Daniel Vivian
| Daniel Vivian | |
|---|---|
 Daniel Vivian | |
| Born |
17 June 1963 Foča, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia |
| Occupation | Actor, writer, film producer, |
| Years active | 1997–present |
Daniel Vivian (born 1963) is a British actor of Serbian origin. He works mainly in British and Italian film and TV.
Biography
Early life and career
Daniel Vivian began acting in the late 1980s with Bosnian film director Pjer Zalica in experimental short films. He later moved to Rome where he worked occasionally as a performer in improvised street theatre. These experiences formed the basis of a darkly comic one-man show which he took to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2005. A one-time singer in a punk band, Daniel has kept his love for music going through his performances in music videos for such artists and bands as Hot Chip, White Lies, Gianna Nannini, Confield, Jamie N Commons, Balthazar, Zwah and Modig.
Screen and stage work
Daniel immigrated to Canada in 1996, just in time to take part as one of the Russian thugs in John Landis' Blues Brothers 2000. His first American TV appearance was in Falcone as an Albanian man, Ahmed Alia. As well as acting in the feature film X-Men, he played Francesco in the controversial The Minty Peel Show (by Lo Bil) at the Toronto Fringe Festival. On his return to Europe he got involved in the London and Trieste writing scenes with his friend Alessandra Scaramuzza resulting in the theatre play: Happiness, how much does it cost?, which he took to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2005. His stage work continued with Teatro Stabile di Londra under the directorship of Ivo Ivi, most notably with Le Lodi by Jacopone da Todi. After his participation in several short films in London, he was cast as Vinnie, the brutal mercenary, in War Games: At the End of the Day (dir: Cosimo Alemà), shot on the location in Italy. Playing Mister Coal (Pan Uhli), the lead role, in the award winning commercial campaign for the major Czech coal mining company OKD, took him back to Eastern Europe. In 2012 he played Dragan Ilic in Zombie Massacre, a horror film based on the video game, followed shortly after by his debut on Italian TV in Un passo dal cielo, as guest star, playing the Russian mastermind Nikolaj Yelisev. With directing duo Adam Joseph El-Sharawy and Alex Frois, he become involved in indie filmmaking with Evidence of Existence, playing a thoughtful mobster, Manon. The making of this multiformat feature film on a micro budget took three years and constant efforts from the filmmakers and so Daniel Vivian become a film producer for the first time. In 2013 he collaborates with the award winning British director Havana Marking in her documentary Smash & Grab. In the same year he makes two feature films: The Perfect Husband and Morning Star. Since 2013 he collaborates as a screenwriter with Italian film director Riccardo Cavani.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | The Blues Brothers 2000 | Russian thug | Directed by John Landis |
| 2000 | X-Men | Canadian | Directed by Bryan Singer |
| 2011 | War Games: At the End of the Day | Vinnie | Directed by Cosimo Alemà |
| 2012 | The Seasoning House | Radovan | Directed by Paul Hyett |
| 2012 | Zombie Massacre | Dragan Ilic | Directed by Luca Boni, Marco Ristori. |
| 2012 | Evidence of Existence | Manon | Directed by Adam El-Sharawy |
| 2013 | Smash & Grab | Mr. Green | Directed by Havana Marking |
| 2014 | Morning Star | Companion | Directed by Luca Boni, Marco Ristori |
| 2014 | The Perfect Husband | Gypsy | Directed by Lucas Pavetto |
References
1. IMDb http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1896559/
2. e-TALENTA https://www.castforward.de/members/profile/daniel-vivian
3. Hornik Czech newspaper http://www.ihornik.cz/archiv/hornik_41_2011.pdf
4. Gorilla film magazine blog http://gorillafilmmagazineblog.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/filmmaker-sam-pilling-on-making-i-know/
5. Award winning OKD commercial: http://www.okd.cz/cs/o-nas/novinky/zlata-pecka-pro-okd-za-spot-o-pribehu-uhli?FfNewsItem_page=4
External links
- Daniel Vivian at the Internet Movie Database
- Daniel Vivian Official Site
- Matt J Horn
- Gorilla film magazine blog
- Award winning OKD commercial
- Happiness – How Much Does it Cost
- Variety - Smash & Grab
Notes on sourcing and notoriety: Daniel Vivian's official web site mentioned above: http://www.danielvivian.com contains actual footage featuring him in starring and supporting roles he plays in a number of the famous films mentioned in the list above - surely this is definitive? If you are in a film you are in it. Further, there has been no mention of any contention in connection with any of the material in this article. If anyone has a specific query, while not a scholar by nature, I will be happy to liaise with Daniel to provide whatever information or links are required. yours sincerely, Raggi raggidman