Amza Pellea

Amza Pellea (; 7 April 1931 – 12 December 1983) was a Romanian actor noted for playing Romanian national heroes on film. He was born in Băilești, Oltenia, and attended the Carol I High School in Craiova. He later played at the Craiova Theatre, then at the Small Theatre, the Nottara Theatre, the Comedy Theatre, and the National Theatre in Bucharest, and also was a professor at the Academy of Theatre and Film in Bucharest. Pellea played numerous comic and serious roles. In cinema he was most noted for his roles portraying historical leaders. His earliest leading roles were as Romanian national heroes, beginning with Decebalus in Dacii (1967) and Columna (1968). He also portrayed Michael the Brave in Mihai Viteazul (1971). His most famous comic role was as "Nea Mărin" (Uncle Marin), a character representing the archetypal Oltenian peasant. Mărin first appeared in TV comedy sketches. The character graduated to the cinema in Nea Mărin miliardar (Uncle Marin, the Billionaire), in which Pellea played the dual role of the naive Marin and the American billionaire he is mistaken for. Nea Mărin miliardar is ranked 1 in the top most viewed Romanian films of all time.