Who Is Zoran Rankić

Zoran Rankić (Derventa, 9 August 1935 – Belgrade, 9 December 2019) was a Serbian stage and television actor, playwright, poet and aphorist. For four decades he was a leading actor of the Drama company at the Belgrade Drama Theatre. Audiences remember him above all for two television roles: Nikola Kalabić in the series “Poslednji čin” (The Last Act) and Žarko Popara in the series “Srećni ljudi” (Happy People).

He played more than 150 stage roles and about 25 television roles. Alongside acting he wrote constantly, and he left behind around fifteen books of plays, poetry and aphorisms.

Early Life and Childhood

Zoran Rankić was born in 1935 in Derventa, then part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. His father was named Mihailo Rankić, and his grandfather Jovan lived in Derventa.

His family later turned out to have an unusual connection to the character who would bring him his greatest fame. According to Rankić, his father Mihailo was a school friend of Nikola Kalabić from the Derventa gymnasium. Kalabić’s father Milan lived before the war in the nearby village of Podnovlje and asked Rankić’s grandfather Jovan to find his son a room in Derventa so he could finish school.

Education

Rankić studied acting at an acting school in Sarajevo. The exact name of the institution is not confirmed in the available sources.

In one interview he said that from the start of his schooling in Sarajevo he wrote every day. He wrote at rehearsals, during breaks in filming, in cafés, at home and on walks. That habit stayed with him for the rest of his life.

Beginning of His Career in Sarajevo

He began his stage career in 1955 at the National Theatre in Sarajevo, where he stayed until 1960. Together with director Bora Drašković, he was one of the leaders of avant-garde theatre there. He played leading roles in Ionesco’s “The Lesson” and Domanović’s “Stradija”, as well as roles in Shakespeare’s plays.

For three roles in the radio drama “De Profundis” by Slobodan Marković, he received the Sterija Award for acting in 1961. For TV Sarajevo he played Vasa Pelagić, a part he later counted among his favorites.

Leading Actor of the Belgrade Drama Theatre

The productions he created in Sarajevo were avant-garde for both the local and the Belgrade scene. This led to his move to the capital and the Belgrade Drama Theatre. According to journalist Zvezdana Stanković, a relatively modern repertoire awaited him there.

He spent about forty years at that theatre as a leading actor of the Drama company. The writer Moma Kapor described him as an actor of modern sensibility who still carries the vanished style of the romantic-era bards of Serbian theatre.

Five years before Kalabić, he played the role of Crni (the Black One) in the play “Vagon Ge”. He considered that part the seed of his later Kalabić. He received excellent reviews for it.

Nikola Kalabić in “Poslednji čin”

In 1981 he drew major public attention with the role of the Chetnik commander Nikola Kalabić in the television series “Poslednji čin”. The script was written by Siniša Pavić and the series was directed by Sava Mrmak. The part was originally written for Velimir Bata Živojinović and was then offered to Dragomir Bojanić Gidra. Rankić got it after the other options fell through. Draža Mihailović appeared in the series played by Milan Puzić.

Rankić said he accepted the role reluctantly, but that he was not afraid of playing a so-called villain. He played Kalabić in a way that won sympathy across Yugoslavia, which surprised even him. By his account, that reaction caused discomfort among the authorities, and director Sava Mrmak had serious problems because of his interpretation.

Rankić recalled that General Peko Dapčević congratulated him on his acting in the Belgrade hotel “Mažestik” but also told him he had created a major political problem for them. Later he was proud of the role and said it had become part of him.

He also built the role on family experience. According to his account, his father and Kalabić met in 1941 in Gornji Milanovac, and his father nearly lost his life on that occasion. Even so, he said, he stood on Kalabić’s side during filming, because his father never used a harsh word about him.

Žarko Popara in “Srećni ljudi”

His second great wave of popularity came with Žarko Popara in the 1993 series “Srećni ljudi”. The role was offered to him by Siniša Pavić, the same author who wrote “Poslednji čin”. Rankić said that Popara, as a comic character, supposedly was not his territory. Still, from a brazen director and swindler he made a character the audience loves.

By his own account, he came up with the lines “Gospođice, gospođo” and “Mmm, Bebo”. The mooing, he said, arose spontaneously during filming, when he struck the door frame with both hands and began to bellow. The whole crew started laughing, and filming had to be stopped.

After this series he worked almost exclusively in the theatre, without any significant television roles. Because of that part, the media kept calling him Popara.

Literary Work and Aphorisms

He wrote poetry from an early age, but he published his poetry books only in the last decades of his life. Critics reviewed them very favorably. He was also the author of the plays “Kalemegdanci” and “Skretnica”. In all, he published about fifteen books, including plays, poetry and aphorisms.

He was a recognized aphorist with a distinctive style. In the 1980s he ran a satirical column called “Aforizmi jednog glumca” (Aphorisms of an Actor) in the newspaper Večernje novosti, on the page “Vedra strana sveta”. He described himself as having a soft heart and a poet’s soul, and said that his poetry portrayed him better than all his roles.

He was a member of the Association of Dramatic Artists of Serbia, the Association of Writers of Serbia, the Association of Dramatic Writers of Serbia and the Association of Writers of Republika Srpska. He was also an honorary member of the Belgrade Aphorists’ Circle.

Leaving the Theatre

Rankić said goodbye to the Belgrade Drama Theatre in an unusual way. His colleagues wanted to send him into retirement with a farewell speech, and he wanted to avoid it. He locked himself in his dressing room, left a message on the mirror and jumped out of the window of the ground-floor room.

He later said that after leaving he was never called back, not even for small roles. He stressed that he never wanted to be a manager, only an actor, and that all he wanted was to perform.

Greatest Achievements

• The role of Nikola Kalabić in the series “Poslednji čin” (1981), which drew great public attention across Yugoslavia.
• The role of Žarko Popara in the series “Srećni ljudi” (1993), one of the most recognizable characters of Serbian television.
• Forty years as a leading actor of the Drama company at the Belgrade Drama Theatre.
• The Sterija Award for acting (1961), the Radoje Domanović award for lifetime achievement in satire (2015) and the Golden Badge of the Cultural and Educational Community of Serbia (2012).
• About fifteen published books of plays, poetry and aphorisms.

His other television credits include the series “Špancc” (1982), “Banjica” (1984) and “Misija majora Atertona” (1986).

Personal Life

Family

It is known that his father was named Mihailo and his grandfather Jovan. Details about his marriage and children have not been confirmed by reliable sources, so this text does not state them.

His longtime collaborator and friend was the journalist and graphic designer Zvezdana Stanković, with whom, by her account, he shared about three decades of friendship. She spent a long time persuading him to publish his life stories in a book.

Final Years and Death

He devoted his final years to writing, his other great love. He died on 9 December 2019 in Belgrade, at the age of 84, after a long and serious illness. His death was announced by the Association of Writers of Serbia, and media reports say he died in a nursing home.

According to media reports, he was buried on 12 December 2019 at the Novo Bežanijsko Cemetery in Belgrade.

Interesting Facts

• The role of Nikola Kalabić was first meant for Velimir Bata Živojinović and was then offered to Dragomir Bojanić Gidra.
• According to Rankić, Belgrade’s then mayor Branko Pešić refused to let him receive the October Prize, explaining that Chetniks are not rewarded. Rankić relayed this as a story from a man who sat on the jury, not as a verified fact.
• In one interview he said that in forty years on stage he never received an award for his theatre roles. The Sterija Award relates to a radio drama.
• Zvezdana Stanković’s book includes anecdotes about Steva Žigon, Milovoje Živanović and Pavle Bogatinčević, as well as a story about an encounter with Pavle Šovljanski.

Awards and Recognition

• The Sterija Award for acting, 1961, for three roles in Slobodan Marković’s radio drama “De Profundis”.
• The Golden Badge of the Cultural and Educational Community of Serbia, 2012, for long-standing work and contribution to spreading culture.
• The Radoje Domanović award, 2015, for lifetime achievement in humor and satire.
• Honorary membership of the Belgrade Aphorists’ Circle.

Legacy and Influence

In 2017, two years before his death, the book “Zoran Rankić” by journalist Zvezdana Stanković was published. The Belgrade Drama Theatre later issued the monograph “Nekoliko stvari o životu Zorana Rankića” (A Few Things About the Life of Zoran Rankić), which builds on the first book but emphasizes his theatre life and memories of the legends of this stage. Copies were not sold but given away.

In January 2026, the exhibition “Velikani Pozorišta na Krstu” opened at the Gallery of the Theatre Museum in Zaječar, together with a promotion of the monograph. Zvezdana Stanković, actor Milan Caci Mihailović and actress Tamara Milčić spoke about Rankić.