Ewa Kosińska did not dream of a career as an actress. In fact, her family was not involved in the art industry at all. Her father played the mandolin and sang, but she had no great stage talent. “Only I couldn’t sing under penalty of death, because I was horribly false and spoiled everything,” she joked years later in one of the interviews.
It was the principal of the high school in Poznań that young Ewa attended who persuaded her to try her hand at theater school. Although Kosińska took part in recitation competitions and belonged to an acting club, it never occurred to her to try seriously. At the teacher’s suggestion, she decided to give it a chance. The lecturers probably remembered her exam for a long time…
“There were soundproofed walls – it was the first time I saw it. When I howled, everyone ran away. They couldn’t stop laughing,” the actress reported the moment when she was supposed to sing a song during the auditions. “However, one of the professors took out 5 zlotys, sat down at the piano and said: ‘Child, I play and you keep the rhythm’. I never had a problem with that. I guess that was the reason why I passed the exam before this committee.”
What’s more, Ewa appeared at the exam with an immobilized leg – she had previously broken her ankle. When she was asked to dance a waltz – as she put it – “she danced with one limb and moved the other on the dance floor.” Despite everything, her charisma and self-confidence convinced the lecturers and Ewa began studying at the State Theater School in Krakow. She graduated in 1973.
In the same year, she made her debut in the Stary Theater’s play “Open House”. Later, she became permanently associated with this theater, but she also performed on other stages and in the opera. She began collaborating with outstanding directors, including: Andrzej Wajda, Jerzy Grzegorzewski, and Konrad Swinarski. She created unforgettable roles in such performances as “The Cherry Orchard”, “Cinnamon Shops”, “Macbeth”, and “Trans-Atlantyk”.
We have seen her many times in famous film and series productions. It is worth mentioning such titles as “Schindler’s List”, “Galerian Girls”, “Wałęsa. Man of Hope”, “Face”, “Body/Ciało”, “Quack”, “Pati 2”, “Belfra” and “Behawiorysta”. Many viewers remember her portrayal of Marysia very well in “Meetings with Ballada”. As it turns out, the fact that it stayed in production for longer was a pure coincidence!
Ewa Kosińska did not plan to join the cast of this program. However, at the invitation of Michał Bobrowski, she agreed to replace her indisposed colleague on the set. People liked her character very much and that’s how the actress stayed in the production for a long time. It is worth recalling that Kosińska’s husband, Stefan Szramel, also played in “Meetings with Ballada”.
We know that the theater was her second home, but the actress also found fulfillment in dubbing. She lent her voice to, among others, in the animation “Lisiczka” and played the role of Izma in “The King’s New Clothes”. Her screen and stage performances have been appreciated many times. She received, among others: the award of the Royal Capital City of Krakow for the promotion of culture in 1978, the Honoris Gratia badge in 2009 and the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis in 2023.
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