Bata Živojinović

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Velimir Živojinović

Velimir "Bata" Živojinović (Велимир Бата Живојиновић) (b. June 5th, 1933), is a Serbian actor.

Živojinović was born in Koracica in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, under the Kosmaj mountain. He discovered his acting talent at the age of 15, while working as a stage hand at the Academy Theatre in Belgrade. After graduating from acting schools in Užice and Novi Sad, he tried to enroll at the Drama Academy in Belgrade and succeeded in his third attempt.

Velimir Živojinović preferred acting in theatre to acting on screen, but his screen debut in 1955 film Pesma sa Kumbare was the beginning of an incredibly prolific film career. Živojinović, who would soon become better known by his nickname "Bata", arguably played more film roles than any other actor in the history of former Yugoslavia and the mere size of his filmography is not likely to be matched in the near future.

Bata Živojinović's filmography was not only huge, but very versatile. He played both heroes and villains and easily switched between starring and supporting roles. In the 1960s he already established himself as one of the biggest stars of former Yugoslav cinema, but the zenith of his popularity came with WW2-themed action films in the 1970s. One of his best known films from this period was Valter brani Sarajevo (Valter defends Sarajevo) (Валтер Брани Сарајево), which gained major success in China. Živojinović is still one of the favourite actors in China.

In the 1980s Živojinović self-parodied his image of macho action hero in a series of light-hearted comedies.

Since 1991, he is active on the Serbian political scene as a member of SPS, Socialist Party of Serbia.

He was also known for his close friendship with the Croatian actor Boris Dvornik. In 1991 Živojinović and Dvornik renounced each other in a series of open letters, which was a gesture often seen as symbolic of the breakup of Yugoslavia. In 2004 it was reported that the two men tried to reconcile. In 2006, the two men publicly reconciled on TV via a video link between Split and Belgrade. The actor said that "In the last few years there hasn't been hatred between us", and Dvornik completed the sentence "only a misundestanding".[1]