Jan Piechocinski: He was destroyed by “Oh, Carol.” He couldn’t buy bread

An acting career was not Jan Piechociński’s first choice. The man was born in July 1950, graduated from the Mathematical Technical School and immediately after that began his education at the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw.

He soon realized that a career in science would not be for him. He also tried Polish philology and law, but it was not something he wanted to do. It was the right last choice State Film School in Lodz, from which he graduated in 1976.

His first role was that of Mieszko I, Prince of Bohemia In the film “Gnyazdo” directed by Jan Rybkowski. In the early years of his career, he mainly played episodic characters (eg in “Daleko od szosy”). The breakthrough was the proposal of Roman Zalewski to play the title character in the production of “Oh, Carol”.

The director apparently noticed Piechociński in his previous films and thought he would be suitable for the role. He warned him that it would be an exciting comedy, but he shouldn’t worry about it. In an interview with Onet in 2010, the actor admitted this He did not expect the production to be so popular.

The film revolves around a man who is an inveterate womanizer. After the premiere, Załuski’s work was welcomed “Naughty comedy in the Polish People’s Republic,” and Piechociński could not stay away from the audiences. Due to censorship, the work had to remain on the shelf for several months. Surprisingly, the problem was not sexual arousal, but rather presenting the problems of contemporary reality (food stamps), which the communist authorities were not satisfied with.

When asked about scenes that focus on intimacy, the actor replied: “I thought and I still think so You can take off your clothes and do all kinds of weird things in front of the camera when it’s justified: in character, in psychology.“.

The actor also mentioned how he was received after the film was released. When he met men, they were said to often look at him with envy or even frustration. There have been cases where It was almost a battle. However, the women showed him a lot of warmth and wanted to check for themselves if he was really as charming as he was on screen.

Playing the role of such an iconic hero must have had its consequences. Piechocinski discovered this when he was looking for another job.

“After appearing in this film, I did not get anything […] No offer to play the lead role! Previously, I had about a dozen first-class credits, and played in two or three productions each year. After the adventure with Carol, it’s all over“- he admitted later in the conversation with Onet.

It didn’t take long for the actor to start having financial problems. Ring roles did not allow him to earn much. At that time, he was often short of money, even to buy bread. When he began to lose hope, he also looked for work abroad; He was physically working in Sweden for half a year. Only in 1997 fate smiled at him again.

The financial crisis ended with this proposal The role of Felix Nowak in the series “Clan”. Joining the cast turned out to be the saving grace of his career. Had it not been for this engagement, as he himself stated, he would probably have had what he lived on.
After 6 years, he also started acting in the series “Na Wspólnej”, which he stayed with until 2017.

Piechociński’s final film role can be considered symbolic. The actor has appeared in the production of the film “Oh, Karol 2” since 2011. In it he played the role of a priest who blesses the continuation of his work and contemporary Karol Pyotr Adamczyk.