Severija Janušauskaitė


Severija Janušauskaitė is a Lithuanian stage and film actress, occasionally performing as a singer, composer, costume designer and fashion model. She is well known for her role in the drama film Star, for which she received an Award for Best Actress at the Kinotavr Film Festival, a Golden Eagle Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as Nika Award and White Elephant Award nominations in several categories. Other popular works include the comedy film The Norseman as well as the TV series :ru:Оптимисты|The Optimists and Babylon Berlin.

Early life

Severija Janušauskaitė was born on 22 October 1981 in Šiauliai. Her mother is a teacher, her father is a power engineer. She has a sister working as an intellectual property lawyer, currently at the trade association representing the recording industry.
Janušauskaitė showed interest in arts already as a child, taking example from her grandfather, a multi-instrumentalist. Later on, she studied music and graduated from a fine arts school. Finally, she chose a theatre and film study program and graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2005.

Career

Since 2003, she performs at several Lithuanian theatres, such as State Youth Theatre of Lithuania, Oskaras Koršunovas Theatre, VDU / Mens Publica Theatre and Lėlė as well as Arts Printing House, a creative space in Vilnius.
After being selected in an open competition, in 2006 the actress was hired to play her first major stage role in Woman from the Past, based on a play by Roland Schimmelpfennig. One year later, she played the role of Queen Margaret in Ivona, Princess of Burgundia, accepting an offer by Jonas Vaitkus, her postgraduate studies professor. For her role of Liucija in the drama Patriots at the Lithuanian State Youth Theatre, in 2008 Severija Janušauskaitė was nominated for the :lt:Auksinis scenos kryžius|Golden Cross of the Stage, the highest theatre award of Lithuania. She later played other main characters, such as Barbara in Barbara and Sigismund and Elisabet Vogler in an adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's film Persona. The actress was awarded a Fortune Diploma and a Young Theatre Critics Award in 2013 for her portrayal of Lulu in Intimacy at VDU Theatre.
She started her film career in 2004 with the short film The Flame. Later, she appeared in two TV series, War and Peace, an international co-production, and the Norwegian Honeytrap. Her first feature film was the Lithuanian-Hungarian ironic drama :lt:Anarchija Žirmūnuose|Anarchy Girls, where she played one of the main roles. This film, directed by Saulius Drunga, won the Silver George Award for the best film in the Perspectives competition at the 33rd Moscow International Film Festival. Its screenplay received the New Talent Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007.
The actress gained popularity in Russia and abroad for her role in Anna Melikian's film Star. Her performance of socialite Margarita was highly praised by film critics, resulting in the Best Actress Award at the 25th Sochi Open Russian Film Festival, a Golden Eagle Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as Nika Award and White Elephant Award nominations in the categories Best Actress and Discovery of the Year. Following the success in Sochi, Severija Janušauskaitė participated as a jury member in the 15th :de:Tbilisi International Film Festival|Tbilisi International Film Festival.
The following years were characterized by growing critical and public acclaim. In 2013 and 2015, she was nominated for the Best Lithuanian Actress Award at Vilnius International Film Festival. Her performances in the TV series Godfather and films such as The Norseman and Dreamfish were also widely covered by the news media. The latter film participated in the competition of the 27th Kinotavr Film Festival in Sochi and was nominated for the Russian Guild of Film Critics Award in the category Best Debut Film. For her role of the mermaid Helena in Dreamfish, Janušauskaitė received the Best Actress Award at the :fr:Festival du cinéma russe à Honfleur 2016|25th Honfleur Russian Film Festival. She was nominated for the national film award of Lithuania, the :lt:Sidabrinė gervė 2017|Silver Crane, in 2017 in the category Best Supporting Actress for her role in the historical drama film Emilia.
In 2017, Severija Janušauskaitė became known to a broad audience in Russia and Germany thanks to her roles in major television films. In Russia, the actress is currently widely associated with her performance as Ruta Blaumane, chief of an analytical group in the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the 1960s, in Alexey Popogrebsky's historical drama :ru:Оптимисты|The Optimists screened on Russia-1 TV channel in April. In Germany, Janušauskaitė is known for her role as double agent Swetlana Sorokina in another period drama set in 1920s Berlin, Tom Tykwer's Babylon Berlin that had its premiere in October on Sky 1. In this to date most expensive German TV series, the actress also appears as the singer Nikoros and performs inter alia the film's main theme, Zu Asche, Zu Staub, released under the pseudonym Severija. In October 2018, after the series started to air on free TV, the song became the most popular song in Germany's Amazon and iTunes download charts. She considers the role in Babylon Berlin as her most memorable one so far.
Severija Janušauskaitė has many interests and does not work solely as an actress. She wrote music for the children's theatre performances The Little Match Girl and Evolution, designed costumes for Now You See It / Now You Don't. Apart from that, she also appears as a fashion model.

Personal life

Severija Janušauskaitė likes singing and plays piano. Her hobbies also include reading, painting, sewing, dancing, yoga, swimming, fencing and make-up design. Besides Lithuanian, she speaks English and Russian. She is married to the director of the Vilnius Puppet Theatre and has a son from her first marriage.

Works

Theatre

PremiereEnglish TitleOriginal TitleRoleVenue
2006Woman from the PastMoteris iš praeitiesRomiArts Printing House, Vilnius
2007Ivona, Princess of BurgundiaIvona, Burgundo kunigaikštytėQueen MargaretState Youth Theatre of Lithuania, Vilnius
2008FerrymanKeltininkasBeatričėVilnius City Theatre / OKT
2008PatriotsPatriotaiLiucijaState Youth Theatre of Lithuania, Vilnius
2010Barbara and SigismundBarbora ir ŽygimantasBarboraState Youth Theatre of Lithuania, Vilnius
2011PersonaPersonaElisabet VoglerArts Printing House, Vilnius
2013IntimacyIntymumasLuluVMU Theatre & Mens Publica Theatre, Kaunas
2014The Little Match GirlMergaitė su degtukaisArts Printing House, Vilnius
2015EvolutionEvoliucijaVilnius Puppet Theatre
2016Now You See It / Now You Don'tČia buvo / Čia nėraVilnius Puppet Theatre

Film

YearEnglish TitleOriginal TitleRoleNotes
2004The Flamewomanshort film
2006No FocusNefokusesmoking girlshort film
2007War and PeaceВойна и мирgipsy dancer and singerTV series
2008HoneytrapHonningfellenVaida BalandytėTV series
2009The Other Side of the WallLes dernières heures du murMarlene
20102h_Two Hours2h_Dvi valandosAgnijashort film
2010Anarchy Girls:lt:Anarchija Žirmūnuose|Anarchija ŽirmūnuoseSandra
2010I Love The Bullet In Your HeartMyliu kulką tavo širdyjeLaura
2010Laima Determines the Destiny:lt:Taip Laima lėmė|Taip Laima lėmėvoice role
2011The Crown JewelsKronjuvelernaprison guard
2011The Fortress of Sleeping Butterflies:lt:Miegančių drugelių tvirtovė|Miegančių drugelių tvirtovėSilvija
2012CommaKomatsactressshort film
2012ExpermanExpermenasLucyshort film
2012Letters to SofijaLaiškai SofijaiHelen
2012ReebaRybashort film
2013ViolenceSmurtasJulieshort film
2014GodfatherКрёстныйKristinTV series
2014StarЗвездаMargarita
2014Sugar TimeZuckerzeitannounced
2015Chasing SolaceLinashort film
2015Until NoПока нетshort film
2015The Exact AddressТочный адресshort film
2015The NorsemanНорвегBrynhild
2015Sinickis - Juokas pro ašaras Sinickis - Juokas pro ašarasmusic video
2015The Roop - Be MineThe Roop - Be Minemusic video
2016About Football and AngelsО футболе и про ангеловangelshort film
2016DreamfishРыба-мечтаHelena
2016Emilia:lt:Emilija iš Laisvės alėjos|Emilija iš Laisvės alėjosactress
2017The Optimists:ru:Оптимисты|ОптимистыRuta BlaumaneTV series
2017Babylon BerlinBabylon BerlinSwetlana Sorokina / NikorosTV series
2018MotherlandGimtinėViktorija
2018IsaacIzaokasElena
2018What Silent Gerda KnowsKo zina klusā GerdaBaroness Emma
2018UnburiedNepalaidotasEglėshort film
2018Short WavesКороткие волны
2018Bloody Lady:ru:Кровавая барыня|Кровавая барыняCatherine IITV series
2018Polina:uk:Поліна |ПолінаVarvara
2018MermaidsРусалкиUlyanaTV series
2018SelfieСелфиLera
2018Sleepers :ru:Спящие |Спящие Ingrid WatsonTV series
2018A Rough DraftЧерновикRenata Ivanova
2018A Rough DraftЧерновикRenata IvanovaTV series
2020The Silver SkatesСеребряные конькиSeverina

Dubbing

YearEnglish TitleLocal TitleRole
2007RatatouilleLa TroškinysColette
2007The Simpsons MovieSimpsonų filmasBart
2007Shrek the ThirdŠrekas 3Rapunzel

Accolades

YearAssociationCategoryWorkResult
2008:lt:Auksinis scenos kryžius|Golden Cross of the StageBest Supporting ActressPatriots
2013FortuneFortune DiplomaIntimacy
2013FortuneYoung Theatre Critics AwardIntimacy
2013Vilnius International Film FestivalBest Lithuanian Actress
2014Sochi Open Russian Film FestivalBest ActressStar
2015Golden Eagle AwardBest Supporting ActressStar
2015Nika AwardBest ActressStar
2015Nika AwardDiscovery of the YearStar
2015White Elephant AwardBest ActressStar
2015Vilnius International Film FestivalBest Lithuanian Actress
2016:fr:Festival du cinéma russe à Honfleur 2016|Honfleur Russian Film FestivalBest ActressDreamfish
2017Silver Crane AwardBest Supporting ActressEmilia