A native of the former Yugoslavia, Oleg moved to Australia at the age of 19 to attend The Actors' College of Theatre and Television. As a child and teenager he travelled extensively, living and attending school largely in the Middle East.
In 2008 he graduated from the Actors College of Theatre and Television and in 2010 he co-wrote and performed in In Stereo at The Old Fitz. Then, his big break came...he found a real job in sales and decided to spend 2 years away from anything/anyone creative, only to wake up one day and think “I should go back to acting for free”.
He spent 2013 starting a theatre company with his wife and, starting off 2014 like any good Stallone movie, Oleg wrote and performed in Two Peas' premier production, We're Bastards, where his performance as Joe Jnr was described by one critic as, "a complexly layered performance as this loveable yet flawed redneck, particularly standing out with the sheer rawness he exhibited. Pupovac commanded the stage during his final monologue, which was both affecting and haunting."
oleg pupovac
" i rather you hate everything about my art
than say it was 'ok'. "
His favorite roles have been Edmond in David Mamet's Edmond and Ferfichkin in Sydney Chamber Opera's adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's novella Notes From Underground at Carriageworks. His latest role was MAN in Me and My Mother, Singing which was a semi-autobiographical one man show written and devised by Oleg, performed as part of the BATCH festivl at Griffin Theatre, and currently in production as part of the UnWrapped festival at the Sydney Opera House.
Oleg dipped his directorial toes in 2015 as assistant director to Lex Marinos for Bertolt Brecht's Roundheads/Peakheads and to Glen Hamilton for Toby Schmitz' Lucky. In 2016 he directed the Australian premier of Phil Porter's Blink at 107 Projects and in 2018 assistant directed Anthony Skuse in Chris Hannan's stage adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. Most recently Oleg directed Beast : A Short Parable, a short Australian Western, and is currently in post production.
Oleg is writing two new plays; U Srebrn Ibrik Zahvatila Vode (She Caught the Water in her Silver Pitcher) and Daughters of Dawn.
When he is not too busy being a Pea, Oleg spends his time reading, playing basketball and fantasizing about being a lead in an Emir Kusturica film.