He graduated the Institute of Theatre and Film “I.L.Caragiale” (class of 1964, professor Beate Fredanov). His talent is acknowledged ever since he was a student, when he played Hamlet and teacher Miroiu (in “The Star Without a Name”). He made his debut on the stage of the National Theatre with the part of Eminescu in Mircea Ştefănescu`s play.
He was hired at the Bulandra Theatre, where
Liviu Ciulei cast him in almost all his shows (“Macbeth”, “Leonce and Lena”, “Elizabeth the 1st”, “The Lower Depths”, “The Tempest”, etc). Between 1990 and 1993 he was the director of the Bulandra Theatre. Starting from 2005 he is the director of the National Theatre in Bucharest. He made his film debut in the works of some important Romanian directors:
Victor Iliu and (again) Liviu Ciulei. He was the Minister of Culture between 1996 and 2000. He is the president of UNITER since 1990.
“From the beginning, the trademark of the talent called Ion Caramitru was the concision. He is the actor of few gestures, of the pensive thoughts, of the words which announce then complete the word, the line. Ion Caramitru has never been an extrovert. His weapon is not the fervor, but the reservedness, a weapon which is sharper and sharper and which is always used successfully.” (
Eva Sîrbu, Magazin estival Cinema 1980)
