DINICÃ'S TOMCAT

At 11:00 a.m. sharp I rang. I heard a bzz and a crack. I pushed the door open and I found myself on the white marble in the
lobby. From upstairs I heard the unique voice of the Master: the first floor, he said. It was like I ran out of air! I stepped trying
not to breathe, and climbed all steps. How could someone breathe, when, on Wikipedia, at Gheorghe Dinicã, one can see
over 100 films he played in, dozens of parts in Theatre (with capital letter, as it should be done when talking about geniuses)
and others, uncountable, in television. He was waiting for me in the hall, and I climbed slowly, bent down. The oxygen was
finished and I had a million steps to climb until I could shake hands with him.
Finally, a man of small stature, with inquiring eyes, a conquering smile, with small, anxious hands, It's a pleasure knowing
you, stuff like that. I immediately thought that Dinicã has no finger prints. That he is the only man on the planet with no finger
prints. His voice leaves unmistakable marks, as if he chewed sugar all the time. And his smile, it leaves marks, too. His smile,
like a strip, unfinished, as if he wanted to supplement it with another emotion, with another meaning. More profound than
what can be seen from the glitter of his canine, the glitter I can remember from his parts as negative character. And his eyes,
with steel flashings. Why would he need finger prints for identification?
He shakes my hand with unexpected warmth and he invites me into the house. The interior was furnished with a great artistic
taste; there were many paintings, many exotic objects. We study one another. I can watch him skimming, slightly amused,
through the pages with the few questions I had prepared for him. There is no need for you to give answers to all of them –
I
tell him and I can see him rising his eyebrows: Well, that's different, then, I was getting scared. I can see here something
about how many awards and distinctions I have received until now. I honestly don't know. But there are many of them. The
most important ones are from the Presidents of Romania. But they brought me no advantages, not even a tax deduction,
only the honor of having drunk a glass of champagne with all the heads of State since the 90s until now.
What should I say, my most important distinctions are the applauses and acknowledgements coming from my public.
Honestly, I don't want to be pathetic or make some gratuitous affirmations, but I am more impressed when people on the
street stop me to say hello, without even knowing them, rather than a cold, official paper, like this one. Well, I don't know the
name of the President I asked with respect about the advantages I would have from that decoration and do you know what
he said? He said that I would benefit from a General's funeral! That's a joke! But has it not occurred to anyone until now that I
must buy an extra piece of furniture to store all these decorations inside? I'm lucky that we are used to all kinds of jokes,
even if they are sad ones…
I am trying to change the expression of disappointment easy to read on the actor's face:
- At least from this point of view, our CREDIDAM is a bit more generous…
- There is no term of comparison! From CREDIDAM, you can feel that your work is repaid. There is substance entering your
account. You can feel that there is someone, out there, who thinks of you like to an individual who sweats working for a living,
not like to a petty servant, without wanting to know if he has money to buy food or to pay his taxes.
The Master turned 75 years old last Christmas. Meaning he was born on Christmas Day, in Giuleºti, but, because the Town
Hall was closed for holiday, his birth was declared on January 1st 1934. His father, mail clerk-at that time, the Post Office was
a fundamental, serious institution, not like it is today-, made him practice the same profession. For his little boy to have his
bread assured. So he enrolled him at the Commercial High School. Only that, Gheorghe is Gheorghe, and so, he enrolled in
the Post Office's amateur theatre troop. “ I went there and it seemed to have been on stage for as long as I could remember!”
During a show, he was seen by Dina Cocea. She felt his talent and she called him at the Institute. And, from there on, he
hasn't stopped performing: Children and Youth Theatre, Small Theatre, Comedy Theatre, Municipal Theatre, “ Bulandra”
Theatre, National Theatre, Our Theatre, “ Odeon” Theatre, dozens and dozens of parts on stage and in television, almost one
hundred characters in the Romanian film history. Ciulei, Pintilie, Esrig, Penciulescu, all the great directors were posted on the
billboards of shows Gheorghe Dinicã performed in. Throughout his career, he was inseparable from Marin Moraru, who is a
very good friend of his and with whom he shares even now the success of great serials they perform in.
He has never wanted another profession. He has always wanted to be an actor, to create characters. But he also tried his
talent with music, “ he loved during the nights, and during the days…” He says that he has always preferred the negative
parts, the parts of “ bad guys”, because they are much more complex and they allow a much freer development of the actor's
means of expression. The positive characters, the knights, have predictable trajectories. One doesn't need a rich imagination
to realize that Prince Charming will defeat the Dragon. On the contrary, the adrenaline is borne when you see the schemes,
the traps placed by the “ evil guy”, in his attempt to impose himself and to dominate the world. I couldn't say that there has
been a part that I loved the most, that I identified myself with. He had the same dosage of passion for all his characters, no
matter if they were criminals or captain of the gipsy band in “ Inimã de þigancã”, he now performs. And who is not an evil
character, but, on the contrary, is a wise and extremely human individual.
I listen to him and I think that the evil embodied by Mr. Dinicã, with which we have accustomed, is, in reality, so jovial, so
warm and communicative.
He has a tomcat. A weird one, which doesn't talk to “ people”. Who, when it sees them, withdraws in its corner. It has a white
beard and a flock at the tip of its tail. It's an artist tomcat. It studied me when I came in and it disappeared. After about an
hour, during which time the Master told his stories, I discovered it on the chair in front of the table, watching me. It staid there
and watched me. I hope that, in its heart, he was admiring me. Mrs. Georgeta Dincã was amazed: Look at it! You have made
friends with one another! It is very rare that it likes unknown guests! I like dogs, without reserves. Caline, less, it they are not
human females. But this tomcat is a mixture of tenderness and wildness, of regular and special, of threat and safety.
He must be the anticipated reincarnation of Gheorghe Dinicã.