– Two months before rabies, director Dmitry Dyachenko released the blockbuster movie Cheburashka. Did you watch?
– No not yet.
– Dyachenko previously shot comedy and family films – “What Men Talk”, “Son Bogatyr”, “Cheburashka” again. And suddenly – a tension. Did you immediately agree to participate in a new genre project for the director? What drew you to him?
– So far, I haven’t watched the aforementioned movies except The Last Hero, which I really like. Knowing the cast, he immediately decided to shoot. The surname Dyachenko was unknown to me at that time.
– For director Alexander Khant, the film “How Vitka Chesnok took Lekha Shtyr to the nursing home” was a full-length debut, but it turned out to be excellent. Do you feel immediately that the project will begin?
– Most of the time, I refuse to work in the cinema, the outcome of which I do not believe.
Tell us about your character in Rabies.
– I play a district police officer who comes looking to fix the next death of a person as a result of an attack by a rabid wolf. And he unwittingly becomes one of the main participants in the conflict between humans and wild predators.
– The plot is based on a series of events in the Amur region, where people died as a result of the attack of rabid-infected wolves. Did you interact with real wolves on set?
“Unfortunately I didn’t intervene. Even if I wanted to.
— What do you remember about the trip to Altai, where the film was shot?
– Majestic and wise beauty! This is a great area! Once you’ve been there, you look forward to returning.
– This is your third work with Alexei Serebryakov after the films “How Vitka Chesnok took Lekha Shtyr to the nursing home” and “Van Goghs”. Tell us about your tandem. Do you socialize outside of work?
– Yes, Alexei and I are very good friends, he often helps our VelesO theater. Another movie we’re working on together will soon be released – “Unit of Montevideo” directed by Tatiana Lyutaeva.
– In March, Kinopoisk will premiere the series “The King and the Jester” with your participation – but there is no information about the character anywhere. It’s a secret? Is there a connection here with your external resemblance to Andrey Knyazev?
No, there is no similarity here. And the character is so complex that it is not a fact that he cannot be excluded. The editing table is like an operating table: sometimes they cut more than we want.
– In Russian cinema, there is a special niche for films about real life in the country – about poverty, alcohol and despair. It evokes the understanding and melancholy that it shouldn’t be like that, but it’s still captivating. What is the secret of such content?
– This is our mentality.
— Your manager, your wife Marta. Tell us how he coped with his duties, what professional qualities do you appreciate in him?
– When I was working with projects, I had a lot of agents that I left when I realized that, oddly enough, the agent was always on the production and studio side. I’ve always wondered – then why would he be called my representative (who should, in principle, defend the interests of the actor)? But often “good agents” have a large number of performers and, as a rule, there is not enough interest for everyone. And when we started working autonomously, everything fell into place. So no love here!
– In 2016, you opened VelesO, the first equestrian drama theater in Russia, where horse performers perform without ammo. How do you manage to motivate animals to play in shows?
— This is delicate work based on harmony and joyful contact. To achieve this, you need to organize the right content, close to nature.
— Was there any force majeure during the performance when the horse refused to perform the task?
– That’s what we get from the theater. We bring the horse to a state where it shows its character and characteristics. But how it will behave in performance – can only be guessed.
– Do you know that in other similar theaters (for example, in the French Zingaro) there is the same humane attitude towards horses?
– No equestrian theater is possible without love.
What are your girls interested in? Do they plan to follow in your footsteps and become artists?
The youngest dances and plays the piano. In my opinion, none of them even have the thought of following in their footsteps. It’s actually what I’m happy with.