With the characters I play alone on you

The luxury of his talent but also of constant effort, work and professional maturation, a famous Montenegrin actor Miloš Pejović he shows and proves again and again with different roles, whether in the theater or in front of the cameras, and he delighted the audience with his singing abilities in a unique performance with elements of a musical, which the Podgorica City Theater celebrated 70 years of work at the end of December, and of which Pejović has been a member since 2020.

During the previous year, Pejović had several engagements and marked several new plays, among which "Green Choja Montenegro" directed by Nikita Milivojevića and "Youth without God" by a young director Tara Manić, but also "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" directed by Paolo Maggelija which, after a one-year hiatus, was renewed and premiered. Diametric characters allowed the actor to enrich his repertoire of characters and roles.

Nikola Petrović, in the co-production of the Belgrade Drama Theatre, JU Grad Theater and the City Theatre, Pejović was built primarily as a man who is a friend, husband, father, and only then a ruler, with incredible living elements of spirit and personality that allow the audience to expand the spectrum of characteristics that he assigns to Montenegrin the ruler. The importance of this work is unquestionable Zuka Dzumhur i Mom Kapor, but also theatrical adaptations, as shown by the regional audience that has had the opportunity to watch the play so far and greeted the team with applause.

On the other hand, on the stage of the Montenegrin National Theater, Pejović through the main and extremely demanding role of the Professor, in the adaptation of the dramatic work Eden von Horvat, presents an incredible synchronization of energy, talent, ability, narration and acting. By building communication and connection with the audience, Pejović keeps the audience's attention and guides them through the course of events, narrating a story that makes it even more alive, intimate personal experience, but also more exciting and mysterious.

It was not an easy task for him when he had to perform the premiere of a cult theater work at the Royal Theater Zetski dom, about a year after the rehearsals had ended, but he excelled there as well, and the Podgorica audience will soon have the opportunity to see Magđeli's adaptation of the play Edward Albee.

"I heard somewhere that actors are people who wanted too much to be in life, so this is a unique opportunity for me to be a policeman and a doctor and a professor, a criminal, a pilot, but also an actor," he says in an interview with "Vijesti" and points out that his calling teaches him flexibility, tolerance and empathy on stage, but also in life.

For "Vijesti", Miloš Pejović talks about the roles, the people he creates, the themes that the dramatic works raise, Montenegrin cinematography, but also the concept of truth, the enormous amount of information and self-love, and the nature in which he finds salvation and whose protection he appeals for.

The year behind us was marked by different roles, striking for the audience both in the theater and in front of the screen. The task of an actor is not easy, and the role can easily become unpalatable. What is the measure and sensibility that real actors carry, from your point of view?

There is a very thin line between whether when we interpret some characters we become them or those characters become us. Of course, each actor brings something of his own and loads something of his own into those characters. I try to find each character's story, character, to understand what is happening to him and understand what is important for the plot itself. Of course, we can make all this from our own experience, because we have not experienced other people's lives.

Then I try so hard to find some connection between myself and my character, because all of us as people, not only actors, are very rich in different emotions, attitudes, relationships, people, so much so that you can always find something in yourself that could perhaps motivate you that in a certain situation you behave similarly, and even when it comes to the villain.

I try to do that, so that all the characters and characters I interpret are different, so that I don't get into a certain mannerism, that not every character is similar to me personally, and that's also fun for me, because if it wasn't, I wouldn't even be doing this job . I heard somewhere that actors are people who wanted too much to be in life, so this is a unique opportunity for me to be a policeman and a doctor and a professor, a criminal, a pilot, but also an actor.

When we talked last time, you said that there is no special way of getting into the character. Now you add that you are not playing that character but building a man. How demanding is it, and at the same time how careful should you be, be someone and protect yourself at the same time?

I don't let any character change me. Of course, we have to be careful from one side, but I try to make all the characters enrich me, just like when you read a good book, a good novel. Getting all that through yourself is the specificity of the acting job and of course it consumes and costs something, but we have to try to keep it only and exclusively for rehearsal.

Of course, outside of the rehearsal, I approach the character analytically and what could be improved there. We wear ourselves out both mentally and physically, especially if there are some more difficult and intense scenes, because it's tiring, but I always try to dress up in that character and when I finish the rehearsal to simply take it off and continue life as I live it.

You play the Professor in the play "Youth without God". It is a rather demanding character for several reasons, including, among others, the length of the text and the multidimensionality assigned to it.

CNP director and actor, Marko Bacovic somewhere between rehearsals, he said that the Professor was some kind of medium between the audience and the entire story. That's why this character requires a lot of concentration as an actor, because apart from the scenes I play with my colleagues that happen in real time, the audience is also my partner in a way.

I have many comments, narrative moments and they are all different, none of them are the same, nor is it a retelling. So, sometimes it's a retrospective, sometimes a kind of flashback, sometimes it's a commentary on what's happening in the scene, in some moments it's also a stream of consciousness that the professor realizes, so based on all that, my character requires a lot of concentration and in a way represents the writer himself.

It is a very complex matter, and the volume of the text in itself is not the only problem. It is demanding, but I tried not to let it obstruct me in building that character, so it turned out that all that text is not a problem for me at all, but it requires a lot of concentration.

The play is current and attractive because of the moment and circumstances in which the text was created, but also how it lived later, and how it is interpreted and reflected today. Is it and to what extent can it be related to our time and reality?

I will quote the play itself... The character of the school principal, which he portrays Slobodan Marunović, says at one point: "All of us who aspire to the higher shores of humanity have forgotten one thing, time. This time we live in''. This play, without any additional actualization, relocation to another space or time, is absolutely current.

It happened in 1934, during the rise of Nazi Germany, when a brutalization of the youth took place, not aggressively, but through some ideas that were presented as very positive, with a desire for life and the like, and it turned into the most monstrous idea since the beginning of mankind, so to speak. I think that this play and piece are a warning for any kind of extremism, mass extreme movements.

The professor, who at one point decided not to oppose the system he lives in, was purified by the truth, and that is also the idea of ​​the complete piece - the truth as a catharsis, so whatever happens. I think that is one of the most important things in today's time when we are surrounded by a huge amount of information and misinformation that people process, because the question of 'What is the truth' naturally arises.

It is important to know our inner truth. A quote by Miyamoto Musashi, who was a Japanese swordsman, popped out at me somewhere, who said 'The truth is the truth, whether you like it or not and you must submit to its power or live a lie for the rest of your life'.

In this piece, it was important for me to deal with how much this man was changed by telling the truth at a crucial moment. That is one of the ideas of this piece, and the other is how some kind of extreme mass movements can turn young people into something that can be monstrous, devoid of empathy and the like...

You also play in the play "Zelena choja Montenegra", which was well received by the audience throughout the region. It seems that we needed a piece like this. You said before the premiere that working with the director, you formed the character of Nikola, an ordinary man, a friend, a husband, but also a ruler. How important and close to everyone is this story?

We started the process through an inspiring approach like a workshop, and we did not immediately start with the text and material. That process gave us very interesting things, that's how some scenes were created, and the director created scenes together with us that were not preconceived, but we created them together. I tried not to be burdened by the historical importance of the interpretation of King Nikola and not to go for some imitations of how people would imagine him.

I tried to deal with this story and Nikola's intimate feelings towards friends, wife, people... This story is extremely important because it talks about friendship that is above any political, daily-political, national, ethnic, religious context . And I think that is the most important thing, even when we look at a personal example.

Their time was much harsher than today, so this story teaches us that friendship is above all, and not only friendship but also a word, a given word, trust. These are some points of both the novel and our play.

Nikola really risks everything in order to provide everything for his friend from his student days, who is actually a captured Turkish commander from the battle at Vučje dol. He may be exaggerating in this hospitality and what his friend received, the whole plot is about that, but in all of this we see how much power human trust and human words have and should have.

You get the impression that you are with the characters you play. So, what was it like to be (King) Nicholas?

Yes, that's well said, because I'm really with the characters. I would repeat what I said from the beginning, which is that I try to find some common feature between me and that character, I try to find something like that in everyone, even in those who are diametrically opposed to me. In some situations, I personally would not react like Nikola or as a professor, but in given moments I always try to justify it and in that I find some understanding and compassion, and this profession teaches me that.

We also see you in the popular series "12 words", which was recently rebroadcast. With this role, considering the domain of the television program, you presented yourself much more widely...

I must point out that at the Festival of regional series Fedis in Belgrade, the director is Jelena Stolica won the award for best director. I have to look back on that cooperation as well. That series is really specific, in a sea of ​​them that talk about similar topics, because this series focuses on the personal dramas of all the characters who are participants in everything that happens. The focus is not on the dirty deeds, but on the characters. And the reactions are very specific because everyone saw the originality in this series.

The work went on as an honest and true collaboration, we did everything together and I really liked that unique atmosphere. I hope that we will also film the second season that is planned. "12 words" deals with each of the characters in a special way, the pace is unique, the way of telling the story, and I can also say that the series looks quite cinematic.

Showing the most ordinary things that each of the characters does, that is, each of the people in general, is necessary on the screens, because there are no such individuals who are always polished and spared from ordinary actions. That's why I also found the comment of one of the viewers interesting, who says that he liked to see how some dangerous criminals or hardened lawyers clean the table, have breakfast, drink yogurt and eat burek, and in all of this, the story of being a lawyer, cryptocurrencies, and laundry is intertwined. money, crime, it's all the backbone, but the characters are the real backbone.

It seems to me that people are more and more attracted to the psychological aspects of the characters...

Yes, it is also a trend, especially in some European series that work on similar themes, such as Danish crime series in which the focus is always on the characters, relationships, and intimate feelings of those people. I think it's a trend that offers richness to both the viewer and the crew. We are witnessing that the series have become of better quality than the movies, they don't have the same character as they were 20 years ago, but everything permeates, so the series and the movie become one, in a way.

Finally, what is the situation in cinematography in Montenegro?

Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of filming in Montenegro and we have one, unfortunately, non-existent production as far as that type of filming is concerned. I think we have an abundance of both acting and directing, as well as technical capacity. We see the hyperproduction of series in Serbia, the actors are constantly employed and that's great, but it would be even better if we didn't have to move from Montenegro to play and develop professionally.

It would be good if we could bond better, all of us from this common speaking area, because that can only give rise to quality. A little more work should be done here as well, although it depends a lot on finances. I'd say the audience is eager. People in Zagreb still ask me about the series "Budva na penu od mora" which was filmed almost 10 years ago, all because we have quality and actors and specifics and various other riches that interest people from the region. We must appreciate ourselves, our production and what we have.

An unbearable amount of information and self-love

How do young people, or people today in general, know the truth, distinguish between emotion and truth in relation to what is imposed on them through various means of communication?

It is very difficult. I talked to some people who say that the human brain has a limit of information that it can process, social networks are constantly present, and information is every photo or headline that we see, so imagine that. After a certain limit, people become quite numb and apathetic, things become insignificant to them, and everyone tries to make some representation of themselves on the social network, and not something that we are intimate with, so I think that the truth should really be sought within ourselves when we separate ourselves from everyone information.

The truth is deeply buried in us and we have to find it, because it is who we are as people, and the question is whether it is what we present on our profiles on social networks or whether it is our intimate, out of the public eye.

I think that a general infatuation with presenting ideal versions of ourselves on social networks leads to a certain, if not coarsening like in our show, then definitely to dulling and problems like depression, anxiety and everything that we struggle with today en masse.

I found partial salvation from that in nature, which I turn to whenever I have free time. There is some manual work that fills me, because this amount of information, self-love and narcissism on a mass level is unbearable. It is a pandemic that reigns the same as the corona virus pandemic, in the long run it is safer and more dangerous, because there is no cure and the question is what can be born from it.

Nature is the only thing we essentially have that can heal us

You said that you spend a lot of time in nature. What does nature offer us?

We can't say that everything that the rise of civilization has brought us so far is bad, because if anything, life expectancy has increased... However, I look at it on an individual level. Separation and being placed in cramped, cubic spaces in which we live, and which we arrange, do not make us truly satisfied, but I think that even on that individual level, nature is necessary for us.

In the first wave of the pandemic, many people began to discover the nature, and of course, that the responsibility lies with some corporate structures, so I think that the individual can influence the most through himself.

It is incredible how much a piece of paper can change if it is not thrown into nature, by the side of the road, but into the trash can. When asked if we want trash on the floor in our house, the answer would be no. It should be understood that nature is essentially the only thing we have and the only thing that can heal us, because I am deeply convinced that being in nature, working, and being physically active in nature heals. The question is whether we, on an individual level, want to be someone who leaves trash behind, and then there is the question of who we really are.