"They didn't want to hire me because I don't speak Russian well"
Today, 27-year—old Tina Stoilkovich is one of the most sought-after young actresses in Russian cinema. In her filmography — "Moscow does not believe in tears. Everything is just beginning", "Offline", "August" and "Sovereign". It's hard to believe that just nine years ago, a native of Serbia didn't speak Russian at all and was just starting her career in acting. Now she takes on difficult roles: for example, during the filming of the psychological thriller "The Abyss" she had to hang in the air for 10 hours. The actress told in an exclusive interview with Izvestia how she coped with such workloads, how she entered the Shchukin Theater Institute without knowing the language and why they love Russian culture in Serbia.
"We hung in the air for nine to ten hours every day"
— The film "The Abyss", in which you played one of the main roles, is successfully being shown in Russian cinemas. How did you end up in this project?
— Actually, director Alexey Ionov and I have already worked together: I starred in a supporting role in another of his films. That's where we met. I really liked how Lyosha works, how he sees the material. One day we were sitting and talking, and he said, "Listen, they sent me a new project. I would really like you to be there."
Time has passed. As a result, I received an invitation to audition. I read the script and was thrilled. At that moment, it was just a dream. I was going through a huge audition phase. I think I've tried out with different partners a dozen times. And I know how many beautiful, talented actresses have also applied for this role. Of course, it was very nervous. But at some point, probably on my tenth test, I decided to let this story go, because it's hard to hold on to the result all the time. I just gave my all. And then they called me back and said that the role was mine.
— The plot of the film is based on a very unusual symbiosis of extreme and melodramatic stories. Which of these two components attracted you more?
— For me, the main thing is always human relations. It seems to me that this is what catches the viewer. And now he is very experienced and understands everything already in the fifth minute. It was the story of the relationship between Dasha, Sasha and Artyom that kept me going. To be honest, I didn't realize the scale of the filming at all. It seemed to me: well, yes, we hang and hang.
— For half of the movie, you are literally hanging from a branch, holding on to the remnants of a parachute. How was it filmed? Did you need any special training?
— Yes, I had to study seriously. We really hung in the air for nine or ten hours every day. The body, of course, is not ready for this. The human body is not designed to be in limbo for three weeks in a row: everything is squeezed, legs and arms are swollen.
They also kept dragging us into a real parachute system. Styopa Belozerov and I were literally wrapped in these structures. To just drink water, sit or relax a little, we had to be lowered down ten meters, completely unwound, given a break, and then tied up again and lifted up. It took a lot of time, so they tried to let us down as little as possible. We really hung for a very long time. It was hard.
— There are explanatory inserts in the film about what happens to the body after a few hours: numbness of the legs and so on. Have you felt it yourself? Dizziness, numbness?
— Yes, of course. Our legs were swollen, and we were talking: "Stop, guys, I have to go downstairs, because I'm already losing all feeling." Once Styopa's neck was even pinched and he lost consciousness. But we always had an ambulance on duty at the playground, they were constantly watching us, helping us to keep at least some kind of tone. And, of course, a wonderful stunt group worked with us.
"I read Lermontov with a monstrous accent"
— I can't help but mention: You speak absolutely fantastic Russian. How long did it take to master the language like that?
— Thank you very much! I moved to Russia in September 2017. She studied at the Boris Shchukin Theater Institute under Nina Igorevna Dvorzhetskaya. I had wonderful classmates who helped me a lot. After three months, I understood most of the words. We went through the "floor, ceiling, window, fork" stage, and I started building sentences a little bit. But it took nine years to speak like this.
— So when you arrived in Moscow, you didn't speak Russian at all?
— Generally.
— Excuse me, but how did you get into the Russian Theater Institute then?
— It's a very funny story. When I didn't understand how to explain something, I pointed with my hands or spoke in Serbian - Slavic languages are still a bit similar. I remember entering the Shchukin Institute. I don't understand anything at all: why are there 6,000 people here, why is it raining endlessly, why is everyone so beautiful? I came in jeans, a shirt, and sneakers, and I was thinking: "My God, what am I doing here?"
I walk up to the institute, a girl greets me and asks: "Did you sign up?" I don't understand half of it, but I nod. She asks: "Where are you from?" I already understood that. I say, "From Belgrade." And she said, "From Belgorod?" I think: "Well, no one understands me here."
Then she starts telling me that I need to wear a skirt. But "skirt" in Serbian is "suknya", there is no association. I don't understand what it's about at all. She repeats more and more insistently: "Put on a skirt." And I'm already thinking, "That's it, I don't want to talk to her." A girl from the admissions office comes up and says, "She's a foreigner." And he starts explaining everything to me in English.
Then they ask me: "Passport series". And for us, a "series" is a series of a TV series. I'm sitting in horror and thinking, "What kind of passport series is this?" It seemed to me that everything was over, I would never get here.
– And how were the entrance exams?
– I read Lermontov's "It's boring and sad, and there's no one to shake hands with..." with a monstrous accent. Everyone was laughing. And I was thinking: maybe I just translated the poem incorrectly and it's really funny? But I decided to read to the end as seriously as possible anyway.
And somehow Nina Igorevna saw something in me and gave me a chance. She said: "You need to learn the language urgently. It is very important to understand what is being explained to you." But I was lucky: in the first year we had etudes without words, organic silence, memory of physical actions. Language is not so important there.
Of course, then I was constantly studying speech, and I still do, because I can't always control my accent. Especially when I get emotional. For example, on the project "Moscow does not believe in tears. Everything is just beginning" Andrey Nikolaevich (Pershin. The real name of the director Zhora Kryzhovnikov. — Ed.) — he kept telling me, "Don't think about how you sound at all. You speak beautifully. There will be an accent somewhere — we'll fix it later on the re-sounding."
He worked with me a lot. And I also have a wonderful teacher Natalia Voloshina from the Moscow Art Theater Studio School. I am so pleased that so many people believe in me and support me. How can I not talk?
"Serbia is very fond of Russia and Russian culture in general"
— What was the lucky ticket that brought you to Russian culture — cinema and theater?
— Initially, representatives of the Russian embassy came to our school and told us about the program, which gives foreign students the opportunity to study in Russia for free. It was the first lucky ticket.
Then there was a meeting with Nina Igorevna Dvorzhetskaya. The fact that, despite everything, she believed in me and took it. And, of course, Kirill Pletnev and the series "Offline" — my first major role in Russian cinema. The producers didn't want to hire me because I'm a foreigner and I don't speak Russian well. And Kirill said: "I'll rewrite the script: the heroine will be Serbian. Then there will be no reason not to take it." And, of course, meeting with Andrey Nikolaevich is generally a separate gift from fate.
— Surely before moving to Moscow you had some ideas about Russia, about the Russian theater. What stereotypes were destroyed later?
— You know, I don't really believe in stereotypes at all. When someone tells me something, I want to understand for myself how everything works. It's more interesting to live this way. Therefore, I cannot say that I struggled with any ideas. I was just discovering this world for myself.
Working with Sergey Glebovich Desnitsky was especially important for me. God rest his soul. He was an incredible man. Thanks to him, I met his wife, daughters, and a huge number of smart, educated, and intelligent people — real representatives of Russian culture.
During the rehearsals of "Three Sisters" at the Gorky Moscow Art Theater (Tina played the role of Irina. Sergey Glebovich talked a lot about the Moscow Art Theater and the Russian theater school. And it was with him that I really began to understand this tradition. At the institute, it all seemed like just a set of knowledge that needed to be learned. And he carried real human knowledge.
Desnitsky kept repeating to me: "Rejoice." I thought: "My God, what kind of strange advice is that?" And he said: "You don't understand. When it's hard for you, when it seems that the world is unfair, rejoice. It's written in the Bible for a reason." It was only after he left that I truly understood the meaning of those words. I realized that it is a great inner strength to live, be grateful and love life.
— Sergey Glebovich was a real philosopher and a great Russian artist. It is impossible not to notice that a certain migration of Serbian actors is currently taking place in Russian cinema: Milos Bikovic, Aleksandar Radoicic. Why do you think Serbian actors are so attracted to Russia?
— Serbia is very fond of Russia and Russian culture in general. Perhaps we are connected by history, religion, and some inner understanding of the Russian soul. The Serbs feel this emotionality very well, they easily let it pass through them.
I know the guys. They are very talented, beautiful and organically exist here. I am so grateful to the audience who accept and support us.
— If you look at your filmography, there is already a psychological thriller, a musical series, a war film "August", and a historical project "The Sovereign". You are only 27 years old, but you already have big projects and serious theater scenes under your belt. Do you have a global professional dream?
— So that, as in the TV series "Moscow does not believe in tears," everything really has just begun.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
