18-01-2023

OBITUARY: Romanian Actor Teodor Corban

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    Teodor Corban in Radu Jude’s Aferim! Teodor Corban in Radu Jude’s Aferim! credit: HiFilm Prouctions

    BUCHAREST: The acclaimed Romanian film and theatre actor Teodor Corban has died at 65 due to illness. He was probably the actor most sought after by the Romanian New Wave directors and he starred in Radu Jude’s Aferim!, Radu Muntean’s One Floor Below and Corneliu Porumboiu ‘s 12:08 East of Bucharest.

    Teodor Corban was born in Iași and he graduated in acting in Bucharest in 1985. His first role in the cinema came only in 2003, in Corneliu Porumboiu’s short film A Trip to the City / Călătorie la oraș. Three years later he played one of the main roles in Porumboiu’s debut feature 12:08 East of Bucharest / A fost sau n-a fost? (42 Km Film). It was the beginning of a prolific activity with nearly 30 feature films, short films and TV series.

    He appeared in some of the most important Romanian films in the last 20 years, including Radu Jude’s Aferim! (2015, HiFilm Productions), Radu Muntean’s One Floor Below / Un etaj mai jos (2015, Multi Media Est), Cristian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days / 4 luni, 3 săptămâni și 2 zile (2007, Mobra Films) and Beyond the Hills / După dealuri (2012, Mobra Films), Călin Netzer’s Child’s Pose / Poziția copilului (2013, Parada Film), Cristian Nemescu’s California Dreamin’ (2007, MediaPro Pictures), the portmanteau film Tales from the Golden Age / Amintiri din Epoca de Aur (2009, Mobra Films), and Bogdan Mirică’s Dogs / Câini (2016, 42 Km Film), among others.

    Teodor Corban was also a praised theatre actor, mostly on the stage of the “Vasile Alecsandri” National Theatre in Iași.