Petr Jakl is a screenwriter, director and film producer. The latest film directed by Petr is the historical drama Medieval (2022), starring Ben Foster, Michael Caine, Til Schweiger and Matthew Goode. The Czech actors featured in the film include Karel Roden, Ondřej Vetchý, Marek Vašut and Jan Budař. In 2020, Petr was a producer on The Last Full Measure, a Lionsgate film with actors Sebastian Stan, Samuel L. Jackson, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Christopher Plummer and Peter Fonda. As a producer, he has also worked on American Traitor with Al Pacino (2021), Misfits with Pierce Brosnan (2021), Best Sellers with Aubrey Plaza and Michael Caine (2021), Savage Salvation with Robert DeNiro and John Malkovich (2022), One True Loves with Simu Liu (2022), The Inhabitant with Dermot Mulroney (2022), 57 Seconds with Morgan Freeman and The Black Demon with Josh Lucas. Petr has also worked with many other acclaimed actors such as Anthony Hopkins, Nicholas Cage, Alec Baldwin, Mila Jovovich or Vin Diesel. 

Petr Jakl’s path to the world of film was not entirely typical. In his youth he was primarily involved in sports, namely judo, but he also became a Czech national champion in Arm Wrestling. In judo he is a ten-time national champion and he won the World Cup and won two bronze medals at the Academic World Championships. The highlight of his judo career was his participation in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where he finished thirteenth. Despite all his success in judo, Petr gradually moved on to a career in film. Just as in sports, he embarked on his career in film, whether as an actor or stuntman, with patience and determination. He eventually began to appear in Czech and foreign films. These included Joan of Arc (dir. Luc Besson, 1999) and xXx (dir. Rob Cohen, 2002). Director Besson and Rob Cohen encouraged Petr to continue his interest in film, and as a result he decided to go to America to study.

The film Kajínek (2010) was the Petr’s directorial, writer and producer debut. The political thriller achieved the highest sales during its opening week and the highest total sales in this genre in Czech history. The film won the Czech Lion in the Supporting Actor category and the main prize at the Belgian Film Festival in Liege. This was followed by the film Ghoul (2015), which Petr again directed, wrote and produced. Ghoul became the highest-grossing horror film in Czech history and won the main award at the Grossmann Fantastic Festival. His most recent work, which he directed, wrote and produced, is the historical epic Medieval (2022).

Petr is also very intensively involved in project development. One such project is the film Calico Joe, on which Petr is an executive producer. John Grisham’s novel was adapted into a screenplay by Grant Heslov and George Clooney, who also stars in the film. One of the co-producers of the project, along with Clooney’s company, is Bob Dylan’s company. Petr is currently developing dozens of film and television projects, including a TV series with Steven King and three films from Marvel creator Stan Lee, which he is producing with director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted with Angelina Jolie).