Zoltán Várkonyi, winner of the Kossuth Prize, Artist of Excellence and Artist of Merit, actor, film and stage director, studied under Árpád Ódry and Ferenc Kiss before graduating from the Academy of Drama in 1934. He was a member of the National Theatre between 1934 and 1941 and the Madách Theatre between 1941 and 1944. He was banned from performing on stage during the war and had to flee from the Gestapo because of his origins. After the war, he was the manager of the Művész Theatre from 1945. Between 1950 and 1962 he worked at the National Theatre and for three seasons was the main director at the Hungarian People’s Army Theatre. In 1962 he became the main director at the comedy theatre Vígszínház and was the manager there from 1971 until his death. In parallel with his film roles he directed a series of classic Hungarian films. He taught at the Academy of Drama (later the Academy of Theatre and Film), and was the rector of the institution from 1972 until his death.