Jiří Kodet

Gnocchi, proletarians, pouring lead, elegance, nobility and a fiery temper – this is how most viewers remember one of the most famous cinematic pedants from the cult comedy Cosy Dens (Pelíšky, directed by Jan Hřebejk), for which he received the prestigious Czech Lion award. But the bohemian Jiří Kodet also had a very rich stage career, even though he never finished his studies at DAMU. He began at the East Bohemian Theatre in Pardubice, where director Jan Kačer spotted him while assembling the company of the Petr Bezruč Theatre in Ostrava. From 1966 he performed at the Činoherní klub in Prague, where part of the Ostrava ensemble had moved. There he shone in successful productions such as The Government Inspector (Revizor), Tři v tom, The Gamblers (Hráči) and As You Like It (Jak se vám líbí). In 1991, Kodet became a member of the drama company of the National Theatre in Prague. On film and television, actor Jiří Kodet played a whole range of minor and supporting roles (Atentát, Morgiana, All My Good Countrymen, Panelstory, Buttoners, Closely Watched Trains); leading roles came practically only at the very end of his life, above all thanks to director Jan Hřebejk, who cast him in his cult film Cosy Dens (Pelíšky). Jiří Kodet had three children – two daughters, Barbora, whose husband is violinist Pavel Šporcl, and Karolína, and a son, Jan. His brother Kristian Kodet is a painter, while his sister Evelyna Steimarová and niece Anna Polívková are actresses.