It was such a naughty hit that you couldn't resist - Interview with Károly Mécs

It's a cliché, but it's usually true that the actor dies on stage. It's true, according to his role, he can do this hundreds of times, but that's not what I'm thinking about now. That it is almost impossible to break up with this profession. The Artist of the Nation, the two-time Kossuth and Jászai Mari prize-winning dramatist, worthy and excellent artist Károly Mécs announced in 2021, at the age of 86, that he would retire for good, but everyone thought that it was actually impossible to do so.

"It's a strange thing." An actor remains an actor even if he has reached retirement age, so deep down I also feel that I would happily go anywhere if I was called, but the epidemic came just at the time of my retirement, and I couldn't go anywhere for two years. The covid has also affected me to some extent, which means that I have to take care of my health. Then there are vows that one tries to keep. It basically sounded like this for me: I don't take on bigger tasks in the theater or film. In principle, of course, I don't take any action, but I'm not that consistent about it. A friend request comes that you can't say no to. because love compels me to say yes, true, on the rarest possible occasion.

"As far as I know your dear wife, Dr. Györgyit Bujdosó, I think he is also strictly guarding his vows.

- My wife has common sense, unlike the actor, who may have common sense, but is definitely not sane. He very reasonably justifies why things are as they are, what can and cannot be done at this age, but he does not limit. I am constantly learning my possibilities and limits...

I already know that a person's thinking changes, not to mention, he becomes much more romantic than when he was younger. This is actually not good, because life has not become more romantic. This is also why it is useful for a man to be kept in reality by his wife. Györgyi is a really great woman with whom, thank God, we have a perfect harmony. I could also say that poetry meets practicality. (Of course, Györgyi doesn't lack lyricism either) We discuss everything, which is good because a man, especially an aging man, doesn't always make the best decisions.

- After a certain age - this is common - we prefer to hear only complaints. It hurts here, it hurts there, just don't get old...

"Of course, old age has certain physical limitations." Let's say: I don't carry the horse anymore and even if the horse wanted to carry me, I'm not sure I want to get on it anymore. But I won't give up on that yet, I don't want to be bored in the armchair. Old age can also bring a lot of joy. One wakes up in the morning and marvels at the world, at the leaves of the trees nodding in front of the window, at the trilling thrush whistle; and the world that surrounded him until now seems more beautiful... I don't know why. We go for a walk and it fills me with joy to see how beautiful the flowers are, how life grows from the sown seed, where the cicadas nest, so we delight in such everyday beauties. It's always been like that, but now I not only see it, but notice it.

- Everything changes?

"Not that." There are things that are hard to get used to. Such is the case with us, for example, travel. During the epidemic, we were locked up and learned to live cautiously, but since our lives are freer again, the travel instinct has reawakened in us. For example, we went to Switzerland to celebrate a birthday with our Swiss and Hungarian friends. It's true, now the young people are driving, which wasn't the case before, the two of us traveled from Spain to France and up to the Scandinavian countries, from Santorini to Bergen. This is no longer the case, but the experience of traveling has remained. And the little annoyances that come with it, that the Brenner tunnel is currently closed, you have to go up to the mountains, where the snow remains even in summer, and then down to the valley, where the air is already 20 degrees.... But this is also where you can find the beauty that Europe still offers.

- A few statistics: he filmed 36 films, appeared in 86 TV shows and series (of course, series do not mean a single episode, i.e. the number 86 is actually much higher), he lent his voice to 4 foreign series and appeared in 57 movies with the voice of Károly Mécs one foreign actor each. In the end, the number of stage roles is 112, which means many times that number, because a play is never staged more than once. After this, it is hard for me to imagine that while he worked as a theater artist for most of his life, he has not been busy with acting since 2021.

- Of course, you can't break up with your profession for good, it's clear that when I watch a theater performance - because we do go to the theater when we can, we also go to concerts and last time we were at the Opera - you sometimes feel moved that maybe it shouldn't be done that way, but I don't want to do it anymore. If not before, why would I want to now? That would be bullshit. However, the temptation is always there. For example, Szente Vajk called me to say that they were making a musical about the Sons of a Stone-Hearted Man and that I would play the old Baradlay. It was such a cheeky hit that it was impossible to resist. I chewed on it though. Then I thought, why not? Richárd Baradlay was one of my favorite roles, I loved experiencing the fact that I am forty-eight, that we are finally putting order in the country, I finally accepted. At that time, I was sick because of something, so Vajk came up with the idea of ​​cursing my sons while I was dying and sending them to different fields. It was filmed so I only had to do it once. The performance was great, Vajk is a very good director. I had never worked with him until then, he is infinitely empathetic, a good actor, a good director, a conceptualist, and now he is not the only one I know of. That's why I claim that the kind of concern I hear that there is no adequate supply is unnecessary. This is not true.

- Presumably, this news is spreading because the people we see, where do we see them? In soap operas, or in demonstrations, in a political role.

– This cannot be generalized. It is up to Izlás to decide who, on which stage and how he wishes to present his perceived or real abilities.

– So we held that this performance is still running with this film interpolation. Now the show was on the Margitsziget Open Air Stage, where we were invited. We sit down in the box, then the officials came and told me to go on stage and bow at the end. I say, no way, I'm dead a long time ago, I'm buried, I'm dusty, I have nothing to do on stage. Then László Szabó, the manager, gave an introduction and said that we managed to win Károlyt Mécs for a role - the next moment three thousand people stood up and applauded. I have never experienced such recognition and such an ovation, such an expression of love, such a lovely celebration. He was deeply moved.

– I was always interested, because it reveals a lot about a person, what kind of relationship they have with God. Or what kind of relationship the Good Lord has with him.

- I think he is very lenient with me, in truth, I would prefer to honor the Good Lord, because that is the respect he deserves. And yet I do. This is a strange thing, perhaps synonymous with the custom that at that time spouses were married and still loved each other. Later, they had an affair, and it is not certain that they loved each other. These are the thoughts that go through a person's head. I trust God a lot. There have been many events where I felt that my life was being touched from above. For example, I had a very serious accident. It started raining and another car came towards me on the M7. I stood up, but miraculously I climbed out of the wrecked car without a single scratch. This cannot be explained in any other way than that someone was looking after me. I have to add that I am not a big churchgoer, but I am a believer.

- Maybe it's because of my age, but despite the hundreds of roles, Károly Mécs means two people to me. If I see in my mind's eye the hussar captain Richard Baradlay appears in my mind's eye, if I hear his voice, I know that Cliff Allister McLane, the commander of the spaceship Orion, is speaking.

– I have already talked about the Baradlay role, that film was one of the greatest experiences of my life. And the Orion spacecraft gave a different kind of experience. Despite the primitiveness of the technology at the time and the sloppiness of the story, it was a huge success, I don't really know why. Maybe because science fiction was missing from our lives. Then sometime, maybe 20 years ago, the dubbing was renewed and the terrible thing was that I was the only one left from the entire former team, so in the entire cast. The others were gone. That's what hurts about it all. This may be a little sentimental, although it must be acknowledged that passing is a part of everyone, but it is still painful.

- Still, from our entire conversation, I feel that Károly Mécs is a person who seeks the beautiful, the good, and is life-affirming. How do you cope with everything that is happening around us today? With the war or with the aberrations starting to become natural?

- The laws of nature cannot be overridden. All previous attempts have failed. Speaking of the war, I was "lucky" to be in World War II. I went through World War I as a scared child. I know what war is, I know what death is, I know what mass graves are, and I know all kinds of things we don't talk about. And the horrors of '56! Now that the war has broken out again in our neighborhood, these memories are reawakening in me and I feel very sorry for those people who cannot live their lives in peace and tranquility. War is not fatal, it stems from the frailty and wickedness of people and, unfortunately, it raises emotions that affect your relationship with other people until the very end. And yet there is that small stone tablet with 10 commandments, and the 5th of them is Do not kill! Don't let them kill you, don't let them slap you, hate you, let's try to think soberly and normally instead! Let's try to use the knowledge we have learned in such a way that we go forward, not backwards and not repeat our old mistakes that are unfortunately repeated.

The interview was conducted by: György Tóth Jr

Cover image: facebook.com/Startlap