Regīna Devīte: “Zentiņa gave me everything, but I am a different person”

Actress Regīna Devīte, who portrayed Zentiņa in the Latvian TV series “Ugunsgrēks” for nearly two decades, reveals that while the role brought her immense popularity, she feels she is a completely different person. In an interview on the show “Karaliskas sarunas”, she says that at first it was difficult when people addressed her as Zentiņa on the street, but now she has gotten used to it. The series, initially planned for only a few episodes, turned into a 17-year project due to viewers' love.

Devīte's path to fame was unconventional – she was washing dishes at the “Alus bars” in Valmiera when she received a call inviting her to film. “It’s quite ironic – I was washing dishes, and they invited me to play a maid,” she laughs. Fame came later in life; her first interview was only on her 50th birthday.

Regarding the cost of the profession, Devīte admits she devoted most of her life to theater, not to family or her child. She spent many years traveling between Valmiera and Rīga. Financially, she confesses she never knew how to save money – she keeps it in memories.

Her dream trip is to Madagascar, but this summer she decided to explore Latvia, ashamed that she hadn't seen many places in her own country. She values Latvia’s nature, forests, and farmsteads, and feels best in the countryside where the nearest neighbor is several kilometers away.

In the interview filmed at the Benjamiņu house, the actress looked through old magazines and said that Emīlija Benjamiņa's fate always touched her. She keeps several pre-war copies of the magazine “Atpūta” and can read old print.