Zoran Radmilović and the cult play "Radovan III" are the main "culprits" that Igor Đorđević decided to pursue acting.
"The cassette 'Radovan III' came to my house, like every house in Šumadija. I 'infected' the whole school with the play and we all used lines from it. I knew then that I would be an actor. I dreamed that I would have the opportunity to act with Zoran. I'll probably play with him when I go up to his place. Now there is a great crowd of exceptional actors. God must make a good division and that he needs them for something," Đorđević told "Vijesti".
He didn't have the chance to act with Radmilović, but that's why he got the awards at the festival named after the famous actor. Thus, for the role of Kanjoš in the drama "Kanjoš Macedonović" in 2011, he received the award "Zoranov brk", and three years later he received the same award for the roles of Martin, Ricci and Dejan in the play "Bizarno". For the same roles, he received the "Zoran Radmilović" award as the best actor of the 23rd "Days of Zoran Radmilović" festival. Viktor from "The Devil's Town", Godfather Petrašin from "Autumn is Coming, My Quince", Hamlet from the film of the same name, Petar Kočić from "Blind Passenger on the Ship of Madmen", "entered" the homes of the audience with the series "Mixed Marriage", "Invincible Heart ", "Women from Dedinja", "Zvezdara"...
"Television is such a powerful medium that it makes you see how inferior the theater is. With a television, you enter a man's living room. He doesn't need to get ready and leave the house to look at you. I resent our academy for having it strictly theatrical and then we are completely uneducated for film, which we learn about in the first projects, and it shouldn't be like that", said Đorđević, who has been a permanent member of the National Theater since 2002.
"People want good theater, and it is becoming less and less, although it is an art that will survive precisely because of that direct contact with the audience"
He graduated from the Theater Academy in Novi Sad, in the class of Vida Ognjenović. That it was not without reason that he was declared one of her best students is evidenced by the awards he received playing on the boards that mean life. It is not without reason that they say he is a theater star.
"People want good theater, and it is becoming less and less, although it is an art that will survive precisely because of that direct contact with the audience," says Đorđević and admits that he is currently in the phase when he is most attracted to film acting.
It bothers him that in these areas people don't build characters on film, but everyone is content to be "natural and extremely boring". That is why he is grateful to Goran Marković for enabling him to build a character in the film "The Blind Passenger on the Ship of Madmen", where he plays Petr Kočić. And Đorđević made excellent use of that opportunity and, according to critics and the audience, brilliantly portrayed the last days of the famous writer, which he spent in the first psychiatric hospital in the Balkans, in Guberevac.
"Goran is a man who loves the theater and was nurtured by an actor's salary, which is why my role in the film was on the verge of a semi-theatrical performance. It was a fine line to examine theatrically and filmically, how far you can go, but also to create a character.
I really had a wonderful experience with Marković," says Đorđević and admits that it is his favorite film role.
As far as theater roles are concerned, he particularly stands out in the play "Evil Souls" where he portrays the character of Stavrogin.
"Even though it's difficult, it's very inspiring to play in a play based on Dostoyevsky's text," says the actor, who jokingly presents himself as "a meek and mild-mannered person."
Although, as he said, there is no salvation in cynicism, there is still defense, so it is no wonder where people have such cynicism. And laughter is also an excellent defense mechanism. That is why, he believes, it is not difficult for him to make the audience laugh with the play "Frankie and Johnny", where he plays with Sloboda Mićalović.
Work is underway on the play "Richard the Third" and Đorđević admits that, although he has numerous theater roles behind him, he still has stage fright.
"Richard got under my skin from the Academy and now we are doing him on the Great Stage of the National Theatre. The play, directed by Snežana Trišić, brought together a large cast of good actors. I'm nervous, because after all, this is Shakespeare, the pinnacle of our work. I can say that my wish has come true," says Đorđević, who, as he said, if he were not an actor, would be a bohemian.
Hard times also bring great responsibility
"Andrić said 'when it's good, then I'm nothing'. It's good when it's difficult, that's when an actor gets inspiration. At least that's how I console myself. You have to have a small dose of masochism, a dose of criticism towards society, and we as artists, or rather stage performers, have a greater responsibility than we would have if the conditions were better. We also have responsibility for what we play, how and where we play, what we declare. I don't know where I read – 'he who didn't starve is not an artist'”.
I wouldn't really like my daughter to decide to do acting
He has been married to actress Zoran Bećić since 2007. They have a daughter, Petra, who will soon have a sister. If Petra follows in her parents' footsteps, dad will support her in that, but if she asks for his opinion, he will tell her what path she has chosen.
"It's a small production, and the number of actors is increasing. It's hard to be an actor today, an actress three times harder. I wouldn't really like my daughter to decide to do acting, because in the direction this society is going, I doubt that the situation will be significantly better when she matures and decides which college to enroll in. It can only be significantly worse. But I will support her path whatever she chooses”
Half-knowledge is the greatest despot
"I think the main problem is that we live in an age of half-knowledge, and half-knowledge is, as Dostoevsky says, the greatest despot." When you think you know something, but in fact you know nothing, then it's all just the surface. That's why I would tell young people not to be superficial".
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