Sergiusz Żymełka Sergiusz Zymelka

This page is dedicated to the amazing Polish boy actor Sergiusz Zymelka. Sergiusz was born on 4/10/91 in Warsaw. He started acting at a young age and now plays a regular character in a popular comedy series in Poland. He was introduced to the rest of the world when he starred in the film "Where Eskimos Live", in which he played an orphan in the war-torn land of Bosnia. Speaking in a language that was not his native tongue, his performance in the film was nothing short of spectacular, perhaps one of the greatest performances by a child actor ever. His performance touched our hearts, inspired us, and made us care more about the plight and suffering of children in war-stricken lands. He also acquired fans outside of Poland who had the privilege of knowing him on screen, who want to know a little more about him and see other examples of his amazing acting talents. This page contains links to all his picture galleries on the internet, his filmography, interview, as well as tips on how to obtain his movies and episodes of his comedy series, Rodzina Zastepcza.

Every ten years or so a movie comes along that is absolutely breathtaking in its honesty and demonstration of the art of movie making. "Where Eskimos Live" is that movie, if you only ever see one more movie in the whole of your life make it this one. Set in war ravaged Bosnia in 1995 every acting performance in this movie is stunning, even the bit part actors are superb. Bob Hoskins gives the finest performance that I have seen from him. But even Bob Hoskins is outshone by the performance of eleven year old Sergiusz Zymelka. Sergiusz is actually Polish but plays the Bosnian orphan Vlado Petric with such skill that it never crosses your mind that he is not actually Bosnian. His performance in "Where Eskimos Live" just leave every other kid actor that I have seen dead in the water, only Harry Eden comes close. It seems absolutely incredible that this movie is not more widely available. This is an acting performance of epic proportions from both Bob Hoskins and Sergiusz Zymelka, the raft of emotions that they portray is nothing short of incredible and the destruction of this once beautiful country is a tragedy in itself. Believe me this is one of the great child actors of all time and I don't hand out that accolade lightly! —STARZ

Bob Hoskins was terrific in an unaccustomed role. But Sergiusz Zymelka was a revelation. His performance was nothing short of sensational for one so young. His performance was worthy of an Oscar nomination. One has to wonder why a young actor with this much talent is playing small parts on television in his native Poland, when casting agents from around the world ought to be knocking his door down! Ten out of ten for the movie. The rating for Sergiusz Zymelka is right off the scale. Top ten all-time child actor performance for me. —km004a5534, IMDb review

The acting performances of the two protagonists are outstanding. Sergiusz Zymelka in particular delivers so genuine scenes that I was moved to tears occasionally. His handsome appearance, his vivid and bright eyes, his cleverness and his disarming charm make him shine. The scene when Sharky attempts to make a photograph of the boy for a new passport features an hilarious Vlado who makes faces and displays his childish gaiety. —Andreas Niedermayer, IMDb review

Sergiusz Zymelka steals the entire show for me. A great little Polish child actor who's capable of handling anything that this movie can throw at him and a lot more to boot. The performance is virtually flawless from Sergiusz but then the role demands it really. Nevertheless, he can act Bob Hoskins off the screen any day (a feat which isn't really all that difficult IMO). —neiljones1981, IMDb review

Sergiusz Zymelka shines as a survivor in a war torn country. His character is brutal, defiant, vicious and calculating, but underneath all of these less than appealing traits there is a lovable little boy who has the power to melt the heart of any man. To be able to depict Vlado as such a complex character took a lot of skill on the part of the actor and director. —Zabladowski, BoyActors movie review

Special mention must be made of the child actor in the co-star role. He is one of the best I've ever seen. His Polish nationality means it is unlikely we'll get to see him in many more films so all the more reason to enjoy this one. —Scott Brownlee, amazon.co.uk

Obtaining Sergiusz's movies and episodes of his comedy series, Rodzina Zastepcza:

Rodzina Zastepcza: There are five episodes of Sergiusz's comedy series Rodzina Zastepcza that are readily available on eMule. Just search for Rodzina Zastepcza, and avoid the one on the list that starts with Swiat.wg.Kiepskich.043, which is a different show altogether. These episodes will take several days to download. Sergiusz was slightly younger in these episodes than he was in Where Eskimos Live, but they were shot in the same year as the movie, 2000. It is refreshing to hear Sergiusz speak in his native language of Polish, and the show gives more evidence of his amazing acting talents.
There are actually more episodes of Rodzina Zastepcza available on eMule, but they take much longer to download.

Where Eskimos Live: As far as I know, there is only one movie in which Sergiusz had a major starring role, and that is Where Eskimos Live. It is really incredible that the movie makers in Poland could not find another role for one of their most talented child actors ever. Where Eskimos Live is a film to be treasured. Sergiusz gave us one of the most moving and memorable performances by a child actor. If you want to purchase a DVD of the movie for your collection, don't purchase the DVD from Great Britain, which is in the full screen format. In this format, a lot of Sergiusz is cut out to place the focus on Bob Hoskins. But we know who the real star of the movie is. (It's Sergiusz!) Rather, purchase the DVD directly from Poland, which is in the widescreen format. Just follow this link: http://www.merlin.com.pl/frontend/towar/398775 Click on the "help" button above and it will guide you through all the steps to order the DVD (unless you know Polish). The Polish DVD also has a making-of feature with a few seconds of Sergiusz speaking Polish.

Wtorek: Wtorek is a Polish film in which Sergiusz played a minor but important role and appeared in several scenes. Sergiusz played the son of one of two men who open a strip tease club. No great acting was demanded of Sergiusz in his role, but Sergiusz is very charming in this movie. Unfortunately the movie is only available in Polish with no subtitles. It is available for download on eMule and for purchase from merlin.pl.

Złoto dezerterów, Egoiści, Noc czerwcowa, and Miss Mokrego Podkoszulka all feature brief appearances by Sergiusz and are available on eMule.

Rodzina Zastepcza Plus: The spin-off of Rodzina Zastepcza that started airing in 2004. You can watch it weekly on Polsat 2 International.