Theater and film actor, director and also long-time teacher Emil Horváth Jr. joined the octogenarian club. He has been active on the Slovak theater scene since 1968, when he became a member of the SNP Theater in Martin, today’s Slovak Chamber Theatre. He has been working in the Theater of the Slovak National Theater (SND) in Bratislava since 1983.
He was not far from the acting profession, his father Emil Horváth the elder was one of the most important actors. “Of course, my father’s profession influenced me. He worked in the Slovak Chamber Theater in Martin, he was very versatile, in addition to acting as an actor in a drama, he was also a director of puppet shows for children,” he revealed.
“He made the puppets himself at home. I also had my own theater from him. And of course he took me to the theater for performances. In short, I caught the ‘infectious disease called theater’ from him,” said Emil Horváth Jr. At the same time, he added that for him, acting is a job and a hobby in one, a satisfying way of life and also a certain lifestyle.
In addition to acting and directing, he is also a teacher. Since 1984, he taught theater production at the Academy of Arts. V in June 2005, he was appointed a university professor. An adept of acting, he often emphasized that an actor does not play a character on stage, he must be it.
“I think there are currently ‘a few’ members in the SND troupe who have developed into prominent acting personalities. Diana Mórová, Zuzka Fialová, Ján Koleník, Alexander Bárta, Tomáš Maštalír, Dano Fischer, Dominika Kavaschová, Jakub Rybárik, Gregor Hološka, Daniel Žulčák, Zuzka Porubjaková, Kamila Heribanová. I’m not naming them because I want to brag about having taught them, but because I get to act with such excellent co-stars,” said the legendary actor.
His former students, some of whom are now successful artists, congratulated him on his jubilee via a social network. One of the legend’s favorites was also present – Dominika Fischer, unmarried Kavaschová.
„Long live Emil! Our favorite colleague. Humility, professionalism, precision, fairness, readiness, energy, wisdom, intelligence, humor and humanity… That’s him,” listed the strengths of Emil Horváth Jr. You can find a PHOTO of her post in the gallery.
The great acting luck of Emil Horváth Jr.
Emil Horváth Jr. was born on November 12, 1945 in Nitra, but he spent his childhood and youth in Martin, where his father got a job. He finished his acting studies at the University of Performing Arts (VŠMU) in Bratislava in 1968. His first place of work was the SNP Theater in Martin, where he worked in the years 1968 – 1976 and recorded his first successes.
In 1973, he was awarded the Janko Borodáč award for the character of Ryumin in the play Summer Guests by Maxim Gorky. He also received a film award, when in 1974 he took home the Golden Sun from the 12th Youth Film Festival in Trutnov for his portrayal of characters from the films Dolina (1973) and Solstice Day (1973).
He performed on the stage of Bratislava’s New Stage between 1976 and 1983 and excelled as Treplev in Chekhov’s Chaika or as Salieri in Shaffer’s Amadeo. He became a member of the SND Drama Theater in Bratislava in 1983 and performed in dozens of performances on the first Slovak theater stage. In the years 2011 – 2013, he also led the SND Drama.
According to him, the art of acting is fleeting, like everything in life, and many productions and theater roles are just memories. He has the closest relationship with those in which he currently plays. He is currently performing in seven titles and one of them is the show Falošná nota, in which he plays alongside Milan Kňažek.
“But I’ve been lucky with characters from the plays of the great Shakespeare. I’ve played Romeo, Macbeth, Richard III, Prospero, the Duke in An Eye for an Eye, Evans in The Merry Wives of Windsor and many other characters. I consider it a great actor’s luck that I could “deal” with this greatest playwright of all time,” emphasized the actor, who for many years also devoted himself to theater direction.
He started as a theater director in Martin, and after 1989 he also directed at SND, at Nova scéna, at the State Theater in Košice (today’s National Theater in Košice), at the Jozef Gregor Tajovský Theater in Zvolen, the Ján Palárik Theater in Trnava, the Municipal Theater in Brno, the National Theater in Brno, the Prague Theater under Palmovka and for 12 years in Bratislava West Theatre.
In 1987, he received the Andrej Bagar Award for the character of Zilov in Alexander Vampilov’s play Duck Hunt. In 1991, he was awarded the Literary Fund Award for his performance in Georges Feydeau’s The Beetle in the Head and for directing Albert Camus’ play Caligula. For the role of Starček in the staging of Stolička by Eugene Ionesco, he received the prestigious Divadelné dosky award (1999), the Jozef Kroner Award (2000) and the Annual Award of the Literary Fund (2001).
In 2005, the President of the Slovak Republic awarded him state honors of the Order of Ľudovít Štúr II. class for significant merits in the field of cultural development. He also received the Literary Fund Award in 2017 for portraying the character of Peter Williamson in the play Apartment in Hotel Bristol, taking into account the character of Mr. Labaš from the production The Singing House.
He made his debut in front of the camera in 1965 in the film Every Young Man directed by Pavel Juráček. He also played in the crime film Seven Witnesses by Peter Solan (1967), director Karel Zeman also entrusted him with one of the title characters in the film On the Comet (1970).
One of his most famous film acting creations was the confectioner Šimon Šindelka, who he portrayed in Juraj Herz’s comedy Sladké storosti (1984). He also appeared in the TV series Thirty Cases of Major Zeman, Stormy Wine, Secret Lives and Driving School. Currently, he plays in the series Danube, at your service and Nemocnica.
