Casting agency FILM CASTING BG is conducting a series of interviews with people who have roles in “Lying Rhymes”. Everyone receives the same questions, and the answers are published unedited. Subscribe to the “Lying Rhymes” YOUTUBE channel, where you will be able to watch the series online – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMPCTqcf5dUdVy8y-FYayTQ Interview with Dimitar Lazarov – appearing in “Lying Rhymes”. 1. Tell us briefly about yourself. My name is Dimitar Lazarov. I graduated from the Technical University in Electric Transport, but that was my father’s choice and insistence. I have always wanted to work in music. I have played guitar since I was 14, and because we formed a teenage band without a singer, I started singing too. When I was 23, I took up dancing, first for fun, then I became enthusiastic and went professional. After 6 years of competitive ballroom dancing, I moved to social dance, specifically salsa and Argentine tango. I have taught at my own school for 13 years and trained over 2,000 people in social dancing. This gives me enormous satisfaction because through dance people become better versions of themselves, make many friends and even find their missing other halves! 2. Was this your first casting, and did you think you would be selected? I have attended castings many times but have not always been selected, which is understandable. Directors have a vision, and often the clients commissioning an advertisement or production choose people according to their own ideas. You cannot please everyone in everything, but honestly, I really wanted to be in the series. Acting has always attracted me. Through music and dance, I have been on stage many times over these 20 years and enjoyed communicating with audiences and expressing myself. At one point, I realised that only as an actor could I express all my talents at once: play a role, play an instrument, sing and dance. So I very much hoped to be selected, but I was not completely sure it would happen. 3. What do you think about paid castings, and have you taken part in any? I once took part in a pyramid scheme! They invented all sorts of certificates, unique numbers, preliminary photos and new certificates, with each thing costing at least 80 leva. In the end, I calculated that I had paid around 500 leva altogether for all kinds of nonsense. Then came a text saying they were putting me forward for a casting for some major production. Two days later, another text said I had not been approved. I never heard from those people again or saw anything about or from them. At the same time, I attended a paid casting with Film Casting BG and had no such problems. Quite the opposite: I won a role in a series! 4. What do you think of the reports by “Gospodari na Efira” that tried to tarnish the series’ name, and what would you say to people who believe them? Honestly, I have not watched television for many years; I use the internet. “Gospodari na Efira” had struck me as a respectable media programme that helps people with problems. As for what I know about the series, everything that was said has been done. So, at the latest, once the series is broadcast, receives the audience’s attention and becomes an absolute reality, “Gospodari na Efira” will have to take back everything they said. It would be good to actually arrange that and ask them: “How has what they call a ‘pyramid scheme’ ultimately justified people’s trust? Is Gospodari serving particular purposes? Whose interests does it serve?” In the end, it will turn out that, as with most things in Bulgaria, it is about “my guy” and “you will do what I say, or I will destroy you”. The latter is especially true in politics and the media, which have effectively merged. Unfortunately, in our country the state and the mafia are largely the same thing. 5. What emotions did you experience at the casting and during filming? I felt I was in the right place! I was doing what I enjoy and felt I was doing it very well. I felt great satisfaction! 6. How would you describe the organisation of the casting campaign and the filming of “Lying Rhymes”? All that organisation surely cannot be easy, but everything was easy and pleasant for me, which means the organisers did an excellent job! 7. Why do you think the same familiar faces appear in most Bulgarian productions? In answer 4, I explained “my guy” and mutual favours of the “I do something for you, you do something for me” kind. These are some reasons the same faces keep appearing on screen. Of course, there are many very good Bulgarian actors and actresses who fully deserve their positions! Another factor is that when proven performers are available and time is short, it is easier to choose familiar actors than risk unknown faces. Of course, those unknown faces may prove to be undiscovered talents, bringing great success to those who discover them. But that is a risk! I sincerely hope, and have given my all, for “Lying Rhymes” to succeed and become very popular and well loved! 8. From your experience, do you know of many cases where Bulgarian producers give new and unproven faces a chance? From my experience filming movies, series, music videos and advertisements, it is very hard for an unknown, unproven face to enter these circles and this business. Fortunately, I combine many talents with incredible persistence, and over the years I have appeared in quite a few advertisements and films, though never in a leading role. Mostly in episodic roles or as a featured extra. In “Lying Rhymes”, for the first time in my life, I got the chance to play a substantial role appearing in a full 5 episodes! For me, that truly is a dream come true on the ladder of my dreams! My next dream is, as you can guess, a leading role. 9. Would you recommend the casting agency Film Casting BG, and why? I would recommend it with a clear conscience, because the people in this agency are truly devoted to their profession and ready to lend a hand to anyone who is searching and has the ability! Look out for the first Bulgarian hip-hop series, “Lying Rhymes”, in September 2018. The production is produced by Plovdiwood Ent. and Devil Cinema. You can apply for the new productions, the reality show “I Am Becoming a Star” and the children’s and teen series “Talent Academy”, at www.akademiazatalanti.com. These productions are produced by Exclusive Media Entertainment.