Articol publicat in "Vedete" - Aug. 1999 - I got divorced and a new relationship scares me interview by Silvia Stanila The image of Bianca Brad is associated in our mind with the soap Lux. The history of this advertising begins somewhere in the 80’s and a long the time, this soap was promoted by stars such as Brigitte Bardot or Nastasia Kinski. Bianca’s movie adventure started with “Al patrulea gard langa debarcader” (The fourth fence next to the landing stage), when while a high school student she was driven by curiosity to a shooting place. She was seen by the director Cristina Nicolae and this was the start. But the part that established her as an actress was in the musical movie “Zambet de soare” (Sunny smile), of the director Elisabeta Bostan. Meanwhile she worked as a model at CONFEX. “And if you study theatre, it doesn’t mean that you should only read Shakespeare”. There followed collaborations with the national television and a marriage enveloped in mystery. That was probably the reason for so many comments about Bianca’s marriage, as well as her collaboration with the television. I suggested talking about this subject in an interview which she accepted. VDT: When did the collaboration with the television start? In 1990, immediately after the Revolution. I was a student in the second year when I participated in a contest for the office of speaker. The students from theatre were preferred because they were more unconstrained and unembarrassed in front of the camera. My first appearance on the small screen was on the second channel of the Romanian television. Afterwards, I had a live show Saturday night with Cristian Topescu. Then there were entertainment shows in which I had as partners Ion Lucian, Razvan Ionescu and Mitica Popescu. VDT: What was the relation between you and Ion Lucian? They say it was a special relationship between you. I here that for the first time! There are simple speculations. It was a pure professional relationship between us as long as we had these shows. Your question doesn’t surprise me because there were many gossips about me. I want to stress once more that all I have achieved at the professional level was done without being the mistress of anybody. I can proudly look into a mirror, without being ashamed of anything. I owe nothing to anybody! I know that if I had accepted compromises, I should have risen even higher. VDT: Were there indecent propositions? Not only in Romania! They were in Germany, too. I had the same attitude towards everybody: I limited frankly the border between us. I am fully aware that if you don’t yield to somebody, you lose. But I assumed that risk. If I had the good luck to meet a producer to be attracted by, to be a pleasure to work with him, then it would be different. But I don’t throw myself into any relationship. I prefer quality to quantity. Men are hunters through their nature and many times you cannot blame them if they try… VDT: You have been married to a German. How did you meet your husband? In 91, Andre was a student at dental care university in Romania and we met at a student party. He had been in the country for 7 years and he spoke so well Romanian that I didn’t even noticed that he was a foreigner. He is a tall handsome man with dark hair and brown eyes and I couldn’t guess he was a German.. I tell you this because many people when they heard that I get married to a German, they hurried to think he was elderly, small, fat, but very rich. This happened because I have never announced my marriage in public. It is the first time when I accept to speak about my private life in an interview. VDT: How did Andre win you? He courted me a whole year, we had been friends for one more year, we got married and we left for Germany. He won me with his humor. He had learned so well our folk phrases, that it was difficult to realize that he wasn’t Romanian. On the other hand, he was very patient with me. It was a pleasant insistence. Otherwise, I hate men who are insistent and become aggressive and annoying. VDT: Do you like a certain type of man? I prefer the strong man, but refined, with a sense of humor and especially affectionate. I like him to know how to smile and emanate optimism through all his pores. A man should have trust as much as I grant it. In a relationship, after love, there should be respect and communication. The lack of communication led to the end of my marriage to Andre. And the difference of culture and mentality had the last word. VDT: Do you have to be attracted by him sexually in order to accept him as partner? Of course, this is an important aspect. As much as you understand somebody from the spiritual point of view, if from this other point of view is not working, it will be very frustrating which is fatal for the harmony of a couple. Both of them should be on the same wavelength. On the other hand, I don’t think that a relation based only on sex has more chances to succeed. VDT: What did you do in Germany? I attended an intensive course of German language at Goethe Institute. At the beginning I hated German. I couldn’t understand a thing. I felt lonely, deprived of information. I was isolated, I couldn’t communicate. As an actress, I felt I was finished. But after a year, I managed to have such a good command of German, in writing and speaking, that a received my first part in a serial – the part of a princess. It was a happy coincidence because my first part in my country was also a princess. Then it followed another film where I played a part of an air hostess, my passion as a girl. I have traveled very much. At the same time, I continued my activity as a model. In ’95 I recorded a CD with disco music in Germany. I’ve stayed for 4 months in New York, where I attended an acting course at “The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute”. New York fascinated me. There you live 24 hours a day. VDT: Didn’t theatre attract you? Theatre binds you. Or, I am an independent nature. If you want to play in the theatre, you are bound on stage, on the theatrical season, on rehearsals. I am all the time traveling, and I couldn’t have done it. VDT: Is there any connection with loyalty? There are two different things for me. The more independent I am, the more loyal and faithful I am in a relationship. But I need space. In such a marriage, trust is at the basis. VDT: You know the saying: out of sight, out of mind… It’s true. This marriage didn’t last much. We felt apart one from the other but the fact that I had to work, wasn’t the real reason. He began to become German – very distant and very strict. He didn’t lose his humor, but there was coldness specific to them, which he had lost or polished when he was in Romania. As I am concerned, I couldn’t make friends there, I couldn’t find any close friend. In the end, I began feeling very lonely. Therefore, we came to the conclusion that it would be better to separate for a period of time, to see what road will take each of us. We separated as friends. VDT: How much did this separation affect you? For me it was a very painful break – 1998 was a black year and I hope I will never go through something similar again. I came back to Romania and I had to start from the beginning. I had to fight with the Rumanian mentality, with the lack of common sense and worst of all, with my own fears…. VDT: Do you still love him? It doesn’t matter. If something doesn’t work in any way, you should break and start from the beginning. Meantime, I had another relationship which didn’t work, maybe, because I started it too soon. It wasn’t a public person, but it was a special man. I found shelter in my work. I started to write, especially about make-up. I issued a video tape on this subject and it was a real success. It was about tricks that teach you to point out your nice features and to hide your defects. It was a new challenge for me. I couldn’t stay in a corner and wait for the Romanian film production to start or to start playing in a second class play, just to be an actress again! VDT: You think of your career above all. Don’t you miss the warmth of a relationship? Oh, yes! A relationship and a home have their warmth. Moreover, marriage offers you certainty, stability, a point of reference. But I am scared by a new relationship. The failure is still fresh in my memory. VDT: Are you afraid to start from the beginning? When I decided to leave Andre I draw a line and I said it was for the best. This doesn’t mean that I wasn’t scared the moment I remained alone. I was lost; I didn’t know what to do. I’ve suffered a great deal, but I have also learned a lot. It followed a period in which the values settled. At 24 you are not wholly ripe for marriage. If I had to start again, I would avoid this step. VDT: It was said that you have been one of Andrei Zaharescu’s lovers… I learned with great surprise from the newspaper, too. I don’t know if he boasted with something like this or these totally untrue statements were put on his back. I prefer to incline to the second variant, because I don’t even know very well this man. I am aware that this is one of the risks of popularity, but it bothers me that people read and believe such aberrations, cataloguing you without knowing you. VDT: Do you mind the comments addressed to you? Time has taught me to become stronger at what people say about me. Of course, it bothers me the boorishness of some people, but there are other situations when popularity opens many doors. It is nice to be stopped in the street to sign autographs, to be admired, to receive compliments. VDT: What determined you to change your look? All the changes in my life did it. I wanted to start with something new, to be another woman. All the people were accustomed with a blond long haired Bianca Brad. I wanted to be a new Bianca.