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špani ja / spain Spain » Španija | 99 98 | Španija » Spain Actor Dar ko P e r i ć My Spanish story Actor Darko Perić, who portrays the popular character of Helsinki inthehitNetflixseries MoneyHeist, opened the first season of the podcast “My Spanish Story (España Contada)” this spring. Through fifteen audio episodes, the Cervantes Institute in Belgrade, in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain, hosted Serbian natives who’ve relocated to Spain to continue living their lives and building their careers. As the first among them, our actor, who hails originally from Kladovo, revealed his favourite parts of Spain, which particular parts surprised him, and where he most feels at home. On Spain For me, Spain is a continent. A thousand kilometres from one side to the other, deserts, the Pyrenees, the south, coastlines along the ocean, coastlines along the Mediterranean... I love nature, and whenever I can, whenever I have a little extra spare time, I head to somemountain. The Pyrenees are a fantastic place. And that’s that. Quite simply. Keep it simple, that’s my motto. On falling in love with Barcelona I was raised on all those films, but it never crossedmymind to go to Spain or to live there. However, I went in 2004 to attend a festival in Barcelona and when I saw it… I’m talking about the period prior to the internet, when you could only see the city on television or in a picture in a book. I didn’t have a clue about Spain. I knew a little about Ernest Hemingway, about George Orwell, things that an average Serbian guy could know during those years: bullfighting, football, Barça and Real Madrid, basketball. But I didn’t really know what Spain is. And I fell in love with Barcelona. They call it the Amsterdam of the Mediterranean, because it’s great for riding bicycles. They’ve made so many cycle lanes that riding is a pleasure. On Almodóvar I spoke with Benicia del Toro on one occasion during a shoot. We spoke about American movies. I told him that I’d stopped watching them, and that I’d been lucky enough to discover Pedro Almodóvar. He opened the door to Spanish cinema to us. I’ve also watched the films of Luis Buñuel, which is a special story, and the films of Bigas Luna. On Brando and Vujisić When talk turns to my role models, I always say that my role models are three actors. They are an American, an Italian and an actor from these lands. The first is Marlon Brando, because he is unrivalled, in my opinion. Especially that later Brando, when he was no longer just a good-looking guy. The second is Bud Spencer [Italian Carlo Pedersoli], because my generation grew up on his films, and he is characterised as someone who doesn’t have much dialogue, but everything that he does say – for instance, in the film Banana Joe – has merit. And the third, and the greatest to me, is our own Pavle Vujisić. Everything he did is brilliant. I could watch his films a hundred times over, and I’ve also read books about him. On Mérida and Tabernas I was recently inMálaga, in the town of Tabernas near the city of Almería, in thedesert. That’swhere most of the Spaghetti Westerns were shot, as well as films like Indiana Jones and Lawrence of Arabia. Then there’s the frontier region of Extremadura and the city of Mérida, which is one of my favourite cities in Spain. I’m from Kladovo, the town where Roman emperor Trajan built a bridge during his conquest of Dacia, while Trajan’s Plaque is carved into the Đerdap gorge. I arrived in Mérida by chance, shot a film, then saw Trajan’s Arch. This town is aminiature Rome that was founded two thousand years ago. Just how powerful was that Roman Empire? On catfish at the heart of Spain There’s a place between Barcelona and Zaragoza called the Aragón Sea (Mar de Aragón), and located there is the municipality of Caspe, where people come fromall over theworld to catch catfish. Some German guy released catfish there back in the ‘70s, and they’vemultiplied. Catfish isn’t eaten in Spain, so there you can come across specimens of up to five or sixmetres. I’venever seen anything like that before in my life, despite the fact that I’m from the Danube. On open doors I somehowblossomed in Spain and I’m grateful to the people there. Thanks to the series Money Heist, which became a worldwide hit, I met some of the idols of my childhood. Spain opened a door for me that might not have opened had I stayed here or gone somewhere else. And it has a similar temperament to Serbia. As I’m a basketball fan, I noticed that in basketball, but it can also be seen in film, in literature, and also in history. Almodovar nam je svima otvorio vrata španske kinematografije Almodóvar opened the door to Spanish cinema to us Slučajno samdošao u Meridu, gradić koji je pravi minijaturni Rim I arrived by chance in the town of Mérida, which is like a miniature Rome Epizode podkasta dostupne su za slušanje na sajtu mojaspanskaprica.com Episodes of the podcast are available to listen to on the website mojaspanskaprica.com Marlon Brando je, po meni, neprikosnoven Pogotovo onaj kasniji Brando, kad više nije bio dobar frajer Marlon Brando is unrivalled in my opinion. Especially that later Brando, when he was no longer a heartthrob Seven things about Spain that we learnt while hanging out with the star of worldwide hit TV series Money Heist Foto:AtilanoGarcia Foto: IFA Film / United Archives /

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