Jesse Eisenberg has been awarded Polish citizenship by President Andrzej Duda in recognition of his work highlighting the story of Poland's Jewish population during World War II in his Oscar-winning film "A Real Pain."
The film, which he wrote, directed, and starred in, follows two American cousins who visit Poland to pay tribute to their grandmother, a Holocaust survivor. The character was inspired by Eisenberg's own great aunt.
"While we were filming this movie in Poland, and I was walking the streets and starting to get a little more comfortable in the country, something so obvious occurred to me, which is that my family had lived in this place for far longer than we lived in New York," he told the citizenship ceremony, according to BBC.
"And of course, the history ended so tragically," he said.
"In addition to that tragedy of history is also the tragedy that my family didn't feel any connection any more to Poland, and that saddened me and confirmed for me that I really wanted to try to reconnect as much as possible," Eisenberg said. "And I really hope that tonight in this ceremony and this amazing honor, is the first step of me, and on behalf of my family, reconnecting to this beautiful country."
Eisenberg was inspired to create "A Real Pain" after the death of his great aunt Doris in 2019 at the age of 106. She was born in Poland but fled to the United States in 1938, while other relatives who remained behind were killed during the Holocaust.
Eisenberg was ultimately nominated for an Oscar for writing the film, while his co-star Kieran Culkin won the award for best supporting actor.
Commenting on casting Culkin, Eisenberg previously told Rolling Stone that it "just seemed so right."
"I mean, when we got together finally on set, after he, like, literally, tried to drop out of the movie multiple times, it was just, 'Oh, my God!' It felt like this is my long-lost acting partner!" he said.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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