"It's been the adventure of my life": Łódź Film School Actor Interviews (vi): Mateusz Grodecki

Mateusz Grodecki (Photo: Aleksandra Pawłowska)

Mateusz Grodecki plays multiple roles in the Diploma show Fever (Pomysłowe Mebelki z Gąbki), directed by Mariusz Grzegorzek, and the character of Louis Ironson in Angels in America, directed by Małgorzata Bogajewska. He also features in the Diploma film Nic Nie Ginie (Nothing is Lost), directed by Kalina Alabrudzińska.

Alex Ramon: Tell me a bit about your background.

Mateusz Grodecki:  Music came first for me. I was born in Przemyśl, a town close to the Ukranian border, and my favourite hobby, one of the things I loved most, was playing the guitar. I was in two bands playing rock and metal music. So my biggest dream when I was growing up was playing guitar on a huge stage to a big crowd. When I graduated high school I felt like the band was over, but I wanted to continue performing. I had performed in local theatre, and I found I was drawn to acting more and more. I didn't have professional lessons; I prepared alone, working with different texts. I auditioned for the Film School here in Łódź and got in.

AR: What are your feelings about the training, which I understand concentrates more on theatre than screen acting?

MG: Personally, I'm very happy with the training here. Theatre for me is the magical place where actors feel most at home and where the greatest actors are found. It's because of the connection with the audience and the fact that it's happening in the present moment. Film is great too, but in the end it's more the director's medium. Whereas in theatre the actor has more control over their performance and the telling of the story from beginning to end. At least, that's how I see it.

AR: So how was working on the two Diploma theatre shows you perform in, Fever and Angels in America?

MG: It was tiring and demanding, but great. Fever was the first of the Diploma shows and we were all very excited about it. Mariusz Grzegorzek, our director, is the wizard of theatre: a good man, and so creative. He encouraged our collaboration in the show, inviting us to bring in things we were interested in. For example, Ksenia [Tchórzko], Franek [Nowiński] and I created the tap dancing scene together.

Filip Warot, Karol Nowiński and Mateusz Grodecki in Fever
(Photo: Filip Szkopiński)

AR: It's such a lovely moment. Which other scenes do you most enjoy performing in the show?

MG: One of my favourites is when we all perform the Czesław Niemen song "Pieśń wojów" ("Warrior Song"). I hadn't heard the piece before and when Mariusz played it, I thought: "Oh my God!" It's a primal, Viking, warrior song. When I sing it with all my friends on the stage, I feel the emotions very, very strongly. I think about Poland - about the history of the country and what's happening now.

AR: How is it to perform the end sequence, "Four Miles From Warsaw", which is so daring in its staging?

MG: It's scary, to be honest! But exciting too. The text is an old ballad but it feels timeless. I see it as a warning from history.

Mateusz Grodecki and Piotr Pacek in Fever
  (Photo: Filip Szkopiński)

AR: Piotr Pacek also mentioned the quiet scene that you play together as father and son.

MG: Oh yes, it's very special. We play it naturalistically. I try to focus on the real feelings of the character. When I'm waiting before we start the scene I take a big breath and cut out everything else for this moment. I feel very responsible for showing to the audience the feelings of this boy.

AR: How did working on Angels in America with Małgorzata Bogajewska compare?

MG: It's hard to compare because the experiences were so different. They both challenged and excited me, and made me use and develop totally different skills. I feel very happy because I'm a young actor and I already got the chance to play with different methods. That's what's exciting about this job.

In Fever, for example, the close contact with the audience is very important. We talk to them directly in some moments, acknowledging their presence. In Angels we're playing to each other. And playing one character, you have to create a whole history for them, and really get inside them. We had classes with Małgorzata  Bogajewska from our second year in School, and she decided to do the Diploma show with us, and chose the Tony Kushner text. I'd heard about it because of the series with Al Pacino and Meryl Streep, and the famous Warlikowski production. Of course our production has some very challenging scenes, like the sexual encounter in the park, and the wrestling scene where Kamil [Rodek] and I are naked.

Sebastian Śmigielski and Mateusz Grodecki
 in Angels in America (Photo: Filip Szkopiński)

AR: Did you do a lot of research into the period?

MG: Yes, we studied a lot about America in the 1980s, about Reagan, about AIDS. I enjoy this kind of research very much.

AR: Louis is a character who people often criticise, for his idealistic chatter and his abandoning of Prior. How do you feel about him?

MG: The fact is that in reality people don't always do the perfect thing. Louis loves Prior but he's a young man who can't deal with the situation and isn't prepared to sacrifice himself. With my performance, I try to encourage the audience to understand his conflicts and his desires, and maybe not to judge him so harshly.

AR: How was making the Diploma film, Nic Nie Ginie?

MG: I liked it a lot. I have one scene, playing the guitar in the forest, and singing a song created for the film. It's not a lot of screen time, but it's an important scene, quite controversial.

AR: Do you like Łódź as a city?

MG: Many people say it's horrible but I always reply that you need to live here for a few years to really discover it. It's a mysterious city with many surprises. And thinking about the film history is very important too.

Mateusz Grodecki (Photo: Aleksandra Pawłowska)

AR:  What are your future plans? Who are some directors you'd like to work with?

MG: I feel like I'm a free man! There are a few theatres I would really like to work in - here, in Warsaw, in Gdańsk  and Krakow. As for international directors - well, Quentino Tarantino! Of course we all feel quite encouraged that Rafał Zawierucha is playing Polański  in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood! In terms of Polish filmmakers, I admire Smarzowski for making intelligent films that address problems in society. And I would love to work with Jagoda Szelc who I think will have a great career. With Tower. A Bright Day and Monument it feels like she really started something new in Polish cinema.

AR: Are you interested in Shakespeare? You'd make a great Hamlet.

MG: Wow, thank you! Yes, I love Shakespeare: he's a God! He writes about human nature in all its aspects and with the most amazing language.

AR: It seems like you're very positive about your time here and what the future holds.

MG: Yes, like I said, coming here to Łódź was great for me. It's been the adventure of my life. I met some very good people: some of my professors taught me... not only acting skills -  but they opened my mind up to so many new things. I'm very grateful to the School for that.

Angels in America is performed for a final time at Teatr Studyjny tonight, 18 June. 

Other interviewees: 

Piotr Pacek
Anna Paliga
Paweł Głowaty
Ksenia Tchórzko
Karol Franek Nowiński

"At the Beginning of the Road": Łódź Film School Actor Interviews (i): Piotr Pacek

Piotr Pacek (Photo abewu.pl)

As the place that produced the likes of Wajda, Polański, Kieślowski and Skolimowski, Łódź Film School remains the most storied and prestigious of such institutions in Poland. Recently featured in Variety's 2019 list of Best Film Schools, under the current Rectorship of Mariusz Grzegorzek, Łódź continues to nurture new talents in cinema and theatre. This was evidenced by the three terrific Diploma Shows (Fever, Angels in America, Slippery Words) presented this year at Teatr Studyjny and featuring this year's contingent of graduating Acting students. I had the pleasure of interviewing some of the actors over the last few months for pieces that will be published in full in my book of actor interviews next year. In the meantime, though, I wanted to share some shorter versions of the conversations here, as the actors reflect on their time at the School and look forward to future opportunities.

First up: Piotr Pacek, who features in the great Diploma show, Pomysłowe Mebelki z Gąbki (Fever), directed by Mariusz Grzegorzek (for which he won two prizes at the 37th Polish Theatre School Festival last month), and in the Diploma film Nic Nie Ginie (Nothing is Lost), directed by Kalina Alabrudzińska.

Alex Ramon: Tell me a bit about your background and when your interest in acting started.

Piotr Pacek: It was at school. I grew up in a small town near Bydgoszcz, where I was born. I was part of a theatre group in my class, when I was 15 or so. But the main thing was that I always loved movies and I remember many films from my childhood and adolescence that were really important to me: Tim Burton's Batman, Taxi Driver, Amadeus, Dr. Strangelove, The Deer Hunter, The Shining, Mean Streets, Midnight Cowboy, Goodfellas, Platoon. Seeing these films, it was just... pure love.

AR: So it was film rather than theatre that inspired your interest in acting?

PP: Yes, movies moved me so much. Watching them, analysing them, I felt: "This is my world." They were the place where I was looking for myself. It wasn't until I came to the school in Łódź that I really fell in love with theatre as well. The training here focuses more on theatre than film, which is a shame in some ways, but it's also through that that I got into stage work and began to love it.

AR: Who are some of the actors that inspire you?

PP: Answering about favourites is hard because there are so many great actors. But for me Robert De Niro is number one. I love Brando and Clift too, and Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. When it comes to Polish actors, I admire Zbigniew Cybulski, Janusz Gajos, Bogumił Kobiela, Leon Niemczyk. In terms of the younger generation, I like Tomasz Kot and Borys Szyc. We have a lot of great actors here. I was lucky enough to work with Łukasz Simlat on a TV series and that was great. He's a great actor and a great person.

AR: Is there such a thing as a Łódź Film School actor or "method"?

PP: I think you make your own method. You're free. The best thing here is that you're getting all these different experiences and that you can experiment and discover things. For me, that's what's counted most in the training.

Anna Paliga and Piotr Pacek in Fever

AR: I love the Diploma show, Fever, so much. It really tests you all as actors in making you take on multiple roles, and incorporating elements of comedy, drama, singing, dancing, parody, the grotesque... How was making the show for you?

PP: It was a great time, and it still is. What I like is that it's a modern play. Some people say that theatre is over; this play shows otherwise. I very much like the Boss [Film School rector Mariusz Grzegorzek]. He's a great artist and I learned so much from him. He valued our input; it was a real collaboration and I think we made a good show. Every time we perform it it's a great adventure, you know.

Mateusz Grodecki and Piotr Pacek in Fever 

AR: Do you have any favourite moments to perform in the show? 

PP: I really like the Hutsul stuff; it was something I didn't know about before and I fell in love with it. The "Four Miles from Warsaw" sequence at the end is always powerful and challenging to do. I love the quiet scene that Mateusz Grodecki and I play as father and son. He's great and it's a very sensitive moment in all the craziness. At the beginning with "Swollen Problems" [a reality TV show parody], it was hard for me to catch the form, but I think that after a few performances I got it and now I enjoy it more and more.

Poster for Nic Nie Ginie (Nothing is Lost)

AR: And how was the experience of making the Diploma film Nic Nie Ginie (Nothing is Lost)?

PP: Along with Fever, it's been a highlight for me. Like I said, we don't have so much time with the camera at school and I learned a huge amount from Kalina [Alabrudzińska]. She's a great director and working with her was something special. We had a script but improvisation was encouraged too, and I felt very comfortable. Kalina and the crew really created that kind of atmosphere. Growing up, movies meant so much to me; now, my dream came true: I made one!

AR: In fact, you made two: you're also in Lech Majewski's Brigitte Bardot Cudowna (The Wonderful Brigitte Bardot).

PP: Yes, that was a crazy experience! I was kind of nervous because it was the first feature film I made and I was acting in English. But I learned a lot and I'm really curious to see the result.

AR: Do you think it's a good time for Polish film generally? 

PP: I think it's getting better, I think it's coming up. The success of Ida and Cold War was very important. We have some great directors, both from new and older generations: Smoczyńska, Szumowska, Holland.

Piotr Pacek (Photo: abewu.pl)

AR: Have you enjoyed living in Łódź during your studies? 

PP: Yes, I've felt very much at home. It's a weird city, just walking around you feel this different vibe: buildings from before the war, from the Communist times, then the revitalisation... It has that multi-culti element.

AR: Do you feel you can tap into the film history of the city, too?

PP: Yes, it's important. As soon as I came here I felt I was in a good place. I'm working on something now with rehearsals in Warsaw... almost everything is made there and it's necessary to be in the centre. At the same time, I don't feel like Warsaw is my place. It's a totally different city, faster-paced.

AR: Personally, I prefer Łódź.

PP: Me too, me too.

Piotr Pacek (Photo: Tomasz Wysocki) 

AR: What is your upcoming project? 

PP: It's an adaptation of Szczepan Twardoch's very popular novel Król (King) that Jan P. Matuszyński [The Last Family] is making into a series. It's exciting to be part of. I see it this way: I'm at the beginning of the road. And the best thing for me is meeting and working with people who love the craft.

AR: Are there international filmmakers you'd like to work with too?

PP: Kubrick... but he's dead! I always love Martin Scorsese.

AR: And any dream roles you'd like to play?

PP: (laughs) A drug addict!

AR: A drug addict for Martin Scorsese, right? 

PP: Of course! After school I'd definitely like to go to New York and try stuff. That whole scene meant so much to me, Strasberg, De Niro... So I'd like to go there, for sure. Just to touch it, you know. It's one of my dreams.

Fever is performed for a final time at Teatr Studyjny, Łódź, on 17 June. Nic Nie Ginie screens at TR Warszawa, Warsaw, on 8 June and is presented in competition at Młodzi i Film Festival in Koszalin, 10 -15 June.


NIC NIE GINIE /////// teaser ////// scenariusz i reżyseria Kalina Alabrudzińska from LODZ FILM SCHOOL on Vimeo.

Fever photos: Filip Szkopiński.