| Ingrid Bisu | |
| Birth Place: | Bucharest, Romania |
| Years Active: | 2003–present |
Ingrid Bisu is a Romanian actress, producer, and screenwriter, best known for her appearance in the dramedy Toni Erdmann (2016), which was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival[1] [2] and also for Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globe Awards[3] and the Academy Awards[4] in 2017. She is also known for co-writing the horror film Malignant (2021).
Bisu was born on 15 September 1987 in Bucharest to Romanian-German parents. She grew up in the German community in Romania, attending the German kindergarten, high school, and college in Bucharest.
In 2003 at the age of 16, Bisu had her first photoshoot in the teenage magazine "Cool Girl" and then landed her first commercial for Orange S.A. Mobile, which was broadcast in Israel and Romania.
Bisu made her debut in a Romanian TV series Casatorie de Proba (Marriage of Probation)[5] [6] Following this, she was featured in a number of Romanian magazines[7] and television interviews.[8] [9] Bisu played an unnamed character in the 2005 critical and commercial failure BloodRayne[10] [11] [12] and had other small roles in sitcoms such as La Bloc (In The Building) and Arestat la domiciliu (House Arrested) with Pro TV.
In 2006, Bisu played the lead role of Alice in the drama television movie O Lume A Durerii (A World of Pain),[13] which showed the struggles of teenage women in Romania at the time. Her performance gained the attention of director Cristian Mungiu, who cast Bisu as Viviana in one segment of the anthology film Tales from the Golden Age. The film, written by Mungiu and directed by five other directors was It was screened as one of the twenty films shown in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.[14] In 2007, Bisu enrolled in the Hyperion Academy of Dramatic Arts in Bucharest. During this time she appeared as Naomi in the drama series 17, Poveste despre destin (2008) on Prima TV, and as Bianca in the comedy series Nimeni nu-i perfect (Nobody's Perfect),[15]
After roles in the horror film Slaughter (Girl in coffin) and the Christmas comedy Ho Ho Ho (Muscle man's girlfriend), Bisu played a minor role in the movie What War May Bring, directed by Claude Lelouch.[16] She then appeared in the film Portrait of the Fighter as a Young Man, directed by Constantin Popescu, where she played the real-life figure Matilda Jubleanu.[17]
In 2011, Bisu starred in Outbound, a Romanian film with co-story credit by with Cristian Mungiu, debuting at the Locarno International Film Festival, Viennale.[18] The same year, she became a presenter on Romanian national morning TV show on Kanal D Romania.[19] Cafeaua de dimineata (Morning Coffee), was a two-hour live morning news program.[20] [21] During every show, she would teach people how to do something themselves or show activities they could try.[22]
In 2012, Bisu played minor roles in Romainian films such as Sunt o babă comunistă, directed by Stere Gulea (where she played Hairdresser 1), and Roxanne, directed by Vali Hotea, where she played an unnamed character.[23] She played a Minerva (Female Prisoner 2) in the American horror movie in 2013 starring Jon Voight.[24] The same year, she played an uncredited role in the science fiction film The Zero Theorem, directed by Terry Gilliam, with Matt Damon and Christoph Waltz.[25] In 2014, she played Brittany White, the host of a surreallist five-hour live comedy web program, fictionally broadcast from Ohio (but filmed in Bucharest), called The Super Yolo Sho.[26]
In 2016, Bisu appeared in Toni Erdmann as Anca, the assistant of the lead character played by Sandra Hüller. Directed by Maren Ade, the film received over 56 nominations and 33 award wins, including Best Film and Best Screenplay, with Maren Ade named Best Director and actors Sandra Hüller and Peter Simonischek Best Actress and Best Actor at the 2016 European Film Awards.[27] It was also nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival[28] where it won the FIPRESCI award.[29] [30] It was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2017 Golden Globes[31] and the 2016 Academy Awards.[32] Bisu's character was mentioned by A.O. Scott as being central to understanding the main themes of the film in his review for The New York Times.[33]
Bisu then co-starred in the horror film The Nun, a spinoff of The Conjuring 2, playing Sister Oana: she met future husband James Wan on set. The film was released in September 2018.[34] [35] [36] In 2021 she co-wrote, executive produced and had a supporting role in Malignant, her first joint creative and behind the scenes project with husband James Wan.
On 22 June 2019, Bisu became engaged to Australian director James Wan.[37] They married in November 2019.[38]
| 2005 | BloodRayne | Young Girl | |
| 2007 | La Nic | Cristina | Short film |
| 2009 | Slaughter | Girl in Coffin | |
| Tales from the Golden Age | Viviana | ||
| Ho Ho Ho | Muscle man's girlfriend | ||
| 2010 | Portretul luptãtorului la tinerete | Matilda Jubleanu | |
| Eva | Eva's Friend #1 | ||
| What War May Bring | Amie2 | ||
| Periferic | Selena | ||
| 2013 | Roxanne | Victor's Girlfriend | |
| Sunt o babã comunistã | Coafeza | ||
| The Zero Theorem | Work Colleague | Uncredited | |
| Minerva - Female Prisoner | |||
| 2016 | Toni Erdmann | Anca | |
| 2018 | The Nun | Sister Oana | |
| 2021 | Jessica | ||
| Malignant | CST Winnie | Also story writer and executive producer | |
| 2023 | Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom | Pier Waitress | |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Casatorie de proba | Flori | ||
| 2004-2006 | La Bloc | Marilena | ||
| 2006 | O lume a durerii | Alice | Television film | |
| 2008 | 17 - o poveste despre destin | Naomi | ||
| 2009 | Nimeni nu-i perfect | Bianca | ||
| 2011 | Cafeaua de dimineata | Host | Also director, screenwriter and executive producer | |
| 2013 | Super Yolo Show | Brittany White | Also screenwriter | |
| 2014 | Rãmâi cu mine | Raluca |