Eva and Václav Hudeček: Fate did not grant us a child!

Eva, anyone who knows you knows how nice and kind you are. Who assigned you such a character that the bag of negative roles literally burst open?

“I guess I can’t explain it well. There was such a strange fashion for blondes who looked like pale dolls and always played “the good one”. I was dark-haired, dark-eyed and energetic. I was never afraid to express the evil depths that were written in my roles and I had a lot of fun doing it. I am a great observer of the world, I saw that there is really a lot of evil, and I thought that it was my duty in those roles to move people with bile.”

Did you try to look for some sympathy in the roles?

“It depended a lot on how the role was written. People are usually bored with good movies because they are not well written. Dobrák is a fighter who must resist all temptations. The evil character was interesting to me because the viewer has to start wondering why the girl is evil and has the need to hurt. Authors who wrote in my time had a mastery of the craft, and I miss that today. Whether the role is bad or good, it should not be flat. It’s supposed to surprise you, the viewer should say to themselves – I wouldn’t expect this from the good girl, or vice versa.”

Your roles were often comic, for example in the films of Václav VorlíčekStormy wine or in the comedies How to Drown Dr. Cloud, How about having some spinach…

“Those were wonderful opportunities. I came into contact with huge comedy actors, for me it was an actor’s paradise. I learned and made beautiful friendships. Humor purifies and liberates.’

Did you want to be an actress since childhood?

“I hesitated. I wanted to heal people in some way. And I had a dilemma whether to study medicine and be a doctor, or to heal souls as an artist. I started acting thanks to director Věra Jordánová, who taught me at the folk conservatory, but I still had the desire to be a doctor. But when I got into the acting environment and saw the beauty, it hooked me. It was the sixties, there were wonderful scenarios and opportunities… And seven hundred children applied to DAMU in the same year as me, and the moment I thought I was accepted, I took it as God’s will.”

You have always been the prototype of a beauty, were you aware of that?

“Probably only in the sense that I was the center of attention. I think that every woman is beautiful in her own way, if she is nice, kind, well-groomed and if I can sense a mental format from her. Even great beauty can become ugly if it is unfulfilled or filled with evil. I never suffered from narcissism and always admired soulful beauty, such as that of Jana Brejchová. She had something so tender and true about her. You know, you can’t play a naïve, you have to be one.”

Were women jealous of you?

“Some yes. Some behaved in such a way that if there was a little decency in them, sometimes they even read it. But I don’t care, a person should be responsible for his behavior and everything can be fixed with an apology. That’s happened to me a few times too, such a loving return of a lost girlfriend.’

They say the directors invited you to dinner. Maybe they expected some gratitude?

“It happened quite often. You know, I loved the profession very much and I was convinced that I must never betray it by any deception or lie. So yes, I turned down a few roles because of this, and it had the same effect as when I turned down a few gentlemen directors.”

And how did your fellow actors treat you? For example, bards like MenšíkSovák or Kopecký…

“Wonderful. I filmed a lot with these gentlemen when I met my husband (violin virtuoso Václav Hudeček – note ed.) and our marriage caused a big “hello”. Some people couldn’t handle it, and these people were the ones who helped me deal with it. I can’t be jealous, and I thought it was very strange that someone was offended by us. From time to time that time dealt us quite a painful blow.’

How?

“Professionally, but also with nasty phone calls. As Pavel Landovský told me – slander is terrible rubbish. It is a three-headed sleigh that brings misfortune to the one who says it, the one who is slandered, and the one who listens to it. I’ve avoided gossip all my life and I don’t even like to hear it.”

The last big project in which you accepted a role was a series Ambulance Jiří Hubač and director Jiří Adamec.

“I greatly admired Mr. Hubač as a grand master of romantic writing, in the sense of beautiful, well-founded. My role as docent Eva was interesting, but small. I thought that this intelligent, educated, strange woman was struggling in life, but where was the core of her inner tragedy? At that time, Mr. Hubač and I met and I told him that I like the role, that it offers great opportunities, but if he would not consider writing it down a bit. Why does she want this boy sometimes and not sometimes? Why does she absolutely love her man but can’t live with him?’

What about him?

“He thanked me, but I didn’t expect him to make any big changes. But he actually finished about fifteen important paintings. It was a masterpiece and the shoot afterwards was one of the most beautiful of my life. And rumors began to circulate that the series was successful, that it was going to be a sensation, and it seemed to bother someone very much. The person who wanted to do harm complained to the television directorate that I had a coded cross on my sweater in the series. It was a sweater that had a checkerboard on it, and I chose it because that’s exactly the maze that my figure has in his head. It turned out that all these beautiful scenes had to come out.’

Didn’t director Adamec fight against it?

“Jirka was very ambitious, he had other projects ahead of him and he didn’t want to lose them. I think he was terribly hurt and sorry, but he didn’t fight. I don’t blame him for this.’

Is it true that this is why you quit acting?

“Yes, it hurt me terribly. In addition, there was a very defamatory criticism published in Red Law at the time that I was an actress who was completely unsuitable for working-class punk, what else do I do with acting. And I said to myself that I can’t fight this juggernaut anymore. But I left with great love in my heart and suddenly it was as if I heard: Write it! And I slowly started writing movie ideas and I learned an awful lot.”

Didn’t it tempt you to return even after 1989?

“There were a lot of offers, even from abroad, but I was already deeply involved in writing and trying to make my scripts come true. Barrandov even bought three, but then the state film was canceled and I have absolutely no words for what happened to the studio. I was unhappy again, but my beloved man didn’t leave me alone, and neither did my friends like Jiří Křižan. They advised me to write a book. I said I didn’t have the courage to do it, but they convinced me that no one else would write a story seen with my eyes and felt by my soul. That’s how the first book was created A headless mare.“

You and your husband are one soul in two bodies – what attracted you when you met?

“I was curious about him, because I watched him from his first steps and victories on the world stages, and I thought to myself, what kind of creator is this. On the television screen, he appeared extremely proud, but humble. And when we met on the set of a TV movie, I was completely smitten. He seemed very calm. I could see in his eyes that he was no fool. He knows what he wants and he knows what he’s doing. Even though he was only twenty-two, men tend to be immature. We caught each other’s eye and had something to talk about.’

You got married after a few months. How was your wedding?

“Quiet. Just us and two witnesses. It was raining like crazy, but it was beautiful. There didn’t have to be a thousand people. The ones we carry in our hearts were there with us, and somewhere our God too.’

I will allow myself a sensitive question – the fact that you did not become a mother was a choice or fate?

“Destiny. Venoušek and I often talked about it, but these things either come or they don’t. We told ourselves that even though we were deprived of this, we would look for values ​​elsewhere. And we will try to give the best that we would give to children, to give to other children.”

You and your husband are constantly on the road at his performances, helping young musicians with this…

“I am in the presence of the most beautiful music I know, and our children already belong to the Czech musical elite today. I am convinced that music heals, fills us with strength and inspiration, and when people leave concerts, they are a little different. Relaxed, they are happy. Music is a miracle!’