Maciej Stuhr knew that his father’s illness had an impact on his performances on stage. In his words, the actor known from “Amator” and “The Waterman” “has already had major fluctuations in form, there were better days, but also much worse, when the artistic effect was, unfortunately, poor.” Everyone realized that participating in Jerzy Stuhr’s performance was also a kind of farewell to the actor.
The son of the actor who played the role of Commissioner Ryba in the “Kiler” dilogy also admitted that his father had changed a lot because of his illness. He blamed it primarily on a stroke four years ago and the recurrence of cancer and the resulting surgery. All this affected his cognitive and communication abilities. “It was becoming more and more difficult to talk to him about anything. He was more like a child,” he admitted.
He added that talks with Jerzy Stuhr on certain topics – primarily “human, deeply psychological” – have always been difficult, and recently doomed to failure. According to him, art helped him overcome health problems. “Books, films, especially theater in the last period of his life. The stage was the meaning of his life. And I understood it,” he said.
Jerzy Stuhr died on July 9 at the age of 77. Viewers loved him for his unforgettable performances, including: the roles of Filip Mosz in “Amateur” (1979), Lutek Danielak in “Wodzirej” (1977) and Maks in “Seksmisja” (1984). He also made history in Polish cinema thanks to his roles in the films: “Kingsajz” (1987), “Kiler” (1997), “Szansa” (1980), “Persona non grata” (2005). The youngest viewers remember him from the “Shrek” series, in which he provided the voice of Donkey.