Goran Bogdan for HEDONIST: I Always Travel with a Trunk Full of Books

That decision led him to become one of the most recognizable actors in the region today. His career is well documented thanks to his work at the Zagreb Youth Theatre, as well as roles in acclaimed series such as Fargo, The Last Panthers, The Morning Will Change Everything, Shadows over the Balkans, The Swamp, and many others. His filmography is equally impressive, he was nominated for Best European Actor for his role in Father, the latest film by director Srđan Golubović, just a small part of an already remarkable biography.

Despite his demanding schedule, the HEDONIST team managed to catch up with Goran Bogdan during a short break between filming in Zagreb and Belgrade, discussing not only his work but also some slightly different, more personal topics.

• What is your first association with hedonism?

Food comes to mind first. I associate the term with feasts, with ancient Greece… And since we’re already on that topic, I should mention that I recently opened a restaurant in Zagreb with my friend Filip Horvat, who is a chef. I’m there all the time. Since meeting him, my entire perception of food has undergone a significant change. The restaurant is called The Atrium, and it’s located right next to the Zagreb Youth Theatre, where I spent some truly beautiful years.

• What was the motivation behind opening the restaurant, business, pleasure, or something else?

It wasn’t driven by entrepreneurial ambitions at all. Filip was a young guy working at a Zagreb restaurant called Ab Ovo, and everyone kept praising him, so I started going there often. Very quickly, I realized how much he enjoys what he does, how imaginative he is, and how much of an artist he truly is. That’s where we connected. We’re more fellow artists than businessmen, business doesn’t interest me at all. Now I simply have a place where I can come with a book, enjoy a glass of wine, have a good meal, and bring friends. That’s the main reason. Filip is truly an outstanding chef. Essentially, it’s home-style food, the kind our mothers and grandmothers used to make, but Filip gives it a global touch that’s simply unbelievable.

Film is my oasis, and every part of it fascinates me

• What else do you enjoy besides acting?

Acting is probably what I enjoy the most. But when I think more broadly and imagine hedonism… For example, when I arrive at an airport, sit on a plane, and travel somewhere for work, everything just falls into place. New places, travel, and a book, that’s it. Wherever I go, I always carry several books with me. Even now, the trunk of my car is full of them. In any city I find myself in, whether for work or not, I like to find a café with a local atmosphere where I can read. That’s how I try to truly experience places and cities.

• Do you choose books that are connected to the places you visit?

I always try to bring books that have some connection, in one way or another, to the destinations I’m traveling to, because I want to truly feel the spirit of the place. Or I buy a book once I’m there. If I’m abroad, I’ll find something in English. I don’t want to be just another “stupid” tourist ticking off historical landmarks, I want to feel the streets and the everyday life.

• How do you choose your travel destinations?

I’ve practically never traveled anywhere without work being the reason. I work a lot, so wherever work takes me, that’s where I go. I hope that one day, when I have more time, I’ll travel purely for pleasure, but I don’t have any specific plans.

I love dawns — those early morning awakenings and arriving on set

• During the pandemic, many people started discovering local destinations they had previously overlooked. Is there one you’d single out?

There are many. Thanks to my work, I’ve traveled extensively throughout the former Yugoslavia, and I think people who isolate themselves within their own micro-worlds fail to see the immense potential and beauty this region offers. I spent years visiting Montenegro, which is stunning, and Croatia goes without saying. Only recently did I start exploring Croatian islands, each one a story of its own. From Vis to Tara and Durmitor, it’s all unreal in its beauty. I’ve also filmed in southern Serbia, which is gorgeous, as well as in North Macedonia… It’s a whole microcosm of incredible places.

• Which part of acting suits you best?

I’m not sure, I’ve never deconstructed it enough to single something out. I suppose the entire process: reading the script, imagining, and finally performing. But you know what I really love? Dawn. Waking up early and arriving on set, when everyone gathers and drinks coffee together. It feels like a kind of collective work action. The costume and preparation process never gets old for me.

• You once mentioned that your role in The Swamp was one of the most demanding, as the character Nikola is dark and your complete opposite. What did you learn about yourself while preparing it?

I learned a lot. Any dedicated work reveals parts of yourself. The darkness we carry within us is always there, we can’t invent it. Perhaps the greatest darkness is trying to avoid it, because then we remain incomplete. It’s good to grab that darkness and bring it into the light, because that’s how we illuminate it. That character helped me stop fearing some of my own inner shadows and accept them as part of who I am. I believe we deal with them best by questioning them.

• Have you considered directing, and what direction would such a career take?

Absolutely, I think about it all the time. Screenwriting, directing, producing, all of it interests me. Film is my oasis, and every aspect of it fascinates me. I’d love to create something of my own. I think I’m too curious to be confined to a single genre. Just as in literature, where I never limited myself, today I enjoy science fiction just as much as a good crime novel. I imagine my future path, if it unfolds, will be similar. I wouldn’t hesitate to work on anything that truly interests me, even science fiction.

• Finally, could you recommend a few books to our readers?

Let’s keep it local. I’d suggest The Color of the Earth by Elvedin Nezirović, Nevakat by Derviš Sušić, and Nowhere from Nowhere and A More Beautiful Ending by the late Bekim Serjanović. Those were the first that came to mind.

• Interview by: Savo Drakulić / HEDONIST
  
• Photography: Nebojša Babić / kinoist.ru
  
• Originally published in HEDONIST Magazine, Issue 04, 2021