The best advice was to always go after what I want. I've had my acceptance speech in mind since childhood, says actress Sophia Šporclová.
The daughter of well-known Czech actress Barbora Kodetová and violinist Pavel Šporcl was nominated for a Czech Lion Award this year in the category of Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film Máma. How long does she think an ideal acceptance speech should last, and who, besides her, was the happiest about the nomination?
The granddaughter of legendary actor Jiří Kodet is only 16 years old but has already appeared in several television series and feature films.
Collapse on Set
We could see her in the crime series Hunter or in the comedy series Mosaic. In 2018, she appeared in the film Methanol, and last year she shone in the latest project by director Jiří Strach.
Mom is a psychological drama that also features young actress Valentýna Bečková and acting veteran Oldřich Navrátil. The film deals with the difficult fate of the mentally challenged Lilian, portrayed by Elizaveta Maximová, and her daughter Malvína, played by Sophia Šporclová.
"I'm playing a girl who wants just one thing, to see her mom again, who was everything to her. I had to experience it. I perceived it as my own life story, I wasn't Sophia but Malvína, and I took Elizaveta as my mother. This was my reality, which is why it was so mentally demanding. And I didn't step out of the role even off set,"
she revealed in an interview for iDnes.
This role was so intense for her that she would break down on set, and director Jiří Strach had to calm her down and remind her that it was just a film.
Excitement and Team Spirit
We caught her on the red carpet before the start of the gala evening. Smiling, she was giving one interview after another. She didn't hide her feelings of tension and excitement.
“I'm definitely looking forward to it being over and finding out whether I've won or not. But I feel beautiful, it's a huge adrenaline rush and I feel wonderful,”
she revealed.
When we asked her what a potential win would mean to her, she showed team spirit.
"I actually see it just as a win for my character Malvína in the film Mom and for our overall film Mom. So that's mainly why it would be important,"
she replied.
She would display the Czech Lion statuette on a shelf and, according to her own words, she would dust it herself. When asked which acting performance impressed her recently, she praised her colleague.
"I don't watch many movies right now because I don't have the time, so the only one I can mention is Elizaveta Maximová in our film Mom."
The Moment She's Been Dreaming of Since Childhood
She described to us what shouldn't be missing in a thank-you speech and how long it should ideally be.
“Definitely a thank you to your family, a thank you to those closest to you who believed in you, and I think it should definitely be at least two minutes.”
It was no surprise that as one of the nominees, she had prepared her own thank-you speech, which she wrote herself without advice or help from anyone else. However, she revealed that she had it prepared much earlier than many might expect.
“I've had my acceptance speech in my head since I was a child because being here has been a lifelong dream, so I've prepared it this way. No one helped me with it, I did everything myself.”
The nomination for the Czech Lion understandably pleased not only her. When asked who else was happy about it, she had a ready answer.
“I think my mom for sure, my dad, the whole family, of course, and my best friend,”
she said.
Undoubtedly, the nomination is a confirmation that she cannot deny the acting talent in her genes.
The Best Advice in Life
And what is the best advice she's ever received and follows in life? After a moment of thinking, she was clear.
"These are really hard questions for me. The best advice was to always go for what I want, and I've kind of followed that my whole life,"
she replied.
At the Czech Lion Awards ceremony, she arrived in stylish pink dresses by fashion designer Martina Pipková Loudová. She usually chooses other colors.
"Most people know me for very dark colors, and I finally wanted to show something different,"
commented the young promising actress on her outfit.
Even though she didn't manage to turn her nomination into a win this year, it is still a great success for her age, and she undoubtedly has a bright and successful career ahead of her. She definitely doesn't lack work ethic – for the role of Josefína in another film by Jiří Strach, a black comedy titled Lajf, she got a short haircut and even spent five months learning to play the saxophone. She practiced either by herself or with her cousin.
This film was first presented in the summer of 2025 at the 59th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Screenwriter Marek Epstein, who is also the author of the screenplay for the film Máma, originally wrote the script as a play for Vršovické divadlo MANA.
