Mustafa Nadarević

Mustafa Nadarević (2 May 1943 – 22 November 2020) was a Bosnian actor. Widely considered one of the greatest actors from the former Yugoslavia, he starred in over 70 films, including The Smell of Quinces (1982), When Father Was Away on Business (1985), Reflections (1987), The Glembays (1988), Kuduz (1989), Silent Gunpowder (1990), The Perfect Circle (1997), Days and Hours (2004), Mirage (2004) and Halima's Path (2012).

More recently, Nadarević was best known for playing Izet Fazlinović in the sitcom Lud, zbunjen, normalan from the beginning of the series in 2007 until his death in 2020.

Early life and career

Nadarević was born on 2 May 1943 in Banja Luka to Bosniak parents Mehmed Nadarević and Asja Memić. They fled from Banja Luka to Zagreb due to bombing of the city. Mehmed also served in the Croatian Home Guard, before dying in 1946. Nadarević attended elementary school in Zagreb and Bosanski Novi, and Gymnasium in Rijeka. He studied acting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo and got his diploma at the Academy of Dramatic Art in Zagreb.

During his long acting career, Nadarević built a reputation as one of the most recognizable character actors in the Balkans. In the former Yugoslavia, Nadarević was seen playing in roles mostly as a Partisan soldier. He was best known for his work in the films When Father Was Away on Business, Reflections, The Glembays, among many others. His performance as Leone Glembay in the Antun Vrdoljak film adaptation of Messrs. Glembay is widely considered to be one of the most significant acting milestones in Yugoslav film history. It won him the Golden Arena for Best Actor at the 1988 Pula Film Festival, among other accolades.

Nadarević played a variety of roles in various films produced throughout the areas of the Balkans. In 1991, he won the award for Best Actor at the 17th Moscow International Film Festival for his role in Silent Gunpowder.

Nadarević's last role as Croatian Army general Janko Bobetko, was in Antun Vrdoljak's 2019 film General.

During the last years of his life, Nadarević was best known for playing the hilarious television character, Izet Fazlinović, in the Bosnian sitcom Lud, zbunjen, normalan; the character can be described as sexually unsatisfied 70-year-old man who will do anything but work to own a dollar, and throw insults at anyone he can.

Personal life

Nadarević's wife, Slavica Radović (25 April 1964 – 7 June 2012), a Slovenian costume designer, died at the age of 48 after a decade-long struggle with breast cancer. She and Nadarević had been in a relationship for twenty years.

Health and death

Nadarević revealed that he was diagnosed with lung cancer in January 2020. He died on 22 November 2020 in his home in Zagreb, due to complications of the same disease.

Filmography

Film

• Gravitacija ili fantastična mladost činovnika Borisa Horvata (1968) – Blaja
• Timon (1973)
• Snađi se, druže (1981)
• Zločin u Å¡koli (1982) – Bartol
• The Smell of Quinces (1982) – Mustafa
• Kiklop (1982) – Don Fernando
• U raljama života (1984)
• Zadarski memento (1984) – Bepo Marini
• Mala pljačka vlaka (1984) – Paragraf
• Horvat's Choice (1985) – Vinko Benčina
• When Father Was Away on Business (1985) – Zijah Zijo ZulfikarpaÅ¡ić
• Ljubavna pisma s predumiÅ¡ljajem (1985) – Dr. BoÅ¡njak
• The War Boy (1985) – Mill manager
• Večernja zvona (1986) – Matko
• Poslednji skretničar uzanog koloseka (1986) – Mungo
• Dobrovoljci (1986) – Gynecologist
• Ljubezni Blanke Kolak (1987) – Pavel
• Hudodelci (1987) – Ljuba Kurtović
• Reflections (1987) – Mihailo
• Zaboravljeni (1988) – Martin
• The Glembays (1988) – Dr. phil. Leone Glembay
• Klopka (1988) – SaÅ¡a
• Seobe II (1989) – ViÅ¡njevski
• Povratak Katarine Kozul (1989) – Silvio
• Kuduz (1989) – Policeman Å emso
• Silent Gunpowder (1990) – Å panac
• Captain America (1990) – Tadzio's father
• Adam ledolomak (1990)
• Moj brat Aleksa (1991)
• Đuka Begović (1991) – Mata
• Srećna dama (1991) – Boris
• Story from Croatia (1991) – Andrija
• Holiday in Sarajevo (1991) – Avduka Lipa
• Countess Dora (1993) – Tuna, the driver
• ' (1994) – Martin
• Gospa (1995) – Mayor Å tović
• Washed Out (1995) – Father
• Nausikaja (1995) – Inspector Stevović
• Nausikaja (1996)
• The Perfect Circle (1997) – Hamza
• PuÅ¡ka za uspavljivanje (1997) – Karlo Å tajner
• Transatlantik (1998)
• Četverored (1999) – Cute captain
• Hop, Skip & Jump /short/ (2000)
• Je li jasno prijatelju? (2000) – Nikola
• No Man's Land (2001) – Old Serbian soldier
• Polagana predaja (2001) – Banker Parać
• Kraljica noći (2001) – Tomo's father
• Prezimiti u Riju (2002) – Grga
• Heimkehr (2003) – Vlado
• Long Dark Night (2004) – Å panac
• Na planinčah (2004)
• The Society of Jesus (2004) – Castelan
• Secret Passage (2004) – Foscari's Informant
• Days and Hours (2004) – Idriz
• Mirage (2004) – Teacher
• (2006) – Marks
• Ničiji sin (2008) – Izidor
• Kao rani mraz (2010) – Verebes
• Daca bobul nu moare (2010) – Iorgovan
• Piran-Pirano (2010) – Veljko
• Cannibal Vegetarian (2012) – Pathologist Marelja
• Halima's Path (2012) – Avdo
• When Day Breaks (2012) – Professor MiÅ¡a Brankov
• Čefurji raus! (2013) – Čiča
• The Brave Adventures of a Little Shoemaker (2013) – Good KoÅ¡arac
• For Good Old Times (2018) – Krcko
• General (2019) – Janko Bobetko