Actor, writer and director Jesse Eisenberg said on Saturday he will receive Polish citizenship later this week, a decision he said was driven in part by his family heritage.
He made the announcement while accepting the President’s Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic.
Eisenberg, who earned an Academy Award nomination for portraying Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network” (2010), wrote, directed and starred in “A Real Pain” (2024), which follows two Jewish American cousins, played by Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin, who travel to Poland on a Holocaust heritage tour to honor their late grandmother while confronting their family’s past.
The story draws in part on Eisenberg’s own family history. He has said he was inspired by his great-aunt Doris, who fled Poland for the United States in 1938. After her death in 2019, he began exploring his family’s roots and later applied for Polish citizenship. The film was shot at locations connected to his family’s history.
Eisenberg, whose maternal great-grandmother was born in Krasnystaw and whose paternal great-grandfather was also from Poland, has said obtaining Polish citizenship is a way to reconnect with his family’s heritage and to pursue more filmmaking opportunities in Europe, where he believes it is easier to make the kinds of mid-budget, character-driven films he prefers.
Eisenberg earned Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for his screenplay, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for best actor in a motion picture—musical or comedy. Culkin won the Oscar for best supporting actor.
“Being here has particular meaning for me right now, because in exactly one week I am receiving my Polish citizenship,” Eisenberg said during Saturday’s ceremony. “I pursued Polish citizenship because of my family’s heritage, but also because I want to spend more time in my life and my career working in Europe, specifically Central Europe.”
