- I am reluctant to speak about my success- es in life, and also in art. That is up to others to judge. I am personally happy with my life and I would not change anything. I have a wonderful wife, five divine children, and many great friends who enrich my life. How do you usually spend your free time with your wife Lenka in Rijeka? - We’re always together. And when I have to trav- el somewhere alone, I count the hours until I return home. Rijeka is my home now. I love that city and I don’t even think about going abroad again. I have wandered enough and now the light of my hearth burns in this beautiful part of the Adriatic coas, where the sunsets are the most beautiful and where the peo- ple are dear and free. Do you still teach? Are you strict? What advice do you always give your students first? - I still teach at our Theatre Academy in Rijeka. I love to hang out with young people. I think students contribute immensely to theatrical energy. I love their honesty and innocence, and I’m happy if I manage to help them. I’m not a strict teacher, but my students appreciate the freedom I offer them, and that’s why, in some way, they are responsible for their actions. I teach them to be honest and smart and try to help them find their own way in art and in life. You travel a lot. Is there anything you miss about America when you’re in the Balkans? - Sometimes I miss winter in Los Angeles, be- cause there it is eternally spring. I loved my house, the nature and the restaurants. I miss the little “Café Aroma”, which is run by my friend Adem Slipac, and playing rummy with my friends. I sometimes miss my fellow foreigners in the United States, to whom my wandering soul belongs. Do you think music is the best treatment for nostalgia and are modern tunes still “ridiculo- us songs” for you? - I don’t know whether music best heals nostalgia, but it is true that my songs are mostly nostalgic. And newly composed songs sometimes know how to be ri- diculous because of their naïve verses, and yet they are somehow also good, because kitsch is good pro- vided it is accepted with understanding and tender- ness. Apart from that, these are songs that are sung with a full voice by my people and I have to respect them in a way, even if I do not enjoy all of them. How- ever, some of them, when they are right, impact di- rectly our Balkan heart and soul. You have worked with numerous Hollywood actors, but you’ve stated that Liam Neeson is one of the greatest. Are there any others? - Liam and I have been friends for many years. My family and the family of Vanessa Redgrave are very close, and we consider Liam part of our fami- ly. I adore him. You once said that Emir Kusturica and Novak Đoković are the most successful artists and athletes from the territory of the former Yu- goslavia? - Absolutely! No one has done what Emir Kusturi- ca has done in film art. We are proud of him. And No- vak Đoković is a heavenly wonder, both as a sports- man and as a man. You have five children. Lucija is also an
actress, while Danilo is a director. Nina has started following in your footsteps, Vanja is in- terested in psychology, and what about the yo- ungest, Milica? - Milica recently graduated from the school for su- shi chefs and she will now study somewhere in the world. Probably fine art, and along the way she will continue composing and singing her own beautiful songs. You are an actor, while Lenka directs. What is it like to do a project with your wife? - It’s tough, because you always need to impress and seduce her. That’s not easy when she knows you so well. However, I enjoy the art of our seduction. She’s so bright and clever. For now you have three grandchildren - Ivan, Sergej and Anastazija. When you are together, how do you spend time with them and do any of them show any interest in drama and acting yet? Do they like watching granddad on TV? - Grandchildren are an indescribable happi- ness. They are small creations from our small crea- tions. That’s why we connect so well with them. In my house they do not watch my films, except when they catch something on television. I’m usually not there then, because I don’t watch television, except for sports broadcasts. You once said that one of the world’s most attractive cities is Belgrade, where you eat like nowhere else in the world. What is it that you most love in the city? - There are a lot of things to love in Belgrade. It is one of the liveliest European cities, and Serbs are nat- urally friendly and hospitable. And, of course, many secrets exist that bind me to this city. One is silent about them. One only still fantasises about them. Which places would you recommend for those who have never been to Belgrade? - Wherever you go, you will find the right things. Belgrade is full of mystery and adventure. I’m also still discovering them with a passion. You have never accepted or understood the world of hatred and violence. Are there other people who understand your pacifist attitudes? - There are many. But they are good people who remain silent and who love and understand in their own way. Loudness is only for stupidity and primitiv- ism. And people of good will live quietly, unobtrusive- ly and peacefully. People who love know that good- ness will eventually prevail.
Dovoljno sam lutao i sada svetla moga ognjišta gore na lepom Jadranskom primorju, gde su zalasci sunca najlepši I have wandered enough and now the light of my hearth beautiful Adriatic coast, where the sunsets are burns on the the most beautiful
MY DAUGHTERS ALWAYS OUTDO ME IN SINGING Do you plan to hold your solo concerts in Belgrade and Novi Sad again this year? - Yes. These have become tradition. I think the concert in Novi Sad is on 26 th December and the one in Belgrade will be on the 27 th . I’m happy to be holding it in the Sava Centre again. That space is so big and so divinely wired for sound. I am coming with my Zapadni Kolodvor band. My guests will be the famous trumpeters Bodo Marković and the great Danica Krstić, who beautifully sings songs from Macedonia and southern Serbia, which I adore. When you held a concert at Madlenianum your daughters also performed. Did you have stage fright then, given that you ordinarily never have stage fright? - No, I don’t get stage fright ... I love to sing with my daughters, although they always overshadow me.
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