Nebojša "Glogi" Glogovac (; 30 August 19699 February 2018) was a Serbian actor, noted for his performances in theater, television and film.
He was a member of the Children's Drama Group of the Serbian Radio and Television, and he began his acting career at the Youth Atelier in Pančevo. In 1996, he received a scholarship from the Yugoslav Drama Theater and a role in the play The Great Robbery, directed by Dejan Mijač on the stage of Atelje 212. When he was a child, he appeared in the television show Price iz Nepričave (Stories from Nepricava) in 1981. He had his first film role in 1993 in the short film Rekvijem za jedan san (Requiem for a Dream) in the lead role, and after that the same year in the play Paradise by Petar Zec, where he was also one of the main actors. After drawing attention to his talent, he landed a role in director Gorčin Stojanović's film, Ubistvo s predumišljajem (Premeditated murder) in 1995.
He played the main roles in the films Premeditated murder, Cabaret Balkan, Sky Hook, When I Grow Up, I'll Be a Kangaroo, Klopka, Hadersfild, The Woman with a Broken Nose, The Man Who Defended Gavrilo Princip, Circles, Ravna Gora and the Constitution. He has been awarded many times for his roles in theater and film, and the Sterija Award, Emperor Constantine in Niš and the Golden Arena in Pula for the best male role stand out.
He died after a short and severe illness, at the Institute of Oncology and Radiology of Serbia in Belgrade, on 9 February 2018.
Early life and family Nebojša Glogovac was born on 30 August 1969 in Trebinje in FR Bosnia and Herzegovina to father Milovan and mother Milena Glogovac (née Samardžija). After finishing primary school, his father enrolled in the "Sveti Sava" seminary in Belgrade in 1962. He married Milena, Nebojša's mother, in 1968. Nebojša moved with his family from Trebinje to Opovo in 1974, and a year and a half later to Pančevo, where Nebojša's father was ordained a priest in the Church of the Assumption.
Glogovac's origins trace back to Dramiševo, while his family originally hailed from Kosovo. They adopted the surname "Glogovac" from the settlement of the same name. In the mid-19th century, his ancestors migrated to Herzegovina via Montenegro. The family eventually settled in the villages of Bratač and Dramiševo, and they traditionally celebrate St. George's Day.
Glogovac spent his first years living in Trebinje in a part of the city called Bregovi. He spent his early childhood playing with children in the yard near the Bey's house. As a child, he wanted to become a policeman. He also spent a significant time at the home of his grandparents, Gavrilo and Darinka, in the mountain village of Dramiševo, near Nevesinje.
Glogovac's grandfather Gavrilo was a Chetnik who spent ten years in prison in Foča for refusing to join the Partisans. Along with other locals, he drove a Partisan unit out of Dramiševo.
Education During his education at the Jovan Jovanović Zmaj primary school, Glogovac attended the Jovan Bandur Music school, clarinet department. After finishing primary school, he did not have enough qualification points to enter secondary school, so he enrolled in the "Technical School May 23rd" and after half a year he transferred to secondary school. He attended the Uroš Predić Gymnasium in Pancevo, and after the third year he decided to study natural sciences.
After high school he enrolled in psychology studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. After two years of studies, he changed his mind and in 1990 he enrolled in acting at the Belgrade Faculty of Dramatic Arts in the class of Professor Vladimir Jevtović. Gorica Popović was the assistant at the entrance exam for the university and Glogovac recited the song "Vragolije" by Branko Radićević. Nataša Ninković, Nela Mihailović, Daniela Kuzmanović, Danijela Ugrenović, Karolina Cimeša, Vojin Ćetković, Sergej Trifunović and Boris Pingović studied together with Glogovac.
During his studies, he played the role of school friend of Slobodan Popadić in the series Bolji život (1987).
While attending high school from 1985 and while studying at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, Glogovac was a member of the Youth Studio in Pančevo, and remained there until 1990, when he enrolled in the Faculty of Dramatic Arts at the persuasion of Milenko Zablaćanski and soon after he became a member of the Yugoslavian Drama Theater.
When he was twelve years old he became a member of the Children's Drama Group of the Radio Belgrade studio, with , where he stayed for a full six years and played in several plays. His first appearance on television came in 1981 when he landed a small role in the television series Priče iz Nepričave.
Acting career 1987–2000 He started his acting career at the Youth Studio in Pančevo, where he was a member from 1985 until 1990.
He had his first role "Mušica" in December 1989, a play directed by Milenko Zablaćanski and written by Eugène Ionesco. Glogovac played his first professional role in the Pančevo Cultural Center in 1990 in the play Živela sloboda, where he played the role of a German.
In his second year at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, he gained a role in the play "The Great Robbery," directed by Dejan Mijač, on the stage of the Atelje 212 theater, which premiered on 9 August 1992. He made his debut at the Yugoslav Drama Theatre in the play "False Emperor Šćepan Mali," in the role of Niko Đurov, on 24 July 1993. This was followed by roles in "Troilus and Cressida," "Cousins from the Best Days," "Parabellum," and many others. Soon after that, he became a scholarship holder in 1996 and a permanent member of the Yugoslav Drama Theatre.
Television and film debut
He achieved his first serious television role in 1987 when he appeared in several episodes of the series "Bolji život," where he had a small role as a school friend of Slobodan Popadić. Glogovac appeared on film for the first time in 1993 in the main role of the short film "Requiem for a Dream," directed by Miloj Popović. In the drama "Raj (Heaven)" directed by Petar Zec, which premiered in 1993, he was one of the main actors, in the role of Birimić, a friend of Miloš Crnjanski, played by Tihomir Stanić.
Notable film roles and awards
He had a notable role in the play "Dark Night," which premiered in 1993 at the Kult Theater, experienced three hundred performances, became one of the most commercial plays, and was played on tours in the United States and Canada.
In 1994, he played the role of Fadil, a JNA soldier, in Boro Drašković's war drama "Vukovar, jedna priča"
After drawing attention to his talent, he received a role in the film directed by Gorčin Stojanović, "Premeditated Murder" (1995), in which he played the character of Bogdan, wounded in the Bosnian War, who is impatiently waiting for his recovery to return. For this role, he won the award for the best male role, Emperor Constantine, at the Niš Film Festival.
In 1996, he received the Ardalion Award for the role of Vladimir in the play "U potpalublju". He also played a significant role in his career in 1997 in the action drama "Rage", directed by Slobodan Skerlić. Glogovac portrayed Simke, a young criminal. This was followed by a role in the TV movie "Pokondirena tikva" in 1997, directed by Petar Zec, where Glogovac played the character of Jovan. In 1998, he starred in the TV series "Family Treasure" (1998–2002) in the role of Zlatko Gavrilović, after which he gained great popularity.
On the stage of the Zvezdara Teatar, he played Milan Srećković in the Serbian drama on 5 March 1994. A young man in the theatre piece "Parabellum" by Srđan Koljević premiered on 18 February 1998, and many other roles.
In the short film "Hotel Belgrade" from 1998, he played the character of Igor, and after that, he played in the film "Bure baruta", directed by Goran Paskaljević. In the same year, he played one of the main roles in the movie "Savior," where he portrayed Vera's brother, a raped Serbian woman who spent the war in a prison camp. This was followed by the role of the main character, Marko, in the film "Ranjena zemlja," which takes place in a Belgrade shelter during the NATO bombing of the FRY.
In 2000, he played in the movie "Nebeska udica," where he portrayed the character of Kaya, a young and promising basketball player. At the film festival in Berlin, where the film "Nebeska udica" participated in the main program, critics praised Glogovac's acting, compared him to George Clooney, and called him the Slavic Tom Hanks.
Based on a months-long survey, the daily newspaper Večernje Novosti compiled a list of the best actors and actresses in Serbia in 2000, and Glogovac took the 50th place.
2001–2010 At the beginning of 2001, Glogovac got a role in the movie "Munje!", where he played the role of a corrupt police officer who is prone to soft drugs. In the same year, he played Toma, an ambulance driver, in the movie "Normal People".
The following year, he starred in the films "Class of 2002" as Nebojša, the horror film "T.T. Syndrome," where he portrayed the role of Vaki, and in the film "Country of the Dead," directed by Živojin Pavlović and Dinko Tucaković, where Glogovac portrayed the character of Gorazd Kranjac.
At the 38th Film Meetings in Niš in 2003, he was part of the festival jury together with Vojin Ćetković.Синоћ у Нишу почео 38. фестивал глумачких остварења („Глас јавности”, 24. август 2003)
In 2004, in the role of the taxi driver Živco, he starred in the film by Radivoj Andrić "When I Grow Up, I'll Be a Kangaroo," a film that won the Motovun Propeller Award at the Motovun Film Festival in the competition "From A to A" (the award for the best film in the region from Austria to Albania) and the Award for the best screenplay at the Film Screenplay Festival in Vrnjačka Banja in 2004. In the following years, he starred in the TV series "Lift" (2002) as officer Prvoslav Gajin and in the series "Basketball Players," where he played the role of coach Žare.
In 2005, he starred in the short film "Wedding" in the role of a mother-in-law, and in 2006, he portrayed doctor Milo Petrović in the film "The Optimists," directed by Goran Paskaljević.
In the crime thriller "Klopka" (2007), Glogovac got the main role as Mladen, a construction engineer who tries in every way to earn money to cure his seriously ill son. The movie is from 2007. In 2008, Klopka received the award for the best screenplay at the Film Screenplay Festival, awards at the festivals in Minsk, Milan, and Liege, and Glogovac received an award for the best male role in the film. In the film drama "Hadersfild," he played the role of Ivan, a former Judoist who went through a series of psychotic episodes and treatment in mental institutions before finally being baptized in the Eastern Orthodox Church. In addition to having one of the main roles in this film, Glogovac was also the film's producer. For this role, he received the "Sloboda" Statuette for the best male role at the Film Festival in Sopot and the "Naisa" Grand Prix, the audience award in Niš, in 2007. For the role of Ivan in the theater play "Hadersfild," which was performed throughout Serbia, in the United States and Canada, Glogovac received the Grand Prix for the best male role in Brčko, the Miloš Žutić Award from the Association of Fine Artists of Serbia, the "David Štrbac" Statuette in Banja Luka, and the Zoran Radmilović Award, the best actor of the Festival for the role of Ivan, in Zaječar.
In 2008, he appeared in the popular TV series "Vratiće se rode" in four episodes, in the role of Bora and Pera's father, and a few months later in the series "My Uncle," as an uncle in 13 episodes. The same year, he also starred in the series "Moj rođak sa sela" in the role of father Milutin, in 15 episodes, as well as in the documentary-feature film by Zdravko Šotra, Principality of Serbia, in the role of Prince Mihailo Obrenović.