Dragan Marinkovic (actor)
Encyclopedia
Dragan "Maca" Marinković (born 17 March 1968) is a Bosnian
actor and TV personality from Sarajevo
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
Widely known by his nickname Maca, though trained as an actor, Marinković is most notable for his outrageous personality showcased during his stints on reality television. In mid 2007, he was a contestant on the very first season of Veliki brat VIP (the Serbian version of Celebrity Big Brother
), making it all the way to the final day. In early 2010 he repeated the same on another reality contest Farma.
where he played stock character
portrayals of local "bad guys" - usually cartoonish Serbian soldiers and paramilitaries. Two most notable such gigs were his appearances in Hollywood productions Welcome to Sarajevo
and Behind Enemy Lines.
However, more substantial parts in local productions eluded him and he eventually turned to TV presenting as his main career activity. After getting some prominence as a television personality in Sarajevo and the rest of Bosnia, he often complained in interviews about various acting clans as the reason for his lack of headway in the local cinematography.
After getting some prominence outside of Bosnia in 2007 as a result of Veliki brat VIP appearance, he also started getting more acting gigs such as the 7-episode engagement on Serbian TV series Agencija za SiS on TV Pink
and his biggest acting job so far - a lead role opposite Mira Furlan
in a film Gola koža currently being filmed.
stations throughout the Balkans. His off-the-cuff nature quickly made him stand out among the various hosts. Around the same time he was involved in Pile and Maca Show on Pink BH
, which he co-hosted with Zoran "Pile" Radojković.
That exposure led to Maca getting a show of his own in October 2005 - the aptly named One Man Show - Niko kao ja on OBN television
in Bosnia. Conceptualized as a free format with street bits and in-studio pieces such as wrestling with strippers in chocolate and turbo-folk
performances, the show often bordered on vulgarity with profanity, sexual innuendo, and street lingo being the norm. Following the controversy that erupted after the episode that aired on New Year's Day 2006, the show was taken off the air.
From January 2007, Maca was back on TV in a remake of Ruski rulet quiz (aired in Serbia from September 2003 until July 2005 hosted by Irfan Mensur) for Bosnian market, airing on Pink BH
.
Arguably, Maca's biggest break on television came in May 2007 when he was included among the contestants on the first season of Veliki brat VIP (Celebrity Big Brother). Being seen by a wide television audience outside of Bosnia for the first time, his wild personality and attitude were impossible to ignore as he became the most talked about housemate. Profanity-laced tirades directed at fellow housemates and compulsive scratching were just some of his behavioural quirks that marked his time on the show in which he ended up making it in the final two, only to be beaten by retired football player Saša Ćurčić
.
With his public profile raised in Serbia as a result of the show, Maca started getting jobs there as well.
In early September 2008, Maca was announced as part of the hosting crew on another Emotion project - Operacija trijumf
reality show that started in late September 2008. In addition to co-hosting the gala evenings alongside Milan Kalinić, Nikolina Pišek
, and Ana Mihajlovski
each Monday, he also co-hosted a live broadcast called Najgori od sve dece on Saturday nights with Marijana Mićić
.
In February 2009 he entered the Veliki brat house again, this time on the Veliki Brat VIP All Stars
edition. Staying true to his reputation and imposing personality, he had ego clashes with evreyone from rapper Gru, over to Miki Đuričić, and finally even Milić Vukašinović
. Maca also frequently groped and harassed model and former Miss Yugoslavia Tijana Stajšić
who surprisingly seemed receptive to his aggressive sexual advances.
In early July 2009, Maca started shooting episodes for the Balkan version of the Distraction
game show, hosted by him, and set to air in the fall 2009 in five countries (Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Montenegro).
parlour (buregdžinica) called Burek.ba in Miloša Pocerca Street in Belgrade.
Even various public personalities voiced their displeasure, the most vocal of whom was Senad Hadžifejzović, influential news anchor on the rival Hayat
station who even brought the issue up during his newscast. He was apparently so outraged that he had Maca's partner at the time Amra Redžić working on Hayat as a make-up person fired.
Soon, Maca and OBN television got sued for sexual harassment by Amela Dervišević, one of the random passers-by whose behind was grabbed on camera. At first Maca failed to show up for multiple court dates during late 2007. After eventually pleading "not guilty" on January 16, 2008, the court process began.
The verdict was finally delivered on November 24, 2008 and Maca was given a KM20,000 fine as well as a two-year probationary sentence, which if violated will become a 6-month prison term. The verdict was delivered on the day when he was hosting Operacija trijumfs ninth gala show, but he refused to comment.
On December 6, 2008 broadcast of Najgori od sve dece, Maca aroused more controversy as he reacted to a Puls magazine piece in which journalist Milica Crnogorac criticizes his presenting style. Maca said in live programme: "I'd like to use this opportunity to say hi to a certain Milica Crnogorac, some excuse for a journalist who thinks she has the right to spit on me and my colleagues. Listen to me, Milica, mind your own business or you'll end up like Petar Luković". Some took that as a threat, and the subject was carried in various Ringier print publications in Serbia, however Maca explained that he meant that as a metaphor for Lukovic's professional failure as this formerly respected journalist now writes for gutter press weekly Scandal!. However, the issue even led to Ringier AG announcing intention to boycot Emotion Production and their TV projects in their print publications in Serbia. The issue was later resolved.
bassist Zoran Redžić
.
On 25 July 2010, Maca married his pregnant girlfriend Tijana Golubović at the Church of St. Apostoles Peter and Paul in Sremski Karlovci
.
Bosnians
Bosnians are people who reside in, or come from, Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the modern state definition a Bosnian can be anyone who holds citizenship of the state. This includes, but is not limited to, members of the constituent ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and...
actor and TV personality from Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
.
Widely known by his nickname Maca, though trained as an actor, Marinković is most notable for his outrageous personality showcased during his stints on reality television. In mid 2007, he was a contestant on the very first season of Veliki brat VIP (the Serbian version of Celebrity Big Brother
Celebrity Big Brother
Celebrity Big Brother could refer to:*Any series of Celebrity Big Brother UK:** Celebrity Big Brother 2001 ** Celebrity Big Brother 2002 ** Celebrity Big Brother 2005 ** Celebrity Big Brother 2006 ** Celebrity Big Brother 2007...
), making it all the way to the final day. In early 2010 he repeated the same on another reality contest Farma.
Acting
After graduating from the Sarajevo Academy of Stage Arts, Maca experienced trouble breaking into the business. Initially only involved with acting through supporting parts on film and in theater, he could be seen in the occasional play on small Sarajevo stages such as Kamerni teatar 55. Later he got small parts in various international film productions depicting the Bosnian WarBosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
where he played stock character
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
portrayals of local "bad guys" - usually cartoonish Serbian soldiers and paramilitaries. Two most notable such gigs were his appearances in Hollywood productions Welcome to Sarajevo
Welcome To Sarajevo
Welcome to Sarajevo is a British war film from 1997. It is directed by Michael Winterbottom. The screenplay is by Frank Cottrell Boyce and is based on the book Natasha's Story by Michael Nicholson.- Synopsis :...
and Behind Enemy Lines.
However, more substantial parts in local productions eluded him and he eventually turned to TV presenting as his main career activity. After getting some prominence as a television personality in Sarajevo and the rest of Bosnia, he often complained in interviews about various acting clans as the reason for his lack of headway in the local cinematography.
After getting some prominence outside of Bosnia in 2007 as a result of Veliki brat VIP appearance, he also started getting more acting gigs such as the 7-episode engagement on Serbian TV series Agencija za SiS on TV Pink
RTV Pink
RTV Pink or Radio-Television Pink is a popular, privately-owned, national TV network in Serbia. Pink is the leading commercial station in the Serbian television broadcast market. TV Pink has gained a strong reputation for its entertainment programming...
and his biggest acting job so far - a lead role opposite Mira Furlan
Mira Furlan
Mira Furlan is a Croatian actress and singer currently residing in the United States. She is well known for her roles as the Minbari Ambassador Delenn on all five seasons of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 , and Danielle Rousseau on Lost.-Early life:Furlan was born to an...
in a film Gola koža currently being filmed.
TV presenting
With his acting career stuck in a rut in mid-2000s, Maca simultaneously started appearing on television hoping to gain more exposure. He became one of the many rotating hosts on the morning programme called Balkan.Net, simulcast live on three TV PinkRTV Pink
RTV Pink or Radio-Television Pink is a popular, privately-owned, national TV network in Serbia. Pink is the leading commercial station in the Serbian television broadcast market. TV Pink has gained a strong reputation for its entertainment programming...
stations throughout the Balkans. His off-the-cuff nature quickly made him stand out among the various hosts. Around the same time he was involved in Pile and Maca Show on Pink BH
Pink BH
Pink BH is a regional television station in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is a member of the Pink Media Group which also owns sister television stations in Serbia and Montenegro . Pink BH's main headquarters is in Sarajevo....
, which he co-hosted with Zoran "Pile" Radojković.
That exposure led to Maca getting a show of his own in October 2005 - the aptly named One Man Show - Niko kao ja on OBN television
Televizija OBN
Televizija OBN is a local television network broadcasting a TV channel in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Headquarters of this TV is in Sarajevo, Pofalići neighborhood....
in Bosnia. Conceptualized as a free format with street bits and in-studio pieces such as wrestling with strippers in chocolate and turbo-folk
Turbo-folk
Turbo-folk is a popular musical sub-genre that originated in Serbia, the Balkans. Having mainstream popularity in Serbia, although closely associated with Serbian performers, its sound is as popular in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro...
performances, the show often bordered on vulgarity with profanity, sexual innuendo, and street lingo being the norm. Following the controversy that erupted after the episode that aired on New Year's Day 2006, the show was taken off the air.
From January 2007, Maca was back on TV in a remake of Ruski rulet quiz (aired in Serbia from September 2003 until July 2005 hosted by Irfan Mensur) for Bosnian market, airing on Pink BH
Pink BH
Pink BH is a regional television station in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is a member of the Pink Media Group which also owns sister television stations in Serbia and Montenegro . Pink BH's main headquarters is in Sarajevo....
.
Arguably, Maca's biggest break on television came in May 2007 when he was included among the contestants on the first season of Veliki brat VIP (Celebrity Big Brother). Being seen by a wide television audience outside of Bosnia for the first time, his wild personality and attitude were impossible to ignore as he became the most talked about housemate. Profanity-laced tirades directed at fellow housemates and compulsive scratching were just some of his behavioural quirks that marked his time on the show in which he ended up making it in the final two, only to be beaten by retired football player Saša Ćurčić
Saša Curcic
Saša Ćurčić is a Serbian former football midfielder....
.
With his public profile raised in Serbia as a result of the show, Maca started getting jobs there as well.
In early September 2008, Maca was announced as part of the hosting crew on another Emotion project - Operacija trijumf
Operacija trijumf
Operacija Trijumf is a regional music talent TV reality show filmed in Belgrade, Serbia, aired in the region of former Yugoslavia. It is a local version of Star Academy reality series that was developed and is licensed worldwide by Endemol...
reality show that started in late September 2008. In addition to co-hosting the gala evenings alongside Milan Kalinić, Nikolina Pišek
Nikolina Pisek
Nikolina Pišek is a Croatian TV presenter currently with Nova TV. She occasionally also works as TV actress.-Career:...
, and Ana Mihajlovski
Ana Mihajlovski
Ana Mihajlovski is a Serbian television presenter mostly hosting locally licensed reality programmes through Emotion Production. She also occasionally works as an actress....
each Monday, he also co-hosted a live broadcast called Najgori od sve dece on Saturday nights with Marijana Mićić
Marijana Mićić
Marijana Mićić is a Serbian TV host, and occasional actress, best known as the host of Serbian Big Brother. She hosted a number of shows, most of them for Serbian production company Emotion. She also took part in the Serbian remake of The Simple Life, alongside Ana Mihajlovski.Sometimes other TV...
.
In February 2009 he entered the Veliki brat house again, this time on the Veliki Brat VIP All Stars
Veliki Brat VIP All Stars
Veliki Brat VIP All Stars was the third season of the regional celebrity version of Veliki brat started airing on 9 March 2009, and finalized on April 6...
edition. Staying true to his reputation and imposing personality, he had ego clashes with evreyone from rapper Gru, over to Miki Đuričić, and finally even Milić Vukašinović
Milic Vukašinovic
Milić Vukašinović, a.k.a. Mitch Valiant is a musician from Serbia of Yugoslavian ethnicity. He was the founder of the rock band Vatreni Poljubac and drummer of the famous Yugoslav band Bijelo dugme.Born in Belgrade, he moved with his family to Peć when he was 6 years old...
. Maca also frequently groped and harassed model and former Miss Yugoslavia Tijana Stajšić
Tijana Stajšić
Tijana Stajšić is a Serbian model. She was the 2001 Miss Yugoslavia winner. Tijana represented her country at Miss World 2001 pageant and she made it to the top-10 finalists. In Spring 2009 she took part in regional edition of Big Brother reality show, Veliki Brat VIP All Stars.-External links:***...
who surprisingly seemed receptive to his aggressive sexual advances.
In early July 2009, Maca started shooting episodes for the Balkan version of the Distraction
Distraction (game show)
Distraction was a game show that aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom from 31 October 2003 to 11 June 2004. Presented by comedian Jimmy Carr, the show involves contestants answering questions, while being distracted in various bizarre, painful and humiliating ways.Carr is aided by...
game show, hosted by him, and set to air in the fall 2009 in five countries (Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia, and Montenegro).
Other
In late September 2009 Maca opened a burekBurek
Börek is a family of baked or fried filled pastries made of a thin flaky dough known as yufka . It can be filled with cheese, often feta, sirene or kaşar; minced meat, or vegetables...
parlour (buregdžinica) called Burek.ba in Miloša Pocerca Street in Belgrade.
Controversy
The episode of Maca's One Man Show that aired on January 1, 2006 on OBN television caused a huge stir in Sarajevo, with particular outrage directed at the street bit shot at the Ciglane open market that had Maca paying out KM20 to males loitering nearby (mostly a random assortment of drunks, homeless people, and street Gypsies) on condition they grab random passing women by their behinds.Even various public personalities voiced their displeasure, the most vocal of whom was Senad Hadžifejzović, influential news anchor on the rival Hayat
NTV Hayat
Hayat TV is a television station from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.It is a privately-owned TV station, which started airing on February 24, 1992. Its coverage is over 1.5 million people in Bosnia, numerous cable subscribers in the neighbouring countries, and satellite viewers. Hayat TV...
station who even brought the issue up during his newscast. He was apparently so outraged that he had Maca's partner at the time Amra Redžić working on Hayat as a make-up person fired.
Soon, Maca and OBN television got sued for sexual harassment by Amela Dervišević, one of the random passers-by whose behind was grabbed on camera. At first Maca failed to show up for multiple court dates during late 2007. After eventually pleading "not guilty" on January 16, 2008, the court process began.
The verdict was finally delivered on November 24, 2008 and Maca was given a KM20,000 fine as well as a two-year probationary sentence, which if violated will become a 6-month prison term. The verdict was delivered on the day when he was hosting Operacija trijumfs ninth gala show, but he refused to comment.
On December 6, 2008 broadcast of Najgori od sve dece, Maca aroused more controversy as he reacted to a Puls magazine piece in which journalist Milica Crnogorac criticizes his presenting style. Maca said in live programme: "I'd like to use this opportunity to say hi to a certain Milica Crnogorac, some excuse for a journalist who thinks she has the right to spit on me and my colleagues. Listen to me, Milica, mind your own business or you'll end up like Petar Luković". Some took that as a threat, and the subject was carried in various Ringier print publications in Serbia, however Maca explained that he meant that as a metaphor for Lukovic's professional failure as this formerly respected journalist now writes for gutter press weekly Scandal!. However, the issue even led to Ringier AG announcing intention to boycot Emotion Production and their TV projects in their print publications in Serbia. The issue was later resolved.
Personal
Maca has a son named Lav, born out of wedlock from a relationship with Amra Redžić, the ex-wife of former Bijelo dugmeBijelo dugme
Bijelo dugme was a highly influential former Yugoslav rock band, based in Sarajevo. Active between 1974 and 1989, it is widely considered to have been the most popular band ever to exist in former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and one of the most important acts of the Yugoslav rock...
bassist Zoran Redžić
Zoran Redžic
Zoran Redžić is a Bosnian musician, best known for playing the bass guitar in the popular Yugoslav rock band Bijelo Dugme....
.
On 25 July 2010, Maca married his pregnant girlfriend Tijana Golubović at the Church of St. Apostoles Peter and Paul in Sremski Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci
Sremski Karlovci is a town and municipality in Serbia, in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, situated on the bank of the river Danube, 8 km from Novi Sad...
.
Filmography
- Agencija za SiS, (2007)
- Kod amidže Idriza, (2004)
- Soldati di pace, (2003)
- Racconto di guerra, (2003)
- Jours tranquilles à Sarajevo, (2003)
- Behind Enemy Lines, (2001)
- Savršeni krug, (1997)
- Welcome to SarajevoWelcome To SarajevoWelcome to Sarajevo is a British war film from 1997. It is directed by Michael Winterbottom. The screenplay is by Frank Cottrell Boyce and is based on the book Natasha's Story by Michael Nicholson.- Synopsis :...
, (1997) - Territorio Comanche, (1997)