Iván Kamarás


Ivan Kamaras is a Hungarian actor who became first known worldwide for his role as Agent Steel in the 2008 superhero fantasy thriller , directed by Guillermo del Toro. Kamaras voices the title character in the 2018 Hungarian animated feature Ruben Brandt, Collector.

Personal life

Kamarás was born and raised in Pécs, Hungary. Biography on imdb.com. Accessed 20 February 2011. His mother, Teodóra Uhrik, and his stepfather, Pál Lovas, were both ballet dancers, and much of his childhood was spent in theatres. When he was seven, the family acquired a recording of the 1980 BBC production of Hamlet starring Derek Jacobi as Hamlet and Patrick Stewart as Claudius. Kamarás fell in love with the role of Hamlet and within two or three years had learned Hamlet's monologues from the play by heart. He was in elementary school when he became a regular member of an amateur acting company and by the time he was in high school he played his first serious role in a performance of the Pecs Chamber Theater. From 1991 to 1995, he studied at the Academy of Theatre and Film in Budapest.
Following that he worked for some major theatrical companies and alternative theater groups in addition to becoming one of Hungary's leading actors. By 2009 he was still performing on stage at various theaters but he felt a strong desire to concentrate more on movies. To further develop himself in this area and gain international exposure he decided to move to the United States. First he studied directing then he took several film making and acting courses for a number of years. Based on his Hungarian and American studies and experience he teaches acting classes at the first accredited Hungarian school specialized in training movie actors, which opened its doors to students in the fall of 2012.
His hobbies include sports and fitness training. He likes to promote charitable causes. Since 2014 he is an Ambassador for the "Keznyom" campaign of SOS Children's Villages in Hungary.

Career

Theatre

From 1995 until 1997 he was a member of the Budapest Chamber Theatre, between 1997 and 2008 a member of the Comedy Theatre of Budapest. He won widespread admiration for his first role playing Othello at the age of 23 in 1995. For the Budapest Chamber Theatre he has also starred as Horst in Martin Sherman’s Bent, Treplyov in Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire in 1999, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, and James Tyrone Jr in A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O’Neill.
For the Comedy Theatre of Budapest he has played Wayne in Ben Elton’s Popcorn, Alyosha in an adaptation of Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, Edmund in King Lear, Su Fu in Brecht’s The Good Person of Szechwan, Raskolnikov in an adaptation of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Eugenio in The Coffee House by Carlo Goldoni, Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing, and Trofimov and Pjotr Sergeyevich in The Cherry Orchard.
He has also played Julien Sorel in an adaptation of The Red and the Black by Stendhal for Gyor National Theatre, Brick in Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for the Pest Theatre, Antony in Antony and Cleopatra for the Pest Theatre, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester in Friedrich Schiller’s Mary Stuart for the Pest Theatre, Christian in Festen for the Pest Theatre, Jamie in Jason Robert Brown’s one-act musical two-hander The Last Five Years for the Palace of the Arts, a role he debuted in Hungary, and Ruy Blas in the Szeged National Theatre production of Victor Hugo's Ruy Blas.

Film

Aside from his role as Agent Steel in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Kamarás has had an extensive career in Hungarian cinema. Notable roles have included the hit bedroom farce Out of Order, in which he played a jealous boxer in pursuit of his errant girlfriend and her politician lover, the thriller Európa expressz, in which he played Jimmy, a man who becomes caught up in events when the train he is in is hijacked by a Russian mafia boss, and more recently the cult comedy GlassTiger 3, in which he played Ferenc Csopkai, a rich lawyer who pursues the bumbling heroes after they steal his car and with it a huge sum in cash. In 2013 Kamarás starred in the film .

Television

In addition to Silent Witness – in which his character, detective Tibor Orban, helped to uncover a baby-farming racket in Budapest while trying to track down series regular, forensic pathologist Dr Harry Cunningham – Kamarás has played Pipin, the son of Charlemagne, in the miniseries Charlemagne ; Louis II, King of Hungary, in the costume drama Mohacs ; Ivan, a man who becomes obsessed on his wedding day with his newly met twin sister in Alice and the Seven Wolves ; and the machiavellian nightclub owner and antihero Evil in the 10-part drama First Generation. He was also the creative force behind Mobile Poem, a series of poetry readings done by notable Hungarian actors and filmed on mobile phone, which screened on the Hungarian TV channel MTV1 in 2009. In January 2011, he played a Hungarian detective, Tibor Orban, in Bloodlines, the fourth episode in the 14th series of the BBC crime drama Silent Witness. In 2014 he played the role of Rasputin in the two-part History Channel miniseries Houdini.

Music

He has released two solo pop albums – Bombajó, and Revelation – and been a contributor to two others, So We Sing and Actor Songs.

Directing

Kamarás has shot an experimental film on his mobile phone, Sigh, which was inspired by the Yukio Mishima drama Aoi no Ue and which screened at the Hungarian Film Festival in 2005 and the Moziünnep film festival in 2006. He undertook a course in directing at UCLA in 2009 and in the same year directed a production of Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin at Keszthely Castle, Hungary.

Awards

  • Szinikritikusok critics’ award for Othello,
  • Andor Ajtay memorial award, given annually to the best actor and actress in the Comedy Theatre of Budapest,
  • Hegedűs Gyula award for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,
  • Súgó Csiga díj a prize for most popular actor voted for by audiences,
  • Mari Jászai Award a state award given in recognition for acting excellence, is the premier award of national dramatic artists,
  • VII. National Theatre Festival of Pécs for best male actor of the year award for Festen,
  • Gold Medallion Award actor of the year audience award

    Theatrical roles

Number of his registered theatrical presentations in the Hungarian Theatre Database : 56.
Date of the presentationTheatrePlay Role
26–29 December 2015Syma Events Hall and Convention CenterToy-Maker Hungarian title: JátékkészitőKeptén Kapitány the pirate captain
January 2011Katona József TheatrePresnyakov brothers: Playing the Victim
Hungarian title: Cserenadrág		Verhuskin
30 January 2009Szeged National TheatreVictor Hugo: Ruy Blas Ruy Blas
5 December 2008Budapest Moulin RougeGergely Zöldi: Bonnie and Clyde media gangster romance Clyde
20 October 2008Óbuda Social ClubGuest at the west table himself
5 April 2008Comedy Theatre of BudapestPierre Beaumarchais: The Marriage of Figaro or the Day of Madness Count Almaviva, governor of Andalusia
3 November 2007Comedy Theatre of BudapestWilliam Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing Benedetto
29 September 2007Hero’s Square, BudapestThe Birth of a Country
Original title: Szent István – Egy ország születése		Szent László
4 July 2007Károlyi Garden, BudapestYvette Bozsik Company: Cabaret Berlin
18 March 2007Comedy Theatre of BudapestA. P. Chekhov: The Cherry Orchard Trofimov, Pjotr Sergeyevich
5 January 2007Palace of Arts Budapest, Festival TheatreJason Robert Brown: The Last Five Years Jamie
7 October 2006Pest TheatreThomas Vinterberg – Mogens Rukov – Bo Hansen: Festen Christian
30 April 2006Home Theatre Emese VasváriYukio Mishima: Aoi Hikaru
2006TÁP TheatreEverything Is Bad Variety Show
Original title: Minden Rossz Varieté		well-known celebrity, celeb
20 January 2006Comedy Theatre of BudapestMaurice Maeterlinck: The Blue Bird The Fairy Bérylune, Light, The Oak, Neighbour Berlingot, Neighbour Berlingot’s little daughter
8 October 2006Pest TheatreFriedrich Schiller: Mary Stuart Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
5 July 2005Gyula Castle TheatreChaplet of Shakespeare - theatre, theatre, theatre participant
18 March 2005Comedy Theatre of BudapestCarlo Goldoni: The Coffee House Eugenio
8 October 2004Sándor Hevesi Theatre, ZalaegerszegImre Madách: The Tragedy of Man Lucifer
8 April 2004Comedy Theatre of BudapestNikolai Gogol: The Inspector Ivan Aleksandrovich Hlestakov, inspector from Saint Petersburg
17 January 2004Comedy Theatre of BudapestGyula Krúdy: The Crimson Coach Kázmér Rezeda
7 March 2003Tivoli, Budapest Chamber TheatreEugene O'Neill: A Moon for the Misbegotten James Tyrone Jr.
30 December 2002Comedy Theatre of BudapestMihály Eisemann – Imre Egri-Halász – : A Kiss and Nothing More Sándor
13 April 2002Pest TheatreWilliam Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra Antony
21 December 2001Comedy Theatre of BudapestWilliam Shakespeare: King Lear Edmund, natural Son to Gloucester
6 October 2001Comedy Theatre of BudapestBertolt Brecht: The Good Person of Szechwan Su Fu, barber
20 April 2001Comedy Theatre of BudapestFyodor Dostoyevsky: Crime and Punishment Raskolnikov
13 October 2000Tivoli, Budapest Chamber TheatreArthur Miller: Death of a Salesman Biff
19 February 2000Pest TheatreTennessee Williams: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Brick
2 December 1999
Tivoli, Budapest Chamber TheatreTennessee Williams: A Streetcar Named Desire Stanley
16 October 1999Comedy Theatre of BudapestFyodor Dostojevsky: The Brothers Karamazov Ilyusha
1999Szeged Open-Air TheatreTibor Déry: An Imaginary Report on an American Pop Festival József
7 May 1999Pest TheatreAttila Réthly: Dead or Alive Günter
27 February 1999Pest TheatreHere There Over There :
Chekhov: The Wedding
Bertolt Brecht: A Respectable Wedding
Ilf and Petrov: Sensual Passion
Babelmandebskiy
Hans
Chulanov
1998Comedy Theatre of BudapestBen Elton: Popcorn Wayne
1998Tivoli, Budapest Chamber TheatreWilliam Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet Romeo
30 November 1997Pest TheatreRóbert Alföldi: The Phaedra Story Hippolutos
15 February 1997Budapest Chamber Theatre – Ericsson StudioA.P. Chekhov: The Sea-Gull Treplyov
1997Győr National TheatreTennessee Williams: A Streetcar Named Desire Stanley
1996Budapest Chamber TheatreMartin Sherman: Bent Horst
1996Budapest Chamber TheatreJózsef Katona: Bánk Bán Ottó
28 January 1996Pest TheatreLászló Dés – Péter Geszti – Pál Békés: The Jungle Book Shere Khan
1995Budapest Chamber TheatrePedro Calderón de la Barca: The Constant PrinceMuley
1995Győr National TheatreStendhal: The Red and the Black Julien Sorel
28 October 1995Budapest Chamber TheatreWilliam Shakespeare: Othello Othello His first widely acclaimed performance both by professionals and audiences.

Theatre Directing

  • 9 marc 2009, Keszthely, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin

    Filmography

Film

Television

Sync

Selection from the Hungarian Online Sync Database
TitleRoleActor/ActressNotes
The WireRussell ’Stringer’ BellIdris Elba
Nigel BoswellAgent006Clive Owen
ValiantGixerRicky Gervais
Superman: DoomsdayClark Kent Adam Baldwin
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyZaphod BeeblebroxSam Rockwell
The Chronicles of NarniaPrince CaspianCornell John
The ReapingDoug BlackwellDavid Morrissey
The LookoutGary SpargoMatthew Goode
Immigrants Mr. CsapóDan Castellaneta
SnitchJohn MatthewsDwayne Johnson
A Single ShotJohn MoonSam Rockwell
The Nut JobGraysonBrendan Fraser
Ruben Brandt, CollectorRuben BrandtIván KamarásΗungarian Feature on Art and Animation
The Demolisher of the World and the Restorers English narrationKároly RékasiFerenc Cakó adapted sand animation tale