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- Click !: Jesus, where did you isolate yourself and what are you doing?
Jesús del Cerro: Like everyone else, I isolated myself at home in Bucharest. I take care of the plants, I clean, I cook and I read a lot. I also run 4 times a week. But I spend most of my time writing. I’m working on a novel, now that I have more time available, I can focus on it and everything is going very well.
- Your private life is less known to fans. Are you married, do you have children?
I do not have many interesting things to say about my personal life, I am alone and I have no children.
- Did you think the series “Vlad” directed by you would be so successful?
From the beginning we knew we had a solid history. Then we managed to co-opt in this story a great team and wonderful actors, who made possible what you see now on television. To be honest, I felt from the beginning that we were making a great series, but that didn’t necessarily mean that we would be successful. Viewers are the ones who decide this, decide if the story we are proposing is interesting, if the style chosen for the series is correct, if the characters are strong enough. So I want to thank the viewers who showed that I made the right decisions.
- How did you choose the actors for the main roles? Is it you who has the final decision? Did you know some of them?
Launching a series is like completing a puzzle. It’s not just about finding the right actor for each role. You must be able to see the full image to see how those characters interact with each other. Eliza must be tough and strong with Stefan and Leo, but she must be kind and win over Adrian. Vlad must be strong enough to take revenge, but on the other hand, fragile and doubtful, like Adrian. The more complex the story and characters are, the more difficult it is to choose the actors. You have to pay attention to the physical appearance, not to look the same, to be blond for example, and in our case, we had to find actors who played Adrian and Vlad and had the same height, in addition also in appearance. And of course you need very good actors, so there are many things to consider when choosing actors. The decision to choose the actors is made jointly by the director and the producer.
- Adi Nartea is now very popular with fans.
Adrian Nartea (38 years old) is the protagonist of the series and he was sure, from the beginning, that he will do a great job and that he has everything he needs to succeed in this role. Adrian worked hard for this role and did an excellent job.
- You have worked with some actors before. For example with Elvira Deatcu. How was the meeting?
Elvira is a very good actress and an extraordinary person, she is very easy and pleasant to work with. I’m glad we have it in “Vlad”. It also gives César more complexity and importance and makes a very good match with Bebe Cotimanis.
- What about Iantefan Iancu, who you worked with in the movie “The Goodmother”? You filmed with him and his brother Bogdan a few years ago for “HoHoHo”.
Yes, I worked with Bogdan for Ho Ho Ho, in 2008, a long time ago, it was a great experience, I made a very good Christmas movie and he did an excellent job. Now they are important actors in Romania and I am glad to see this, because it is worth it, they are very good actors. When I started to choose “Vlad”, I immediately thought that Stefan would be suitable for the role of Răzvan and he turned out to be the best Răzvan possible.
Filming was interrupted
- Monica Bârlădeanu’s character changed trajectory, how do you collaborate?
I’ll tell you a secret: Carla was supposed to have an episodic appearance initially. But a television series is a living and constantly changing organism. Characters sometimes decide for themselves which way to go, without listening to the director or the writers. Therefore, working on the script for the second season, we needed a certain character in different scenes to provide information, and every time we thought of Carla. At one point I realized that the character has evolved, he is practically more and more involved in the action, somehow he developed naturally, with the action. And so he became practically Vlad’s main opponent. And the main person responsible for this evolution of the character is Monica and her extraordinary performance. Carla’s character is a survivor, and Monica does a wonderful job.
- “Vlad” is on hiatus due to the pandemic. When do you return to small screens?
Everyone asks this, everyone wants to know when Vlad will be back on the small screens, on PRO TV. Unfortunately, we don’t know, it all depends on the crisis humanity is going through now. But, for example, I started watching the series again, from the first episode, and I was surprised. It is as if I saw another series, I saw the characters in a different light. By reviewing the series, I think you will discover new things and will make the meeting with “Vlad” when the broadcast resumes much more interesting.
- Few know that in 2007 he worked for the series “One Step Ahead”, another successful project in which Smiley and Laura Cosoi played. Would you have liked to continue with that project?
I made the original series in Spain, in 2002, I was the creator, director and producer. The series was then sold in 70 countries, and some, like Romania or the Czech Republic, made their own adaptations. I was pleased to adapt here, it gave me the opportunity to do new things for a project that I started and that I knew very well. It was an opportunity to work with Romanian actors for the first time and, at the same time, a door was opened for future projects in Romania. It gave me the opportunity to do many other projects here, like “Hawaii” or “Miami Whip”. In Spain they are thinking of making a new version of the series “A step forward”, and in France there is an Internet challenge related to the series. To remake the credits for the series, many people film and edit the credits that were released 15 years ago. I’m glad to see that people are still interested after all this time.
- What relationships do you have with the actors after completing a project?
This is an important aspect of our work. During filming we work so hard, we talk about feelings, about love, hate, we share so many things, that’s why we maintain the relationship even after the movies end. In the book recently published in Spain, the prologue was written by the actor of the first project in Spain, since 1995, and we are still friends. In Romania, the prologue will be written by Dragoș Bucur, I made 5 films with him and I became friends. I have a group with the members of the team “A step forward” from Spain, “A step forward”, 18 years ago … This is the beautiful part of my work, I make many friends, and the same thing happened with “Vlad”, I added many new friends.
- His next project is “Attraction to Paris”, in which he worked with Christopher Atkins and Tara Reid. How was playing with them?
“Attraction to Paris” was made before “Miami Bike”, but it took longer to film and post-produce. I filmed in Puerto Rico, Los Angeles and Paris. That is why it lasted longer and has not yet been released. Tara Reid and Christopher Atkins impressed me. They are both true professionals, great actors and easy to work with. I really became friends with Christopher Atkins and we want to collaborate in the future. I wanted to work with him for Miami Whip, but he was in Australia then, with theater projects, we did not synchronize our schedule. But I am sure we will meet for other projects in the future.
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