Jesse Eisenberg has officially become a citizen of Poland after his film set in the country, A Real Pain, won an Oscar on Sunday.
The drama-comedy follows two mismatched cousins, played by Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin, who travel to Poland following the death of their beloved grandmother, who was a Holocaust survivor.
Culkin, 42, won numerous gongs during awards season for his performance and topped it off at the Oscars where he was awarded Best Supporting Actor. During his acceptance speech, the Succession star shocked his wife by asking if they could have more children.
Eisenberg, who wrote and directed the film, may not have had his own Oscar to celebrate but just a few days later was awarded Polish citizenship by the country’s president Andrzej Duda.
Speaking at a ceremony in New York on Tuesday (4 March), the 41-year-old actor said: “I’m so unbelievably honoured. This is an honour of a lifetime and something I have been very interested in for two decades.”
A Real Pain was inspired by the passing of Eisenberg’s great aunt in 2019, who had fled to the United States from Poland in 1938.
“While we were filming this movie in Poland and I was walking the streets and starting to get a little more comfortable in the country, something so obvious occurred to me, which is that my family had lived in this place far longer than we’ve lived in New York,” Eisenberg added.
“And of course, the history ended so tragically, but in addition to that tragedy of history was also the tragedy that my family didn’t feel any connection any more to Poland. And that saddened me and confirmed for me that I really wanted to try to reconnect as much as possible.”
When making the film, Eisenberg was inspired to apply for Polish citizenship, which is available to anyone with direct ancestors who were born in or lived in the country after 1920.
In conclusion, Eisenberg said: “I really hope that tonight and this ceremony and this amazing honour is the first step in me, on behalf of my family, reconnecting to this beautiful country.”
The Social Network star first announced that he had applied for Polish citizenship in May 2024.
In an interview with Polish publication Głos Wielkopolski, he explained that both his and his wife’s families were from Poland. He added that shooting A Real Pain in Poland reminded him of stories he’d heard from family growing up, and made him want to “create better relationships between Jews and Polish people”.
“I applied for Polish citizenship about nine months ago. Apparently, all the paperwork has already been submitted and I’m waiting for the final signature,” said Eisenberg.
“My family is from the southeast, from Krasnystaw, my wife’s [Anna Strout] family is from Łódź. We wanted to have a greater connection to Poland. I would like to work here more.
“Growing up, I’ve heard stories of the Polish relationship with my Jewish family and all the stories were great: we were best friends with the Poles.”
