
Merab Ninidze (born 3 November 1965) is a Georgian actor. He is best known for the roles of Oleg Penkovsky in The Courier, Walter Redlich in Nowhere in Africa, and Giulio Sabbadin in Conclave. Ninidze was born into an artistic family and was introduced to acting at a young age. He was heavily involved in the theatrical world in Georgia. At the age of 13, he successfully auditioned for the role of Prince Edward in Shakespeare's Richard III at the Rustaveli State Academic Theatre in Tbilisi, which premiered in 1979 and toured the UK three times. From 1982 to 1985, he studied at the Shota Rustaveli Theatre and Georgia State Film Institute under the guidance of Gizo Jordania, which eventually led him to become a full-fledged member of the Theatre Company. Later, he would perform in plays such as Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, The Diary of Anne Frank, and David Kldiashvili's Step-Mother.
Ninidze's first major film role was in Tengiz Abuladze's 1984 film Repentance, in which he played Tornike Aravidze. At the age of 25, Ninidze immigrated from Georgia following the Civil War in Georgia. During this time, he was offered a role in Goran Rebic's Yugofilm, which led him to work in Vienna for several months. For more than 20 years, Ninidze has worked in Georgian, Russian, German, and English-language film and TV.

A Working Man
2025 · as Yuri

Bridge of Spies
2015 · as Soviet Main Interrogator

Conclave
2024 · as Sabbadin

Tom Clancy's Without Remorse
2021 · as Andrej Vaseliev

The Courier
2020 · as Oleg Penkovsky

Nowhere in Africa
2001 · as Walter Redlich

The Fourth State
2012

Russian Whispers
2019 · as Viktor

Repentance
1987 · as Tornike

In Heaven
1999 · as Levi

Invasion
2013 · as Konstantin

My Happy Family
2017 · as Soso

Hostages
2017 · as Levan

Bride of the Wind
2001 · as russischer Soldat

Winter's Daughter
2011 · as Alexei

Jupiter's Moon
2017 · as Gabor Stern

Paper Soldier
2008 · as Doctor Daniil Pokrovsky

Percht
2018 · as Truck Driver‘s Voice