Claw “was cheaper than film”? This was his first salary. “Can you imagine that?”

It has enjoyed both fan and critical adoration for almost four decades. He has had many great roles in productions on the small and big screen. The most popular ones include: “Kroll”, “Ajlawiu”, “13th Precinct”, “Boys Don’t Cry” and “Day of the Freak”. Although his position in the industry is unshakable, it was not always like this, and the road to achieving it was extremely long and bumpy. What were the beginnings of his career like?

What school did Cezary Pazura graduate from? This was his first salary in the theater

Shortly after Pazura graduated from the Łódź Film School in 1986, he made his screen debut in the adventure film “Czarne Stopy” by Waldemar Podgórski and was employed at the Ochota Theater in the capital. It is true that he was in a much better situation than many of his colleagues, but his earnings, especially for a beginner actor, were not the best. In one episode of his YouTube show, he revealed how much his first one was. As he himself said, it was “cheaper than film.” – My first salary in dollars, so that we can convert it, because there was a big devaluation at that time, was 9 dollars 20 cents a month – he said.

Even though he could barely make ends meet, he tried to manage his money so that he could afford small pleasures from time to time. – And for this, Uncle Czarek lived, lived and even had money for stimulants, because back then I smoked cigarettes, and sometimes I had to buy someone into the team – he said, adding that at that time the value of work was perceived completely differently by society. – This is how life was during communism, Poles then spent more than they earned – he said. Due to the fact that living in a big city was not the cheapest, apart from working in the theater, he took up various additional activities to supplement the household budget. – Of course, I had to earn extra money back then, I did voices for various films, videos, commercials, I did some backgrounds, and some other stupid things like that. I also played on TV radio, he recalled.

Cezary Pazura about his first visit to a money exchange dealer. He revealed why he felt humiliated

At the same time, he shared a situation that was particularly memorable for him. When he received his first salary, Christmas was approaching. Then he decided to give himself a small gift not only by buying another pack of cigarettes, but also to his then crush. – I had a girl back then whom I had a crush on and I wanted to give her a gift – he said, adding that he chose the fashionable Cafe perfume for her, which cost $4.60 at Pewex. To buy them, he first had to exchange his salary for dollars, which was not the easiest thing to do. – Imagine me, a man with a university degree, going to Pewex with a full salary of PLN 9.20 to buy these dollars – he reported, emphasizing that it was his first time using the services of a money exchange dealer, so he felt a bit embarrassed. – I approached a money changer and it was the first time I bought dollars, I was very afraid. And I say, “I wanted to buy dollars,” he recalled.

The man, probably thinking that he wanted to exchange a larger sum, also started behaving quite unusually, looking around. – He says “How much?” and he opens the bag and it bursts open… I looked accidentally and there were 50 and 100 dollars packed tightly together. He had a three-room apartment in the center of Warsaw in that bag – he said, not hiding that it was the first time he had seen such a huge sum of money. – Can you imagine, this money changer who finished the 6th grade – he added. Ultimately, he was sent away empty-handed because the man did not have such banknotes. So he took advantage of vouchers that the state produced mainly for retirees. – Humiliated as a dog, I went to some pensioner and bought these 5 dollars in a voucher – he said. If you feel like it, vote in our poll below.