Horațiu-Valentin Mălăele (born 1 August 1952) is a Romanian actor, cartoonist, writer, and theater and film director. In this last capacity his is often associated with the Romanian New Wave. Born in 1952 Târgu-Jiu, he had a public art exhibit in his final year of secondary school, the first of over 30 as of 2016. Mălăele graduated in 1975 from the Institute of Theater and Cinema in Bucharest and first became a professional actor with the National Theater of Romania in Piatra Neamț. He returned to Bucharest, where he became a prominent actor, working in many of Romania's leading theaters including Nottara, Odeon, and Bulandra. He then became a director, directing such plays as O sărbătoare princiară ("A Princely Feast") by Theodor Mazilu (1982 at Nottara Theatre), A Flea in Her Ear by Georges Feydeau (1993 at Nottara Theatre), and Carl...