He didn’t want to play in “Four Armored” because he was a pacifist. He met his wife on the set. They’ve been together for 56 years

Włodzimierz Press was born on May 13, 1940 in Lviv. His father, Grzegorz Press, died in the Treblinka camp, having previously been sent to the Warsaw Ghetto. The mother managed to escape. When he was two years old, during his escape from Lviv, mother and son were separated by a pressing crowd, and Włodzimierz ended up in an orphanage. Janina Planer found her son, but together with him she found herself in Siberia. After the war, Press’s mother worked for TVP as an editor of youth programs. In 1968, in the face of a growing wave of anti-Semitism, she left Poland for France, having previously stayed in Israel.

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Włodzimierz Press began to be interested in acting as a child. He took his first steps in amateur and school theaters. After graduating from high school, he entered the State Higher School of Theater in Warsaw. He graduated in 1963, and in the same year joined the cast of the capital’s Ludowy Theatre. He made his debut in a play based on a novel by Jaroslav Hasek, “The Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk”, in the same year he also stood in front of the camera for the first time in the romantic comedy “Divorces will not be”.

He didn’t want to audition for Four Armored and a Dog. “I spun thin, so I went”

Two years later, Press decided to audition for the lead role in Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s Pharaoh. The titular pharaoh was finally played by Jerzy Zelnik, which the Press learned about only when the shooting started. This occupation severely undermined his morale. Then another opportunity arose – casting for the series. The actor went reluctantly. He almost didn’t show up at it, because the director of the Ludowy Theater did not want to release him for the audition, explaining that it would spoil his repertoire. He finally agreed. – It was shortly after the failure with “Pharaoh”, when I lost the remnants of faith that I was good for anything in this profession – told Włodzimierz Press in . – I went to test shoots for “Pancerny” to earn a few zlotys. I didn’t want to play it. After all, it was a war series, and I’m a pacifist by nature, I’ve never had anything to do with the military. But I was spinning thin, so I went,” he added.

“Four tank men and a dog” gave him fame and … love. He met his wife on the set

Doubts turned out to be unnecessary, because Włodzimierz Press received one of the main roles, the Georgian tanker Grigorij Saakashvili and the mechanic of the iconic Rudy 102 tank. It was on the set that Włodzimierz Press met his future wife. Renata was a student at the Academy of Fine Arts, she joined the crew of the series to earn some extra money. She helped the costume designer and was already infatuated with Press. – I fell in love like a madman – years later. In 1967 they got married, in the same year the couple’s son, Grzegorz, was born. Some joked that he was named after a tanker from the show, but he was named after the actor’s father. After the shooting of “Four Armored and a Dog” was completed, a daughter, Tania, was also born. – My children were successful, although I am not sure that I did well as a father – he assessed in “Wyborcza”. The production can still be watched on TV or at vod.tvp.pl.

When martial law began, Włodzimierz Press left for France. Today he plays cards with his wife

The Presses spent martial law in France, where Włodzimierz’s mother lived. After returning to Poland, he collaborated with the Dramatic Theater and the Studio Theater in Warsaw, but he also made guest appearances in other theaters. He also played in movies and series, and his voice is well known to fans not only of games such as “League of Legends” or “Diablo III”. He dubbed Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter series, Julius Caesar in the Asterix gal animations, and played Sylwester the cat in the Looney Tunes series. Today, he appears in minor roles. In the 2021 film “Black Sheep”, he played Grandpa Walenty. He and his wife live in Warsaw and, 56 years after their wedding, they still love each other. They spend their free time reading, watching TV and… playing cards. – We’re playing bridge. It’s a real relaxation for me – some time ago in “Tele Magazyn”.