Marius Donkin, born on February 13, 1950 in Varna, is the son of a priest, but neither he nor his brother, as teenagers, had any desire to pursue a career in religion. One gets carried away by the stage, the other by the violin and music. However, the future star has all kinds of interests - astronomy, medicine, football, handball. Fanatical lefty. He loves swimming and long hikes in the mountains. He will never forget the words of grandfather Joseph, the former bishop of Varna, who blessed him at the threshold of VITIZ: "The church taught you theater - in the best sense." Donkin knows no bounds under the spotlight. It is also told how during a performance he hit a nail with his hand, without realizing what was happening, immersed as much as possible in the image. While he plays, his colleague changes bloody tampons, and then Donkin gets six stitches.
Perhaps precisely because of his proverbial fusion with the hero, Marius is uniquely authentic in his one-man show "Mr. Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran". It is no coincidence that for his Momo he received a series of awards - "Crystal Angel" from the festival "Vidlunya" in Ukraine, Grand Prix from "Albamonofest" in Albania and from the monodrama in Bitola.
Marius Donkin shared that he has many friends, which is the greatest happiness for a person nowadays. Here's what else the actor told about himself especially for MyClinic.
Mr. Donkin, you're turning 65 in a month? How are you feeling?
- There is a difference between the fact of what the actual state of he alth is and the spiritual feeling. So spiritually I feel much better than physically. I don't know if there is a man nowadays who can say he is in perfect he alth, especially when we get to such an age as mine, when we have used up so much of our body, and that without taking care of it.
How have you treated your body so far?
- I have not taken any care of him. I have even been neglectful of my he alth. A person, while he is younger, does not pay attention to his he alth. But there comes a time when the organism starts screaming for us to take care of it.
You art people keep making excuses that you don't have time. Do you at least eat he althy?
- No, of course! When you're in the field shooting, productions end late, we don't have working hours with breaks - how can I provide myself with he althy food?! Well, I'm not making excuses! A person, if he is serious about his he alth and how he should eat, with a good will, this can also happen. I should probably do it already.
Did you or your parents want to study to be a doctor?
- Me too, but that was the big dream of my mother, a naturally intelligent and educated person. But circumstances led me to do art. Medicine challenges you with the opportunity to get to know the human body, which is a miracle, a worship. Getting to know him and helping people, such as myself, neglectful of their he alth is a great thing.
My surgery was the most interesting
My father is a priest and, together with my mother, they introduced me to the knowledge of spirituality and culture, for which I am extremely grateful. They taught me traditions, a responsible attitude towards people above all. I owe everything good that happened to me to my parents.
Where did you learn to respect art?
- I learned theater from the church. A holy liturgy is a whole theatrical performance - with the clothes, with the sermon, with the theme, with voice, a matter of diction, of impact on people.
Family traditions also taught me to respect art. The concepts they create - unity and warmth between people, a sense of humility, of charity - is gathered in one word called love. In recent times I fear we have begun to lose ourselves as a people, we are putting power in the hands of people who cannot protect our nation.
Are we melting as a nation?
- Yes, we melt, but not only from diseases. It is the spirit that determines the he alth of the body. But we lost it somewhere, and that's scary.
You know no bounds when you reincarnate into your roles - you even suffer physically from it…
- Yes, you mean my experience in the roles - in such a situation I injured my hand on a sticking nail. Blood flowed, but there was no way to stop it - I squeezed some tampons to absorb the blood, and then they stitched me up. It didn't hurt, but it stayed like a memory. The stage is a very breezy place where you are physically and mentally exhausted and at one point
some organs begin to fail the strain
Recently I too have had problems with the extreme physical strain and emotional empathy of my character. I don't complain about diseases, but I understand that it's time to take care of my he alth.
Have you had any serious he alth problems?
- Happily, no, I haven't. But I gladly accepted to participate in the prostate prevention campaign. One of the disease factors is related precisely to an increased risk in nutrition. According to doctors, large amounts of fat are fertile ground for the development of a prostate tumor, therefore it is recommended that there be more fiber in the diet of mature men.
The global initiative "Moemvri" for prostate cancer prevention is good in Bulgaria. The campaign aims to draw the attention of the most at-risk group - men in adulthood - to taking care of their he alth.
Is the prostate the "enemy" of men?
- The biggest, most deadly enemy of men over 50 is precisely prostate cancer. I know it is 100% curable if caught early and treated adequately. The only way for prostate cancer to be diagnosed at an early stage
is the annual urologist exam
I don't have such a problem, but I learned a lot from the campaign. A person makes his own choice whether to be he althy and how long he will live. It is mandatory to observe some hygiene and take care of our organs. We are not taught prevention, early insight into our he alth problems, that's why we "let" diseases fall on us.
What's stressing you out?
- Many things irritate me both in the theater and outside. I do not accept the irresponsibility of some people, no matter what it is about. And this was a large part of the virtues of the Bulgarian. For example, in the play "Mr. Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran" many important things are said - about kindness, responsibility, benevolence. When these educational things are missing in our lives, I get irritated, I can't stand demagoguery and hypocrisy.
Because they are all around us, I think we have started to destroy ourselves. And no he alth reform will save us! With a good spiritual attitude and with exceptional faith of the patient, he could overcome even incurable diseases. It's hard, but not impossible to do. We survive individually, we do not help each other, our state is gone, our existence as individuals is threatened. I hope someone figures it out!
