"It's incredibly interesting to get into the head of a maniac"
Actor Alexander Petrov is no stranger to superstition — if a script falls down, he will sit on it before continuing to work in the frame. He calls himself a gambling man — he has it both on the set and in the stands during Spartak Moscow football matches. What a sign he saw in the incident with the broken trophy in the Superfinal of the Russian Cup, why he watches the ratings, what kind of movie he wants to show his son, as well as about the role of the investigator in the series "After Fischer. Inquisitor", which premiered at the online cinema Wink, - Alexander Petrov said in an interview with Izvestia.
"I don't remember a perfect day for filming in a movie"
— In the TV series "After Fischer. Inquisitor" you appear as Investigator Terekhov. This is not a new role for you. What distinguishes your character in this project?
— The degree of vulnerability. He has this quality in the first place. This is related to his family's history, which we learn in the process. He hides this vulnerability, but we see it anyway. He is educated, loves art, classics and literature. He doesn't make millions, but at the same time, look at what a gorgeous coat he has. Maybe he saved up for it for six months (pointing to the poster). He should always look sharp, but there is a certain carelessness and unshaven about him.
I think it's Terekhov's vulnerability and aesthetics that make him different from the other investigators I've played. In the "Method", for example. This is also a series about maniacs, but there's a different story — my character turns out to be this very maniac. Or from Grisha Izmailov in The Policeman from Rublevka, which is made in a completely different way. It was important to me that Terekhov was humorous, but subtle. Not with such a whiplash, direct and suffocating as Grisha's. But I still play them all, and in any case, there is my organics in certain moments.
— Logic and mysticism coexist in the new season. Director Olga Frenkel shared that during the preparation for filming, the group met a shaman in Altai. Have you ever met them? Do you believe in their power?
— I believe it, absolutely. There are things that cannot be denied — certain energies that are invisible and that we cannot explain logically, some ancient practices that, in general, work. And it's incredibly interesting. I've had experience with people like that. I have been to Altai many times, lived there for several months and traveled all over it. At some point, there was an opportunity to go to the shaman. Something didn't work out. I think, and thank God. But I remember filming in a cave, and the man who lives there comes, mostly in the summer, and goes to the city for the winter. He's completely different. At first glance, the man is a little out of his mind. Maybe it is, I don't know. But he turned out to be very interesting when we started talking, with a great sense of humor.
— Have you discovered something for yourself?
— You always discover something. It's interesting, but I wouldn't overuse it. It seems to me that everyone is able to connect to some other energies. A matter of faith, probably. Each of us has an intuition. Some have more developed it, others have less.
A shot from the TV series "After Fisher. The Inquisitor"
— Did nature test you during filming?
— Nature always tests you one way or another. The main thing is to trust and not be afraid. "Fischer" was shot in Abkhazia, but at the same time, Altai is absolutely in the frame. Altai and its nature are a separate character in the story.
In Altai, I also had the experience of filming in another project. I've been in different situations. He dived into a mountain river, after which, it would seem, he should get sick. Nothing was happening. Or he spent the entire nine-hour shift pushing through a fern infested with ticks. No one got in. And I'm more convinced that if you tell yourself inside that you came here with good intentions, everything will be fine. It's the same here. These are wonderful places. I can't say that there were catastrophic difficulties. It was often cold.
— I think it's a base.
— Of course! I don't remember a perfect day for filming in a movie. It is impossible to imagine such a thing. Anyway, you will face certain discomfort on the playground — either extreme heat, or cold, or rain, but you don't need it, or snow and hail.
Actor Alexander Petrov
— In recent years, we have seen a surge in TV series about maniacs. Why are people so hypnotized by evil?
— It's incredibly interesting to look behind the screen, to peek without being a participant in the process and realizing that this is a movie. These are terrifying stories! They are often based on materials from real events and biographies. And it's very scary. To try to get into a person's head, to find out what motivated this horror, how this bastard was caught, is interesting. Man is generally a curious creature, and this is one of the most pressing topics. I can tell you in confidence that we will catch the maniac. And this also catches the viewer — the fact that at some point evil will be defeated and good will prevail.
"This could only happen with Spartak Moscow
— "Fisher" entered the top 100 of the Russian rating of the TV series "Medialogy" for 2025. Do you follow the ratings, and can they be considered a quality mark?
— Of course! I'm generally a gambling and athletic person by nature. When I played football in my youth, it was very important to me whether we won or not. It's like a performance indicator. And here the result is also important to me. If something is missing from the ratings, you need to understand the reason why a large number of people did not want to watch it.
There are projects that are initially designed for an extremely small audience — festival and niche ones. For example, "The Postman" did not expect that millions would go to cinemas, it is a small chamber film. I also starred in the Greek film "Man of God," and it was clear that this was also not about a huge audience. But when we initially have the task of making a big audience movie, ratings are of course very important.
It seems to me that the artists who say they don't pay attention to it are lying. They're all watching, they're all monitoring. Especially now it's quite easy. The box office can be viewed in the EAIS. I love this period — the first days of the rental, the excitement and the page refresh. Do you have an EAIS?
Actor Alexander Petrov
— We watch it every Monday and write about the results of the box office.
— Of course, you have money in another "bank". And I'm in this. So I update every 15 minutes, and it's a terrific gamble. Right now, Kommersant is at the box office, and every day I log on to this service several times. The result is visible in real time, just like in football on the scoreboard.
— By the way, congratulations on Spartak's victory in the Russian Cup. How did you introduce your spouse to sports? We know that she goes to matches with you.
— She really likes to go to matches! Russia has great football stadiums, everything is convenient and comfortable. There are a huge number of people there, and this excitement and this energy around are transferred from one person to another. It is for these emotions that Vika goes there. And besides, it seems to me that when people love each other, it doesn't matter where they are together: even at a football match, even in a field to look at a birch tree. That's why I enjoy it, and Vika enjoys it — the degree of connection is extremely special. We feel good everywhere. And I don't try to persuade her: "Vika, we will definitely go!" She says herself: "An important match! You have to be sick!" (Laughs.)
Actor Alexander Petrov with his wife Victoria at the premiere of the series "After Fisher. The Inquisitor"
— In the final of the tournament, the cup itself crashed. Do you see any sign of this?
— For luck! (He smiles.) This could only happen with Spartak Moscow. This is now a legendary moment.
"Are you superstitious?" Do you have any acting skills? For example, some artists believe that if the script falls...
— I get on it right away, and it's out of the question! It doesn't matter where — in the field, in the rain, in the mud, anywhere — you definitely need to do it. If the director falls or one of the crew falls, I will not leave until the person sits down. It's already in the blood. I don't even ask myself why I'm doing this. It's just traditions that have been passed down from time immemorial, and I like them. This means, among other things, that a person cares about what happens to him in the frame and around him, that it is very important to him.
"We tried to make sure that he didn't stop being a pirate."
— Do you feel the same excitement on the set as you do sitting in the stands during the team's matches?
— In general, it should be in the acting profession — excitement should awaken in you at some point. It's not like I get up in the morning and am already in this state, I go to the playground with him at 8 a.m. No, I'm a living person. It takes time, adaptation. But I have such a thing that in every scene this gambling point should slip inside me — it should be very interesting for me. And again, the excitement is to make a scene great, to understand it, to get to the bottom of something.
And it's there during the premiere. You watch a movie with the audience when nothing can be done or changed. You're watching every reaction people have at one point or another. It's incredibly important. And then the excitement really wakes up. And you can tell by people's emotions whether they liked it or not.
— In 2027, the premiere of "Funny Man Wu" from the universe of "One Hundred years ahead" will take place. Is your character a villain after all, or is there something that heals him? And what is the root cause of human cruelty?
— There may be various reasons related to childhood, genes, and injuries. Funny Guy U is not exactly a villain. He's a pirate— that's his job. He was so used to living and just didn't know how to do it any other way. He meets a young woman and a boy and at some point gets into it. He's learning something, although he's much stronger — he's a space dude who's been living for who knows how many hundreds of years. But he finds something in them — vulnerability, vulnerability, love, which defies any logic and which turns out to be the strongest. But he remains himself. We were just trying to make sure that he wouldn't stop being a pirate. He pursues his own goals and objectives. He needs a certain thing, and he's trying to find it. And that's fair.
A shot from the movie "Funny Man U"
— What kind of movie would you like your son to grow up on?
— On a good one.
— And what is a good movie?
— It's probably different for everyone. I think we understand this when we see something authentic on the screen. My filmography is already decent, so everything is gradual. Let's start with the fairy tales, now the stock is replenished. Then we will show our movies, and not only our favorite ones. Then he will choose for himself.
I want him to watch a movie that touches him in some way, after watching which he will change, even by a millimeter, and experience real emotions. And this is possible only when the people who created the film had at least good intentions, and managed to hook not only the audience, but also themselves. This is not indifference.
— If we shift your acting career to a human age, where are you now?
— I'm always 18 (laughs).
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
