Jiří Štěpnička

Acting

Jiří Štěpnička

Born — Died

1947-04-16 — 2026-10-11

Place of birth

London, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

90 titles

Jiří Štěpnička, by his own name Jiří Samec (* 16 April 1947 London) is a Czech actor. He is the son of Czech actress Jiřina Štěpničková and a drawing professor from Strakonice Jan Samka, for whom Jiřina Štěpničková married shortly before the son's birth. The place of his birth was given English citizenship, and he received five names in baptism according to his godparents: Jiří Jan Jaroslav Martin Otto. After the return of her family to Czechoslovakia, Jiřina Štěpničková was cast down and, based on a frightened letter from director František Čáp, she attempted to emigrate to Šumava through the state border with a three-year-old son in her arms, the generalist Hruška was a confederate of the…

Known for

Film credits

2020s · 7 titles

Girl America poster
5.7

A little girl and a socialist orphanage. It is a strict children’s institution. How to overcome fears, insecurity and loneliness? To do this, the girl creates another self to talk to and argue with. And, of course, the dream of America where everything is beautiful and good. Where her father lives and waits for her. A girl and her foster family. There’s plenty of everything, but it doesn’t feel right. Emma’s trials don’t end there. Again and again, she must find the strength to hope, the stamina to live.

Girl America

2024

Samhain poster
5.7

No synopsis available yet.

Samhain

2024

ave HRUBÁ poster
NR

Poet, performer, and local legend Eva Hrubá is a woman of contradictions, sparking both devotion and public outcry. This documentary dives into her dual existence of vibrant joy and silent suffering. Moving beyond her reputation as the "eccentric lady on a purple bike," the film explores how she transforms loneliness into art and pain into a shared celebration of life. The film explores the world of a remarkable woman, seeking the boundary between her persona as an author and her performance.

ave HRUBÁ

2026

The Compatriot poster
5.0

On New Year's Eve in 1944, two men meet in the middle of a snowstorm in a cottage cut off from civilization - a widower, Petr Bernat, and an SS officer, Konrad Neumann. The only thing the two men have in common is their Sudeten origins. At first, their conversation revolves around mundane topics, but as midnight approaches, they begin to address more pressing issues. A tragic past is revealed and it becomes clear that tonight will be a fateful night for Bernat and Neumann.

The Compatriot

2024

Jackpot poster
6.2

Two friends set out on a journey from Ostrava to Prague to claim a winning lottery ticket — but they're not the only ones looking to cash in.

Jackpot

2022

Fichtelberg poster
5.3

In 1547, young knight Petr Pětipeský is sent to the remote village of Urbach to oversee the construction of a bridge that promises access to ‘hidden mineral’ wealth. When his beloved Alma vanishes under mysterious circumstances, Petr defies local superstition and ventures into the shadowy workshops of Fichtelberg Mountain. There, he confronts strange figures and uncovers secrets that test his courage and beliefs.

Fichtelberg

2025

Eyewitness poster
6.0

"A documentary anatomy of mass murder for one monitor and 34 talking heads." These are the words the filmmakers use in the credits to describe their project, which thematises the execution of more than 260 Carpathian Germans, Hungarians and Slovaks by Czechoslovak army soldiers near Přerov in June 1945. The “massacre at Přerov” is made present through a minimalist dramatisation of the interrogation footage of direct participants, eyewitnesses, and others. It is as if the characters of ancient theatre were entering the Zoom “stage” and delivering a tragic message of fear, hatred and disinterest across the chasm of time.

Eyewitness

2021

2010s · 6 titles

Svatojánský věneček poster
4.7

Princess Verunka's marriage is supposed to save the kingdom, which has been impoverished by the crazy ideas of its ruler. And she has several suitors! The poet Alexander Alexandrovich, who would make even Pushkin pale with envy, the two-headed baron, military leader and composer Wajsman, the mysterious Marquis, who rules with the magic of his mother, the queen of death Morana, and the eccentric inventor Sir Klevr. Can Ondra, a boy who longs to become a whitewater swimmer, be their worthy opponent?

Svatojánský věneček

2015

Modelky s.r.o. poster
2.5

A crazy comedy from the high fashion modeling environment in the style of The Devil Wears Prada and Zoolander tells the story of two rival modeling agencies led by two icons of the Czech fashion scene, former friends, but for 40 years implacable rivals. In 1967, both participated in the Miss Czechoslovakia competition, but only one won and the other could not bear the defeat. Since then these two ladies, by now already of certain age, have had a brush with one another and have done spiteful things to each other. And they have been vying with each other in finding a new Eva Herzigová so that they could make a long nose at the other from international fashion catwalks. When beautiful young Martina appears, whose beauty literally takes everyone's breath away, they start fighting to get her into their "barn". Who will win? Is this fight going to deepen their rivalry? Or are these two quarreling "grandmothers" going finally to bury the hatchet and to renew their friendship?

Modelky s.r.o.

2014

In the Shadow poster
6.5

In the former Czechoslovakia, 1950s, police captain Hakl investigates a jewelry robbery. An opened safe deposit leads to a known burglar. What seems an easy case soon starts to tangle. When he is called off the case, he continues on his own. The investigation leads him onto thin ice. Can he beat a stronger enemy and save his family and his own life?

In the Shadow

2012

Jan Hus – Cesta bez návratu poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Jan Hus – Cesta bez návratu

2015

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

David Zeisberger – apoštol indiánů

2014

Případ dvou sester poster
3.0

Captain Vašátko of the criminal police and Horác, a painter, bohemian, and amateur detective, are searching for the murderer of Daniela Jásková, an emancipated young woman who excelled at her job and also excelled at changing lovers. When she is found strangled in her apartment, Vašátko's team begins an investigation. They also focus on the victim's sister, Alena Kášová, who did not like Daniela very much and resented her ability to win over every man. Suspicion also falls on Alena's ex-husband, the sculptor Káš, whom Horác has known since his studies at the academy.

Případ dvou sester

2019

2000s · 5 titles

Bride with big legs poster
7.0

This fairy tale, based on an old French legend, takes place in the Middle Ages at the court of King Pepin. The king wants to marry and, on the advice of Duke Akilon, decides to court the Hungarian princess Bertha. Although the princess has a physical flaw—her feet are too large—Pepin does not care much about that. He remembers how he was friends with Bertha as a little boy and even then admired her bravery. Duke Akilon therefore sets off for Hungary to ask for Princess Bertha's hand in marriage for his king. However, he has his own plan and has no idea what will thwart it.

Bride with big legs

2002

Tři životy poster
4.4

Three soldiers desert and take refuge in an ancient, crumbling castle where three veiled maidens welcome them with a sumptuous feast, on the sole condition that they neither lift a veil nor lay a hand on their hosts during the night. Only one, Jakub, keeps his vow and is rewarded by a freed princess and a magical token that grants him three extra lives.

Tři životy

2007

No artwork available
NR

The devil's school is similar to a human school in many ways. Restless students, a strict and constantly frowning headmaster, an indulgent class teacher who won't let his students down. The trio of high school graduates from our fairy tale are given an extremely difficult task. They are to capture the sinful souls of a baker and a miller for hell. But the eloquent Miss Cordelia gets in the way of the devils, the baker, and the miller, and the completion of the devilish tasks is suddenly in jeopardy. The students must figure it out for themselves. If they fail the final graduation exam, they will be the laughing stock of hell, and they will also face another thirteen years of school. And that is a hellish punishment.

Pekelná maturita

2003

No artwork available
8.0

The story of a teacher, a famous actress, and her students set against the backdrop of the harsh normalization period, a time when, after the Soviet occupation, most people tried to survive in the gray zone, and only a handful of brave souls were willing to risk their positions in the fight against the regime.

P.F. 77

2003

No artwork available
NR

It was a fateful August, and devastating floods ravaged Bohemia. Mrs. Gabriela lived alone in a spacious apartment near Prague. Perhaps she just wanted to help, or perhaps she wanted something more: either way, she called the news station to offer accommodation to an elderly disabled woman. The next day, Mrs. Věra arrived with only a bag of personal belongings that she had managed to salvage from her flooded apartment in Karlín. But perhaps this woman was looking for something more than just a roof over her head. As it gradually became clear, everything was a little different than it seemed. In any case, this situation offered both women a chance to resolve their lives, which were already drawing to a close...

Povodeň

2005

1990s · 10 titles

How to Deserve a Princess poster
6.1

A fairy tale of three brothers who try to save a princess kidnapped by an evil wizard.

How to Deserve a Princess

1995

No artwork available
NR

When misfortune befalls the prince and the fairy, what will happen to their love? What will happen if misfortune befalls us...? But what exactly is luck and what is misfortune? Who knows? Prince Lukáš is convinced that luck is beauty. The beauty of images, the beauty of words, the beauty of a face. So it's no surprise that when he catches sight of the lovely fairy Oxana, the most beautiful creature in the forest, he falls in love. He falls in love with her beauty. But how will the young prince react when, later on, Oxana sacrifices her beauty for him...?

Smůla

1999

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

O Šedivákovi

1995

Démantový déšť poster
NR

This romantic fairy tale is based on a story by German writer Theodor Storm. It tells the story of two young children, Kristian and Elke, who, thanks to their bravery and honesty, manage to overcome the Fire Lord, the evil Iris, to free the Rain Fairy and save the whole Earth from drought and thirst.

Démantový déšť

1990

No artwork available
NR

When the princess rejected the Lord of Evil Water, she had no idea how cruel his revenge would be. Water disappeared from the kingdom, and its inhabitants now realize how great a treasure clear, clean water is. You will learn about the courage it took to bring life-giving water back to the kingdom in Jan Jílek's fairy tale.

O zlé a dobré vodě

1998

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Pot, lesk a potlesk

1990

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Královny kouzelného lesa

1999

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Princ z pohádky

1995

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Elektro, má lásko

1991

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Dlouhé dopoledne

1991

1980s · 15 titles

How Poets Are Losing Their Illusions poster
6.1

A story about a young medical school student and his adventures.

How Poets Are Losing Their Illusions

1985

Strach má velké oči poster
8.0

Three intrepid young men set off into an enchanted forest to free a captive girl. We can't reveal how their adventurous trip will turn out yet, but the names of the main characters in the fairy tale suggest that it will be a journey of joy rather than horror!

Strach má velké oči

1980

Poprask na silnici E 4 poster
7.5

Car transport of the locomotive is difficult, as the cargo is bulky. The three-man crew of the tractor therefore experiences many difficulties on the long journey across Bohemia...

Poprask na silnici E 4

1980

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Nebožtík si nepřál květy

1986

No artwork available
NR

Tonda is a sixteen-year-old boy who has a talent for sports. His father, who is also a coach, would like Tonda to focus on javelin, but his son is drawn to football. Despite his father's reluctance, he moves to Prague so that he can practice his dream football in top conditions. He lives with his uncle, a footballer, and also gets a glimpse behind the scenes of sports, where the road is not always straight. But this apple didn't fall far from the tree...

Daleko od stromu

1983

No artwork available
NR

The opening image that begins the suspenseful story is marked by a tragic event: an eight-year-old girl is brutally murdered in the forest and the dog that accompanied her is shot. The crime sets in motion an extensive search operation. Time is running out for the murderer, and the detectives have many years of experience and knowledge of local conditions on their side. According to the law of a good detective story, the circle of possible perpetrators is wide. Everyone from the neighborhood of little Stán is a suspect, because the results of the investigation showed that the girl knew her murderer...

Soví hnízdo

1982

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Karel Hynek Mácha

1983

Fragile Relationships poster
4.0

A divorced single mother romances a young slaughterhouse worker, must to the chagrin of her ex-husband.

Fragile Relationships

1980

No artwork available
6.0

A dramatic patrol car weekend on the streets of Prague's city centre. Lieutenant Josef Kabát and his colleagues drive through the centre of Prague every day in a patrol car. He loves his neighbourhood more than anything and wouldn't trade it for a more comfortable life in the office or at the control room. After a citizen calls the 158 emergency line, Kabát goes to various cases, be it accidents, thefts, disturbances or assaults. In one burglarized apartment, he finds the perpetrators' broken dioptric glasses and a torn piece of leather jacket. These are exactly the kind of things worn by his 18-year-old son Pavel, who coincidentally disappeared at the same time, allegedly with friends on a cottage holiday. However, Kabát has no time to deal with his family problems: there are too many thieves and shady characters roaming the streets of Prague. The worst of them are a couple of young men who have just raped and murdered an innocent girl...

Tísňové volání

1986

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Modrý kosatec

1984

No artwork available
8.0

Dramatic fates of people hidden behind a theatrical mask.

Podivná přátelství herce Jesenia

1986

No artwork available
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Opožděná vražda

1988

No artwork available
NR

The fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast" has been adapted countless times. For example, as a ballet or as a famous French film. The writer F. Hrubín retold it for children, and a television story about the brave Rozárka and the cursed king was also created based on his original work.

O Rozárce a zakletém králi

1985

Caught by Night poster
5.6

A communist journalist from Prague is sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp.

Caught by Night

1986

No artwork available
6.0

A comedy about the love of the Czech nobleman Záviš of Falkenštejn for the Hungarian princess Kunhuta, who later married Přemysl Otakar II and became the Czech queen.

Hra o královnu

1981

1970s · 13 titles

Hastrmanská povídačka poster
NR

The waterman Puškvorec fell in love with the pretty gingerbread woman Rozárka and it took him a while to understand that happiness awaited him in the pond alongside the gingerbread woman Leknička...

Hastrmanská povídačka

1979

Silvestr 79 aneb Hrajeme si jako děti poster
NR

A New Year's Eve television variety show from late 1979.

Silvestr 79 aneb Hrajeme si jako děti

1979

Až bude padat hvězda poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Až bude padat hvězda

1976

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Rose Mary

1977

Jak se ševcem šili čerti poster
9.0

Shoemaker Číč is a skilled craftsman, but a great mischievous and riddle-teller. Such that he tricks not only the king, but also Lucifer himself. He earns fame and wealth by doing so, but he hurts his poor neighbor Karafiátek. But still, a bad conscience begins to gnaw at him. He returns to hell and this time his own fate is at stake. Whether he lost to the devil or won over him, you will only find out from the cheerful fairy tale.

Jak se ševcem šili čerti

1976

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Mlynářka z Granady

1975

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Vánoce

1977

No artwork available
NR

The merging of reality with legend, the image of reality (Ruthenian Verkhovyna in the 1920s) and its reflection in people's minds - this is what characterizes the story of the modern Transcarpathian bandit Nikola Šuhaj, who "took from the rich and gave to the poor". Ivan Olbracht's novel from the 1930s, one of the artistic peaks of modern Czech prose, is a dramatic story about a war deserter, his love for the beautiful Eržica, a story about revenge for wrongs, persecution, betrayal and death. Šuhaj's fate merged with legends in people's memory. By combining elements of the past and the present, document and myth, the story turned into a ballad about how eternal and strong the human dream of freedom and happiness is.

Nikola Šuhaj loupežník

1978

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Život není sen, moje milá

1975

Quiet American in Prague poster
8.0

In the era of normalization, even seemingly buried agent stories came back. This one takes place in the immediate post-war years and tells the story of the discovery of a spy network that an American diplomat was spinning on Czech territory. He was unsuccessful: first, a close associate, who was proven to have collaborated with the Nazis during the war, committed suicide, followed by the intervention of the vigilant Security Service. However, the fleeing Americans were joined "in return" by a Czechoslovak agent... This naive adventure story could hardly be taken seriously. The book, which served as the basis for the film, was written based on actual events that took place in 1948.

Quiet American in Prague

1978

No artwork available
8.0

Pretty Aninka is terribly lazy, she just wants to sleep, her mother tries in vain to get her to do any work. Even Toník, her boyfriend, cannot convince her that she cannot just lie in her blankets all the time. There is a storm coming, everyone is trying to get hay under the roof, but Aninka is lying under a tree and would rather go to the Thunderclaps than toil here. And that morning the Thunderclaps took her to their heavenly chamber. There the poor girl has to serve them. One of them, Tlučhrom, even wants to marry her. But Toník, her sweetheart, and his mother search for her all over the world and with the help of good people they even get to the Thunderclaps' kingdom. The cooper hid them in the barrels that the Thunderclaps had come for so that they could roll them around the sky in joy. It won't take them much trouble to outwit the stupid hulks and get Aninka back among the people. And now that Aninka was in her wedding dress, she could go to the altar with Toník.

Krkonošské hromování

1971

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Zbojníci a žandáři aneb Jánošík

1974

No artwork available
5.0

No synopsis available yet.

Jak zničit vlastní mužstvo

1977

1960s · 4 titles

Slasti Otce vlasti poster
6.4

The young Prince Charles (Jaromír Hanzlík), the future King of his country Charles IV, is being educated at the French court in the company of his fiancée Blanche (Daniela Kolárová). One day he receives a summons from his father John of Luxembourg (Milos Kopecký) in Italy. He leaves for Italy accompanied by a deputation from Bohemia. On the way the prince's company fights a battle with armed Milanese against heavy odds. Thanks to Charles's perspicacity, the prince's almost naked soldiers win through. In Lucca in Italy Charles joins his father, and here he experiences an amorous adventure and escapes from the traps laid by the Italian rebels.

Slasti Otce vlasti

1969

Marathon poster
5.6

It is 5 May 1945 and the uprising against the hated German occupiers has broken out in Prague. The Czech guards open the gate of the Pankrác prison to allow the prisoners to escape en masse. Many of them are shot dead by the German guards but young Ruda (Jaromír Hanzlík) manages to run away. He is taken care of by one of the Prague fighters, concierge Kytka. Kytka hides him in the flat of the house's owner where only the young maid Karla (Jana Brejchová) is left, ordering her to take care of Ruda.

Marathon

1968

Kočky neberem poster
9.0

A smiling holiday story about an old car named Cleopatra and its four-member, all-male crew...

Kočky neberem

1967

Škola hříšníků poster
4.5

Pavlata, the director of an educational institution for juvenile offenders, will push for the early release of Pepík Adamec, whom he respects for his sincere efforts and good work record. However, the boy bears the dishonest and dishonourable behaviour of adults in his new job and in his family.

Škola hříšníků

1966

Series credits

Blue Code poster
6.0

A Czech medical television series that focuses on an emergency department. Each episode follows cases inspired by real-life stories and the cases of patients and healthcare professionals.

Blue Code

2017

Cesty domů poster
6.5

No synopsis available yet.

Cesty domů

2010

Bakaláři poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Bakaláři

1972

Sestřičky poster
7.5

No synopsis available yet.

Sestřičky

2020

Sestřičky poster
7.5

No synopsis available yet.

Sestřičky

2020

Dobrodružství kriminalistiky poster
8.6

No synopsis available yet.

Dobrodružství kriminalistiky

1989

Dobrodružství kriminalistiky poster
8.6

No synopsis available yet.

Dobrodružství kriminalistiky

1989

Vyprávěj poster
7.6

Set in Czechoslovakia, the drama follows the lives of its characters against the backdrop of real historical events that shape their personal stories. To evoke period atmosphere, the series intersperses authentic clips from vintage Czechoslovak film newsreels, using their original commentaries or newly recorded historical voice-overs by Vladimír Fišer. A narrator, initially voiced by Vojtěch Kotek and later by Matěj Hádek, provides continuity and reflection, guiding viewers through changing times. Under the guidance of screenwriter Rudolf Merkner, each episode’s script weaves family and individual dramas into key moments of Czech and Slovak history: political shifts, cultural trends, and social transformations from the 1960s onward.

Vyprávěj

2009

Labyrinth poster
6.3

Finding the body of the regional politician Karas, killed in the spirit of medieval torture and carefully arranged in a strange scene, unleash police hunt for a sadistic perpetrator. He puts investigation team in the way of a complex series of murders that shake the local region and criminologists themselves.

Labyrinth

2015

In Treatment poster
7.5

Exploring one of the defining features of modern society, therapy, as seen through the eyes of a psychiatrist whose professional and personal life is on the verge of collapse.

In Treatment

2011

Obchoďák poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Obchoďák

2012

Obchoďák poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Obchoďák

2012

OKTOPUS poster
8.4

A Prague police unit reopens time‑critical cold cases before the statute of limitations runs out, pairing a seasoned loner with a principled young detective to re‑examine old evidence and pursue new leads across real city locations.

OKTOPUS

2023

We All Are Required to Attend School poster
4.0

Stories from a daily life of children attending a regular school.

We All Are Required to Attend School

1984

Synové a dcery Jakuba skláře poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Synové a dcery Jakuba skláře

1986

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Zákony pohybu

1979

Inženýrská odysea poster
NR

Inženýrská odysea is a Czechoslovak/Czech TV series about three young students and their lives.

Inženýrská odysea

1980

Muž na radnici poster
NR

Muž na radnici was a Czechoslovak television program which was broadcast in 1976. The program was directed by Evžen Sokolovský. In 2011, it was announced that the program, along with 17 others, would be released on DVD within three years.

Muž na radnici

1976

Okres na severu poster
8.0

Okres na severu is a Czechoslovak/Czech TV series filmed by Evžen Sokolovský in 1981.

Okres na severu

1981

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Strom pohádek

1987

Hříchy pro pátera Knoxe poster
7.7

No synopsis available yet.

Hříchy pro pátera Knoxe

1992

Dynastie Nováků poster
8.8

No synopsis available yet.

Dynastie Nováků

1982

Čapkovy kapsy poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Čapkovy kapsy

2011

No artwork available
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Z hříček o královnách

1994

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Poručík Petr

1981

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Slané pohádky

1984

Bazén poster
3.0

No synopsis available yet.

Bazén

2005

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Pouť králů

1982

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Strašidýlko Fanfulínek

1971

No artwork available
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Kabinet Dr. Honzáka

2020