“Jan Čenský: From Acting to Matador Presenting and Everything in Between”

He is not only engaged in acting, he is also a matador presenter, presenting, for example, the Miss Czech Republic competition. His longtime colleague is the actress Dana Morávková. They co-host the Weekend Breakfast with Nova, play in the series Ordinace v rozágárden or in Prague’s Lucie Bílé Theater in the play Silent Gold. Have they ever had enough? Not only that will be discussed. In the fairy tale Princes are on a dragon from 1980 he met his platonic love Ivana Andrlova. And so we also talked about the filming process of the legendary fairy tale.

We have been watching the fairy tale The Princes on the Dragon for over 40 years. How do you explain its long-term popularity?

I think it’s thanks to the songs of the wonderful duo of Jaroslav Uhlíř and Zdenek Svěrak. They managed to put it together very nicely. Moreover, the whole thing was a spontaneous event. With Ivanka Andrlova and director Jiří Adamec, we just filmed the TV production Too Young for Love. Well, he came to us and said: “Look, kids, I have another fairy tale here, it’s a studio girl, but there’s very little time for it. We’ll try it somehow. We have about a week to do it, three days in the studio, and it interferes a little with the summer holidays.” I didn’t want to do it at the time, I was looking forward to the theater holidays. But in the end he chatted us up and suddenly there was a cast like Mr. Vladimír Menšík and Mrs Jiřina Bohdalová and I remember it very fondly. Mr. Uhlíř seemed like Mozart to me.

Because he was still writing texts for choirs in the recording studio in Dejvice. It was my first time in a sound studio and I watched how the choirs and instruments were recording and how Mr. Uhlíř was writing the sheet music. He also told us a story that if you want to create a hit, you have to write it in such a way that the listener feels like they know the melody. Of course, when he starts to recognize her, you have to look elsewhere.

Do you like the song Doing?

I have, even though it’s kind of a work song. At first, the authors thought that it might not even pass. But eventually everyone realized how true it was. When a person has a hard heart or is in trouble and doing something, it usually helps.

You do quite a lot. You play and moderate. On the other hand, can you not do something?

I’m terribly lazy, I love to roll around in the oven and bake cakes and buns. No, I’m kidding, but the truth is that I give myself quite a lot of tasks because I just love doing nothing. After all, when you get tired of some work and then rest, it’s a completely different kind of lazing around. Climbers say it’s nice to roll in a net between the pines under a rock, but it’s best to climb the rock first.

They say you entered the conservatory because it is an easy school, so you will have time to devote yourself to athletics. Professor Jaroslava Adamová was uncompromising and told you that if you are not the first in the sport, you should give it up. Is there any other advice that still resonates with you today?

To keep my feet on the ground. At a time when I was filming a lot, Oldřich Kaiser came to me and said: “It’s good, but slow down, you’re already everywhere.” At first I didn’t really understand it, but then I realized that success comes in waves. Sometimes there really comes a time when the media is interested in you, then nothing for a long time. It should be just right.

You missed the fairytale princess Ivana Andrlova in the year. Why was she called Sparkle?

I met Ivanka at the reception. And she was supposed to show off the sparkler. She stood up and said, “Sparkle, huh? All right, light me up.” The chairman of the committee, Jiří Vala, came and mentally struck out, and Ivanka snorted a few times and they accepted her. Not me, I joined only a year later. Ivanka was my platonic love, but we were dating, she was very musical and dated older musicians.

And when you were accepted to the school, you went for it Mark Eben. You call him your guardian angel, why?

Our parents knew each other and Marek was already studying at the conservatory at the time, so I went to find out what and how. When I came to the Ebens, there was a smell of tea, love and music. Marek told me that I made a good choice. That there are pretty girls at school and that there aren’t many textbooks, so let me just get a smaller briefcase. He’s been with me all my life, he’s a very nice person.

The one-year break also brought you classmates Ondřej Vetchý or Lukáš Vaculík. I heard about such an incident from a singing lesson, when Ondřej Vetchý even fainted…

Ondra and I went to Professor Hlavs, who was the tenor soloist of the National Theater opera, and he taught us the so-called Milan school. And she says that when a person has stage fright, they have to breathe it out. Ondra breathed so long that he became dizzy and passed out. He is an impeccable friend, he even has a nickname, the colleagues around him call him Righteous Muscle. He is such a protector.

Where there are women, there is Czech. That’s what a classmate from elementary school said about you, and he was right in a way. You host beauty contests and are surrounded by beautiful women.

Yeah, that was Fabián from second grade. He really pissed me off. Later it was confirmed and I publicly apologize to him like this. I don’t know what he’s doing now, but somehow it all worked out for me thanks to the Miss competition.

What do you think a good speaker should have besides being able to speak well?

It has multiple levels. It depends, for example, if it is a speaker who wants to bring people together, or if he has the task of presenting something. For me, it is primarily about a person being able to speak. Now is the time when there is a lot of clicking on the phones, then the speakers get out in front of the audience and are completely lost. He speaks strangely, unliterally, and that then degrades the speaker. Czech is such a beautiful language. I personally pay a lot of attention to body language. I enjoy communication and it makes me feel good when people are at ease. I think I got this from my mom. She is very popular in society and is a great diplomat. For example, recently I asked her about when and where I was conceived. After a few wrong tips she told me it was nice.

According to you, one should pamper one’s nervousness. Is there anything that can still throw you off?

It’s mostly about experience, now I’ve learned it from the live broadcasts of Breakfast with Nova. It’s incredible what your brain can do for great performance. And the idea that now I can’t take back what I say is quite tempting.

You host Breakfast with Nova with Dana Morávková. You also play a couple in the Office in the Rose Garden, and now you are also meeting in the theater production of Silence, Honey. At the same time, you are friends in reality. So I’m wondering if you’ve ever owned a submarine?

We were lucky with Dana, we hit it off personally and professionally. I know her humor, we know when we don’t know what to do anymore, and we know how to help each other. We like it because we know how to make fun of ourselves and know most of our guests. Plus I can tell her everything.

That seems like a rarity to me. You can have great colleagues, but you wouldn’t go out for a drink with them. Were you friends or colleagues before?

First we were colleagues and then we became friends. Plus, the three of us hang out (with Dana Morávková and her husband Petr Malásek, editor’s note). He is very educated and how many times I ask Dana to keep quiet and I can talk to the silent Peter. I like them both very much.

Speaking of marriage, how does your wife perceive your work?

My wife didn’t have it easy at all, how many times she had to bite the bowls, sometimes a girl called. I’m not surprised, on the other hand, imagine what your partner would say if you were spending a week among the most handsome men in the country and one of them called you saying he’s coming through town and if he can hang out, so I’m not surprised. But my wife respects my work.

You have been together for 33 years. What is the magic of a long-lasting relationship?

My parents celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary and I was raised that if something happens in a relationship, it should be fixed, not replaced. Well, these days, relationships tend to be replaced rather than repaired. Of course, I wasn’t a saint and we had some issues, but we always tried to fix them. Our first meeting was fateful, I knew I wanted this girl and it sparked at the first signal. I have never found a better woman than I have at home.