Elevate May 2022 | Air Serbia

Intervju / Interview

all of our little secrets? - I know that Serbia is renowned for its great food, but this was the first time I’d had an opportunity to confirm that for myself. I’m a great gourmet, but also a lover of local specialities. I like to enjoy all the local flavours and aromas. In your country, however, I was delighted with the vegetables, which were so tasty that I ordered our head chef to make all our meals from fresh, or- ganic food, just so that I could en- joy meals that have flavour, if on- ly briefly. Serbia reminded me that food is more than a collection of vi- tamins and proteins that serve us as fuel. It doesn’t only move our body, but also our soul. Why did you choose Ser- bia specifically to shoot the third season? - Our show is known for always selecting the right filming locations. We rarely shoot in a studio. To me, the right location provides a special and specific visual element. It’s diffi- cult to use animation and fake scen- ery to invoke the true spirit of the country where the action unfolds. We’ve never worked in that way at least. We shot one of the previous seasons in Puerto Rico. With Ser- bia, it just so happened that all our requirements aligned. Apart from an original setting, we also got a high-quality creative team, which meant a lot to us from the profes- sional aspect. There are many similar shows. What makes SEAL Team different? - I think it’s precisely that first-

hand approach. This is a military action drama and the soldiers are to the fore. However, the emphasis isn’t placed as much on the action scenes as it is on emphasising the true meaning of military life. The spirit of the military. When com- ing up with the episodes, we didn’t leave anything to chance. We had real military veterans as consult- ants. They helped me a lot when it came to making some details of the story more credible. Interest- ingly, I actually wear the helmet of one of those veterans in the show. Despite it being much heavier than the helmets normally used on set, I wouldn’t dream of replacing it. Lit- tle things like that actually help me to always keep somewhere in my mind the debt of gratitude we owe to people who go into battle so the rest of us can sleep peacefully. What was the greatest challenge you faced making this show? - That’s definitely the challenge, as an actor, of being your own di- rector. That’s a very demanding re- sponsibility. It requires huge dis- cipline and self-control not to fire yourself [laughs]. Actors are char- acteristic for sometimes being a bit stubborn and always trying to ad- just the camera to suit themselves and their ideas. The work and re- quirements of directing, howev- er, are much simpler. The director is only looking for one thing – a good shot. And nothing else in- terests him. I was capable of argu- ing with myself, but the two of us would ultimately always somehow

find a compromise. Though there were some extreme situations. For instance, I always insist on original military equipment that’s several pounds heavier. In those moments, the director within me says – ‘Da- vid, take that off and put on your stage kit, you’ll break your back and knees’. However, that other charac- ter, the actor, immediately hushes the first guy and whispers to me – ‘just keep going, you’re not a weak- ling’. Unfortunately, on that occa- sion the director was right. After ten steps, I tripped, sprained my wrist and nearly dislocated both knees. I’ve left those sorts of scenes to extras since then. It just so happens that we’ve followed your ca- reer in Serbia through al- most all of your previous shows. Today, 30 years in- to your career, how do you see those first steps? - I think I was initially very awkward and clumsy. Like some- one staggering from steppingstone to steppingstone until I reached sol- id ground and knocked on the right door. Buffy was my big ticket to the world of television, but it took a long time for that opportunity to arise. That break comes earlier for some, while there are actors who only get the roles of their life to- wards the end of their careers. In my case, I found myself in the right place at the right time. And there’s nothing that I’d change today. In my life, I’ve always played safe cards. Work and dedication always pay off. Everything else is a gamble.

Posle toliko godina video sam i juga, bio je to moj prvi auto koji su mi roditelji kupili da se vozim do škole. Oduševio sam se što ta kola i dalje postoje After many years, I also saw a Yugo car! That make was the first car I owned, which my parents bought me to drive myself to school. I was thrilled that those cars still exist

26 | Serija » Series

Serija » Series | 27

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