A native of Prague, he studied acting at the DAMU (Academy of Performing Arts in Prague) and in 1969 joined the municipal theatres.
After 14 years he moved to the theatre in Vinohrady, where he played until the year 2016. Is also a teacher at DAMU. His wife Jana Preissové is also an actress and together they have a son, Martin Preiss, who also devoted his life to acting and moderation activity, and son Jan Preiss, computer graphics. The actor himself said: Forty-eight years in theatre is long enough and I totally agree with it.
During his time in the theatre, film, or radio, he became popular among many of the viewer or listener. In those 48 years, he appeared in a lot of plays, film productions and dubbed countless films. He was several times awarded the Franisek Filipovsky Award and Thálie Award. He has a distinctive charisma and even more distinctive voice. He gives his voice to the roles of storytellers of fairy tales and some movie scenes.
People often say about him, that he is an invisible actor, because he has a lot of small roles. Even in a supporting role, his performance is great and he outshines all the other actors.
Among the best known film roles are:
S certy nejsou zerty (Give the Devil His Due) (1984) - role: Mr administrator
Milenci v roce jedna (Lovers in the Year One) (1974) - role: Pavel Krouza
Panoptikum Mesta prazskeho (1986) - role: Hnizdo
Svatba upiru (The Vampire Wedding) (1993) - role: Count Kronberg
V Erbu Lvice (1994) - role: Viktor I
Tmavomodry Svet (Dark Blue World) (2001) - role: Major Skokan
Vsechno Nejlepsi! (All the Best!) (2006) - role: Jindrich
Clona (2014) - role: Colonel Jan Barta