Nives Ivanković on Boris Dvornik, Sarajevo and the role she won by stopping Ksenija Urličić in a hallway

Nives Ivanković says Boris Dvornik was her protector. She also recalls stopping Ksenija Urličić in a hallway, an encounter that brought her the role of a lifetime.

The HNK Split drama star became one of the defining artists of the 2026 theatre summer after bringing energy and skill to the role of the wise and sharp-tongued Variva in Marin Držić's "Skup." Directed by Paolo Magelli, the production played at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival and Splitsko ljeto, with Ivanković performing alongside Frano Mašković and the rest of the ensemble.

Her Dubrovnik debut carried a personal meaning as well. Ivanković viewed it as the closing of a symbolic circle in her family's story. The interview also returns to her beginnings as an actor and to Sarajevo, where she studied before leaving the city ahead of the siege.

Speaking during a hot morning on Split's western waterfront, Ivanković discussed the directors she admires, including Magelli and Ivica Buljan, and described how her now-legendary television characters Miki and Seka Odak took shape.

She also spoke about an original television series that she is still waiting to film. The conversation ranged across her theatre work, television roles and the home in Split to which she continually returns after her acting ventures.