Filter Actor: "We Gave Politicians a Kick Where It Hurts"

Czech actor Antonio Šoposki, speaking on the Kulturák podcast (Seznam Zprávy), discussed his lead role in the new series Filter — a coming-of-age story about the relationship between two queer teenagers. According to the actor, he never expected the project to become a mass hit and was braced for a negative reaction from viewers, not least because of its explicit scenes.

"When I was filming this series, I had no illusions that it was made for a mass audience," admitted the 24-year-old actor. He explained that the intimate scenes were shot with an intimacy coordinator and carefully rehearsed beforehand — essentially choreographed, with every detail discussed in advance "in the most asexual way possible" to avoid any misunderstandings on set.

A first leading role

For Šoposki, playing Matěj in Filter marks the first lead role of his career. His character is a teenager preparing to start high school who falls for his future classmate Radek. As the story progresses, the hero's life grows increasingly complicated, and he starts to lose his footing.

The actor himself doesn't identify as part of the LGBT community and admits he is eight years older than his character. Still, he doesn't see the age gap or his personal background as an obstacle to a convincing performance. "I don't care whether a gay character is played by a gay actor — what matters is that the role is played well. Of course, I understand that when a transgender role is played by a transgender person, it adds authenticity. But I dislike turning this into a radical issue," he said.

Debate over the topic

According to Šoposki, there are very few roles this complex and layered in Czech film and television. "If I could only play roles this rich, with this kind of depth, that would be the best possible scenario for my career. But I'm not sure the conditions for that exist here," the actor noted, adding that he's actually drawn to more unconventional, even absurd characters — perhaps because his own life is fairly ordinary and conventional.

The actor also explained why the topic of queer identity still stirs up so much controversy in Czech society. "Queer topics are still being swept under the rug in the public sphere. That's exactly why these topics keep coming up — because doors are being shut in their face," Šoposki believes. He admitted he sees his work as taking a stand on the side of good, and even partly hopes his series will irritate some viewers and politicians.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz