But it wasn’t always like that. The son of a blacksmith from a tiny town Kłudzienko, didn’t dream of becoming an actor, but studied ironwork in a mechanical school in Grodzisk Mazowiecki. His acting abilities were noticed by his history teacher: it’s because of her – and a knee injury which made it impossible for him to become a footballer – that he decided to study at the Theatre Academy in Warsaw. Dorociński, a very private person, talks willingly about his work preparation:
School doesn’t prepare the actor for the fact, that student’s life, when you smoke and drink vodka, ends after four years. After that a fight and shiftiness begin. A graduate is like a cosmonaut, who entered cosmic space without his spacesuit. No help at all. At the beginning my waiting game only lasted a month: in 1999 I played the lead in Krugerandy. Had the film succeeded, my career would take a different turn, but it wasn’t even distributed. I had to play smaller roles and focus on theatre. This taught me humility. That’s why when somebody asks, whether success changed me or whether I became big-headed after two films in Gdynia, I say that I am too old for that .
In Teatr Dramatyczny in Warsaw he started with small parts, which led to the leads. He worked with Krzysztof Warlikowski and Grzegorz Jarzyna, who – as he admits – shaped his view of the theatre, even though he only played episodes. The meeting with Krystyna Janda could probably be more important career-wise, but it was another cul-de-sac. He played episodes in many TV series, but what drew him into the spotlight was a main part in Patryk Vega’s controversial series Pitbull. Before the series was broadcasted, its short version was shown, edited in a way which made a leading character out of homicide commissary Despero, played by Dorociński. And this is when everything changed for the actor. Dorociński not only tasted "real" film acting, but also consciously disfigured himself. The effect was surprising: the jury of Zbyszek Cybulski prize, reactivated in 2005, chose him as the first recipient.
This prize gave me great satisfaction, because when I learned about it, I remembered all films starring this cult actor – said Marcin Dorociński in an interview with Jan Bończa-Szabłowski for Rzeczpospolita (20.04.2007). – But since I have a skeptical view on all prizes, I didn’t expect much. Some might think it's weird, but this award didn’t cause any serious interest in me. I waited for a call for six months. And I am an awful idol-material. Glitter and charade annoy me. I rarely go to parties and am scared by the paparazzis. This side of popularity doesn’t do it for me at all.
And yet after Pitbull something changed. The film Barbórka (part of the cycle "Polish holidays") was shown in TV. He played himself – a young actor ready to take any part to achieve success. In an interview he said:
His dilemmas were mine. At a certain point I was such a frustrated television actor, playing in a few telenovellas, earning quite a lot of money, being popular. If it lasted five years, I would have started hating myself.
After Despero, Dorociński became an expert in roles of gangsters and policemen, tough men with a surprisingly soft heart. Like the main protagonist of Louise's Garden by Maciej Wojtyszko, where he played a gangster, simulating a psychological disorder. This interesting part not only gave him an award at the Gdynia Film Festival, but also – finally – led to a main role in the theatre (Lulu on the Bridge by Paul Auster).
Dorociński however focused mostly on films and television. His following roles were really challenging. He gained a few pounds to play a romantic cook in Rozmowy nocą / Talking at night. Playing the main part of an alcoholic footballer, who becomes the coach of a team of homeless men, in Kasia Adamik's The Offsiders, he had to face his own dreams of a career in sports. The role of Bronek in Borys Lankosz's Reverse was difficult not only because his character poses as Humphrey Bogart, but also because, in spite of all his charm, he couldn't count on the viewer's sympathy. This part gave him another award in Gdynia – this time for best actor in a supporting role.
After a slow start, the time came when Marcin Dorociński could say no to directors. But not all of them – he willingly helps independent projects and also likes working with young filmmakers such as Borys Lankosz and Bartosz Konopka, the director of Fear of Falling honoured at the Gdynia Film Festival in 2011. At the same festival Dorociński received yet another award at his efforts in the poignant Rose by Wojtek Smarzowski. This time he played a war survivor, searching for a place in Mazury in 1945. This was one of the parts that surprised the audience and was a confirmation of his credo: “I want to try everything: that's what acting is about”. His role in Róża was appreciated also abroad – he received the Golden Peacock award at the Film Festival in Goa. Also Magdalena Łazarkiewicz TV series Deep water, where he played the director of a Social Welfare Centre was noticed abroad: the series won Grand Prix Italia 2012 in Torino Festival and was awarded as the prestigious Hugo TV awards.