Czech film and theater actor Jan Potměšil died on Thursday at the age of 60. He was known, for example, from the films Why?, About Princess Jasněnka and the Flying Shoemaker or Bony and Peace. He has been in a wheelchair since he was 23 years old and suffered from serious health problems for the last three years of his life. TASR informs about this according to the Novinky.cz portal report.
“At night, Jana Potměšil’s wife wrote to me that ‘Honza’ had left in the circle of the family. He left, but he did not disappear. One of the most talented and kind people of my generation that I have met,” Czech director Jan Hřebejk wrote on the X platform about the actor’s death.
„My Jíro, fly! Easy and free… With love and admiration forever, your Jasněnka,” Frthe actress pointed to the sky Michael Kuklováwho played the main character in the legendary story About Princess Jasněnka and the Flying Shoemaker. At the same time, she expressed her sincere condolences to the grieving family.
The actor had serious health problems in the last years of his life, and at the end of 2023 he was hospitalized at the Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine (IKEM) in Prague. “My heart betrayed me, I have been treated for it for a long time. It was really serious, I spent almost three weeks there, but the experts at IKEM helped me a lot,” he told CNN Prima NEWS at the time.
Jan Potměšil was born in Prague on March 31, 1966, and as an eight-year-old already starred alongside Vladimír Menšík in an episode of the Bachelor series. He made his film debut at the age of ten in the psychological drama Jakub, where Filip Renč played the main role and Jan Potměšil played his classmate.
He then studied at the Theater Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. The turning point in his film career was the year 1987 and the films Why?, Bony and peace and the fairy tale About Princess Jasněnka and the Flying Shoemaker.
During the Gentle Revolution, he had a serious car accident in December 1989 while returning to Prague. He suffered serious spinal injuries and, according to his own words, he only recovered in February in the hospital. He ended up in a wheelchair, but despite this, he did not give up acting. He appeared less in films and on screens. In 2004, he married journalist and PR manager Radka Prchalová, and together they raised sons Šimon and Jan.
