Polish capitalism. Readers of the weekly Film voted him the best Polish actor in 1987, 1991, 1992, and 1995. As a sign of Linda's popularity, at the 1994 Festival of Polish Films in Gdynia he was honored with a special retrospective of his films. In recent years, he has continued his tough guy image in films by Pasikowski and starred in Maciej Slesicki's Sarah (Sara, 1997) and Piotr Weresniak's Station (Stacja, 2001). He also appeared in prestigious adaptations of the national literary canon by Wajda (Pan Tadeusz, 1999) and Jerzy Kawalerowicz (Quo Vadis, 2001).

   Linda received several Best Actor prizes at the Festival of Polish Films. They include awards for Fever (1981), Blind Chance and The Magnate (awarded in 1987), A Woman Alone (1988), The Pigs (1992), and Slesicki's Daddy (Tato, 1995). In 1990 Linda directed his first feature film, Seychelles (Seszele), which was well received by young audiences, and in 2001 he directed The Sucker Season (Sezon na leszcza), clearly influenced by Quentin Tarantino's films. In 2007 he made Clear Blue Windows (Jasne błękitne okna), a story of female friendship.

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof