Jiří Štěpnička was a Czech actor and dubbing artist. He died on Sunday, 11 October 2026, aged 79. He worked at the National Theatre from 1975 [1][2].
Theatre
He graduated in acting from DAMU in 1969. He then performed at the Klicper Theatre in Hradec Králové and at the State Theatre in Brno [2]. He spent about fifty years at the National Theatre and played around a hundred characters there. His roles included Petruccio in The Taming of the Shrew, Švanda in The Bagpiper of Strakonice, the Duke of Cornwall in King Lear, Stavrogin in Demons, Shylock in The Merchant of Venice and Filip Dubský in Our Swaggerers [1]. In 2011 he won the Thalia Award for the role of Raymond in the production Blackbird [1][2].
Film, television and dubbing
He appeared in dozens of films and series, for example the 1986 series Gottwald, the 2012 film In the Shadow and television series set in a medical environment [2]. As a dubbing artist he lent his voice, among others, to Harrison Ford, Michael Douglas, Steven Seagal and Jeff Bridges. In 2002 he received the František Filipovský Award for dubbing Mel Gibson in the film What Women Want, and in 2023 an award for lifetime mastery in dubbing [1][2].
Final farewell
The final farewell will take place on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, at 11:00 from the stage of the National Theatre in Prague. The public will be able to enter the theatre from 10:30 and lay flowers by the coffin [1]. Because of his death, Czech Television changed the programme of its ČT1 and ČT2 channels until 14 October 2026 and added programmes and films featuring him [3].
Chronology
- — The farewell to the actor Jiří Štěpnička will take place on 20 October 2026 at the National Theatre in Prague. → ČTK / České noviny Novinky.cz
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 12 October 2026
- Novinky.cz — 12 October 2026
- MediaGuru — 12 October 2026