Jesse Eisenberg has been granted Polish citizenship by the European country’s president, just months after the actor, writer and director applied.

Eisenberg was awarded citizenship to the European country by Andrzej Duda on Tuesday at the tail end of a trip to the U.S. The ceremony, conducted at a Polish mission to the United Nations in New York, took place after Eisenberg revealed to Głos Wielkopolski last year that he had applied for Polish citizenship nine months prior.

“I am happy to be a European member, but I am even happier to be a citizen of Poland,” Eisenberg told those in attendance. “This is an honor of a lifetime and something I have been very interested in for two decades.”

While Eisenberg was born in New York City, his family’s roots extend back to Poland and Ukraine. Last year’s “A Real Pain,” which Eisenberg wrote and directed as well as starred in, follows two cousins (played by Eisenberg and 2025 Best Supporting Actor winner Kieran Culkin) as they travel to Poland and embark on a Jewish heritage tour in honor of their late grandmother, who survived the Holocaust and escaped to the United States.

The movie touches on themes of generational trauma and the complex struggles that descendants of Holocaust survivors deal with in trying to reckon with their Jewish ancestors’ experiences. Eisenberg shot the film on location in Poland. Earlier this year, it received two Academy Award nominations for Eisenberg’s screenplay and Culkin’s supporting performance. The latter actor ultimately took home an Oscar for his turn in the film.

Speaking at his citizenship ceremony, Eisenberg reflected on his experience making “A Real Pain.”

“While we were filming this movie, ‘A Real Pain,’ 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,” Eisenberg said. “Of course, the history ended so tragically. But in addition to that tragedy of history is also the tragedy that my family didn’t feel any connection anymore to Poland.”

“That saddened me, and confirmed for me that I really wanted to try to reconnect as much as possible,” he continued. “I really hope that tonight and this ceremony and this amazing honor is the first step in me — on behalf of my family — reconnecting to this beautiful country.”

For his part, President Duda stated, “I am delighted that people from across the ocean acknowledge their heritage, recognize that their ancestors hail from the Republic [of Poland] and seek to forge a connection with our country.”

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