Nicolae Cristache (born December 5, 1959, in Bucharest, Romania) is a Romanian actor, theatre director, educator, and administrator. He trained at the "Szentgyörgyi István" Theater Institute in Târgu-Mureș (BA, 1988), earned a master's in contemporary performance directing from the University of Arts Târgu-Mureș (2007), and a PhD in theatre (2012). A permanent ensemble member of the Liviu Rebreanu Company at the National Theatre Târgu-Mureș since 1990, he served as artistic director (2007–2012) and deputy general director (since 2012), and taught acting and directing as an associate professor at the University of Arts Târgu-Mureș (1993–2019). He won the Grand Prize for Interpretation at the Young Actor Gala (1989) and the Lucian Blaga International Festival (1992). His notable stage roles include Porfiri in Crime and Punishment, Tito Merelli in Lend Me a Tenor, Trigorin in The Seagull, Malcolm in Macbeth, Henry Bolingbroke in Richard II, and Lucio in Measure for Measure. His film credits include Le passeur in Transylvania (2006, directed by Tony Gatlif), Kutyás in Dolina (2007), Petrov in Milionari de weekend (2004), Knight 1 in The Incredible Genie (1999), Nicky in The Jester from Transylvania (2024), Moisei Senior in Day of the Tiger (2023), and Antim Ivireanul in Ecce Homo Brâncoveanu (2024). He also wrote the screenplays for For Your Sake, Anca (1983) and Al patrulea gard, langa debarcader (1986).
