First, Jan Nowicki studied acting for two years at the Acting Department of the Lodz Film School from 1958 to 1960. His second acting school was the State Higher School of Theatre in Krakow, from which he graduated in 1964. Later, he was also connected with the Krakow school where he was employed as a teacher and was the vice-dean of the Acting Department from 1973 to 1974.

He played in nearly 200 feature films. His roles in "Sanatorium pod Klepsydrą"(The Hourglass Sanatorium) by W. J. Has, "Wielki Szu" (Big Sharp) by S. Chęciński, "Magnat"(The Magnate) by Filip Bajon, "Bariera"(Barrier) by Jerzy Skolimowski and "Trzecia część nocy"(The Third Part of the Night) by Andrzej Żuławski will go down in the history of Polish cinema. The Stary Theatre in Krakow was the place where Jan Nowicki had worked for 30 years and played outstanding roles - including Stavrogin in "The Possessed", Rogozhin in "Nastazja Filipovna" and Prince Konstantin in "November Night". Jan Nowicki was also associated with the iconic in the world of Polish culture Krakow Piwnica pod Baranami.

"(...) defiant, expressive, full of internal contradictions, artistic rebellions and twists, an extremely strong, independent personality - one of the symbolic artists of the Stary Theatre."(...) He combined the looks of a modern heartthrob with bold and creative acting". – as we can read at encyklopediateatru.pl.

The actor passed away on Wednesday morning 7, December, 2022, at the age of 83.

ed. Jolanta Karpińska
photo – still from the film "Barrier" by Jerzy Skolimowski