Surprisingly, it did not occur to anyone that Yevgeny Mironov was also Mironov. True, at one time Maria Vladimirovna approached him and said that there could only be one Mironov, but she was an interested person like no one else. Yes, in general, and after watching the film “Love”, she changed her mind, kissed and blessed. He beat such a surname without a fight, there were two Mironovs...
Interviews with actors and directorsSurprisingly, it did not occur to anyone that Yevgeny Mironov was also Mironov. True, at one time Maria Vladimirovna approached him and said that there could only be one Mironov, but she was an interested person like no one else. Yes, in general, and after watching the film “Love”, she changed her mind, kissed and blessed. He beat such a surname without a fight, there were two Mironovs. Everyone loves him - the audience, his teacher Tabakov, with whom he first dreamed of studying, then he studied, and now he works. The jury of festivals that awarded him all possible Russian prizes, the directors who successfully filmed him - in “Love”, “Limit”, “Muslim” and many other good films. He is loved by his father and mother, who first sent him food from Saratov, and then simply moved to live in Moscow when he fell ill in his theater dormitory. Peter Stein is finally in love! Mironov played with him in “The Oresteia” and “Hamlet”. And journalists love it too. Although he hasn’t given interviews for two years. Journalists try to find some kind of conflict, contradiction, drama in Mironov, but although they don’t find it, they usually write about it well. As for the big name, all that remains is to add that maiden name his mother - Doronina...
—You don’t give interviews, you never talk about your personal life. But such closeness always causes morbid curiosity and gives rise to a lot of rumors. Maybe it’s better not to adhere to the position of a recluse, and then this painful interest will subside?
- I don’t make a legend out of my life, like Greta Garbo or Marlene Dietrich. But I don’t want to talk left and right about my problems. I hate that someone will read in the newspaper in the morning at breakfast about my personal problems. I share my secrets, otherwise the conversation makes no sense. You and I can meet, chat, and laugh without a voice recorder. I want to be honest, but this is not always easy. That’s why I don’t go to programs, to all sorts of shows that I’m invited to every day. I don't want to be replicated.
— How do you and your family feel about rumors and gossip in the press?
-- Calmly. I used to react very painfully to this, but then I realized that this is part of your profession. Sorry, I don’t mean you specifically... For God’s sake, let them write, but this has nothing to do with me.
—And do you take criticism calmly?
“Are you wondering if criticism can crush me?” Not anymore. I used to cry because of criticism. After the movie “Love” I was just a golden boy. Prizes rained down like from a cornucopia, and when the next prize was delayed, I was slightly perplexed, but in the end it always fell into my hands. No matter what I played, the journalists sang its praises, and this continued until, after Peter Stein’s Oresteia, one critic wrote nasty things about me and my comrades. I remember the first and last name of this critic, God bless him. And I just didn’t believe the paper. That’s when I could have been crushed, my brains were still made of cellophane. You know, when you inflate a plastic bag, it bursts so easily. And if my friends and family hadn’t been there to support me, I don’t know what the consequences could have been. You know, I’m even grateful to this person, because I realized that, firstly, everything is relative, and secondly, sometimes failure is more useful than success.
- And yet you are accustomed to the role of the public’s favorite...
- As a favorite - so not. My first failure was at school. At some concert I was asked to sing. And I decided to perform the tragic repertoire. I learned a song about a Komsomol member (starts singing):
Boy of nineteen
Dies on damp ground.
Quiet Poltava weather
It gets cold on your parched lips...
I tried to sing like Kobzon, and this was at the age of twelve. But it seemed to work out so well. And then the concert, the song was announced, everyone got serious. I started playing a completely out of tune piano and singing. I hear: there is a roar and they applaud me. I think: it got through. I finished to tremendous applause, and the teachers wiped tears from their eyes. I left the stage, and then my classmate said: “Listen, you need to go to the circus, we have never laughed so much.” For me it was a terrible tragedy - they did not understand me. I ran away, hid, and didn’t want to go back to school. I was such a naive fool.
-- When problems arise, do you still run away and experience them alone or do you share them with your loved ones?
- Actually, I try to solve problems myself. I don't pin them on anyone. I am sure everyone carries this burden themselves. Well, of course, there is a person with whom I share, not my problems, but my joy and happiness.
—Was it easy to admit to misdeeds in childhood?
- I wanted to say: I had no offenses! Ha ha ha!
-- ???
- You see, we have such a democratic family. I grew up as if in a greenhouse. If you dropped a spoon or fork, you would be kissed all over - “you’re my sweetie, you dropped your fork.” And I always listened in horror as my classmates told me that they were being spanked or something else...
-Are you the eldest son in the family?
-- Yes. I have a sister Oksana. She's a ballerina.
- And younger children are usually loved more. Was there any jealousy?
-- No. This did not happen. But she left home early and went to St. Petersburg to enter the ballet academy.
- You probably fought with her as a child?
-No. I'm telling you, we have perfect family. We organized puppet shows for parents and guests. We acted out all sorts of battles, built huts, and we had trenches. I even staged the musical “Little Red Riding Hood” at school, Oksana played main role.
- Well, did you have a nickname at school?
- Nope.
- And they didn’t smoke on the sly, and didn’t drink port wine in the hallways?
- You should contact Mashkov, my friend. I tried smoking. I thought: why am I so good? why don't I smoke? I took an Astra cigarette from my father and went outside. We lived in a military town near Saratov, we had such a landmark as the House of Culture. I came there, lit a cigarette with some guy, and then I smelled some strange smell, but I didn’t pay attention. And when I returned home, I saw that I had singed all my eyelashes, or rather, I had burned them and my eyebrows together. Thus ended my attempt to smoke.
- They didn’t admit this to their parents?
- My mother sees everything underground. She looked at me: “What, did you smoke? Did you burn everything? And she didn’t even scold me. I started smoking at the age of nineteen, already studying at the Moscow Art Theater School. In an educational play, I played a guy who bullies teachers by locking them in a shed and holding a lit cigarette over a gas tank. The segment lasted twenty minutes, and you had to smoke the whole time. Our teacher Avangard Leontiev, seeing how I handled a cigarette, said: “This needs to be adjusted a little.” And I corrected it. I smoked a pack a day for ten years.
- How were you able to quit then?
-- I started smoking because of work and quit because of work. A year and a half ago, on August 1, I began rehearsals for Hamlet. During rehearsals, Peter Stein announced “eine kleine pause”. This is a seven to five minute break. Everyone went to smoke, but Stein kept me busy to discuss the monologues. And so it turned out that I didn’t have time to smoke, and then I realized that there was simply no time to do this. And Hamlet didn’t smoke...
— They said that you had to argue a lot with Stein during rehearsals. Do you generally get into conflict easily?
- I always defend my point of view. Actors are putty in the hands of the director, but I believe that the actor and the director should be co-authors. Otherwise I don't work. I am not a piece of glass in a mosaic. That's how principled I am. As for Hamlet, it was Stein who made me fall in love with the role. I never wanted to play her. It seemed boring - he walks and bores and bores, does nothing. I myself am an emotional person and love action. But when we started working on the play, Stein talked so much about Shakespeare, showed us his translations, that I fell in love with the role, and I am still unconscious.
— Zhenya, is it true that you actually restored this performance and then, when the performances were performed at the Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, you performed for free?
- Oh... No, that's not true. Although I am ready to pay extra for this role myself every time I go on stage. As for recovery, we played about twenty performances in a row and I ended up in a sanatorium, the role was so difficult. There was a pause for six months, and I thought that I would simply die if I did not play this role. And we restored the performance, but on a different stage, at the circus. You know, I played a real Shakespearean Hamlet. After all, we are playing in an arena, with spectators sitting around, just like in Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Communicating with the audience in each monologue, Hamlet is no longer alone. He shares his problems with everyone, tries to get advice or something... Personally, this helps me a lot. And in the circus, the audience is liberated. What are they doing! Two thousand people clap and shout: “Hamlet!” When I kill Claudius, they applaud like at gladiator fights. Once, during the duel scene with Claudius, when I wounded him, the audience roared. Everyone decided that he was killed, as if they had not read the play. And Sasha Feklistov - Claudius - didn’t even know whether to tell him the text further or die right away. Suddenly the spectators will start throwing objects.
- In “Tabakerka” many performances were staged by the notorious Andrei Zhitinkin, who made a name for himself in the play “The Game of Blind Man’s Bluff”, where fifty percent of the speech was obscenities. Would you agree to play in such a performance?
-- The author of “The Game of Dead Man's Bluff” brought me the play “Chikatilo,” written especially for me. Throughout the play, the hero sits on the toilet and pronounces a monologue in which there is almost not a single word from the standardized vocabulary. What in my work gave him the idea to write such a play especially for me?.. Naturally, I refused.
- How do you feel about swearing?
-- Fine. Sometimes I swear, it happens on the set if something bothers me. 
- In the summer you bought new apartment on Chistye Prudy, was this area specifically chosen to be close to your home theater?
- No, my friend used to live in this apartment. And when it turned out that she was moving, I decided to buy this apartment. I saw this place and fell in love, I always fall in love at first sight. Something is going on...
—You live with your parents, doesn’t this interfere with your personal life?
- Of course, there are conflicts. Sooner or later I will have my own apartment, maybe not far from this one. The umbilical cord that connects us cannot be cut, and I don’t want to cut it. Not because I’m such a good bell boy, it’s just that my parents gave up their lives for me and Oksana. They have no profession, they sold their house in Saratov, and they are only dealing with our “sores.” And what can I do? Say: that's it, thank you, goodbye? No, we're together forever.
- There is such an expression - “daddy’s daughter”, “mama’s boy”. Do you have such a division?
-- Maybe there is. When Oksanka left to study in St. Petersburg, dad went there to support her and got a job. When I was studying in Moscow and became very ill, my mother came...
--Who are your parents' professions?
- Mom works at Tabakerka, she is the first to meet our spectators - she checks tickets at the entrance. Dad is a driver. He can do everything with us, he has golden hands.
- Didn't this get passed on to you?
- Tell you everything. No, it was not transmitted. And I don't drive a car yet.
- No time to study?
- No, yes, and lazy. We should get busy. The rights were given. But I want to learn myself, honestly.
- Can you waste your fee?
- Parents don't give it. Every time I dream of screwing up!
— Do you and your mother consult, for example, whether to act in this film or not?
- I always decide for myself. I just sometimes give her the script because she reacts very directly and I trust her natural instincts.
- Is she still trying to educate you?
- But of course! I had serious problem. It seemed to me that at some point my parents stopped understanding me and that they did not grow with me, did not understand my problems. I suffered terribly and began to re-educate them. But it's no use. They must be loved for who they are. And leave all complaints to yourself.
- Your mother told me about how she brought tea to your fans on the stairs and talked to them. She treats girls who show interest in you well, but how does she treat girls you show interest in?
-- Seriously. This is fluorography, I will report to you. She is very hospitable. But if she doesn't like something, it's Hard case. True, her natural intuition never fails her. But I've always tried not to be a mama's boy, and even if she's right, I do things my way.
- Could you miss out on a role because of an affair?
- Because of the novel, I wasted the role of Chonkin. Nikita Sergeevich Mikhalkov and Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov advised the director of the film, Jiri Menzel, to cast me in this role. And at that time I had a beautiful novel, I didn’t walk, but flew and thought: how well everything is going. And when I came to the audition, I just had difficulty focusing my eyes. But not from over-drinking, but just before that I hadn’t slept the night before.
- They missed the role, but the romance continued?
- No, it's withered.
- Did you look after you beautifully?
- Very ineptly. It was more crazy than beautiful.
— Was it difficult for you to make a date for the first time?
- It was not difficult to appoint, but it was of little use. As I remember now, in twenty-degree frost I was waiting outside the Airport metro station. He ran to warm up in a telephone booth where one glass was missing. I waited from ten in the evening until three in the morning. He stood with a bouquet, which by night turned into something strange. And I still stood there, with the words “I-DI-OT” simply written on my forehead. I already understood that no one would come, but I waited. I remembered this date for the rest of my life.
- And now they are able to wait for someone like this?
-- Who knows? I don't know, I can't say.
—What qualities should the person you would like to see next to you have?
- She must understand me. It's hard to say when such a girl will meet. Everything can happen completely spontaneously. This is not predicted. Something like that clicked and you thought: is this yours or not? But he eats constantly.
- So you are amorous?
- But of course!
- How do you imagine your family? Ralph Fiennes said that he wants a big family, but doesn’t want children...
- I take my family very seriously. After all, I have an example before my eyes - my family. Now there is no basis for starting a family. I need an apartment... Maybe I'm wrong... But then you had to get married at eighteen, when you don't give a damn about everything and you're in heaven in a hut with your sweetheart... But it happened differently, so that's the way it should be.
- How does your daily routine work out, on whose shoulders does the whole life rest?
- I'm at home about three months a year. I'm a guest at home. Mom is already taking out a photo card to remember what I look like. My loved ones take on everything. Sometimes I’ll pick up a vacuum cleaner, but something will distract me, I’ll drop everything, then I remember: oh-oh! unfinished! And everything has already been done...
-What are you so busy with that it’s impossible to find you at home?
- Well, how are you busy... You can’t tell right away. Rehearsals, filming, radio...
- Radio?
-- Marlen Martynovich Khutsiev made the radio series “Pushkin” and offered me the role of Alexander Sergeevich himself. He had wanted to make a film about him for so long, but it didn’t work out; once upon a time Kharatyan was approved for the role of Pushkin. I hope that in the spring this performance will be broadcast on Russian radio. I’m also filming a film based on Vladimir Bogomolov’s novel “The Moment of Truth” and playing the difficult role of Captain Alekhine. The main difficulty is to match the level of truth of this great novel.
— Zhenya, before you often told a huge number of funny and absurd stories. Do funny things and absurdities still happen now?
- It was a curiosity. I recently decided to take a trolleybus one stop. I get on the trolleybus, there is no ticket - and suddenly there are inspectors. Seeing me, one of them will shout: “Sla-a-a-v! Mironov got caught! Why are you without a ticket? Not ashamed?" On the one hand, it’s funny, on the other hand, everyone turned around and looked.
I almost failed. We got off at the next stop, they took my autograph and a fine!
— Previously, you and Mashkov were inseparable - you studied together, lived in a dorm, played in plays, you were always involuntarily compared to each other, and it seemed that you were competing. It was so?
- He and I are like two clowns - white and red. How can they compete? Just joking and being silly. Yes, I didn’t become a sex symbol, although they called me. And more than once, especially after the film “Anchor, more anchor!”, they offered a bunch of scenarios where it was necessary to pump up the chest a little and work on the torso. But I quickly got tired of it.
- Don't like sports?
- I do exercises every day. Nikita Sergeevich Mikhalkov taught me. We were with the film “The Inspector General” in Montreal at the festival. And there in the hotel there was a gorgeous swimming pool and Gym. Every morning I swam, basking in the waves, and every day I saw how Nikita Sergeevich tortured himself in the gym. And I tried to go in for sports, I liked it, I started doing exercises, and, by the way, after it I feel much better. But I have no passion for sports.
—Has your circle of friends changed? Do you have time to visit or receive guests?
- The circle of friends has changed. Many of my classmates, with whom I studied at the Saratov Theater School, hardly call, either they think that I am arrogant, or something else. It's all sad. But guests come to me. We have good company, And last years we always celebrate together New Year. This year there was a carnival.
- Do you regret that you have no free time at all?
-- No. I love my profession because I am very curious.
Thanks to Snowden for a very interesting review of “Evgeny Mironov and His Women.” Brilliant work! :))
I am not a fan, much less a fan of Mironov. But last year I was really hooked by the movie Ashes. And if a movie captivates me, I find as much information as possible about both the creators and the actors. I initially did not plan to write this post, but after reading the mentioned essay on the topic of Mironov’s personal life, I decided to slightly supplement Snowden’s work with new details from the interesting personal life of one of the most mysterious and talented artists.
I have repeatedly found statements about Mironov’s misogyny on the Internet and in interviews with colleagues:
"For those who can see, it is obvious that Zhenya loves women. This is his weakness, from which he escapes by work. It would be more correct to call him a ladies' man. It's a ladies' man!.."
Childhood friend Svetlana Rudenko, who has been friends with Evgeniy since school, said the same about him:
“Believe me, Zhenya has always been a ladies' man. Girls were in awe of him back in school.”
Actress Olga Budina in one of her interviews told how she fell in love with Mironov on the set of “The Idiot,” where she played one of the beauties whom Prince Myshkin fell in love with. The actress admits that at some point she realized that she was in love not with Myshkin, but... with Zhenya Mironov.
When he entered, my make-up artist Lyusechka asked:
- What happened to you?
And my breath caught when I saw him through the mirror. He comes up to me and says:
- Hello.
And I understand that goosebumps ran down my spine,” Olga recalls.
In additional materials for the series, Evgeniy told how one day, work shift which lasted 20 hours, “she and Olya slept on each other’s shoulders on the set.” Surely, he, too, was once, at least slightly, in love with Olga.
In a recent interview, Budina recalled working on the film “The Diary of His Wife”:
“When filming ended, I became seriously ill: I had a severe, monstrous outbreak of neurodermatitis. My whole body was covered with a red crust. My face looked like a topographic map. My skin itched and peeled.
I remember walking along the corridors of Mosfilm to the tone studio, where the dubbing of “The Diary of His Wife” was taking place, and people were shying away.
I walked up to the door. It suddenly swung open. Zhenya Mironov flew out from there. Seeing me, he rushed towards me: “Hello!” He hugged her and, as if nothing had happened, kissed her on the cheek. Straight into the burgundy sores! Well, isn't he handsome? I love it!
There was a very funny joke comment on Olga Budina’s fan forum after the release of the cult film:
« Olenka, finally marry this obnoxious E. Mironov. Otherwise, he will be a bachelor until retirement! We didn't succeed in "The Idiot", so make our dream come true. You would make such a wonderful couple! We would all be happy for you! :)))))"
Evgeny is clearly not indifferent to the actresses with whom his artistic fate brings him together on stage and on the set. So, in the spring of 2014, the paparazzi of Express Newspapers photographed Mironov feeding Ksenia Rappoport ice cream near GUM. At that time, the actors played together in the play “Declaration of Love.”
“Maybe then, during the rehearsals, a spark arose that connected the hearts of Mironov and Rappoport? - the journalist is thinking "EG" - A theatrical novel? In the artistic world, as life shows, any, the most incredible collisions can arise.”
But the most intriguing rumors of recent months are the relationship between Evgeniy and Chulpan Khamatova. After the release of the film “Parsley Syndrome” in November 2015, Mironov himself added fuel to the fire of gossip around the relationship of his creative tandem in a November interview with Antenna Telesem. Here is a photo of the cover with an eloquent headline:
I must say that I personally was very surprised by his numerous statements about his tender feelings towards Chulpan. After all, Evgeniy is very closed and extremely reserved in his comments on the topic of his heartfelt sympathies. And then Mironov simply exploded!
For the last three years, in literally every interview he has spoken enthusiastically and excitedly about his partner. Well, okay, warm friendships come naturally to many actors. What's the big deal? Yes, in many quotes Evgeniy does not hide the fact that he has uneven feelings towards his partner as a woman. A few quotes from the interview that you don’t need to search through the back streets of the Internet. There are plenty of them on the official Mironov website, where administrators know how to separate the wheat from the chaff: genuine articles from the “left” (invented by the yellow press):
* Joint recent interview between Mironov and Khamatova:
- Chulpan and I have a family. I hope Sasha, your husband, will forgive us (laughs).
- Zhenya, what do you call it – coming out has just happened?
* Program “Looking at Night” (2011). "Chulpan is my creative alter ego. On stage I feel like one with her. Which makes me even scared"
- I cannot call my attitude towards Chulpan friendship. This is the first time this has happened to me. This is some kind of love for this woman, person, actress. Eternal. You can't be in love for that long. But every time I see her, my eye lights up - that’s all. I’m just trembling over this relationship, I can’t breathe for her... (the same article from Antenna-Telesem)
still from the mentioned film
What about Chulpan? And she has mutual feelings for Evgeniy!
Khamatova’s friend, actress Lilian Navrozashvili, said in an interview with “EG” a year ago: “Mironov and Khamatova are a magnificent couple who have performed on stage and in films. But in life, alas, it’s not fate... Chulpan told me that she is comfortable with Zhenya, they are perfect for each other. But they can't be together. In addition, it is difficult for a man to be on the sidelines with Khamatova.”
It is curious that Evgeniy’s mother, Tamara Petrovna, is ready to accept Chulpan as a daughter-in-law for the sake of her son’s happiness. Even with three daughters from previous marriages, as long as her son was happy. At the end of November last year in the program “You Won’t Believe It!” NTV aired a story on this topic. Let's take a look :)
Of course, gossip columnists also perked up. After this kind of love confession from the People’s Artist, the press began to write about them like this:
“Love cannot be friends.” After the release of the film with the Mironov-Khamatov duet and his frank interview, the Chulpan family began to predict an imminent divorce.
He wants to be a “stone wall” for her, she dreams of being taken care of... To be or not to be him together - time will tell! Chulpan knows how to hide his personal life from prying eyes. However, Evgeny Mironov is not far behind her.
But the most interesting news from the personal life of this womanizer is that literally a few days after the November interview, in which he did not skimp on words of love for Khamatova, Mironov... put it on his ring finger right hand wedding ring!
Among the narrow circle of people close to him, there are those who like to talk about the upcoming changes in his personal life. And, judging by the comments that I will give below, the ring has nothing to do with Chulpan, but with a completely different girl.
Mironov became prettier, lost weight, and pumped up. Surely something appeared on the horizon Girl
(about his recent serious illness) “It’s okay, Evgeny, he’ll heal before the wedding. Health and... weddings!!”
Another comment dated November 27, 2015 was written by a person under the nickname “Colleague”: "How loving and faithful man Mironov does not advertise his personal life. His girlfriend is not a public person, a private person. Whereas Tamara Petrovna loves publicity. So he and his mother go out into the world.”
recent photo
It is obvious that Evgeniy is Once again was going to get married. After all, he will turn 50 this year. And it’s not at all comme il faut to come as a bogeyman to such a big date.
So, from November to this day, Mironov wears his wedding ring everywhere and without taking it off.
Is this the same “rich and very young person” with a 25-year age difference to whom Evgeniy proposed back in 2009 (2010)? Or another beautiful stranger from among non-public figures - it is still unknown. Moreover, in the recent documentary “Evgeny Mironov. Alone in a boat,” at the very end of the program, he said that “he will not pass by his family happiness.”
P.S: I personally have the feeling that history from ten years ago is now repeating itself. In 2005-2006, Mironov, in full view of everyone, pointedly demonstrated his ardent feelings for a married actress (Alena Babenko). And at the same time he was building his personal life with a completely different girl (see the post “Evgeny Mironov and his women”).
And now, at every step, there are public declarations of love for the deeply married Chulpan. And a parallel encrypted personal life with an eye on fast wedding with his real fiancee, whom he hides away from the paparazzi.
Or is this womanizer “lost in three pines,” and like Prince Myshkin, he cannot figure out which of the two current ladies is dearer to him? :)
April 6th on screens Union State The blockbuster "Time of the First" is released with the participation of People's Artists of Russia Evgeny Mironov and Konstantin Khabensky.
Evgeny Mironov, who has 60 roles in films and about 30 in the theater, is an amazing actor. He gained wide fame after starring in the film “In August 1944,” filmed at Belarusfilm in 2000. The film "Time of the First" is based on real events, associated with the flight into space of Alexei Leonov and Pavel Belyaev on the Voskhod-2 spacecraft in 1965.
Evgeny Mironov: I came to Alexey Arkhipovich, hoping that he knew me from films. We talked for four hours, and it became clear to me that he is the same hero that cinema and literature are now lacking.
Before that I looked documentary about him and realized that if I don’t make a big movie, then... I’ll die.
What struck you about Leonov?
Evgeny Mironov: He admitted that he should have died seven times. He went into outer space and showed exceptional courage when his bloated spacesuit prevented him from returning to the ship. Leonov managed to enter the ship only by “bleeding” excess air from the suit and climbed into the hatch not with his feet, but with his head first, which was prohibited by the instructions.
Before landing, the automatic orientation system failed, and Belyaev manually oriented the ship, and then turned on the braking engine. "Voskhod" landed in an off-design area 180 kilometers north of Perm. Leonov's spacesuit had no ventilation, and on the ground he poured liters of sweat out of it.
Why did you take on this particular story?
Evgeny Mironov: I was interested in exploring the nature of heroism, and Leonov is a real hero. Alive, the whole planet knows him. I split Leonov into atoms. He is from Kemerovo, the eighth child in the family. In 1960 he joined the First Cosmonaut Detachment. And he did something that no one had done before him in the history of mankind.
Did you use any technical tricks?
Evgeny Mironov: This film about space was shot in 3D for the first time in the history of Russian cinema.
Your answer to American "Gravity"?
Evgeny Mironov: Ours is cooler! So, Sandra Bullock flew in a large space during the filming, while Kostya Khabensky and I sat in a capsule. Plus our spacesuits weighed 40 kilograms. Filmed in a Soviet-era centrifuge, it is still in working order.
Leonov said more than once that the suit terribly interfered with him...
Evgeny Mironov: It is for flying, not for walking.
How did you get used to the role?
Evgeny Mironov: I literally fell in love with Leonov, with his openness and freedom. He has amazing humor. I fell in love with Leonov so much that I dream of a continuation of the film.
How did you prepare for filming?
Evgeny Mironov: We visited the Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, RSC Energia, and took a kind of young cosmonaut course.
Alexei Leonov's partner, who manually landed Voskhod-2, Pavel Belyaev, was played by Konstantin Khabensky. What is Kostya like on the set?
Evgeny Mironov: Easy. I've wanted to work with him for a long time. By the way, Kostya even looks like Pavel Belyaev.
The presentation of the film took place at RSC Energia, where BelKA was created - Belarusian spacecraft Earth remote sensing
Now two Russian films about space are being released at once. Why has this topic come up again?
Evgeny Mironov: The texture of the film "Time of the First" was for a long time classified. Two weeks before the launch, the test ship exploded, but it was decided to send the crew of Leonov and Belyaev into orbit no matter what. Our main consultant on the site was Alexey Leonov himself. A team of specialists from the Cosmonaut Training Center, people from RSC Energia, where the Voskhod-2 spacecraft was created, also worked on the project. (By the way, the presentation of the film took place at RSC Energia, where BelKA, a Belarusian Earth remote sensing spacecraft, was being created.) We worked on creating the ship for about six months and made several 3D models. They built a model on the site, divided into six parts, like orange slices. Each of the “lobules” moved on its own rails, so that the camera could fly through one of them, make a full circle and exit through the opposite one.
Who filmed and where did the filming take place?
Evgeny Mironov: When the question arose of where to film the landing of the ship, the director typed the word “taiga” on the Internet. The first thing the cameraman Vladimir Bashta said, who filmed " Brest Fortress" - the first large-scale cinematic project of the Union State, when I saw the picture: "Here I filmed “The Geographer Drank the Globe Away.” It was 140 kilometers from where the Voskhod 2 cosmonauts landed in 1965. The film crew worked in the Usva River valley at a temperature of minus 35 degrees. The understudies were filmed here - artists from the Perm Theater. Their task was to walk waist-deep in snow, shoot from rocket launchers and shout loudly.
The theme of space has long been in your work...
Evgeny Mironov: Prince Myshkin is a kind of “alien”; he walks around in a “suit” of truth and love.
And it happens that you agree to some role and think: okay, now I’ll play, earn money, and then I’ll go and repent?
Evgeny Mironov: Can not be. First of all, I don't like money that much. Secondly, I won’t be happy with this money. And thirdly, I’m afraid that God will take away my talent...
What is difficult for you to play?
Evgeny Mironov: Love. We are all selfish in love, except Myshkin. But Myshkin is not a person.
The last “bomb” that exploded in the Theater of Nations you led was “Shukshin’s Stories”, where Vasily Makarovich developed the type of a kind of village intellectual. What do you think this is?
Evgeny Mironov: First of all, good manners. I myself am also from the outback, born in the Saratov region. My mother worked as an electrician, my aunt as a crane operator. So, above my aunt’s bed hung images of Lenin and... Jesus Christ. My aunt always went to the theater with a change of shoes. Mom dreamed of becoming an actress, and the children made her dream come true. The daughter became a ballerina. I went to Moscow to the Moscow Art Theater School, I was sure that my fellow countryman Oleg Tabakov would almost let me stay at his home - and with a suitcase I was waiting for him at the entrance to the theater. Then my parents moved to Moscow. They lived poorly, and Oleg Pavlovich allowed his mother, Tamara Petrovna, to work in the Tabakerka canteen, then he took her as an usher to the theater, where she still works...
(Interview, Antenna-Telesem, 02.11.2015, in Russian)
“This is my first time. I could hardly imagine friendship with a woman. I'm actually trembling over this relationship. I want to be the wall that protects her from life’s adversities,” Mironov admits.
Evgeny Mironov and Chulpan Khamatova are not only friends, but also a well-worked creative tandem. They played together in theater and cinema more than once. On November 5, their new joint film “Parsley Syndrome” based on the novel by Dina Rubina will be released. The actors play the spouses Petya and Lisa, a brilliant puppeteer and his muse. Obsessed with the desire to completely subjugate his beloved, the hero creates a doll copy of her...
- Evgeniy, in addition to the fact that you play in the film, this is your production project. How did his idea come about?
Evgeny Mironov: Director Elena Khazanova came to me and asked if I, as a producer, would like to make a film based on the novel “Parsley Syndrome” and play the main role in it. I immediately jumped up because I love Dina Rubina very much, I had already starred in a film based on her novel “On Verkhnyaya Maslovka,” and I had long wanted to work in her film adaptation again, especially since I had read this novel. Dina Rubina did not object to my candidacy. And we decided: “Why not?” As for Chulpan, other actresses were not even considered.
Chulpan Khamatova: I read “Parsley Syndrome” several years ago, I really liked the novel. I understood how cinematic this story is, how many different meanings are embedded in it, which are not transmitted directly, but indirectly, hidden. I even thought about finding Dina Rubina and buying the film rights from her. And when Lena Khazanova called me and asked if I had read “Parsley Syndrome,” my veins began to shake. I really hoped that they would offer me the role of Lisa, although I understood that I was not as tiny as the heroine described in the novel, and I didn’t have red hair... And yet I heard it!
- By the way, did you like being a redhead?
Chulpan Khamatova: Of course, who doesn’t like long curly red hair?
Evgeny Mironov: The first thing Petya saw in this girl when she was still little was the color of her hair, the color of fire. And then, when she blossomed... He realized that she was perfect. But she is a person and, unfortunately for my hero, does not completely obey him. This means that he cannot work with her, and this is the most important thing for him. Then he takes a crazy step - he creates his own Galatea, which is completely subservient to him. What to do, the laws of creativity are very strict...
- After watching the film, it is difficult to understand who plays the doll - Chulpan herself or her artificial double...
Chulpan Khamatova: I shouldn't have played her. They made a silicone doll for filming, but it didn’t work out, it turned out to be heavy, scary... I was even upset that my face was molded like that. As a result, I filmed everything myself, except for some episodes.
- Evgeniy, I know that for the role you learned to work with puppets...
Evgeny Mironov: Yes, I studied with the chief director of the Puppet Theater named after. Obraztsova. I watched and went to performances. I saw how dolls are made and how they are treated. And I discovered a completely different world. Previously, it seemed to me that this was the same profession. Nothing like this. The puppet artist even looks different in appearance - less noticeable. For him, the hand is the most important thing, and what is on it is his idol, he completely gives his soul there. I was shocked by such worship of the doll. I thought: how can one believe in the animation of an inanimate object! But they absolutely believe. And tempo and rhythm are also important in this matter. In the hand of a professional, the doll comes to life very slowly, as if she had been sleeping for a long time, and then begins to turn around, and you suddenly realize that she saw something, was thinking about something... Magic! And it requires restlessness. Of course, I wouldn’t have been able to learn all this; people study for years, but I noticed some things.
- Chulpan, did you like to play with dolls as a child?
Chulpan Khamatova: Very much! I remember my mother gave me a German doll, apparently very expensive, and I played hospital. My problem was not with jaundice, but with bluing, because the yellow felt-tip pen on it was not noticeable. And for some reason the blue didn’t rub off at all. Mom cried when she saw this mutilated doll in a blue felt-tip pen, and I reassured her: “Mom, mom, don’t cry, she actually recovered, these are just consequences of the treatment.” I played with dolls for a long time, until the 9th grade. I had two girlfriends who were just as... strange (laughs), and we drew entire doll houses in notebooks, horrifying our parents. The first page is the hallway and so on. The dolls were friends and went to visit. They had pets, aquariums - everything that we ourselves were not allowed to have, because the living space did not allow it. I still love dolls, I like to give them as gifts. I have many artist friends who make them. I myself made angel dolls for the auction.
- You have three daughters. What dolls do they play with?
Chulpan Khamatova: We went through everything that you can buy in the store. By the way, psychologists told me about an interesting pattern: children who play with dolls develop better math skills. The middle daughter had problems with mathematics, and we went to psychologists and doctors to find out the reason. And she didn't like playing with dolls. And it turned out that this is interconnected: for girls who play with dolls and understand that they need to be dressed, undressed, washed, fed, the chain of cause-and-effect relationships is built much easier than for children who do not play with dolls.
The film contains the line: “We perfect couple. We never quarrel." Apparently, you can say this about yourself...
Evgeniy Mironov: Absolutely! I can't even think of anything to say that we have any problems. I feel very comfortable with Chulpan. The stage is the same as everyday life; there are always many inconveniences. Often, when playing with other partners, I feel discomfort. Never with Chulpan. At the same time, it can be very unprogrammed. I don’t know how she will behave, and this is the main interest. Maybe someone is not ready for this, but I accept it, because these are our rules of the game.
- How old is your friendship?
Evgeny Mironov: About 7 years old. It all started when Chulpan came to my office (I was already the artistic director of the Theater of Nations) with choreographer Alla Sigalova. They said that they would like to rehearse the play “Poor Liza,” a purely dance production. I answered: “Come on,” we talked. And then Chulpan found out that our director Alvis Hermanis would stage “Stories of Shukshin”, and said that she would like to take part. I was surprised because outwardly, it seemed to me that she didn’t quite fit. But I forgot that this is Khamatova. She can play anything. Which is what she does in this performance. She plays a river, a mosquito, a cow, not to mention all kinds of female images, from girls to village grandmothers.
- Often people who communicate for a long time become similar to each other. Do you notice this in yourself?
Evgeny Mironov: We were very similar from the very beginning. First of all, this was noticeable in relation to work; we are both hard workers. For example, on the set of “Parsley Syndrome” I saw Chulpan during breaks only with a cigarette - unfortunately - and with a book, the original source. She was always writing things down and adding them to the script. Constantly. And I shouldn't have talked to her about anything else. In addition, Chulpan is absolutely fearless and is not afraid of being ugly. She brings her ideas to rehearsals - she’ll come up with some thickening for the figure, or something else, she’s interested in it. She is a clown, and this makes me related to her. We are like brother and sister.
- If you identified each other’s main human quality, what would you name it?
Evgeny Mironov: Indifference. Judging by the number of requests that Chulpan responds to (both in connection with the Gift of Life foundation and simply), she has a “bull” heart, this little girl. Despite the fact that she is also Joan of Arc at her core, she is a fighter. She should play this role...
Chulpan Khamatova: Difficult question... Probably Zhenya’s kindness and talent, I can’t separate them.
- Maybe you have a common hobby? Go somewhere together...
Chulpan Khamatova: Where? (Laughs.) With such a schedule, this is impossible.
Evgeny Mironov: For Chulpan, everything is connected with making money for the fund. If it can bring any funds, she will go day and night. She has absolutely no time for hobbies. The only thing (which I am very happy about!) is that Chulpan recently got a Chihuahua dog. We were on tour in Yekaterinburg, playing “Frequin Julie”. A dog is involved in this performance, and every time we arrive somewhere, we find the dog in place. And in Yekaterinburg, Chuplan simply fell in love with this dog. But it turned out that she has kittens. I'm happy that now one kitten lives with her, because it really is an outlet.
You also love dogs and are even a member of the animal defenders party. And now you have a pet? And maybe you advise Chulpan on dog care?
Evgeniy Mironov: I have a toy terrier Chapa. True, now she looks more like a mongrel, because her mother fed her (laughs). Mom mainly deals with Chapa, so I can’t call myself particularly competent in these matters.
- Do you communicate with your families? You, Evgeniy, are probably familiar with Chulpan’s daughters...
Evgeny Mironov: Of course. They grew up in the theater, behind the scenes. We sat and watched us play.
- As an elder, are you trying to educate them, teach them something?
Evgeny Mironov: I can’t teach them because they have parents. The girls just see how Chulpan and I communicate. And they draw conclusions: how you should love your job, how you should work together, how a man should treat a woman. Everything is visible from the outside with the naked eye, and I think this is more important than my words.
Chulpan Khamatova: Girls adore Zhenya! Children generally love him, not just mine. His daughters call him Zhenechka. I say: “Who gave you the right to call him that?” But it's no use. By the way, we named the dog that Zhenya was talking about Pina Mironova. The children keep him informed of all her affairs. First swim? We urgently need to send him a photo! Or maybe she fell asleep, he should see too. It's like it's the only thing he lives and breathes (laughs).
How do you yourself explain the phenomenon of your relationship? What must happen between a man and a woman to have a friendship like yours?
Evgeniy Mironov: I don’t know, this is my first time. Before that, I could hardly imagine the word “friendship” in relation to women. Still, at some point it develops into something else. And here... I can’t call it friendship, it’s some kind of love, with this woman, person, actress. Eternal. It can’t go on like this for long, it’s already a clinic (laughs). You can't be in love for so long, but every time I see her, my eye lights up - that's all. I’m just trembling over this relationship, I can’t breathe for her. And I want to be the wall that protects her from this often cold and unpleasant life. I think she lacks this.
Chulpan Khamatova: We have a “high-flying” friendship, very sensitive and careful. This attitude did not appear immediately, but was gradually formed by impressions of his actions and thoughts. What happens to this day is when I see how Zhenya copes with the most difficult situations, with what attention he listens to every request, how he is always delicate, sensitive, responsive, how he rushes to the embrasure to help everyone. When I understand what kind of friend he is - not only mine, but in general. And, of course, all this is multiplied by my indescribable delight at what Zhenya is like in his profession. This is absolutely monastic service. Zhenya has such a volume of personality that he envelops you like a sphere, and you sit and don’t believe your own happiness. It feels like he's showing up and I'm on my tiptoes wanting to be better.
Often, friendship between a man and a woman helps them better understand the opposite sex. A friend can tell you something you won’t hear from a loved one. How frank are you with each other? Is there something you keep secret?
Evgeny Mironov: We have absolutely no secrets from each other. We usually open up on the plane, but not in order to find out some secrets of male and female psychology. It’s just that sometimes someone needs to cry to you, but sometimes there’s no one around...
Do you have a mystical connection at a distance? For example, you simultaneously reach for the phone to call each other...
Chulpan Khamatova: I can’t call it a mystical connection, but when he feels bad and I find out about it, I die too.
Evgeniy Mironov: You know, even when I have a desire to call Chulpan, I don’t do it. So is she. For one simple reason - we take care of each other. I understand that she has a “madhouse”, a lot of things to do. She understands that I have something. That's why once again We try not to disturb. But we always know that we have each other.
Evgeniy, on April 6 there will be a premiere of the film “Time of the First”, where you play cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, and Konstantin Khabensky - his friend, commander of the Voskhod-2 spacecraft Pavel Belyaev. Alexey Arkhipovich advised you and, probably, has already seen the finished picture. What did he say?
Indeed, he looked at it, then was silent for a long time and finally said: “I just now became scared.” Because then, in March 1965, he was carrying out a task and all his strength was directed precisely at this - there was no free second to be afraid.
- But there were a lot of reasons!
Yes! After all, two weeks before the launch, the test ship crashed, and it became clear that flying was mortally dangerous. But Leonov and Belyaev insisted that the launch could not be postponed, and they persuaded Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. Leonov became the first person to go into outer space, but getting out turned out to be the easiest thing, but returning to the ship, and then to Earth... He could have died seven times! The suit swelled in space, and he was unable to squeeze through the ship's airlock until the excess pressure was released. Their automation failed, and Belyaev landed the ship manually. Nobody knew where they landed because the antenna broke - they were accidentally detected by a radio amateur in Kamchatka. For me, this is a story about faith that lives, even when there seems to be no chance of salvation.
You and Khabensky had serious preparation. Was there any thought to shorten it, to give scenes that are technically difficult to understudies?
No, we wanted to go a different route and got seriously involved in physical training, but it was more aimed at endurance, rather than at something highly specialized. We became more fit, began to smoke less. When filming of the flight began, it turned out that such preparation was not enough: there was a different kind of load. I still don’t understand how the astronauts fit in such a cabin - it’s tiny! A lot of cables were attached to the arms and legs, and it was psychologically difficult to be in spacesuits in this small space. I have never suffered from claustrophobia, but I realized that it was the first time I had a helmet fastened on me. It didn’t always unfasten right away, sometimes something got stuck, and I had the feeling that no one would help me and I would suffocate, and I myself was in a huge uncomfortable spacesuit, all entangled in cables and unable to unfasten anything... We took a 15-minute break after every scene. It took them a long time to get out of their spacesuits, come to their senses a little, and then go into battle again. In the spacewalk scenes, on the one hand, it was simpler because it was more spacious, but, on the other hand, everything was filmed in 3D: this is extremely difficult technically, and three years ago filming of this level was impossible in our country. The director of the film, Dima Kiselev, calculated everything in millimeters, but even the 3D camera, this huge colossus, sometimes froze and could not stand it.
With parents Vitaly Sergeevich and Tamara Petrovna. Photo: From the personal archive of Evgeny Mironov
You spent so much effort on this filming, did you become allergic to the words “space”, “astronaut”, “stars”, “sky”?
No, I dream of a continuation.
Most of your peers wanted to be astronauts as children, but you have been early years dreamed of becoming an actor and director. Involving my sister, we staged plays at home. Were there stories about space among them?
We lived in the military town of Tatishchevo-5, and Oksana and I were dominated by military-themed performances. We made a tent out of a folding bed, fought... Probably, if we lived not far from the cosmodrome, the same folding bed would have served spaceship. However, there was nothing related to space in Tatishchevo-5, so nothing was invented about it. But I remember with what attention we watched the launches of all the space rockets on TV, we knew all the details: who was flying, for how many days... Although these were not the 1960s, but the 1970s, still every flight became an event and all the cosmonauts were deities for us. I simply adored science fiction films about space. When I was in the seventh grade, the painting “Through Thorns to the Stars” was released, and I couldn’t wait for it to be brought to our House of Culture. But the premiere coincided with my class duty: I had to wash the floors! My suffering turned out to be immeasurable. Mom, seeing the terrible state I was in, found a way out: she suggested pretending that I had broken my arm. She bandaged it properly, and I came to school with a sad face - I was already beginning to comprehend the basics of the acting profession. The “special operation” was successful: I was released from duty, and I went to the premiere of this amazing film.
The next day, the head teacher, teachers and classmates greeted him with a standing ovation? They shouted: “Bravo, Zhenya! You were great as the sick guy"?
Nobody knew that I was playing a role. I walked around with the imitation cast for another two whole weeks, telling everyone about how I was feeling: one day my arm hurt more, on the other it hardly bothered me...
With sister Oksana. Photo: From the personal archive of Evgeny Mironov
“It’s amazing that my mother came up with this hoax!” Did she have acting skills too?
Both her and dad. He once came up with an adventure that was much more impressive than “plaster.” I'm in early childhood I bruised my tailbone, and because of this, I began to develop a bone disease. At the age of six he began to limp, then the limp became stronger and stronger. And in the end I could no longer walk from the pain. I was treated in a hospital in Saratov, where the doctors said that in the future I would most likely only be able to move around in a wheelchair. Then my sister had just been born, and my mother drove us both in her baby carriage: I sat holding Oksana on my lap. And it was humiliating! I am a grown boy, but my mother carries me in a stroller - and all my classmates see this! So, dad accidentally heard in line about a children's sanatorium of the Ministry of Defense, where a disease like mine can be cured in a year with the help of ultraviolet rays, healing mud, massage and all sorts of effective procedures. Only they took only military children there - and dad was the driver of a car that delivered bread.
But he was not at a loss. Borrowed from a friend, Major, military uniform, took a photo, and I don’t know how, but I fabricated documents! In fact, this is a criminal case, but if he had not taken this risk, I would have been bedridden at eight years old. I remember that photo of my father: he played the major absolutely authentically. Everything worked out, they took me to a sanatorium - and it was not only luck, but also another tragedy. I was very attached to my family and had a terrible time being separated. When I was admitted to a sanatorium, my sister was several months old and there was no money. My parents sold everything in the apartment so that my mother could fly to visit me.
- Didn’t you make friends with anyone at the sanatorium?
I grew up as a non-communicative child, I was comfortable in my world of thoughts, fantasies, and communication with outside world it was difficult. This applied to the sanatorium, the school, and later studies in Moscow. But I realized early that my the only way overcome natural shyness - become an artist.
- Did you say to yourself: “Let me play the role of a sociable, cheerful kid”?
No, I was preparing theatrical performances. The school constantly held events for Border Guard Day and Postman Day, and I began to be responsible for them: I wrote plays, played in them myself, and attracted classmates.
It is advised, when receiving a blow from fate, to ask yourself not the question “Why?”, but the question “Why was this necessary?” Life hit you little one so painfully... Why? So that you feel more deeply than others, know more about the soul, about suffering?
I didn’t feel like I felt anything deeper than my peers. But of course, nothing comes easy - I realized this when I grew up. I never analyzed why this happened, what the illness was for, why I was torn away from home and family. For some reason, it was probably necessary for fate to weave such a pattern. So that the inner piggy bank is filled not only with joys, but also with sorrows.
- I grew up as an uncommunicative child, I was comfortable in my own world of thoughts and fantasies. But I realized early on that my only way to overcome my shyness was to become an artist. Photo: Arsen Memetov
- Did you remember this childhood loneliness when you came to Moscow to study?
Moscow by that time was not a completely foreign city to me. After the eighth grade, in order not to waste time, I entered the Saratov Theater School. After becoming a student, I came to Moscow with my sister every holiday. We visited all the theaters with her. They were allowed in with a student ID, without seats. I don’t know why the little girl was also allowed through the student hall - we probably looked touching. We watched “An Optimistic Tragedy” and “Three Girls in Blue” at Lenkom, “The Seagull” at the Moscow Art Theater, and many other performances. Returning to Saratov, I told my master Ermakova and my classmates about my impressions and dreamed that after finishing my studies in Saratov, I would definitely go to Moscow, to the Moscow Art Theater School, to take Tabakov’s course! But parting with my family was again terribly difficult. When they saw me off at the Tatishchevo station, they couldn’t get my mother away from me - so she grabbed me. When the train started moving, I fired and smoked my first cigarette in the vestibule... I understood that a new life had begun.
At first it was difficult - firstly, to adapt to big city, secondly, study. I had to finish exams for the whole year, pass current exams - I was in an unconscious state from the amount of studying, and not all the teachers came to my aid. However, the main problem was another: I realized what a difficult, complex profession I have! Tabakov saw through every second of your existence and could say, after looking at the sketch, which lasted ten minutes: “You had five seconds right, I believed in you, but the rest of the time it was a mess.” It was like I was learning to breathe and walk again. In addition, my classmates looked at me sideways: I was someone’s competitor. Oleg Pavlovich took me straight into the second year, with probationary period, and if he left me, he had to expel someone else at the end of the year. And everyone knew it. Psychologically it was very difficult! I couldn’t even find a partner for the excerpt: for a long time everyone refused to play with me.
But why didn’t the master do anything? He could have simply told one of the students to be the new guy’s partner...
The master doesn’t even get involved in this. The student must establish relationships himself. It will survive, it will survive, it will float out, it will float out, but no, no...
- And what solution did you come up with with your seething creative mind?
You know, at such moments nothing boils, on the contrary, you withdraw into yourself in order to survive. When a building is buried in a mine or with debris after an earthquake, it is necessary not to waste strength and energy on sudden jerks, but to try to adapt to this condition - to breathe slowly, quietly and as calmly as possible. So then I closed myself with all my paws and just began to work: I found a partner, made an excerpt, then another excerpt... I walked in small, very small steps. And I got there: when I graduated from college, I was invited to two theaters at once - to the Moscow Art Theater and to the Studio Theater under the direction of Tabakov. Of course I went to the teacher.
- Only when I saw a quarry instead of a theater building and realized that absolutely everything would have to start from scratch, it became clear to me what I had gotten myself into. Photo: Arsen Memetov
Now you run the theater yourself, last year you had a double anniversary: you turned 50 years old, and as the artistic director of the Theater of Nations - 10. When you were offered to head it in 2006, did you think for a long time whether to agree?
Just a minute. Because I was internally ready. I was already involved in festival activities, we opened the “Territory” festival-school, I, as a producer, made “Figaro. Events of one day”, and I became interested in trying other mechanisms of theatrical business. But this was Khlestakov’s decision. Only when I saw a quarry instead of a theater building and realized that absolutely everything would really have to start from scratch did it become clear to me what I had gotten myself into. The first five years, before opening my own building, were very difficult. Having no room to work, we, like gypsies, wandered around different venues and in such conditions we released “Shukshin’s Stories” - one of the brands of our theater. And at the same time they solved construction issues, raised money...
- Have there been days when you thought: “Cursed be the day when I sat behind the wheel of this vacuum cleaner”?
I've been telling myself this every morning for 10 years. For a second, but I think: “Lord, if I were just an artist now, I would rehearse my roles and not know grief!” My colleagues take care of me because I’m also an actor. Today I have a play “Ivanov”, where I play a difficult role. But I couldn’t do anything alone, I have my like-minded people with me, my team. Without the theater's partners, we would not be able to raise such an ambitious program. With us are the Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation, Sberbank, SIBUR and Breguet. We not only have a serious theater with a repertoire that any European capital can boast of, but also a whole organization for cultivating dreams: young directors and actors can come here with their dreams and realize them. And building this system required enormous strength and patience. We hold the Festival of Theaters of Small Towns of Russia in the regions, we conduct social activity, many of our actors lead charities- this is Chulpan Khamatova, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Yulia Peresild, Masha Mironova.
“I didn’t suffer from claustrophobia, but I realized what it was when the helmet was fastened on me for the first time. Still from the film
Liya Akhedzhakova said in an interview how her dad, when he turned 95, proudly said: “The Mironov couple from the Artist Foundation congratulated me today!” Who first came up with the idea of opening this fund?
Masha came to my office, I was already the artistic director, and told me that she wanted to organize a dinner with elderly artists at the Actor’s House. She knew sad stories about older actors and the conditions in which they live, and so did I. We sat, thought and decided not to limit ourselves to dinner, but to try to carefully, without injuring their dignity, help them on a larger scale. Artists are proud people, despite the fact that after a certain age no one needs them. If they do not head some institution, then they are practically thrown out - this is the Soviet system, which, unfortunately, is still in effect. They do not receive a percentage from the rental of their films, although the films can be shown around the clock. Things are no better for people in other professions related to cinema and theater... In the film “The Idiot” I was made up by an amazing St. Petersburg artist, he helped me find the image of Prince Myshkin. You know, every detail is important here, and if he had glued on another mustache, maybe I would have gotten a different Myshkin. The make-up artist then looked at my face, resolutely grabbed the mustache, jumped up to me and stuck it on me with a flourish! How a sculptor created Myshkin’s face, like Rodin! I recently learned that this master, after a stroke, was eking out a miserable existence - of course, we helped him. We try to take care not only of Moscow and St. Petersburg actors, but also of stage veterans from small towns.
Family: mother - Tamara Petrovna, ticket attendant at the theater; sister - Oksana Mironova, ballerina, artistic director of the children's ballet studio "Shene"
Education: graduated from the Moscow Art Theater School
Career: starred in films and TV series: “Love”, “Anchor, more anchor!”, “Burnt by the Sun”, “Muslim”, “The Inspector General”, “Mom”, “Idiot”, “On Verkhnyaya Maslovka”, “Space as a Premonition” , “In the First Circle”, “Piranha Hunt”, “Dostoevsky”, “Petrushka Syndrome”, “Time of the First”. In 2006 he headed the State Theater of Nations. People's Artist of Russia, twice laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation.