"I shot a rifle, ran in high heels on spiral stairs, climbed exhaust pipes"
On May 3, the big premiere of the sequel to the action-packed thriller "SMERSH" will take place on REN TV. The story is based on real Soviet intelligence operations during the Great Patriotic War: preventing sabotage and attempts to use bacteriological weapons against the USSR. Production: REN TV, Star Media, Zvezda, Wink. The main female role is played by actress Lyanka Gryu. In the historical setting, she had to make friends with a moody, rare 1935 BMW, fight, crash into walls and crawl through exhaust pipes in a tight skirt. Lyanka Gryu told in an exclusive interview with Izvestia on the eve of the television premiere of SMERSH 4 why the actress compares her character Marika Werner with Mata Hari, as well as why she needs an agent in the West, about her dream of going on stage with Bezrukov and the example of Scarlett O'Hara.
"I was amazed by the script, I read it like a book"
— Why did you accept the offer to star in Smersh?
— I was amazed by the script, I read it like a book. It was impossible to break away. I was captivated by this precise balance of humor, romance, patriotism and action. And of course, I hoped that my character Marika Werner would have a sequel — I sincerely dream about it.
It is a beautiful interweaving of detective and historical drama, imbued with a love story and a theme of friendship. When I went to meet the director, my heart was beating so hard. I thought: "My God, if I succeed, if I am approved, I will be truly happy!"
— Was this your first time acting in a spy movie?
— I already had a job — the movie "The Scouts". But I wasn't playing a spy, I was playing a guerrilla. And that's a completely different story. And in SMERSH 4, my character moves the story. Therefore, it was very interesting to make my character Marika Werner mysterious, so that the viewer could not figure out which side she was on until the last moment.
— Your character is almost Mata Hari. What was it like for you to try on the image of an agent?
— Well, yes, I'm practically Mata Hari! It was important for me to keep the inner truth and the constant sense of danger in every scene. My career began with a historical film about the Musketeers (Lyanka Gryu played Jacqueline, the daughter of d'Artagnan in the film "The Return of the Musketeers, or the Treasures of Cardinal Mazarin." — Ed.). I'm in awe of costume stories. When you transform at the level of clothes, hairstyle, gait, manner of speaking, it immerses you in another era, in a state that I really like.
A shot from the movie "The Return of the Musketeers, or the Treasures of Cardinal Mazarin"
— You play a German journalist who lives and works in Moscow. What attracted you to her?
— Her belief in the rightness of our army. According to all the canons and rules of that time, Marika Werner should not have been in the USSR, especially not to fight on the side of the Soviet army. But this girl saw the power and the truth behind her.
I was captivated by her courage to go against the system in which she grew up, having managed to see the truth on the other side. That's her strength. For a long time, Marika is sure that her family is on her side. But, faced with a split and the need for a choice, she still makes it in favor of her inner truth. Marika is not capable of betraying herself under any circumstances.
"I was taught how to drive a rare BMW from 1935"
— There are a lot of action scenes in SMERSH 4. Has there been a place for extreme sports for your heroine?
— Oh, yes indeed! My character gets into such scrapes. I shot a rifle, ran in high heels on spiral stairs, climbed exhaust pipes. The guys threw me in there, and then, together with the operator, we climbed these narrow hoods. And all this in tight skirts, beautiful blouses — clothes that are completely unsuitable for this.
There was everything. There were abrasions, bruises, and cuts. I also had a serious fight with one of the heroines. She was played by a stuntman girl, she does all this professionally, and I had to learn a combat combination that had everything to make the fight authentic — strangulation, punches, flying around the room, hitting the wall. I needed to show the qualities of a good fighter.
They taught me how to drive a rare 1935 BMW on the playground. It's not easy. You step on the gas to the floor — the car does not move and at some point it takes off. It was necessary to find contact with the car so that it would not stall in the frame. After all, I literally had to jump into the car, start it up, drive off and famously enter turns in this clumsy tractor. Otherwise, you can't shoot the chase scene.
— Where did the filming take place?
— Old Moscow with its beautiful streets was found in the Moskino Film Park. There are stunning scenery, there is even a metro station "Arbatskaya". And the action was filmed in abandoned buildings somewhere in the suburbs.
— Your character is German — did you have to learn German?
— Until the last moment, we had a question whether we would play in German ourselves or whether there would be a re-sound in order to preserve the naturalness of the acting as much as possible, there was no unnecessary tension. I speak English and Italian well, but not German. That's why we decided to voice not only my character, but also other characters.
— Did you need the help of consultants to shoot historical material?
- no. This era is familiar to me. I read books, watched old movies, and came across letters from participants in the Great Patriotic War. To create the image of the heroine in SMERSH 4, I searched for information about what the girls looked like and what they were wearing at that time. Marika was supposed to be a little more elegant than the other heroines. To emphasize her special position. I think we did it.
When creating the image of my heroine, the artists even paid attention to such nuances as the color of lipstick. For example, red lipstick was in great short supply at that time. They used it to paint their lips for holidays or gatherings. And my character could afford red lipstick for every day. Because she had access to perfumes, cosmetics, and outfits that were delivered to her from abroad. Marika doesn't look like Soviet women, so she stands apart from everyone else.
"I would really like to be on the same stage with Sergey Bezrukov"
— You have already met Igor Petrenko on the set of Sherlock Holmes, and now you have worked at SMERSH. Was it a pleasant partnership?
— It was such a joy when Igor and I met again. It's been more than ten years since we worked on the Sherlock Holmes project, and now we're back in the same frame and once again as a romantic couple. Igor Petrenko is an amazing partner, a professional, a man of incredible depth, talent, and spiritual beauty. It's a pleasure to work with him. And I also felt supported, after all, this is not the first season of SMERSH for Igor. I felt at home on the set.
Soon he and I will appear in another project — an entreprise play "Bunin" based on the prose writer's stories. Igor's wife Kristina Brodskaya also plays in the production. The premiere is in June.
— You are also playing in the play "The Restless Spirit" at the Sergei Bezrukov Theater. This is a project of his foundation. Did Sergey Vitalievich offer you to become a part of the troupe of the Moscow Provincial Theater?
— Perhaps this will be the next stage of our cooperation. While we're looking at each other. I would really like to be on the same stage with Sergey Bezrukov. I won't guess, but if it happens, it will be a very interesting turn in my life. Now I'm really enjoying acting in comedy, which is a new role for me. The play "The Restless Spirit" is mystical, funny, with a little black humor.
It seems to me that everything should happen gradually. The theater has only entered my life this year. I wasn't ready for this before, so it didn't work out. And now suddenly, one after another, very interesting offers have come. First of all, I'm a movie actress. But in the frame and on stage, they exist according to completely different laws.
"I've never had reverence for Western cinema"
— Do you have an agent in the West?
— There is. Slowly, somewhere, I'm trying, more out of interest, to cast a fishing rod. So far, they mostly offer TV series. Movies are rarer. As a rule, our artists are invited when they need to play Russians. In fact, all film sets around the world are the same.
Lyanka Gryu
I've never had any reverence for Western cinema. I've always wanted to play leading roles in Moscow, in my own country, in my native language. From the age of 18, as soon as my career began to take shape, I realized that there was no point in going somewhere else to look for something else. This is my territory where I can realize myself. Now I have a lot of work in Moscow, and I'm enjoying it!
— Your heroines are always so graceful, elegant, sophisticated. And which of the seven dozen roles is closest to you? Who do you look like?
"Probably nothing." Because there's a big part of me in each of them, but it's not me. You are right to note that my heroines are thin and gentle. But lately I've been playing very strong women more and more. And Marika Werner is an absolute hero, a man of great courage and dedication.
I'm interested in showing women who outwardly look stereotypical — tender, vulnerable, and as we get to know them, we realize they have great strength and backbone. Scarlett O'Hara from the movie Gone with the Wind was probably an example for me in my youth. Her aristocratic appearance and beauty never gave her a one hundred percent chance of happiness and success. More often than not, it is these women who have to reforge themselves in order to get back on their feet.
Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind
— Scarlett's famous phrase: "I'll think about it tomorrow." Is this idea close to you?
— It seems to me that this is a very correct motto, because you need to be able to distribute yourself. There are so many things going on in life: work, household chores, parenting, taking care of parents. And there is also a desire to look good and take care of your health. My head is busy with different processes that need to be implemented. That's why I've been keeping a diary for many years now. I always have everything scheduled for a month in advance. I know for sure that I will finish one chapter and start the next. And anxiety — it always sprays us.
— Besides the acting profession, you have a hobby — you conduct "Inspiration Trainings". They tell you how to allow yourself to live the life you really dream of. So how do I do this?
— Our dreams live on the other side of our fears. Happiness is not about some material goods that fall from the sky. It's in the implementation. When you feel fulfilled in different aspects of your life, you feel self-sufficient. This feeling gives you incredible support inside, strength, significance and meaning of life.
Very often, we are separated from this by a lot of fears — anxiety and doubts: "What will others say?", "Isn't it too late for me?", "Am I good enough?". The prospects seem to be shrouded in fog, which hides from us the life we strive for. I help people through acting, breathing, and body practices to dispel this fog and see a simple but important thing: the only thing that keeps us from our own lives is ourselves. And as soon as this understanding comes, inner energy is born, the desire to act and the strength to move forward.
A shot from the TV series "SMERSH 4"
— And what led you to these psychological trainings?
— My life, my own fears, the search for meaning and stress. At first, I started studying psychology in order to better understand my characters who have PTSD. I realized how close this science is to acting. Because both work with imagination, consciousness, limitations, body, and breathing. For ten years, I studied at various theater schools around the world, with teachers with very different approaches, and I became more and more deeply immersed in psychology. And at the same time she received a second higher education. I am a certified psychologist. I can work as a counseling psychologist and lead groups.
— Is there envy in your life?
- no. Maybe when I was a teenager, I was jealous of girls who lived in rich families. I thought it was so cool to have a luxury apartment, a TV, a car, and trips abroad. I've been dreaming about this. Envy always turns into a dream: "Okay, what do I need to do to make me feel that way too?" It motivated me. And now that I have realized myself in my profession, I am back on my feet, I have no envy. I'm just glad that it turns out that you can do that too. You need to live your life honestly with yourself. And it's important to be grateful for what you have, but at the same time strive for more.
Lyanka Gryu
— Do dreams come true?
— They definitely come true. They come true if you dream right and do a lot. Of course, there are helpers, but people come for energy. As soon as I start acting — I make a call, go somewhere, show up somewhere - I launch impulses into space. The flywheel starts, and new people come into your life. If I'm just sitting, meditating, writing down my ideas, it doesn't work that way. Only action works and allowing yourself to get what you want.
— Victory Day Is approaching. Does your family have a tradition of celebrating this great holiday?
— My mother and I used to watch the parade together, we could go for a walk around Moscow. But when I got married, there was a different sense of celebration. My husband's mother remembered Victory Day in 1945 very well, even though she was a child then. We looked at black and white photos, she sang songs, told us what Victory meant to people. At that moment, her expression changed, her eyes shone, and she seemed to look younger. Victory Day is an emotionally powerful holiday. It reminds of the triumph of life. My son and I also go to the Alexander Garden on May 9 to visit the Grave of the Unknown Soldier. It is very important to pass on knowledge about the history of your country to children.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
