Jana Ctverackova - Co Si Muzete Zahrat Anglicky May 2026
Her advice to young Czech actors is blunt: “Do not wait for the international casting director to find you. You must walk into the room and answer the question before they ask it. Say: ‘I can play your lead. And I can do it in your language.’” Perhaps the most famous answer to “Co si můžete zahrát anglicky?” came during a 2022 casting session for a Dutch-Czech psychological thriller. The director, knowing Čtveráčková’s reputation, asked her to improvise a three-minute monologue as a woman confessing to a murder—in English, with a specific regional American accent (Baltimore).
She got the role. Today, Jana Čtveráčková is not stopping at English. When asked “Co si můžete zahrát anglicky?” she now often counters with “A co německy? Nebo francouzsky?” (And what about German? Or French?). She is currently learning German for an Austrian film role and has a working knowledge of French for future theatre collaborations.
She is an actor for whom English is simply another stage—and she owns every inch of it. Jana Čtveráčková continues to perform in both Czech and English at venues including Dejvické divadlo and international festivals. She is represented for English-language work by [agency name if known, otherwise remove]. Jana Ctverackova - Co si muzete zahrat anglicky
Before she even learns her lines, she spends two weeks working with a dialect coach to “lock” the sound of the character. She records herself reading a page of the script, then compares it to a native speaker’s recording. She marks every vowel shift and consonant drop. “If the ‘t’ in ‘water’ sounds like a Prague ‘t’, the audience will stop listening to the emotion and start listening to the accent,” she explains.
Without a pause, Čtveráčková transformed. Her posture shifted. Her voice dropped an octave. For three minutes, she delivered a harrowing, slang-filled confession that left the room silent. When she finished, the director simply said: “That’s not an accent. That’s a soul.” Her advice to young Czech actors is blunt:
Čtveráčková has broken through that ceiling. She has successfully auditioned for in English-language productions—not because she is “good for a Czech person,” but because she is genuinely a great actor in any language.
She admits that performing for a native English audience versus a Czech audience is radically different. “For Czechs listening to English, they are forgiving of small errors. For Brits or Americans, they expect perfection. But here’s the secret: They also love a slight, unplaceable accent. It makes you exotic but not foreign. That’s the sweet spot.” Why It Matters: The Industry Need for Bilingual Actors The question “Co si můžete zahrát anglicky?” is becoming increasingly urgent in the Czech entertainment industry. With the rise of international streamers (Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon) shooting in Prague, there is a constant demand for local actors who can play “European” characters without dubbing. However, most of these roles are small: the waiter, the police officer, the nurse. And I can do it in your language
The next time a casting director in Prague, London, or New York asks, “Co si můžete zahrát anglicky?” they will already know the name. They will already have seen the reel. And they will already understand that Jana Čtveráčková isn’t just a Czech actor who speaks English.