American actor Jesse Eisenberg has been granted Polish citizenship!

Jesse Eisenberg has been granted Polish citizenship

Jesse Eisenberg, known for his role as Mark Zuckerberg in the film `The Social Network’, has Polish-Jewish ancestry. His ancestors came from Poland and Ukraine, but after emigrating to the United States, the actor’s family lost awareness of their roots. Eisenberg has repeatedly emphasised in the media that he wants to rediscover his family history and forge closer ties with Poland. It was his work on the film “Real Pain” that was to become the turning point in this journey.

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Film as catalyst for a return to roots

In 2024, the film “The Real Pain”, directed and starring Eisenberg, was released. The production tells the story of two cousins of Jewish origin who visit Poland to better understand the history of their lineage and the lives of Polish Jews. The film received critical acclaim and Kieran Culkin, partnering Eisenberg, won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Jesse Eisenberg and words of praise for Poland

During the Polish citizenship ceremony, Eisenberg expressed his admiration for the Polish filmmakers with whom he worked during the making of True Pain. He addressed special words of appreciation to the graduates of the Łódź Film School and to the historians working at the former German concentration camp at Majdanek.

These talented academics could probably have pursued any profession in the world, but they chose to work in this museum – to commemorate the fate of my family, among others. Then I realised that these Poles were doing much more to commemorate these fates than I was. That’s why I thought it was a good moment to make an emotional connection with the Poles – said the actor.

Symbolic gesture and significance for Polish-Jewish relations

Granting Polish citizenship to Jesse Eisenberg is not only a formal act, but also a symbolic step in building ties between the diaspora and the country of the ancestors. President Andrzej Duda, presenting the actor with a Polish passport, stressed the importance of cultivating national roots and appreciated his decision to reconnect with Poland. ‘

I am glad that people from the world, from overseas, remember their origins, the fact that their ancestors originated in the Polish Republic and want to connect with our country – the Polish president said at the ceremony.

Eisenberg expressed his hope that obtaining Polish citizenship would be the first step to further building relations with the Poles and the history of the country that played an important role in his family’s fate.