The right-wing Hrvatski Tjednik is the only publication in Croatia to have the opportunity to talk to Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey, who arrived in Zagreb a few weeks ago to star in a film about the first Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, directed by Jakov Sedlar, Jutarnji List writes.
The article points out that Spacey arrived quietly. The controversial Hollywood movie star revealed that he has been working on the project about the first Croatian president for eight months, and very intensively for about three months.
“It’s my usual work process. Tudjman was a fascinating person, definitely the most important person in the creation of your country,” he said.
Spacey said that it did not take long for director Sedlar to persuade him to accept the Tudjman role.
“We are friends, and I know he wouldn’t try to do something bad to me. He spoke very honestly and with a lot of passion about Tudjman; he cared that I was playing his friend Franjo and we quickly agreed.”
At the request of journalists, he tried to describe how he felt about Tudjman.
“Based on his available interviews and videos, it is clear that he was a very passionate man who believed in his ideas and in his Croatian people. I think he belongs to that old generation of politicians who were statesmen, not administrators, who thought that the people needed a leader to follow, and he did everything to make it so. He was happy, especially on the Freedom Train. I love his sincere passion that many politicians today lack.”
At the end of the interview, Spacey said that he loves Croatia, especially Dubrovnik and Hvar, which he has visited before, and that he liked Zagreb. In the end, he said that Croats are a tough people and that he is sure that they will rebuild Zagreb after the earthquake.
In the interview, he did not want to talk about his problems back home in the US regarding the accusations against him for sexual abuse as he is convinced that the court will make a fair decision.
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