KJ/PM: During the previous edition of "live conversations" at the Gazeta Wyborcza Club, Andrzej Wajda said that he saw a hero for our times in two movies; "Dogs," by Władysław Pasikowski and "Insane Day" by Marek Koterski. You played major roles in both films; ergo it seems you are the personification of a hero for our times. When you were acting these roles, did you feel that you were creating reflections of life in Poland?

Marek Kondrat: No, I didn't. I was struck by the originality of the script for "Dogs," the blood and guts characters who spoke in a contemporary language. I asked the film's authors, Władysław Pasikowski and Paweł Edelman how they cam up with the idea for characters who were responsible for the darker side of our past; people whose lives were justifiably over at the age of 40 because of what they did. They said they just wanted to make a good commercially successful movie. Andrzej Wajda couldn't undestand why former security service officers who openly frown upon the ideals he holds dear were made into film heroes. And why did the audience - his audience - accept the film with such enthusiasmm. Wajda felt that he owned the audience at the time. KJ/PM: You didn't have the impression that you were making a scandalous film? MK: An actor sometimes finds himself face to face with characters who aren't exactly taken from his daily life. Nevertheless, we live in a country where we a