The charismatic Bulgarian actor Stefan Danailov, a favorite of generations of Bulgarians, turned 73 last December, but for the second year in a row he celebrated his birthday alone, without his wife Maria, who died a year and a half ago
Lately, Stefan Danailov has been staying at home more, because after his severe illness from leukemia, he has to be very careful about his he alth. The star of "Every Kilometer" rarely allows himself to talk about his personal life and is completely closed in himself. "Before, I wasn't looking for people, Maria de alt with that, she communicated with our friends," Danailov is frank.
The legendary actor, who is a teacher at the "Krastyo Sarafov" theater academy, also revealed that it is difficult for him to understand current students, since they refuse to read books and prefer to stay in front of computers all day."They have the desire, but spirituality has been lost," the star believes. Lambo does not hide that he is already feeling his age, as he does not feel as energetic as before.
“A great person, loving, honest, direct, loves his students very much and shows it. Giving, chalky, with a peppery tongue. He is a great person…", his students describe him.
Has the great actor recovered from his battle with the serious illness? How he prepares for his new encounters with the theater and its people. Former brother Sergei from the TV series "Every Kilometer" in a frank conversation with "Doctor" does not hide that his he alth is still fragile, that he still does not see well and that he prefers not to leave his home.
Mr. Danailov, you are a person with a great sense of reality - does it come from the family or is it self-educated?
- It's a given! Knowing how much to believe in yourself is a big deal. Otherwise, it's scary - at one point you decide that you are everything, and when you fall from a height, you don't know who you are and where you are. I recently said to a colleague of yours that in my youth it was very difficult for anyone to be recognized as a star, and now stargazers have nothing to do with it. Below and above the road we have swarms of stars - every third one is great in our country.
You don't like to talk about yourself, nor about illnesses…
- Quite often, before and now, people close to me scold me for doing many things - theaters, junkies, movies, shows. I worked around the clock, giving away my energy with pleasure, thinking that I was doing something good for people who responded to me with inexhaustible love. I can't be like that anymore, that's why I barely communicate.
Each of us thinks we will be he althy forever. As a matter of fact, before they discovered my leukemia, I was never sick. Rarely, a cold, and even a "caught" one, has left me at home for a day or two. When you're young, you don't have time to get sick. I didn't think about whether I was leading a he althy lifestyle, I remember eating even late at night - my life as an actor lengthens the day, I can't keep the hours for lunch and dinner. Also, whatever was available in the hotels, on the set, that's what all my colleagues ate, not just me. But over the years
my he alth problems also came
But lately I've been living. I have problems with my eyes, I can't see well, I'm no longer the person I was 10 years ago - smiling, cheerful, as people know me. The chemistry they put on me hit me hard… I pray to God to loosen the noose a little, so that I don't have some kind of problem every day, that something hurts. My immune system is broken and I have to constantly protect myself with something so that I don't get infected. I don't like this life of mine…
You beat the insidious disease, but not death - it mowed down the person closest to you…
- Maria and I were connected by many deep and real things. For me, she was not only a wife, she was the person who consciously stood by me, the person who always unconditionally supported me in everything. I will carry her pain in my heart for the rest of my life.
What do you most often remember from your "he althy" years?
- My parents and I lived on "San Stefano" street, in the city center. Many friends, relatives, strangers stopped me on the street even after my first appearance in the film "Traces Remain" in 1956 - I was very proud of myself. Then, while I was in the barracks, I was going to apply for history, but the actor Ivan Kondov, who was already my sister's husband, made me try out for VITIZ. And it happened - they were good years, I have wonderful memories, after all, I lived very happily…
You returned to the scene after an absence of over a year…
- I'm back,
scared how viewers will accept me
I've been playing this show for 12 years now, but I'm worried about how long my strength will last. I haven't been on stage for a long time and I don't know how I'm going to cover the salon. I don't want to disappoint their expectations, otherwise I'm very happy that people want me and still enjoy me. I have always been an energetic, emotional person, now clumsiness bothers me a little.
Are you a compromising person?
- Yes, I have made and am making compromises. I can easily miss a word spoken in passing or a deliberately provoked insult. I am not angry with anyone - both in life and in politics there are people who have attacked me quite unfairly. I always forgave them, that's my nature. Now that Maria is gone from this world, I meet a little and talk to people a little. Although I am surrounded by many quality people - good doctors, few but good actors, I also have friends in the parliament.
Don't neglect prevention
"There are thousands of Bulgarians with cancer. And those who have my type of disease, of the blood, with leukemia, are terribly many. This worries me greatly. I even allow myself to talk to my students about this disease, to ask them, to require them to do periodic tests, because I already know how insidious it is - just when you think you are in the prime of your strength and he alth, suddenly it turns out, that you can't get out of bed, that you don't have the strength to move a leg or an arm. That's what happened to me too - supposedly a cold, supposedly antibiotics, one, two, but nothing, I didn't have the strength to hold the cup of tea. I also stopped eating, I felt sleepy all the time. It's good that the doctors remembered to examine my blood completely - that's how they discovered the leukemia", he shares with concern, but also with the hope that the insidious disease will stop taking so many victims Lambo.
