Fast confession - David Gránský: My girlfriend and I are planning a wedding. It will be big!

David, it’s not long ago that you were a star on every TV channel. You first appeared almost ten years ago in X Factor. But what “made” you?

It’s always kind of in phases. Sometimes you are just more visible because of a specific project. It’s like a swing. But one you are visible, people tend to think that this is it. People finally started to know me because of the series and all the theatre performances. Consider it, there were a lot of series in a very short time. There was Gympl, Doktoři z Počátků, Vyprávěj, Ohnivý kuře, then I joined Tvář, now I’m filming Modrý kód. But I think it was the show Tvoje tvář má známý hlas that really put me into people’s minds. It was the turning point, when people started stopping me on the street, asking for photos, calling my name.

Do you have an alternative if the work stops? If they stop calling and giving you roles?

I still have the slight advantage of also singing, so there is always the option of theatres, musicals. And I am also hosting now, in Top Star Magazín.

Do you do voice training?

No, I don’t have any singing or speech instructors. There is plenty of practice. I rehearse the wonderful Man with the Iron Mask on Broadway performance every day, and it’s very demanding to sing. It is a double role – Louis XIV and his imprisoned brother Philip with the mask. It is the most difficult thing I’ve done in my career to date. So there is no time left for voice training.

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Did you have to go through casting for this role?

No, they called me. They had already chosen me.

Did you have to make up your mind or did you take it immediately?

I didn’t take my time, it was obvious. It’s a big theme. Michal David himself called me, so it was obvious that I have to take it.

Do you have a role model in Czech show business?

I don’t suffer from the role model disease. Of course, I admire all successful people, but there is nobody I would want to imitate. I admire many people for what they do. Among actors, for instance, I like Ondřej Vetchý, Karel Roden, Jiří Bartoška, I can’t even name them all. The same goes for singers – Karel Gott is a legend! … but I don’t feel that I would like to be like any of them.

You do so many things. Filming Modrý kód, researching on Broadway, hosting… do you have any time for yourself?

It’s currently in a phase that is quite similar to what was happening a year ago. My diary is full to bursting. But it’s mainly because of the rehearsals for the musical. It’s the worst period, because for two or three months you are shut up in the catacombs, in the black space of the theatre, you don’t get paid for it and you simply rehearse a performance which might be played in the future, and you don’t even know how long. There is minimal time left for a private life, so the other half and family simply have to cope. It’s a phase. When I was in Tvář, my girlfriend Nikola was ready for it and managed perfectly well. Although… not perfectly well. We had to accommodate each other a lot. But she was opening an optician’s shop in Dejvice at the time, so she had plenty of concerns of her own. As soon as it all ended, we got together and heaved a sigh of relief at having managed and survived.

Do you then reward yourself, for instance by packing just for the two of you and spending time together?

We go on vacation. Not every two months, that’s not possible, because as soon as you stop rehearsing, you start acting. We go in winter and summer. I can’t afford to leave during the season. What’s more, apart from Modrý kód I currently have to film Top Star Magazín every week. I can’t leave for more than five days.

What is the last place you sent? Something romantic…

This summer we went to England. We aren’t really lovey-dovey and romantic, but Niky got me a tour of the Harry Potter studios. I love Harry Potter, we both do. We left for four days after returning from a seaside vacation. It was a great experience.

That is a really nice gift.

Yes, I was really thrilled.

Are you capable of thinking up something that awesome and taking the time to arrange it? Buy flights, plan a trip, surprise her with something she likes? Most men can’t do this, it’s more a female thing …

I also think you women are specialists in this field. You keep track of what people like, remember it and then create wonderful surprises. I recently attended a birthday party for Anička Slováčková and searched for a bouquet and candies at the last minute. I don’t have the capacity to think up elaborate gifts…

Okay, but you’ve been with your girlfriend for eight years. That’s long enough to take the trouble to surprise your partner…

Look I don’t know. It’s like asking for the recipe for happiness, but it’s useless. We are simply the best partners, best mates, best lovers, best friends, best everything. That’s what she is for me and what I am for her, and as soon as one of those factors is missing, and it’s just a great guy/girl in bed, but you don’t have anything to talk about, you’re not friends, then I don’t think it can work. We found this. It sounds naïve and people have been saying for years that it won’t last… Maybe not, but we don’t admit it. We are convinced that it’s forever, because if we didn’t believe it, then we wouldn’t be able to remain in the relationship.

Does Niky come see you at the theatre?

Yes she does, but she’s not a fanatical fan that attends every performance. The premiere yes. She always has a gorgeous dress and looks fabulous. Then she tells me whether or not she liked it, and then comes again maybe half a year later with her mum. She supports me incredibly. This too is part of the relationship. We admire each other, but we’re not bowled over by one another.

You say it very nicely. Do you have a shared project ahead of you…?

Sure. We bought some land and will be building a house.

So the next step isn’t the wedding, but building your nest.

Most people get married, have a kid, which obliges them to build a home, but we want to enjoy the house ourselves for a while. We want to build a beautiful house and spend some time in it and enjoy it. Have visits, garden parties and so on. We are of course counting on having a wedding, we are planning it. It will all happen quickly after that. It will be big. (laughs)

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I’m not sure if my next question is out of line, seeing as you took a mortgage, but I wanted to know what you like to spend your hard-earned money on. Do you like cars, watches, clothing?

I bought a new car a year ago, but you know I don’t drive very much. I love food and of course clothes. I invest into it sort of. But I’m not the shopping type, I really don’t enjoy that. The idea of a shopping centre full of people and constantly trying things on, and it doesn’t fit and you have to get dressed again, take your shoes off… I hate it. This is why I’m thrilled to have Dušan Chrástek thanks to Top Star Magazín. I can call him any time and he gets anything for me. He figures everything out for me and brings it to Magazín. In fact, all the money I earn from Magazín I spend directly by taking the clothing.

You pay for it?

Of course. It borrowed from the store. I get it to wear, and if I don’t buy it, it gets taken to the dry cleaner and returned.

So they make money off you.

Indeed. In fact, I usually buy everything.

Considering that you wear something different for every shoot, I would like to know what your closet looks like.

Pretty full. Niky has already told me that if I buy anything else, she will throw out half my closet. She knows I hate it when she throws my stuff out, although I generally don’t even notice. But when she tells me about it, I get angry just based on the principle of what if I want to wear it again someday. But she is right. I have too much stuff.

I’d also like to know how to take care of yourself and that great skin.

I don’t. And great skin? It’s awful because of all the makeup. I don’t even know how I should take care of myself. I have one antibacterial soap at home, which I always scrub myself with, but I don’t apply anything else.

What about the gym?

No. Nothing. Nil. Zero.

How come? You must do something to look like this.

But I don’t. I am awfully skinny. I don’t have anything. I would really love to go to the gym, to have a contoured chest, to be muscular. But I don’t have time. I’m glad the two of us even managed to meet up today. I can’t imagine having to go to the gym on top of this.

What do you think about plastic surgery?

Nothing terrible. But I think it’s silly among men, unless they feel some kind of social exclusion. But for instance even a big nose or any other feature can be made into a quality. Among women I find it normal. They always want to please. I understand that they get their breasts done after having children.

Tell me about your career goal. It seems to me that everything happens to you by itself, but what else would you like to achieve?

I used to dream about acting in a fairy tale. In the end I filmed the story Čertoviny with director Troška, which will be released in cinemas in autumn or winter. I spent all of March filing a comedy in Špindlerův Mlýn, which will also be in cinema in December. It’s called Špindl. So it’s true that things just happen on their own. I was very happy about a recent offer though. It hasn’t been mentioned yet and I’m a little bit anxious – I will be hosting the live broadcast of Kapka Naděje. This is a huge challenge for me. I’m looking forward to it. It always happened that I have a dream and it comes true, for which I am very grateful. And I have one more, which is to act in a “drama film”. For instance with the aforementioned Ondřej Vetchý.

What about you and charity? Do you give?

I’m not the type to send money to charities, but because of this profession, I help often. Simply by coming to an event, attending a day with sick children, where we spend the whole day talking to them. Through Kapka Naděje, I visit the oncological ward. I have one chosen charity organisation, which is Klokánek. We are continuously in contact with the children, arrange performance for them, and I won money for them in Tvář (TV show). I shoot for various calendars. So yes, I do charity but not extensively. I choose two or three foundations. If we all do this, then I think the help has meaning. If you contribute just a little bit everywhere, it’s not as effective.

You said you love food. Do you cook?

That is the second thing I spend the most money one. More than I do on food, because I eat every day. But me and cooking? I can do a little, but Niky cooks wonderfully well, so I don’t want to get in the way. (laughs) But for a guy my age, I think it’s alright. I make the best schnitzel with jacket potatoes. I can make broth, spaghetti …

Tell me a bit more about Pevnost Boyard. Was there anything that shocked you?

I was rather expected to be shocked from start to finish. It served its purpose. Before entering the show, you complete a questionnaire of your phobias and fears. I decided not to write anything, because they would do it to me. But the only thing I am truly afraid of… is vertigo. I won’t even climb the second rung of a ladder. I am seriously afraid of heights. So I wrote that. And of course, bungee jumping. It took me a long time to overcome it. Then I said to myself that I wouldn’t be an embarrassment, after all it was for a good cause. What’s more, there is the crew and television, and you don’t want to make a fool of yourself… so I did it and I’m very happy I did. Because I will never do it again anywhere else. I know that.

Then there is one more funny story, which happened quite recently. There are certain props in series which are never used, like sinks or toilets. They are just pretend, fakes. They don’t work. Now imagine that you arrive for filming and there is vomit in one of the sinks. The whole studio stank, the crew had to leave, ventilate the room. Filming stopped for about an hour. It was impossible. The same thing happened while filming Gympl – that time it was in the toilet. We think it was an extra, because they might not know they are fake. I can’t imagine it would occur to any of the actors or crew.

You’ve ended up amusing me and killing my appetite (laughs). Thank you for the interview and good luck.