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Andrzej Wajda - The cast of 'Man of Marble' (134/222)

534 views · Published 26 October 2017 · 3:10 · Indexed 21 September 2026

Channel: Web of Stories - Life Stories of Remarkable People · 2017 · Entertainment

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To listen to more of Andrzej Wajda’s stories, go to the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVV0r6CmEsFy6EEYt468zst0wxZgLIw2T

Polish film director Andrzej Wajda (1926-2016), whose début films portrayed the horror of the German occupation of Poland, won awards at Cannes which established his reputation as storyteller and commentator on Polish history. He also served on the national Senate from 1989-91. [Listener: Jacek Petrycki]

TRANSCRIPT: I'm coming back now to 'Man of Marble'. Not just the political situation had changed but the whole condition of cinematography had gone through a transformation. Once again we, that is the film-makers, took the lead. In the meantime, I'd become the chairman of the Association of Film-makers. Young people joined this association with great hopes. First, Krzysztof Zanussi, then Wojciech Marczewski, Krzysztof Kieślowski. In short, young people came to this association with the hope that they'd have someone representing them, and I have to say that it was also very important that a film like 'Man of Marble' could be made at all. Now I'll go back to a very significant issue, namely, the success of the film was hugely dependent on the cast. I realised that in order to make this film, I needed two actors, totally unknown, new faces. Because the story was different, I couldn't use my previous actors and so I spotted Jerzy Radziwiłłowicz in the Drama School in Warsaw where I'd seen him perform in a play. I liked him. I noticed that he had about him a strength and a clarity, but that above all, he had in him someone who carried within himself a healthy human energy. The majority of our actors are always from the intelligentsia as are the heroes of Polish films. It's very hard to find a Polish actor who could play a worker as most of them are from the intelligentsia. Jerzy Radziwiłłowicz had this fantastic truth about him. Then, there was Krystyna Janda who had only just graduated from drama school, had appeared in a TV drama and now turned up on set. I have to say that I believed in her the moment I saw her. When I saw how she behaved, her temperament, her dedication to work, her readiness to do the difficult tasks I gave her. I believed from the first instant that this was it, and they determined that this wasn't just a political film but that it became a film about people. They gave life to these characters.

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