We spoke with Milan Kňažko by phone as he traveled from Prague back to Bratislava after performing at the Slovak Theater Festival in Prague this September, where he appeared on stage with Divadlo Bez Zábradlí. Right from the start, I was struck by his flawless Czech and the passion with which he spoke about his life – and about the lasting bond between Czechs and Slovaks.
How did you spend your summer? Did you relax by the sea?
In June the theater season was still on, so I was acting. In July and August I didn’t go abroad. In winter I escape to warmer places, since winters in the city are unpleasant, but I always spend my summers at home in Slovakia. I realized that once in Sardinia – it was thirty-three degrees there, and thirty-six back in Bratislava.
So what did you do over the summer?
I like to hike in the High Tatras. I also play golf – not only in Slovakia, but also in Czechia and Austria. There are beautiful courses in Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázně. I also went to the Kremnica Gags festival, an international festival of humor and satire, and to the Theater Festival in Luhačovice. And my garden brings me joy – I grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers. We harvested strawberries and raspberries, and in August I picked my first home-grown figs.
At the end of August you celebrated a big milestone. How did you mark your eightieth birthday?
On my birthday I met with diplomats I used to host back when I was foreign minister. They’re all retired now, like me. They have their own club and were celebrating Diplomacy Day, so they invited me. It was a very pleasant gathering. At the Kremnica Gags festival, where I also performed a satirical monologue, I reminisced with former Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radičová about her late husband and my dear friend Stano, who passed away at just fifty. I haven’t had a big traditional party yet, and I don’t know if I will. The last one was for my seventieth, which was great. The sad truth is that most of the friends I would have liked to invite are now watching me from above. I was not expecting that. But that’s life – and we have to move on.
Have you been lucky in life?
I think I’ve had good fortune in life – and still do. I also went through difficult times: when I was five, the communists imprisoned my father and even threatened him with the death penalty. Returning from France, where I studied and lived, was also hard, especially since I was coming back to occupied Czechoslovakia. But I had luck – I was acting, I was part of the Slovak National Theater, and I met fascinating people. Politically, I stood on the right side, against the communist regime. In November 1989, during the Velvet Revolution, I was the first and only one to return the Merited Artist title and insisted the Communist Party’s dominance had to end. None of us knew how things would unfold, but it turned out well. That too was luck. I don’t regret anything, not even the thirteen years I spent in government and politics. I did it out of conviction! Politics should be done out of conviction, not as a business, otherwise it reeks of political prostitution. I’m glad we managed to join the EU, the eurozone, and NATO. Despite the split of Czechoslovakia, we restored relations with our Czech brothers, and I believe our ties have never been as strong as they are now. We simply like each other – and no government or politician can change that. As Slovak culture minister, I’m proud of several concrete achievements, even if I had hoped for more – but money is always short. And finally, I’m glad I headed Slovak TV channel JOJ – I even interrupted my work at the Sorbonne in Paris, which came with a salary and apartment, to do it.
Do you regret leaving politics?
I left politics voluntarily, by my own decision, and I have no regrets. I still recall when French actress Annie Suzanne Girardot, with whom I was chatting, stroked my hair and said, “Forget about politics and come back to us.” And I did – I returned to theater, and I’m happy. Today I act on several stages in both Prague and Bratislava, and I’m content.
From the Astorka Korzo ’90 Theater play Halpern and Johnson.
With Astorka Theater you performed at the Slovak Theater Festival in Prague 2025, in Halpern and Johnson with Vlado Černý. How do you feel about the story of this play?
It should be said that Czech colleagues Petr Kostka and František Němec also played this piece brilliantly. It’s a story of past and present, where tragedy alternates with absurdity. Sometimes the audience laughs, other times the story makes them reflect on life. I like this role – in fact, I haven’t played a role I didn’t like in years.
What do you see as the meaning of such joint festivals?
When a Slovak Theater Festival takes place in the Czech Republic, or a Czech Theater Festival in Slovakia, it’s always a celebration. I perform regularly in Prague at Studio DVA and Divadlo Na Jezerce, and I’m glad that the Czech audience is also our audience – and vice versa. Our audience is, I’d say, Czechoslovak. But I was shocked recently to learn that Czechs are dubbing Slovak TV shows into Czech. To me that’s absurd! A bad film can’t be saved by dubbing, and a good one can be spoiled by it. In Slovakia we don’t dub Czech films, and when dealing with Czech politicians we don’t need interpreters. Czech is not a foreign language in Slovakia. In fact, Czech can even be used in official communication here, since it is considered mutually intelligible with Slovak.
October 28 is approaching, the day Czechoslovakia was founded. Does Slovakia celebrate it too?
October 28 is a “commemorative day” in Slovakia. Personally, I wish it were a public holiday – a day off – because without the founding of Czechoslovakia, there would be no Slovakia. At that time we needed each other, and our union was advantageous in every way. Unfortunately, Slovakia has piled up a lot of church holidays because of an unbalanced treaty with the Vatican. Personally, I would adjust those as October 28 definitely deserves to be a state holiday.
CV BOX
Milan Kňažko (born on August 28, 1945, in Horné Plachtince) is a Slovak actor and politician.
He studied acting at the Bratislava Academy of Performing Arts. For two years, he was a member of the drama ensemble of the Theatre Studio, from 1971 to 1985 a member of the New Stage, and for another four years he joined the drama ensemble of the Slovak National Theatre.
He briefly served as dean of the Theatre Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts, in 2002 became president of the Bratislava International Film Festival, and from 2003 to 2007 was the general director of TV JOJ. In 2016, he was named Actor of the Year, receiving the Thalia Award for his role as Shylock at Prague’s Na Jezerce Theatre. In October 2024, he received the Thalia award for best foreign artist.
He was a member of the Federal Assembly and from 1992 to 2002, a member of the Slovak National Council, now the National Council of the Slovak Republic. In the 1990s, he was, among other things, the minister of foreign affairs and later the minister of culture of Slovakia. In 2013, he ran in the presidential election.
He lives in Bratislava, has been married three times, and has three children.
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