Jesse Eisenberg has been granted Polish citizenship.
The American actor and filmmaker has been awarded Polish citizenship by President Andrzej Duda following his portrayal of Poland's Jewish history during World War Two in his Oscar-winning film A Real Pain.
In the film, which Eisenberg wrote and starred in, two American Jewish cousins travel to Poland to honour their grandmother, who survived the Holocaust.
The grandmother is based on Eisenberg's own great aunt Doris, who fled from Poland to the U.S. in 1938. He was inspired to create the film after she died in 2019 at the age of 106.
Speaking at the citizenship ceremony in New York, Eisenberg said, "While we were filming this movie in Poland, and I was walking the streets and starting to get a little more comfortable in the country, something so obvious occurred to me, which is that my family had lived in this place for far longer than we lived in New York."
"And of course, the history ended so tragically," he added.
The filmmaker went on to explain that he felt his family had become disconnected from their Polish heritage over time.
"In addition to that tragedy of history is also the tragedy that my family didn't feel any connection any more to Poland, and that saddened me and confirmed for me that I really wanted to try to reconnect as much as possible," he said.
"And I really hope that tonight in this ceremony and this amazing honour is the first step of me, and on behalf of my family, reconnecting to this beautiful country."
Meanwhile, President Duda said he was "delighted" that more people were learning about their Polish heritage.
"I am delighted that people from across the ocean acknowledge their heritage, recognise that their ancestors hail from the Republic (of Poland) and seek to forge a connection with our country," he stated.
Last week, Kieran Culkin won an Oscar for his role as one of the cousins, Benji Kaplan, in A Real Pain. Eisenberg was nominated for writing the film, but lost out to Sean Baker for Anora.
