– “You are super!” more than the show. It once caught your interest and why hasn’t it stopped until now?
– “You’re amazing!” for me to sit on the jury seat. – a great joy every time. This is an opportunity both to meet the incredible guys who come to our stage and to see my colleagues on the jury. These great artists have long been not just colleagues to me, but friends with whom we laughed, cried, argued and hugged. We are connected not only by our love of profession and music, but also by our sincere love for children, with whom we have the chance to observe their first steps on the stage.
Of course, this is also an incredible responsibility. The destinies of the men on our project are as unique as their abilities. We love to complain about fate and feel sorry for ourselves, but when we look at these young artists who come on stage with a smile and make the audience feel great, everyone starts to believe that a person can progress towards his goal despite all kinds of difficulties. dream and achieve your goals.
– Is it difficult to maintain objectivity when evaluating children?
– It is not so easy to find criteria for judging when a young artist is rapping and the second is singing the opera aria. After all, it’s no secret to anyone that you can perfectly perform a classical aria without touching a single string in the soul of the audience, and at the same time someone else will recite the verses so impressively that people will cry, stand. applause. That’s why “You’re awesome!” Let them choose the material and be on stage, don’t tune them into any TV format.
Did you benefit from participating in competitions as a child?
“Of course it helps a lot. I know from my own experience what it’s like to be on stage to be judged, I know that winning any competition is no guarantee of success and defeat is not the end of a career. I try to judge like a pro but look at young artists as a simple audience. I sincerely want him to give a cool performance so we don’t even think about the nuances, we just press the green button and enjoy the performance with the audience in the studio.
Did the participants of the show teach you anything?
– The fate of all the participants teaches not only me, but also everyone who at some point stopped believing in themselves that everything is possible in this life. When I look at them, I am inspired again and again by their strength, perseverance and talent. To me, they are already winners because they didn’t give up, they didn’t betray their talents, they followed their dreams despite everything, they didn’t give up despite the pressure of the circumstances.
– Is this experience comparable to judging in the Mask show?
– No way. Of course, the show “Mask” can sometimes touch some hidden wires of the soul, but this is more of an accidental coincidence of the elements. Only professionals take the stage, and the format itself is pure fun, implying sheer mystery and intrigue. “You’re super!” but all the masks have been taken off, there are real destinies, real people, real feelings on stage. This is more than a show; a chance to witness one’s true victory over fate.
– You play one of the main roles in the sports drama “More Than Football”. Please tell us about your character. Do you have anything in common with him?
– Although I played football professionally for many years, it is the first movie in my acting career where I played a football player. And I’m happy to be a part of this particular movie – not only because I really like the script, but also because my work schedule includes things I love so much and I haven’t had enough time for that in recent years. So almost daily soccer practice.
The movie is based on a true and very touching story and I honestly couldn’t hold back my tears a few times when I read the script. I don’t remember anything touching me this much and crying.
No matter how much I read a good book, watch a good movie, or study the script of a future movie, like here, I succumb to emotions and feelings like a child. In life, unlike the scene, I am mostly concise, like my character, I prefer action to words. So we have a lot in common in that sense.
How did you prepare for the role? How much time did you spend on physical education? Maybe you learned tricks from professional athletes?
– After the first training, I found out that they prepared a substitute for me. Our director then happily said that he would no longer work because I was working with the ball so that no substitute was needed. Of course, it was a very nice compliment to my legs, which were starting to fall from exhaustion at that time.
Before filming, I decided to lose a few pounds to make running easier. Physically, I have not experienced such loads for a long time, because muscle groups that are not needed on the football field, in the gym or in a simple jog come into play.
So the whole body aches. Some of our players have already been seriously injured, someone has broken ties. In my case, the nail broke off when the boot stepped on my foot during training.
But that’s okay too: I spent my entire childhood and youth running on the field.
The load here is of course huge, because to shoot, we have to play for hours at full strength against pro teams. Otherwise, I train in the mode before the shoot, but now I limp in the morning and crawl to the gym. And I’m groaning up the stairs.
How is your relationship with football in general?
“I love football with all my heart. No wonder they say that there are no ex-footballers! Almost every day I look at sections of interesting matches from the past. I do not have time to watch all the matches, but I do not miss the opportunity to admire this amazing game.
– Many players from Messi to Arshavin entered the field under the tenth number. In whose honor does your character have the same number?
– Wearing the number ten is of course an honor for any football player, they don’t just give it away. Screenwriter and director Victor Dement made the decision to make our character “Ten”. I’ve also been a fan of Cristiano Ronaldo for many years, so of course I would take the seventh. However, the story of the number ten became legendary long before Messi and Ronaldo. Therefore, as a former professional football player, it is an honor for me to wear a jersey with this number.
– Musician, director, screenwriter, TV presenter, actor – how do you achieve everything and what is your priority right now? Do you make time for your personal life?
– It’s like I live more than one life, priorities change depending on what I’m doing and working on right now. It’s not easy but incredibly interesting. The programs and professions that I have mastered do not leave a place for routine in my life. When I go on stage, write music or arrange, I don’t remember being an actor, just a musician at that moment…
They approve me for the role and I immediately become an actor, not thinking about music or directing. I’m in the frame and I have the pleasure of not having any other responsibilities, just doing my acting job. But when I step on stage as a director, everything changes in an instant.
I also hate amateurism and I’m sure that the most important thing is to be a true professional in everything you do. In addition to working actively in all these areas of expertise in recent years, I have more than 50 roles and nearly 70 short and long directorial works due to my desire to constantly learn, develop skills and acquire new ones. Lots of symphonic music for cinema. Wherever I am, I work on screenplays, write music and edit. And when there is work on both sides of the ocean, continuous flights are added to this. Every day is different from the previous one, as if different people live.
Of course, I have time for my personal life, there is also without it. Although I love work very much, it is not possible to enjoy work alone. I’m not in a permanent relationship anymore, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to spend every night alone.
– You took part in “The Bachelor” in 2016. If you were offered to take part in a similar project today, would you accept it?
— Actually, it would be funny to embark on such a project after all these years. I’m also wondering how I’m going to react now to everything that’s going on out there. After all, we are all constantly changing. Our views, our understanding of ourselves and others, awareness of experiences, even our memories. I don’t know if I would agree, but I would definitely consider it.