Petre Nicolae

Petre Nicolae (born March 12, 1955, in Căldăraru, Ilfov County, Romania) is a Romanian actor of Romanian descent, known also as Petrică Nicolae. He graduated from the I.L. Caragiale National University of Theatre and Film (Acting, 1983) and has been an ensemble member of the Teatrul Odeon in Bucharest since 1997, after earlier stints at Teatrul de Nord Satu Mare (1983–1986), Teatrul de Comedie București (1986–1994), and the Teatrul Național "I.L. Caragiale" (1994–1996). A rare illness kept him away from stage and film for many years; he recovered after spending time at Frăsinei Monastery, and since 2016 he has retired to the village of Manolache, where he is described by his spiritual father as a "white monk."

His most notable film credits include Ion in Chained Justice (1984, ACIN Honorary Diploma), Ghiță in Pas în doi (1985, ACIN Best Male Interpretation, ex aequo), Toma Panduru in Furtună în Pacific (1986), Mihai in Niște băieți grozavi (1987), Dimitrie Grozea in Drumeț în calea lupilor (1988), Lavrinte in Pasaj (1990), Mafi in Șobolanii roșii (1991), Ifrim in Privește înainte cu mânie (1993), a role in Un été inoubliable (1994, French co-production), L'Épicier in Gadjo Dilo (1997, directed by Tony Gatlif), Infirmier in Bolondok éneke (2003, Hungarian), and Petrică in Europolis (2010). On television he appeared in Detectiv fără voie (2001) and Cei trimiși (2025–2026). On stage at the Odeon he has played Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare), Edék in Tango (Mrożek), and Rapafrata in Hangiță (Goldoni), and received a UNITER Award for his theatrical work.