Life is hard, marriage is hard, it requires a lot of compromise; being a member of an association is also difficult. You have to work for it, it doesn't come by itself - says the acting legend.
At one time, there was no film without him, he was handsome, but at the same time a serious, dramatic figure. Péter Huszti was not surrounded by scandals, he took the obstacles affecting his private life or career elegantly. And today he celebrates his birthday, as he was born on May 4, 1944.
Péter Huszti spoke about his life and career to Heti Válasz in 2018, after the publication of his book The Dawn of Manhood , the second volume of his autobiographical trilogy. In it - now with a happy family life behind him - he also dared to face the fact that his first marriage with Virág Dőry did not work out, he stated bluntly that his life had run aground.
"This book is important to me, and I thought that what I dare to write, I should write very honestly," he declared. – Life is difficult, marriage is difficult, it requires a lot of compromises. Being a member of society is also difficult. You have to work for it, it doesn't come by itself. If we don't respect each other in life, if I don't respect and admire Feri Bessenyei, then we wouldn't have been able to play the famous Othello.
which we both fell into, every night.
And the audience sees this too, the viewers cannot be fooled. I feel like writing this like that has an effect on people. My acting failures too. I don't like actor's books that only talk about the success of such an award-winning person."
A losing battle
He also spoke honestly about the case when Gábor Görgey appointed him head of the National Theater in 2002, but he did not fulfill his mandate because he resigned. "It's a bittersweet story," he began. - Naively, I didn't think it through, but - while I resisted for a long time - I heard those sentences that you are suitable for this, because you were able to create a bridge between those with different views even at the university. However, I noticed that this is not about the National Theatre, but about politics - what happened that I tried to avoid all my life. It was a losing battle, but if I win, I'll probably get into it."
He said to his students, who are now the backbone of Hungarian theater life: no matter how strange, their lives are much more difficult.
Perhaps it could be said that what we did was important in our time. If we prepared for a show, the newspapers wrote about it, the audience prepared for it, and we only focused on that. There were companies and people knew who belonged to which theater. I have never dubbed and rarely played radio. I had four big shows a year, then of course we couldn't go anywhere, then those two and a half months were only about that show. And the film directors discussed with the theater directors when, for example, I would have time for the Jókai films directed by Zoltán Várkonyi. They helped us. It is more difficult for today's young people than it was for us when we were poor, but when theater, movies, and life were not about money.
Péter Huszti has been living in retirement for a few years, this is how he talked about his civilian life in 2018.
"Love and respect are very important. When I was young, I didn't know what to do with "stardom", fans, and love letters. I was confused, I wanted to be an actor from 10 to 2 and from 6 to 10, who was sometimes Hamlet, sometimes Iago, sometimes Peer Gynt, sometimes Cyrano, and in the meantime a simple passer-by and family man."
His life is complete, he has achieved everything that could be given in this field, and now he dedicates his time to his family and his grandchildren.
"I have no bitterness," he said. "I've played for more than fifty years: you don't have to stomp onto the stage when you're old."
Featured image: hirado.hu
