Jesse Eisenberg Granted Polish Citizenship After ‘A Real Pain’ Oscar Win: ‘An Honor of a Lifetime’

variety.com:

Ellise Shafer Jesse Eisenberg is officially a Polish citizen. The actor, writer and director was granted citizenship by President Andrzej Duda at a ceremony in New York on Tuesday, just days after his film “A Real Pain” won Kieran Culkin an Oscar for best supporting actor. “I’m so unbelievably honored,” Eisenberg said in a speech at the ceremony (via Radio RAMPA). “This is an honor of a lifetime and something I have been very interested in for two decades.” Eisenberg drew from his own life in writing “A Real Pain,” which follows two American cousins, played by Eisenberg and Culkin, who take a trip to Poland to honor their late Holocaust survivor grandmother.

The idea sprouted after the 2019 death of his great aunt, who fled Poland for the U.S. in 1938. Filming the movie in Poland inspired Eisenberg to apply for citizenship, which is available to those with direct ancestors who were born in the country or lived there after 1920. “While we were filming this movie in Poland and I was walking the streets and starting to get a little more comfortable in the country, something so obvious occurred to me, which is that my family had lived in this place far longer than we’ve lived in New York,” Eisenberg said. “And of course, the history ended so tragically, but in addition to that tragedy of history was also the tragedy that my family didn’t feel any connection anymore to Poland.

And that saddened me and confirmed for me that I really wanted to try to reconnect as much as possible.” He concluded, “I really hope that tonight and this ceremony and this amazing honor is the first step in me, on behalf of my family, reconnecting to this beautiful country.” “A Real Pain” also earned an Oscar nomination for Eisenberg’s original.