Born on April 20, 1928, in Estonia, into a peasant family. He graduated from the acting faculty of the National Institute of Theatre Arts in 1953. From 1953 to 1959, he was an actor at the Kingisepp Theatre and then a directing apprentice under Georgy Tovstonogov, principal director of the Gorky Theatre in Leningrad. From 1962 to 1964, he became a director at the Endla Teater in Pärnu. From 1965 to 1991, he continued his career at Tallinnfilm Studios, where he appeared in eight films as an actor and directed seven.
