Davor Dujmović

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Davor Dujmović as Perhan

Davor Dujmović (September 20, 1969-May 31, 1999) was a Yugoslavian actor, born in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.

Dujmović is best known for his memorable roles in Emir Kusturica's movies as:

Perhan in Time of the Gypsies.
Bata in Underground.
Mirza in When Father Was Away on Business.

Born into a poor working class family, Dujmović's acting career started purely by chance in 1984 when Emir Kusturica and one of his two assistant directors, Miroslav Mandić, ran into young Davor at a Sarajevo kafana near Markale marketplace. Dujmović happened to be there with his father who operated a food stand at the said marketplace. Kusturica was casting roles for When Father Was Away on Business at the time, and immediately thought 14-year-old Davor could potentially be perfect for the role of Mirza (older son in the movie). After jointly convincing his father to let him audition, Kusturica nad Mandic arranged a screen test for him. Dujmovic acepted it and got cast in the movie.

Following the great critical acclaim and commercial success of the film, Dujmović attempted to enroll in the film academy but after not getting accepted on his first try, he never tried again. He continued to get roles, though, such as the one in Zlatko Lavanić's (another one of Kusturica's ADs) directorial debut Strategija svrake. Kusturica also continued working with Dujmović, giving him a lead in Time of the Gypsies - a movie that would make Davor well known across former Yugoslavia for his indelible portrayal of a young Gypsy named Perhan. He also started doing theatre, appearing in the production of Mjeseceva predstava.

The role of Perhan made him a recognazible star and ensured film roles would continue coming his way - Adam ledolomak, Aleksa Santic, Sarajevske price, Prokleta je Amerika. During this time he also became a cast member for the third series of the Yugoslav comedy TV sketch show Top Lista Nadrealista. The series aired in late 1991.

Simultaneously, during the early 1990s Davor started using hard drugs and quickly developed into a full-fledged heroin addict. During first months of the war he stayed in Sarajevo, but later moved to Belgrade where he rejoined old friends, filming Underground with Kusturica as well as Slozna braća TV series with Nele Karajlić. He unsuccessfully tried to kick his drug habit several times. At the end of the war he moved to Banja Luka where he met up with Andrej J. Gartner with whom he started the Culture of Republika Srpska trust fund. He spent his last months with his girlfriend in Slovenia.

Davor Dujmović committed suicide on May 31, 1999 by hanging, following a severe depression. His last days were spent in Slovenian town of Novo Mesto.