Fabijan Šovagović

Fabijan Šovagović (4 January 1932 – 1 January 2001) was a Croatian film, television and theatre actor, and writer.

Biography Šovagović was born in the village of Ladimirevci, in the Slavonia region of Croatia, then Kingdom of Yugoslavia. He began acting in his youth and from the late 1950s he appeared in many films, becoming one of the most recognisable faces of Croatian and former Yugoslav cinema. He never became a star, but he built a reputation as one of the greatest character actors with memorable roles in many classic films and popular television series. Matija Gubec, whom he played in 1975 film Seljačka buna, is one of his rare starring roles.

In 1979 he played the role of a Dervish in Meetings with Remarkable Men, directed by Peter Brook.

Šovagović was also active in theatre and those experiences led him to begin writing plays of his own. The best known of them all is Sokol ga nije volio ("Sokol Did Not Love Him"), later adapted in 1988 film. It was his movie about his birthplace, Ladimirevci.

His most unforgettable last role was of a Slavonian refugee man in the 1994 movie Vukovar se vraća kući ("Vukovar: The Way Home"). A man lost everything in war except his loving companion dog, and shares destiny of many of his fellow citizens who are exiled from the Slavonian town of Vukovar.

Many believe his brilliant reflection of this tragic Slavonian character was due to a fact that Šovagović being a native Slavonian Croat, have known this feeling firsthand himself. Šovagović played brilliant role of policeman (Žandar) in television series "Kuda idu divlje svinje?" (Where Do Wild Boars Go?).

Through the last years of his life, Šovagović struggled with the consequences of heart strokes. He died in Zagreb, on 1 January 2001, aged 68.

Personal life Šovagović married Maja Blaškov, with whom he had two children; a daughter, Anja, and a son, Filip, both actors.

His son, Filip, was a leading character in No Man's Land, a 2001 Oscar-winning Bosnian movie. They are both followed his footsteps and became well accredited movie and theatre actors.

Selected filmography

Svoga tela gospodar (1957) H-8... (1958) – Franjo Rošić Dvostruki obruč (1963) Službeni položaj (1964) – Radnik u pogonu Prometej s otoka Viševice (1964) – Vinko The Key (1965) - Marko (segment "Čekati") Druga strana medalje (1965) – Ustaški policajac Monday or Tuesday (1966) – Golubar Boltek Breza (1967) – Joza Sveti Illusion (1967) – Kolega s faksa Crne ptice (1967) Gravitacija ili fantastična mladost činovnika Borisa Horvata (1968) – Pijanac I Have Two Mothers and Two Fathers (1968) – Drugi tata When You Hear the Bells (1969) - Mican Događaj (1969) – Matijević Slučajni zivot (1969) – TV novinar Battle of Neretva (1969) – Boško The Fed One (1970) – Apostol Lisice (1970) – Ante U gori raste zelen bor (1971) - Lazo Ovcar (1971) – Perica Makedonski del od pekolot (1971) – Bugarski polkovnik Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971) – Professor Karting Lov na jelene (1972) – Zdravko Prvi splitski odred (1972) – Sudac Majstor i Margarita (1972) – Berlioz Deveto čudo na istoku (1972) To Live on Love (1973) – Direktor škole Scalawag (1973) – Blackfoot Deps (1974) – Dežurni sudija A Performance of Hamlet in the Village of Mrdusa Donja (1974) – Učitelj Andro Pokoj, rci, jad (1975) The House (1975) – Branko Anno Domini 1573 (1975) – Matija Gubec Četiri dana do smrti (1976) – Dr. Bedeković The Rat Savior (1976) – Professor Martin Bošković A Shot (1977) – Pajo Bradić Ne naginji se van (1977) – Mate Snowstorm (1977) – Žandar Meetings with Remarkable Men (1979) – Dervish Novinar (1979) – Stanko Kos Povratak (1979) – Barba Pave Usijanje (1979) – Ante Daj sto das (1979) Olovna brigada (1980) Rhythm of a Crime (1981) – Fabijan Dvije polovine srca (1982) – Sudija Hoću živjeti (1982) – Marko Mlinarić Zločin u školi (1982) – Direktor Servantes iz Malog Mista (1982) – Tajnik MZ Medeni mjesec (1983) – Čika Sima The Ambassador (1984) – Majstor centralnog grijanja Mala pljačka vlaka (1984) – Grof Andrej Tihonov Horvat's Choice (1985) – Lazar Margitić 'Lazo' I to će proći (1985) – Isidor Katanić 'Zeko' Un foro nel parabrezza (1985) – Marito di Daniza Crveni i crni (1985) – Petar Perbako San o ruži (1986) – Laci Na putu za Katangu (1987) – Upravnik Janković Osuđeni (1987) – Pero Hi-Fi (1987) – Boris Bojanovski My Uncle's Legacy (1988) – Martinov djed Sokol Did Not Love Him (1988) – Sima Čovjek koji je volio sprovode (1989) – Gabrek Diploma za smrt (1989) – Pavel Povratak Katarine Kožul (1989) Hamburg Altona (1989) Silent Gunpowder (1990) – Pop Novak Ljeto za sjećanje (1990) – Ujak Orao (1990) – Kristofic Čaruga (1991) – Brico Đuka Begović (1991) – Sima Vukovar: The Way Home (1994) – Baja The Third Woman (1997) – Funtak