Do you have a star on PraguePig.com’s stock photo of a walk of fame? (Credit: Christian Haugen)
So Prague didn’t turn out to be the
Left Bank of the ’90s, or the 2000s, or the 2010s but that doesn’t mean the expat scene is short of talented people doing notable things.
Here’s PraguePig.com’s inaugural ranking of the city’s 10 most famous English-speaking expats, plus a couple of big names that didn’t quite qualify. (Let me know who I forgot in the comments.)
1. William Fichtner
He’s no household name but William Fichtner registers high enough on the “I know that guy from something” scale to qualify as a Hollywood star. The American actor enjoyed filming TV series Crossing Lines in Prague so much that he bought a second home here for his family. “I know it is one thing to [visit] and another to live here for five months but we really embraced the idea of getting an apartment, finding a grocery store and places where we like to get a cup of coffee,” he told
Stuff in 2014. Coming soon to a potraviny near you…
William Fichtner on IMDb
2. Ambassador Andrew H. Schapiro
The American ambassador always has a high-profile role in Prague life but Andy Schapiro is more visible than most. The former Obama fundraiser doesn’t quite match predecessor
Shirley Temple Black for name-recognition but his
well-publicized spat with President Zeman and regular Czech media appearances have kept him in the headlines. Most memorably, the lawyer-turned-diplomat
showed off his mad axe skills on Jan Kraus’s late-night talk show.
Ambassador Schapiro on the US Embassy in the Czech Republic website
3. Costa Nhamoinesu
One of the Czech league’s best left-backs, Zimbabwean footballer Costa Nhamoinesu has been a star for Sparta Praha since 2013. Sparta fans love Nhamoinesu (pronounced “na-moy-ness-oo”, PraguePig.com thinks) not only for his on-field performances but also for his amazing language abilities: the Zimbabwe international was
speaking passable Czech within six months of moving to Prague. The 30-year-old could soon be leaving Letna, though: his contract expired at the end of the season and he’s now considering his options.
Costa Nhamoinesu’s official Facebook page
4. Daniel Brown
Few Prague expats are more recognizable to Czechs than Canadian actor Dan Brown, a recurring character on the TV Nova serial
Ulice (“The Street”), Mrs. PraguePig.com’s favourite soap. Playing American bar-owner Henry Rettig, Brown regularly appears in front of an audience of around a million viewers — even if, as he admitted in an
2012 interview with Radio Prague, his character doesn’t actually have that many interesting storylines.
Daniel Brown’s official Facebook page
5. Tonya Graves
PraguePig.com has been in Prague long enough to remember the days when Tonya Graves was “the girl from the Globe bookstore”. These days, the soulful American singer is a bona fide pop star, best known as a member of funk band
Monkey Business.
A mother of two and apparently settled long-term in Prague, Graves is an enduring source of fascination to the local media. Strangely, she’s also the only woman on this list.
Tonya Graves’ official Facebook page
6. James Harries
Credit: Marketa Bendova
Not to be confused with the
other James Harries, the British singer-songwriter has worked his way up from expat bars to topping the Czech pops — or at least, the
Evropa 2 Music Chart. Often compared to Jeff Buckley (but less dead), the Mancunian minstrel released his sixth album, Until the Sky Bends Down, last year (2015). Fun Fact: According to an interview in PraguePig.com’s mother-in-law’s copy of Vlasta, Harries’ favourite Czech city is Ostrava.
James Harries’ official Facebook page
7. Adrian T. Bell
Once a
sailor, now a singer, the frontman of Prague alternative rock band
The Prostitutes pulled off a neat trick recently: Despite being British, his Different World LP won the 2014
Apollo prize for Czech album of the year. (Kind of a Czech equivalent of the
Mercury Prize.) Originally from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Bell has called Prague home since 1993. Amazing but False: His middle name is Tiberius.
Adrian T. Bell’s official Facebook page
8. Erik Best
When Czech news shows want a Western perspective, there’s usually one man they turn to: Erik Best. Fluent in Czech and based in Prague since 1991, the American journalist/publisher is best known for
The Fleet Sheet, a daily Czech news summary that’s a must-read for expat biz types, and
The Final Word, a daily commentary on Czech current affairs. Best also launched one of Prague’s odder English-language media ventures, the short-lived
Bohemia Daily Standard newspaper.
The Fleet Sheet/Fleet Sheet’s Final Word website
9. Robert “Dr. Bob” Polo
You might not have seen Robert Polo in Prague but you’ve almost certainly heard him. The American DJ/voiceover artist is almost the unofficial “voice of Prague”, lending his sonorous tones to jingles, commercials, movie trailers and pretty much anything that needs a dash of Americana. “Dr. Bob” (not an actual medical doctor) also has his own show on the curiously named
Color Music Radio.
The Polo Media Partners website
10. Chris Sadler
A fixture of the Prague dance scene for two decades, British house DJ Chris Sadler has been the resident at Roxy’s Climax since 1998, making it the longest-running Czech club night by several country miles. The Nottingham-born DJ has played on the same bill as the likes of Derrick May, Dave Clarke and Darren Emerson and routinely clocks up more than 100 parties a year. It makes PraguePig.com tired just thinking about it.
Chris Sadler’s official website
Honourable Mentions
Crispin Glover
Best-known for playing Michael J. Fox’s dad in the first Back to the Future film (and for not being invited back for the sequels), the
famously eccentric Hollywood actor/director is a borderline case. Glover doesn’t live in Prague but he does
own a chateau in
Konarovice, Central Bohemia. According to a
2015 interview with the former Manchester Guardian, Glover spends four months a year in Konarovice, mainly working on his
somewhat idiosyncratic film projects.
Crispin Glover’s official website
Jaz Coleman
The
Killing Joke frontman doesn’t have a home in Prague but spends a lot of time here. Coleman’s work in Prague includes an album of orchestral Doors covers, a spell as composer-in-residence with the
Prague Symphony Orchestra (FOK) and collaborations with folk-rockers
Cechomor on two albums, including the soundtrack to the 2002 hit Rok d’abla. “Prague is the last great mystery,” Coleman told
VICE last year (2015). “This is where the magic happens.”
Jaz Coleman’s official Facebook page
Possibly Related
No mention of Keith Levene?
I had no idea he lives here. If he’s still around next time I put this list together, I’ll be sure to include him. Thanks!
Keith Levene lives there? Interesting. Interview him,
Sam.
what about the two Glenns??
“Notorious” isn’t quite the same thing as “famous” 😉
So nobody really
What about Charlotte Fairman aka Charlie One?
She was in consideration — I actually interviewed her in 2005 — but I hadn’t heard much about her recently.
I would have mentioned the American Gene Deitch, who came in the days of hard Communism to cooperate with the Bratri v triku animation studio ca. 1959 and ended up marrying a local woman from the studio and is still living in Prague. His work includes a series of Tom and Jerry cartoons that were made in Prague and he wrote his autobiography “For the Love of Prague”, a fascinating account of an American living through almost 4 decades of Communsm.
You’re right — he should’ve been in the list. I’ve actually read his autobiography too but he slipped my mind when I compiled the list. If I ever get round to updating it, I’ll be sure to include him. Thanks for the suggestion!
All the best,
Sam