In One Family, you take turns raising four children, your own and your stepsons. Can you imagine such a situation in reality, having such a large family?
I don’t need to imagine it, I have it in real life. Even in my relationship, whether I mean my first marriage, or even now my second, to my current husband Yakub, she still had children from that partner’s previous marriage. And although we did not have alternate custody established by the court, it was always on the basis of mutual agreement between the fathers and mothers of the children. So there is not much difference between my experience and my character. Of course, situations, partners, number of children and circumstances vary, but for me this is completely normal.
Watch the interview of Zuzana Veyvodova about the series “One Family”:
How do you personally feel about alternative custody by court order, as is the case with the actors of the “United Family”?
I have never had to deal with such a situation, I have only ever experienced mutual agreement. Probably, this is very individual in each case, it always depends on the children and on the parents, but speaking for myself and how I perceive the child’s soul, and what experience I have from my environment, where there is such a situation, I can rarely appreciate him as clearly useful and good. Basically only for such children. Especially if it’s not entirely harmonious between their parents. And if, on the other hand, it is harmonious, then the alternation of custody does not have to be ordered by the court, because the parents are simply able to come to an agreement among themselves. So I’m definitely not her supporter. But this is not the case with our series, because it has a kind and comedic undertone, albeit with very real life situations. In it, we are all such good parents, and the situations we face are not so stressful, but we also touch on the most extreme ones. I know a few of these really extreme cases, babies are changed in just a few days, and this is a really unpleasant situation for both parents and children. I certainly think it’s always worth thinking carefully before embarking on something like this. But, as I said, our series is not about that. In it we deal with ordinary human things and situations. In a word, what usually happens with mixed families is divorce, remarriage, former partners, new partners … Our society knows all this, and I think that the United Family treats this kindly and truthfully.
How would you describe your character, Petra Teikalova?
She is a pleasant woman, she likes the people around her, and she wants to have good relationships with her former partners as well. He is also tolerant. In principle, he can act as a person who cares about harmony, but this does not mean that it is perceived that way from the other side. But when there is someone who does not agree with her presence in a new relationship, and in this case I am talking about the character of Clara, Karel’s ex-wife, then even her attempts to establish harmony can lead to clashes. No matter how well she means it, not everyone just accepts it, and then both funny and more serious situations arise from this. But the point is not only what kind of heroes of our series, but how others perceive them. Basically, however, I think that Petra is a good mother who tries to find an approach to all children. She is very straightforward, which can sometimes cause problems for someone, but it actually makes her more fun.
In the series, Petra decided to change jobs and started making jams at home. In general, she is very caring. Are you like her in everyday life?
I must say that I am very happy that I was chosen for this role. And I love being a “jelly maker” because I haven’t been one yet. And we even started filming during the canning season! I have already tried a lot of things myself, but not quite the preservation of jam and marmalade yet. Otherwise, I really love baking and cooking, making syrups and everything else. Petra and I are very similar in many ways! Something, of course, is a little different, and that’s what I like to look for – maybe energy or other storylines. But love for the family and the fact that its main foundation lies in the family, relationships, honesty and truth one to another, but also in the family hearth, so that it is warm, cooked, fed and people are happy, I think that we have something that’s common.
You mentioned that you also went through a divorce and faced the situation of introducing your son to a new partner. Did you approach these things more intuitively or did you learn how to better deal with such situations and how it is appropriate to communicate with the child in these cases?
I can say that, thank God, I am now at the age when it is known that intuition is not something that does not contain knowledge or experience. My son is one of the closest people to me, and I dare say that I know him very well, and I know myself just as well. And no publication illuminates this knowledge. There is no adviser who can tell Teresa what to do with Tonda, let alone her new partner. For me it is a matter of experience, intuition and faith in the current situation. It also depends on the new partner, that is, on my current husband Yakub. There is also a variable in how he behaves. But we will all see in the series how the individual components behave. There is no single correct universal way. It is important to find a way that will be harmonious and as functional as possible. And here’s what’s interesting about it. I stick to one basic thing in life and it’s true. In relation to the child, partner and yourself. This is also the point of contact that we have with Petra. It cannot be said that a person with such an attitude always succeeds, but it is good to be like that and try. Then it’s always a question of how others perceive it.
What do you think is the main message of One Family that viewers can draw from it?
We all loved this love from the first exam I read and I can say for myself that it really touched my heart. And I already have so much experience that I know that this is exactly what you need to know in the work. It’s like food. You can also tell when it’s cooked with love. It’s the same as when making marmalade. We have great ingredients, but I don’t know if the public will like marmalade in the end, because everyone’s taste is different. But of course we are doing our best. And we will see what it will bring, what people will take from it.
Source: Blesk