Biography

Lazar Ristovski (born October 26, 1952, Ravno Selo, Vojvodina, Yugoslavia) is a Serbian actor, director, producer, and writer of Macedonian descent, who has appeared on stage approximately 4,000 times and starred in over 90 films and 30 TV series, mostly in lead roles. He graduated from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts at the University of Belgrade and is best known for his role as Petar "Blacky" Popara in Emir Kusturica's Palme d'Or-winning Underground (1995). As a producer, he founded Zillion Film, which has produced or co-produced over 27 feature films, and directed The White Suit (1999) and White Lions (2011). He briefly served as a member of the Serbian National Assembly in 2022 and was awarded the Order of the Karađorđe's Star in 2023. He was married to actress Danica Ristovski from 1980 until their divorce in 2022; they have two sons, Jovan and Petar. His most notable film credits include Underground (1995) (Miki Manojlović, Mirjana Joković), Casino Royale (2006) (Daniel Craig, Eva Green), The November Man (2014) (Pierce Brosnan, Luke Bracey), and Train Driver's Diary (2016) (Petar Korać, Mirjana Karanović), the latter of which he produced and which won the Grand Prix, Best Actor, and Best Feature Film at the 2017 Prague Independent Film Festival. He also starred in Tito i ja (1992), King of Thieves (2004), St. George Shoots the Dragon (2009), Along the Roadside (2013), King Peter of Serbia (2018), Dream Team (2021), and Saligia (2024).