Actors are usually infected by the celebrity and vanity virus. However, Bulgarian actor Ivailo Zahariev is not one of them. His name became popular several years ago when he played the good cop in the Bulgarian crime series Undercover. In his view, his family, friends and God are what matter the most in life. He admits that he is a lucky person, because he views his job as a hobby which brings him profits as well. He feels most comfortable in the company of his family where he can fully reveal his personality. His wife Miryana supports him in all undertakings. Recently his family grew with two new members and Ivailo became father of two boys Filip and Damyan. More from Ivailo Zahariev himself:

“I would like to teach my children how to find their personal talents, to think freely and oppose the status-quo. They should often ask themselves the most important question - why? I would be a very happy man, if I manage to pass my faith onto them, but they will have the freedom to take their own decisions.”

Ivailo is among the Bulgarians with an active civil stand. He took an active part in the protests against the former Oresharski cabinet. “One should be able to express himself freely in a free society. If someone wants to take our freedom, we must immediately rise against him.” How faith came into his life? Here is what Ivailo told Radio Bulgaria:

“It did not happen in a critical moment. On the contrary, I had already started to deal actively with theatre and had many friends. Faith came to me when I started to ask myself a series of questions. Thanks to one of my friends, I started to look for the answers in the Bible. Later, Christianity became an important part of my life. It is of biggest importance to define myself as a devoted Christian."

Some people say faith is for the weak. Here is how Ivailo responds to this:

“Weak people give in to their weaknesses. Christianity teaches us the opposite - to deal with your shortcomings and be the person God wants you to be. You must love yourself first, in order to love your neighbor. If people feel like a ruin, they can not love the rest. Jesus says the following: First get rid of the log from your own eye and then take the splinter out of your brother’s and sister’s eye. You have to deal with yourself first, which is not an easy job at all.”

Ivo participates actively in various social initiatives. One of them aims at encouraging young people to read. He also helps people addicted to drugs. He founded, along with some of his friends, the Way Out Society which supports people who fight against their drug addiction and want to start a new life. “I do this, because I believe that it would change the society for the better”, says Ivailo. He is quite often engaged in social initiatives even at work.

“One of our plays is entitled The Savior. We perform it to high-school pupils and tell them the bad story of a girl who is on heroin. My character tries to help her, but unfortunately she dies. I hope this sad story would touch our audience and show them how bad drugs are. We usually hold discussions with the pupils for nearly one hour after the end of the play where I talk with them on this topic.”

Ivailo is only 30, but he has already had several leading parts in the cinema and on the theatre stage. He chose to become a free-lance actor just like his Professor from the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts Atanas Atanasov. More from Ivailo Zahariev about his professional choice:

“When I was still a child, I used to perform with my female cousin various plays to my grand father and my grand mother. We used to copy them or merely reenact various fairytales. Thus, I managed to express myself. I joined an actor’s class in the sixth grade. Later, the National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts was a natural step forward. When I graduated the academy I started to search for various projects."

People compare Ivailo to celebrated Hollywood film star Keanu Reeves. He admits that he is flattered by such a comparison. He also says that fame is typical of his profession and adds:

“If an actor is not popular among his audience, then he has a problem. The real question is what to do with your fame. Faith helps me a lot to keep my head cool. My friends also help me keep my feet on the ground so I never start saying: Look I was on the TV and I am now the best. No, this is not my type of behavior. I rather search for new artistic projects and try not to use my popularity for personal benefits”, concludes young Bulgarian actor Ivailo Zahariev.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov