“He stood out not only during Gomulka's era, but also during Stalinism when he was very young. It happens that some people have something that is not fully defined, but palpable – charisma, talent and personality. Cybulski already had these qualities when he left the Kraków acting school and retained them until his tragic death in 1967. However, this does not mean that he was considered by everyone to have incredible acting talent. (…) For half a century we have been living in the myth of Zbigniew Cybulski – a non-conformist, a great actor who disagreed with his era and was often ahead of it. In the 1950s, this was not so obvious. He was not appreciated too much by the acting school professors. The older generation, not at all conservative, considered Cybulski's game as a hobby. It was believed that an actor can be original, but he must pronounce the syllables correctly. Many accused him of not doing it classically and correctly. – said film expert Dr. Lukasz Jasina for portal dzie.pl.
Career
Zbigniew Cybulski was born on November 3, 1927 in Kniaze, near Stanislavów. He studied in junior high school. Jędrzej Śniadecki, and then studied at the Academy of Commerce in Kraków (today's University of Economics) and at the Faculty of Journalism at the Higher School of Social Sciences in Kraków. However, he dropped out and then transferred to the State High School of Arts in Kraków, graduating in 1953.
After graduating from school, Kibulski began performing at the Wibrzeże Theater in Gdańsk. His debut on the stage was the role of Ferdinand in the play “Intrigue and Love”. A year later, together with his friends, he founded the student theater BIM-BOM. Outstanding figures were Zbigniew Cybulski and Bogumil Kobiela. After some “informal” time, Kibulski became the leader of the group, as a person endowed with great charisma and universally respected. Years later, Kibulski recalled that he considered the years spent in Gdansk to be the best period of his life.
Although the theater had no political overtones, it could be critical of the government. Young people had to show courage – it was 1954-1955, so it was still the period of Stalinism in Poland, during the life of Boleslaw Bierut.
The BIM-BOM Theater presented five plays: “Zero” (1954), “Ahaa” (1955), “Rados Serious” (1956), “Toast” (1957) and “Something by the Way” (1960). Performances were performed all over Poland and abroad, including in Belgium, France, Austria and the GDR.
Zbigniew Cybulski also played in the Vibrzeże Theater. He appeared, among others, in “Mazepa” by Juliusz Slowacki and “The First Day of Freedom”. He directed (with Kobiela) the plays “Jonas and the Fool” and “The King”. Cybulski's most important play from that time is “A Hat Full of Rain”, which he created with Andrzej Wajda. The play was very popular and was played many times in Poland.
At the end of 1960, Zbigniew Cybulski began performing at the Athenaeum Theater in Warsaw. His first role was as Jerry in the movie “Two Sawdust”. At the same time, he was still playing in Vagabunda Cabaret.
Cinema
The next stage of his life was television theater. Kibulski's best role is considered to be the title character in the 1962 Ken Hughes play “Sam”. Cybulski acted in productions directed by Erzy Gruza and Olga Lipinska. In Lipinska's case it was, among others, “Provincial Romance”, “The Last Door” and “The Backyard”. He also appeared in Zygmunt Hübner's Let's Rise.
Kibulski played in the Cobra Theater with Janusz Morgensern. It was then that he started acting in films. The film debuted in 1954. It was Andrzej Wajda's film “Generation”. The first major roles were “Three Beginnings” (directed by Stanislav Lenartowicz) and “Crushers” (directed by Eva and Czeslaw Petelski). Cybulski also played the main character in “The Eighth Day of the Week”, based on the novel by Marek Hlasko, directed by Alexander Ford. Censorship did not allow this film. Its premiere in Poland took place only in 1983. However, it was very well received in the Federal Republic of Germany.
The most important role in Kibulski's achievements is his appearance in the film “Ashes and Diamonds”, directed by Andrzej Wajda. This film made Zbigniew Cybulski a star.
“By creating the character of Maciek Chelimicki, Zbyszek Cybulski reaches the peak of his acting skills. Thanks to this film, he became a role model and a symbol of a star who forced almost an entire generation of Polish youth to wear jeans and dark glasses. (…) Kibulski was compared to the work of James Dean. (…) He became an idol, the number one character on the screen, a person close to the crowd of viewers. (…) His name became popular almost all over the world, René Clair and Alberto Moravia wrote about him”, writes Kazimierz Witkowski in “Ekran” (No. 2, 1992).
Cibulski never repeated his success, a role that defined him to some extent during his short life, although he also starred in completely different productions such as The Saragossa Manuscript and Giuseppe in Warsaw. “.
Each subsequent performance of Cybulski was highly anticipated by critics and viewers. Cybulski also starred in three films in France and one in Sweden. He was known abroad, though much less famous than he might have been if only the Polish authorities had allowed him to play more in the West.
Three films were released after Kibulski's tragic death. These were “Full Ahead”, “Jovita” and “The Killer Leaves a Mark”.
Zbigniew Cybulski died tragically on January 8, 1967 on platform 3 at Wrocław's main railway station after he tried to jump on a train to Warsaw. After being taken to the hospital, the doctors could not save him.
The funeral of the famous actor was held on January 12, 1967 in Katowice.
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