"I don't like movies where there is only cruelty and everything is bad"
Unknown girls first undress, and then talk about themselves — this is how intimate scenes are often filmed, says Vladimir Vdovichenkov. He hates acting, as well as the sheer brutality in the movies, so he didn't appreciate "The Word of a Kid." On May 1, the melodrama "Hello to My Husband", which won the Russian Premieres competition at the 47th Moscow Film Festival, is widely released. Vdovichenkov has the main male role there. The actor told in an exclusive interview with Izvestia about how he received an offer to play in a film by Anton Maslov at a festival party, his past at an auto repair shop and his relatives who participated in the Great Patriotic War.
"If it were up to me, I would never go to auditions at all"
— You are obviously not an artist of the same genre. Your filmography includes crime novels, horror stories, fairy tales, and comedies. Your new work, "Hello Husband," which just won the Russian Premieres competition at the Moscow Film Festival, is a melodrama.
— My favorite genre!
A shot from the movie "Hello to my husband"
- why?
— Because it's very easy to play. There is no need to get out of it somehow, to make some kind of antics. I think I know how to love, be faithful and devoted, take care of, protect. You just had to get this kit out of yourself and use it.
— How did this project happen in your life?
— The story is unusual. The third New Season festival was held in Sochi. There was some kind of party. Director Anton Maslov came up to me. And he had just been awarded, and everyone was congratulating him (TV series "The Last Hero. Heritage" received a special prize of the festival. — Izvestia). He was so businesslike, with a bow tie around his neck, and I thought, "Cool!" And suddenly he comes up to me and says, "Vladimir, I have a script. Would you like to read it and star in my film?" I say, "With the award-winning director, I'm ready!"
— Did you get your hands on it right there?
— It's not that the deal was struck, but the preliminary agreement was in place. He sent the script a few hours later. I read it, and I really liked it.
The film crew at the premiere of the film "Hello to my Husband" at the Khudozhestvenny cinema in Moscow. In the foreground on the right: director Anton Maslov
— Do you prefer this scenario scenario, or do you want to audition?
—Oh, no," I said. I hate auditions. It's like a gypsy chooses a horse. It's always scary and difficult. And everything is conditional — here is a chair, imagine that this is a gorgeous throne, now the girl leaves you the text that she just printed out, because the partner is busy, she is removed. And you don't know how to believe what's happening. This is not a movie set where you're already in character and the setting is inviting. If I had my way, I would never have gone to auditions at all (smiles).
But unfortunately, the world has changed. If earlier the director could say: "Volodka, I know you, come to me to act." The producers are deciding a lot right now. And the director can say, "I want you, but the producers don't. Sorry. Convince them that you are the one and only."
"Hello, I'm Volodya"— "I'm Natasha." And that's it — Natasha undresses"
— Your character George works in a car service station. And here is a curious fact from your personal biography — you also had such an experience in your youth. Was it useful? Perhaps he allowed you to improvise more?
— I don't know how useful it was. I think that the lack of this experience would not hurt me. It was a long time ago, probably back in 1992, and it was quite funny. I lived in the Kaliningrad region, and at that time everyone started driving cars and making money from it. So I decided to buy a car for myself. But I didn't have much money, so I took a broken "penny" in Lithuania, then we still had a conditional border. My friend had his own workshop. He suggested: "Let's have you help me, and in return, we'll fix your car together." As a result, I worked in his workshop at the pick-up and repaired my car at the same time. It's really simple. The main thing is that the brains work and the hands grow from the right place.
— In general, are you handy?
— I'm handy! I repair almost everything at home myself. I like to poke around. Yesterday I took out the drawer, and the slide broke. I have already ordered the parts. I'll come home tonight, I'll fix it, I'll change it myself. Although when the grinder burned down, I couldn't repair it, because modern technology is too complicated. And now I have a car — I can open the hood, take a look, pour the liquid into the washer and close it, because there is no way to approach it. I don't understand it anymore.
— It is better to trust professionals.
— Yes, it's true.
— Speaking of professionals, there is a lot of discussion in Hollywood about the presence or absence of intimate scenes during filming. In "Hello to My Husband" with Julia Peresild, they are quite neat. Nevertheless, was there such a specialist on the site? Have you ever had to deal with him at all?
— I do not know what an intimate scene coordinator is. But we often have funny stories. Many actresses are shy and therefore call an understudy, similar in body. It is removed from the back. And this is a complete stranger to you! This is the first time you've seen him, as soon as you say, "Hello, I'm Volodya," and "I'm Natasha." And that's it — Natasha undresses, you, relatively speaking, lie down, she sits on top. At the command "Start!" there is some kind of movement. Then stop, and you're talking in this position.: "Where are you from? What are you doing?" And a new one. I always apologize, it's nothing personal, I ask if I can, say, take some seats. They usually say, "Yes, please, this is my job" (smiles).
— So in our cinema they also handle intimate scenes without consultants?
— What kind of consultants do adults need? There is a joke: "Why can't you have sex on Red Square? There will be too many advisers." So it is here. It's an intimate moment. It happens, of course, that the entire film crew is nearby. And there are directors who understand the delicacy of the situation and can kick everyone out, even the cameraman, press the button, and then themselves.
"Can I compare "The Brigade" and "The Boy's Word"? No, of course not!"
— The film is set in the present, but in many ways it is inspired by Soviet cinema. Why do you think filmmakers today are so prone to nostalgia?
A shot from the TV series "The Word of a kid"
— Soviet cinema was mostly good. There was a selection process. The Communist Party set the task for the viewer to come out spiritually enriched after watching, so that he would receive some kind of warmth pill for the soul. The post-Soviet cinema was teeming with anti-Soviet films, and they began shooting one hard-core film. The harbingers of such a tough guy were "Little Faith", "Plumb, or a Dangerous Game", where everything is bad.
The world is changing, and our country is changing. At least I have a feeling that the grass used to be greener and the trees were bigger. I guess it's because I was young then, but in my youth everything seems cool. And now this nostalgia is probably not for Soviet cinema, but for his young feeling of this cinema, for some kind of warmth that emanated from the screen. Now I hardly watch movies, even with my own participation. Some kind of clip has grown. There are a lot of films being shot. We used to cry that there were five films a year, now there seem to be 105. But that's a good thing, of course. In any case, quantity turns into quality.
— Today we see an obvious trend in cinema in the 1990s. "The Word of a Kid" and "Children of Change" thundered, which showed the not-so-bright side of that time. The actors who star in these projects have not caught the era. And here it is impossible not to recall the "Brigade", where you played Phil and which premiered after that decade — in 2002. What are your impressions of modern projects from that time? Is it more like a fantasy, a kind of representation, or a reality?
— It's probably a performance after all. Sometimes the hit is successful, sometimes less successful. Those who did not find the Soviet Union, absorb what they say about that time. Yes, I know how it really was. It was different there, both good and bad. There are some terrible things that I don't want to remember. We were all a little bit the same — we got about the same salary, there was nothing to brag about. And it had its own sense of peace. Young people are different now — they know what the difference is. These actors play certain people in a certain situation. But if they do it convincingly, truthfully, you'll swallow it all. It's not just that the "Word of the kid" has gone to everyone.
"Did it work out for you?"
— I didn't watch the whole thing. I don't like movies where there's nothing but cruelty. I also don't like our author's movies, where everything is bad. It's very good to act in such projects, it's exciting. The moment you realize that you're about to play something, the audience will gasp, either in a good way or in a bad way. Acting, yes, but watching them... no.
They ask me if I can compare "The Brigade" and "The Boy's Word" — no, of course not! We played guys who run their own lives. Fate does not oppress them, they choose it themselves. They make responsible decisions. They even die for it. And in the "Word of the Kid" they gathered everyone in a bunch and said: "Guys, get out of this." And everything is bad there. I don't like that.
— Did the dashing ones touch you personally?
— I had nothing to do with crime. I was a sympathizer. Because the country has collapsed. Everything that was considered good just a month ago suddenly turned out to be not quite like that. If in my childhood teachers caused awe, then in the 1990s all these teachers suddenly went to the market to sell some goods brought, for example, from Poland or Vilnius. And everyone who was talked about in the kitchen: "Here are the grabbers," suddenly they became respected businessmen with whom everyone wanted to be friends. Some kind of flip has happened.
The guys I played are people who didn't bend to the situation. And I personally know former Komsomol leaders in my city who plunged into semi-criminal money-making with the same zest. Not that they turned into bandits, but they stood on the other side of the barricades. That was life, what to do.
"The German will come up, stroke: "I have the same son."
— Recently, another popular project was released with your participation — "Father 2. Grandfather." In this part, a new hero appears — a front-line soldier. In light of this and the upcoming anniversary of the Victory, tell us about your relatives who saw the Great Patriotic War?
— My beloved grandfather Vasya drove the commander during the war. One day they were bombed and his foot was blown off. After that, he received an order, but he could no longer fight, and he was sent to the rear. There he became chairman of the collective farm, because there were no peasants. He stood up for one of the workers, and he was exiled to Chechen-Ingushetia. And in 1946, he was offered to go to the Kaliningrad region. All the Germans were taken out of there, the territory became ours, and three contingents settled there — Komsomol members on a permit, the military and the 101st kilometer. Everyone who was forbidden to live in the capital. And my grandfather worked there as a construction site watchman. He was just an ordinary guy — in a cap, in a jacket.
I remember my second grandfather, Vitya, as such a city dandy — he always wore a hat, suit, and tie. He learned this in Poland. When the war started, he was 16 years old. Our people were retreating from Smolensk, driving cattle to Moscow so that the Germans would not get them, but they were caught up. And he was captured, he was taken to work in Poland at a shipyard in Gdansk, then it was German Danzig. Since then, Grandfather hated the Finns. He said that if the shift was German, then at least he could shoot a cigarette. The German will come up, give you a chocolate bar, stroke it: "I have the same son." And he could only get a boot in the forehead from Finn. And my grandfather worked there before ours came in 1944. And after liberation, he fought with everyone until 1945. Then he also came to the Kaliningrad region, he said: "I've done my job," and got a job in the fire department. And they told jokes about our firefighters. The fact is that our town is small, fires were rare. They didn't do anything, but they played goat cards very well (smiles).
— Do you have a special tradition of remembering them on May 9th?
— I always remember them. While I was living in the town of Gusev, where I come from, we went to the cemetery once every two weeks, and it was as if both one and the other were constantly present. A few years ago, we did a good job — we opened a website where you can find information about your hero by last name. There I learned what a feat one of my grandfathers had accomplished, what awards the other had received, and came into contact with it. They never talked about the war themselves.
I did not go to the Immortal Regiment campaign, I am recognized on the streets and there is too much attention. But I approve of this case. It's great that people have the opportunity to proudly carry photos of family members, thanks to which they can now walk along Tverskaya or any other street. My colleague at the Vakhtangov Theater, Vasily Lanovoy, was one of the founders of this movement.
— You have been serving there for more than 20 years. Which performance would you recommend starting to get acquainted with your theatrical work?
— I was lucky to work with the brilliant director Rimas Tuminas. This is the man who taught us what theater is. He invited me, saying: "I'm going to show you a world you've never been in." And his first performance, in which I became involved, is called "Uncle Vanya." This, in my opinion, is a masterpiece. Not because I play there, but because it's so cool. We released it 15 years ago, and it's still running. This is the hallmark of our theater.
Actors Anna Dubrovskaya (Elena Andreevna) (in the foreground) and Vladimir Vdovichenkov (Mikhail Lvovich Astrov) in a scene from the play by Anton Chekhov "Uncle Vanya" staged by Rimas Tuminas at the State Academic Theater named after Evg. Vakhtangov
The second performance, which I also really like, is "The Wind rustles in the poplars." This is also a production by Rimas Tuminas. This is the story of three war veterans who, by the will of fate, ended up in a French poorhouse. They are abandoned, forgotten and not needed by anyone. But the way they struggle with this world, joke and just want to live is incredibly touching. In our theater, this performance is probably considered one of the best. And what's good about him is that all the characters are old. We started playing him 12 years ago, and as I get older, I get closer to my character Gustav. And you can play it for another 100 years. This performance will be relevant — it's touching, tender, and you'll laugh and cry. It has everything.
— And how to hook, on the one hand, the actor, so that he speaks about the play, and on the other, the audience, so that he watches the production for so many years?
— If the director managed to take good material and get the artists hooked, if they love this performance, then the audience will love it. There is such a rule, no one can explain how it works, but if you are not involved in the process, the public is too. Although, it would seem, everything is the same — they walk, talk, do something on stage. But, besides verbal sympathy, there is something non-verbal that we cannot explain.
When an actor is turned on with all his gut, he is happy that he is playing in this performance, it is transmitted on some kind of energy level and immediately there is an exchange. You feel the room, you start manipulating it, you lead it to where you need to go, or you take it out from where you need to go — and that's what professionalism is all about. It is easy to deceive the audience, but only on condition that you yourself are very involved in this deception, in this game. You know, the best actors are children. They don't need to explain the rules of the game, they immediately get involved and fantasize. If you keep the childlike directness of an actor, then it will work (smiles).
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
