He told me why he feels more comfortable living in the networks of doubts rather than in in social networks.
– The Theater of Nations tour drew full houses to Alexandrinka, despite the not-so-affordable tickets. Are you familiar with such a thing as failure?
- Certainly. Although it's very relative concept. There is external success, I mean success with the audience, but you yourself understand that you haven’t done anything interesting on stage. To be specific, I had two clear failures. The first is the premiere of “The Oresteia” (director Peter Stein, 1994 – Note edit.). I felt like I was incredibly powerful in ancient Greek tragedy. And then critical articles came out, and I myself realized that I had not found a hero. As a result, he was not only unconvincing, but a pitiful sight. But it was beneficial. Six months later, I realized that Orestes is not an ancient Greek hero - he is a boy from a different generation. He is forced to take revenge according to the laws of fate, although he was born for something else...
Second complex role- Treplev. In this old performance, staged by Oleg Efremov, I was introduced as one of the many performers of this role. At the rehearsal, I realized that I did not agree with Efremov’s interpretation, and tried to look at Treplev differently. From my point of view, Treplev - talented person who knows how to love. I didn't succeed.
– You started talking about criticism. It’s clear that you’re reading the professional stuff, but what about the audience reading?
- You have hit the mark! Just today I decided to see what the reaction was to our tour in St. Petersburg. I must say that I am absolutely not an “Internet” person. I’m not on any social networks, I don’t even know what it is. So I accidentally clicked the link “Viewer Reviews” - in vain... It’s not that I didn’t believe what I saw - it just seems to me that these were reviews from not exactly viewers. I noticed that the Internet for the most part is a field for people with complexes, their only opportunity to express themselves. In these reviews I saw not impressions - you may not like the performance - but angry, insulting responses. I even recoiled like the plague! I realized that sometimes it is better for an artist to distance himself from the public.
Evgeniy is connected by profession, friendship and charitable projects with Chulpan Khamatova
– What exactly caused such rage?
– There were reviews specifically for Hamlet. Let me say right away that there were a lot of good responses...
– Are you familiar with such a thing as actor’s envy towards you?
“And I don’t know what this can be expressed in.”
– For example, in such posts on the Internet.
– You can be envious when you consider yourself equal. That’s when I ask myself: “Wait, why can’t I do this? I can do better!” This is what my feelings are about. But envy in relation to me - perhaps I was lucky... Or do I just not see it?
– Today’s audience goes to the theater not to see the director, as was the case in the times of Lyubimov and Tovstonogov, but to famous actors. Is this good or bad for the theater?
– There were different periods. It also happened: after sitting for about twenty minutes and seeing me in “Caligula” (the play Eimuntas Nyakrosius. – Note rd.), people were disappointed because they were expecting something completely different. True, the opposite also happened: when they discovered something new for themselves. At the Theater of Nations we spend a long time looking for a director, selecting material, so the viewer comes to see not just famous people, but on the path we are following.
The friendship of Mironov and Mashkov stood the test of impoverished students and universal glory
– On the Internet that you don’t like, many different letters appeared, signed by you, in support of the Ukrainian theater, Ukrainian journalists... In one, you even oppose the President’s position on the situation in Ukraine. Are you related to them?
– The Internet is a Pandora’s box, and it’s up to the individual whether they can cope with all this information or plunge into the abyss. As for me, I signed the only letter in support of the captured journalists. They approached me with a request, and I, not knowing the guys personally, signed because I trust the people who worked with them and were friends. In general, these were not even journalists, but an actor and director who went to collect material and ended up in difficult situation.
– Let’s clarify: all the other letters have nothing to do with you?
– Thank God, I don’t know anything about this.
– You don’t answer your opponents?
– Why all this effort on my part? I'd rather spend it on the scene I have to play. And then, how to answer, to whom? And then you need to respond to the answer. If I plunge into this hole, I will die there. Don't want. I don't have much time.
– You once said about Inna Churikova: “I learned from her, with my mouth open, how not to compromise.” Which colleague became your unwitting teacher?
– And I’m always in the process. Here, filming with Chulpan (Chulpan Khamatova. - Note edit.), I learn from her professionalism and powerful humanity. I don’t understand how this girl can fit so much patience and nobility. Or recently ran into Ingeborga Dapkunaite at the theater, who had the premiere of the play “Zhanna”. So, I rediscovered it for myself. Despite the fact that we have been friends for many years, I could not even imagine that she was so unambitious, a workaholic to the point of madness. She never played a big role on the dramatic stage. In cinema, which is much closer to her, the laws are different. I tried to help. She goes one-on-one with the audience with three powerful monologues, during which she needs to hold the audience. It was very difficult for Inga, believe me. But how courageously she behaved! She treated herself as a bad student, but did not compromise.
Tamara Petrovna sacrificed a lot for her son to become actor No. 1
– You touched on the topic of monologues. In this regard, the question is: are you familiar with the “white sheet” on stage? Garmash said that for him there is nothing worse than this situation.
- Happens ( laughs). But, to be honest, this is a question of the texture of the work. If a “blank sheet” appears in Dostoevsky, then we must return to the beginning. You will never remember the word in your life, he has a very Difficult language. There is a lot of text in Shakespeare's Hamlet. At first I was very afraid, I tried to come up with something. Headphones, screen? It is forbidden. Prompter? Impossible - what prompter when I’m sitting on the roof? But it’s okay, I don’t forget the text. “Hamlet” is also a complex performance technically. Every time I think: “What if this box closes now and I stay? Or will the cable break? So, along with Shakespeare’s text, numerous “pee-pee-pee” sounds in my head. But this is not the worst thing in the theater.
– What’s the worst thing?
– When it doesn’t work out. Tired or, on the contrary, rested. I suffer terribly because I deceive both myself and the viewer. I would like to say from the stage: “Comrades, let’s hand over the tickets!” I will return all your money."
– How do you get out of this situation?
- Only will.
– Are you angry with yourself or experiencing despair, irritation?
– Despair arises, but I’m going to. There are legends about our brilliant actors who let go of the situation: “Well, this is the performance...” I have a stupid sense of responsibility, which really bothers me. So I force myself to “jump.” Sometimes it works.
– You admitted that you were incredibly shy. Did you manage to get rid of this quality?
– In childhood, yes, it was like that. I went into the profession to get rid of shyness. Publicity forces you to overcome yourself. So I became shameless in the theater and on the set ( laughs).
– The directors were not very fond of you, considering you “inconvenient”, because you argued and debated a lot. Since when did everything change?
– And I don’t consider myself inconvenient. I am convinced that theater and cinema are co-creation. I have my own thoughts and ideas. Of course, sometimes I see a person in front of me who reveals such secrets that it is better for me to remain silent with my ideas. But then, having digested it, I can allow myself to come up with my own proposals. I clearly see where I can perform and where I can’t.
– You said that you need to be prepared for fate. What did she give you in Lately?
– I can’t talk about this yet, but I presented it!
- Is it pleasant?
Interviewed by Anna Abakumova
Evgeny Mironov is a very busy man and takes on any business with great responsibility, no matter what it is: managing the Theater of Nations, filming a film or doing charity work. We managed to talk with Evgeny Vitalievich shortly before the large-scale premiere of the film “The Time of the First,” where not only he performed main role- played cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who first appeared in open space, but also together with Timur Bekmambetov Mironov produced the film. Of course, on the eve of the premiere, Mironov could not think or talk about anything else and did not want to. But our conversation began with great intrigue.
“Sorry that I’m wearing a cap,” Evgeniy Vitalievich said guiltily about his headdress, which he did not take off even indoors. “I’m currently filming a movie, part of the hair on my head is shaved, and so as not to scare you, I’ll stay like that. I even walk like this at home...
Evgeny Mironov in soon will appear in public only in this way - in a headdress
After thinking a little, we realized that Yevgeny Mironov plays Lenin in the new film by Vladimir Khotinenko (the director, with whom we did an interview some time ago, said two words about the film itself, but refused to name the leading actor - and now, it seems, everything has come together to their places). It was out of place and useless to ask the actor about this work (creative people are a little superstitious and don’t like to talk about some things in advance), so then the conversation went on about the film “The Time of the First,” about earthly and heavenly heroes and about human limits opportunities.
"Gravity" is resting!
— Two years ago there was an anniversary - 50 years of the first man in space, and Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov told a lot of interesting things about his flight and about how many emergency situations there were...— Do you understand now why we couldn’t help but make a film about this feat? It’s good that right now we are technically able to do this. When you see the whole picture, you will understand what I'm talking about. This is a serious film, where both the ground and space parts were shot in 3D - this is the first film about space in Russian cinema, shot in this format. This is important so that young guys see this film and end up there with the astronauts, experiencing at least a little of this miracle.
— You feel proud of this project.
“For me, this is an act: we were able to do it!” People asked me: “Is this our answer to Hollywood and their movie Gravity?” Yes, what kind of “Gravity” is it - ours is cooler! Actress Sandra Bullock flew in a large space during filming, and she had many small cables attached there. Kostya Khabensky and I (he plays the role of cosmonaut Pavel Belyaev, the commander of the ship on which Alexei Leonov made his historic flight. - Author's note) sat in a small apparatus together, our only one spacesuit weighed 40 kilograms. And in these conditions it was necessary to play a disaster!
— Such heavy spacesuits must have really interfered with your work?
— At the end of the month of filming, we simply did not get out of them. But not because we liked it there - it’s just that every liberation from it takes great amount time, plus it may be involved big number of people. So we stayed there during short breaks. At the same time, the arms and legs were in a half-bent state all the time - these spacesuits are designed for flights into space, and not for walking on the ground...
On the set of the film "Time of the First"
Heroes who are nearby
— How important was it for you to communicate with Alexei Leonov while working on the film?
- He inspired us. This story is absolutely real, despite the fact that it is so fantastic: Alexey Arkhipovich should have died six or seven times. At the same time, he himself is a charming man who still pays attention to the way his secretary approached him. He made us all fall in love with him so much that, to be honest, I dream of a continuation of this story!
— How close is the film itself to reality?
— All events in the film are documentary. It was very important to me that we didn’t invent or embellish anything. And at the same time, no one believes us - everyone thinks that we were making up something there! No, all of this pure truth, these are the heroes who live among us.
Before the start of filming “The Time of the First,” Alexey Leonov and Evgeny Mironov not only met, but also became friends
— Do the heroes themselves talk about their exploits?
— At a recent meeting with schoolchildren, Alexey Leonov talked a lot about the general designer of spacecraft, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. But he didn’t say a word about his childhood, about the fact that he was the eighth child in the family, that his father was taken away in 1937, that he once went to school barefoot in the winter. I inserted a monologue about this into the film. It was important for me to understand where the heroes come from. They don’t fly to us from the moon - they are next to us. And I am very happy that Alexey Arkhipovich did not kill me after looking at this picture, and said things that were very important to me.
Preparing for the unearthly
— How did you prepare for filming?— Konstantin Khabensky and I completed the entire “young fighter course,” or rather, the cosmonaut course. We played a lot of sports - they developed it for us special program, which is designed to increase endurance. And after that the hardest part began. For me, as it turned out, the biggest difficulty was not physical, but psychological. We filmed our ship in a small space; there were a huge number of interfering parts and cables. The spacesuit, again... And here I had to cope with myself, and somehow I even doubted: would I really fly into space or not? This is a very difficult thing!
— As far as I know, you visited the cosmodrome?
- Yes, I was in Baikonur in November, I was present at the launch of the guys, who, by the way, are still in orbit now - from their eyes I tried to understand their psychological state. Many people, like myself, still regard space flight as a miracle. A person overcomes some simply unthinkable things. No one is waiting for us there, but we are going there... We are now here on earth, around us - friends, acquaintances, relatives, familiar things. And they are very far away and alone, cut off from everything, even from the earth. There is a certain mystery in all this. We were the first to reveal this secret in our time - we flew into space, went into space, and we have every right to be proud of it!
Evgeny Mironov played Alexei Leonov, and Konstantin Khabensky played Pavel Belyaev
Important Roles
— You suggested Konstantin Khabensky for the role of Pavel Belyaev - without casting. Why did you choose him right away? Does he look so much like the legendary astronaut?
“We thought it would be a very accurate hit.” Outwardly he is really similar, but we must not forget that Konstantin is a wonderful artist, and I have never worked with him before. It was a wonderful experience. I also want to say about Vladimir Ilyin, who played Sergei Korolev. I think this role is an outstanding performance by this actor. The difficulty was that in such big films, blockbusters, there is no room for psychological description roles, as happens, for example, in a drama. But it was somehow necessary to show the magnitude of such a historical figure. And Vladimir Ilyin did it - this can be seen even in the footage where he is simply silent.
Challenge yourself
— You have been producing before, but mostly took on small art projects. Was it a challenge for you to become a co-producer of Timur Bekmambetov?
- After this picture, I can say: everyone can do an act - even one that they did not expect from themselves! This is a completely unexpected act for me: to become a producer. I, like Timur, dealt with all issues - creative, technical, and administrative. This was for me new school, and I think I did it!
Evgeny Mironov: “The hardest thing was to cope with myself” published: October 26th, 2018 author: Yana Nevskaya
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 he lowered excess pressure. 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 performances military themes. 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 on TV the launches of all space rockets, knew all the details: who was flying, for how many days... Although it was not the 1960s, but the 1970s, still every flight became an event and all the cosmonauts were deities for us. Sci-fi movies I just loved 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 bruised my tailbone in early childhood, and because of this, I began to develop 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 be able to move only in 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 the big city, and secondly, to 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 how severe my difficult profession! 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 passage: 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, but also whole organization on cultivating dreams: young directors and actors can come here with their dreams and make them come true. 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 head charitable foundations - these are Chulpan Khamatova, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Yulia Peresild, Masha Mironova.
“I didn’t suffer from claustrophobia, but I realized that 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. National artist Russia, twice laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation.
People's Artist of Russia, artistic director of the State Theater of Nations, founder of the Artist charity foundation - this is how Wikipedia paints the portrait of Yevgeny Mironov. Behind the scenes remains his ability to quickly win over push-button telephone in the hands and a swift gait. On the eve of the anniversary - his thoughts out loud about himself and not only.
About the rhythm of life
I can safely say: I am purposeful. And when you have this quality, you begin to subordinate everything main goal. I don't think I've been like this since childhood. Although there was always a workload: music school, drama club, dance section... I was not allowed to be lazy. Having matured, I began to be responsible not only for myself - a wide range of responsibilities appeared. And I wouldn’t have time to do anything if I didn’t cut off the unnecessary and develop strategic plan for the near future. Even while talking to someone, I mentally solve several problems at the same time. The Julius Caesar complex has been haunting me for a long time. I no longer notice the rhythm in which I live. My loved ones notice and suffer - they don’t see how I leave and appear. My sister constantly says that I don’t take care of myself. From time to time I hear bells from my health, and they, like a cold shower, bring me to my senses - I begin to understand that I am pushing myself. I think about it for a while, but very quickly I pick up speed again. Probably when the motor starts to sit down and the speed becomes different. But I'm not afraid of the end. This is the same as fearing the coming of winter. It will come anyway. I don't know how much is measured out for me. And I don’t think that I won’t have time to do something. Everything is going as it should.
About the new spaceTheater of Nations
Around our theater there are continuous cultural institutions: theaters, libraries, the Museum of Modern Art. It seemed to me that this perfect place to create, as in Europe, for example in Vienna or Berlin, an art square - a space where people interact with each other different types arts: architecture, music, cinema. I'm not even talking about cafes, transforming halls, and studios. It seemed to me that creators could create some new works in these spaces, and maybe even a new artistic language. This Long story, but the first step has already been taken - the opening of the house in which today the New Space Theater of the Theater of Nations is located. One of the beautiful buildings in Moscow, which was abandoned for many years, we helped it rise from the ashes, like a Phoenix bird. This is still an idea, but the main thing is that its implementation has already begun.
About dreams
The most important and favorite process for me is creating a role. And when I’m not a manager or a trustee, but only an actor - I’m acting in a movie or rehearsing in a theater - I try to isolate myself from the outside world in order to completely immerse myself in the material. Previously, nothing bothered me, and I didn’t depend on anything. Today it is more difficult: calls, requests, meetings - this whirlwind does not stop for a minute. I never dreamed of playing any specific role - this is a meaningless activity. But sometimes you touch the material and feel that it is yours. I recently read the script “Frostbitten Carp.” The title seemed stupid and I didn’t want to read it. But for some reason I still picked it up. And it’s good that there was no one nearby, because I just burst into tears. The role is not the main one, and the picture itself is economically quite unprofitable, but that’s not the point. In this touching story I immediately wanted to participate.
The only thing I dreamed of was to work with certain directors. For example, with Robert Lepage, artistic director of the Quebec theater Ex Machina and world-class director - this is probably what every actor dreams of. For eight years we beat around the bush: we visited each other, met in different parts of the world. And suddenly three years ago he says: “Hamlet.” And I already played Hamlet with Peter Stein. But Monsieur Lepage said: “You don’t understand me, you will play all the roles.” I then thought: what a crazy idea? But in the end we released the one-man show “Hamlet Collage”.
About plans
When I was filming “The Idiot” with Vladimir Bortko, I pestered Inna Churikova: “I don’t know how to play Prince Myshkin’s monologue about Catholicism.” She replied: “Read it!” - “What should I read?” I already took a pen and prepared to write down the list of references. And she says: “Read the novel.” In fact, “The Idiot” has everything, you just need to have the courage to stop time - then you just connect to events, like to an outlet, and some hidden things begin to appear. I hope for this now, when I begin rehearsals for the play “Ivanov” by the young director Timofey Kulyabin. It’s a very difficult role, I don’t know how to approach it - I don’t have the material yet. They wanted to stage “Ivanov” in collaboration with Luc Bondy, who headed the Odeon theater in Paris. We negotiated for a long time because he was very busy. He didn’t have time to go to Russia, so the artists and I decided to go to Paris ourselves. They even outlined a schedule, but, unfortunately, the director passed away last year. But we couldn’t help but stage this play. Our theater is located in the building of the former Korsch Theater, for which Chekhov wrote “Ivanova” in 1887. We are starting rehearsals with almost the same lineup that we wanted to stage the play with under Luc Bondy: Chulpan Khamatova, Viktor Verzhbitsky, Liza Boyarskaya, Igor Gordin, Dmitry Serdyuk...
About health
I am grateful to my parents, without whom I could have become crippled for life. They accomplished a feat when they sold everything we had and sent me to the Ministry of Defense sanatorium in Yevpatoria to treat Perthes disease. Because of her, one of my legs began to shorten, and at first I limped very much, then I switched to crutches, and then I had to completely sit down. wheelchair. But after a year I could walk, run and even dance. After the Moscow Art Theater School, I was invited to the theater, but I became seriously ill, and during the operation I was given another infection. In theory, with such health, I should have returned to Saratov. But the people around me believed in me: my mother, and the teacher Avangard Nikolaevich Leontyev, and Oleg Pavlovich Tabakov, who gave me my first leading role. They placed a responsibility on me that I could not bear at that moment. I just COULD NOT. And they knew about it. And the chance they gave me, like a worm, gnawed everything inside me, and I realized that I had to do it.
About the injury
In May 2013, at the finale of the play “Caligula,” when according to the script I jumped into the arch where they caught me, I miscalculated my strength and landed on two knees. Perhaps I was just very tired, and this was one of those bells. The result is a torn back cruciate ligament, on which the knee rests. A very rare injury even among football players. The pain intensified every day, and they could not make a diagnosis until I was advised to go to one German clinic, where many athletes are treated. There they told me that everything was very bad. And I have a construction project, the opening of a theater. They performed an operation, after which they prescribed and physical exercise: I had to study eight hours a day according to a program written especially for me by an instructor World network Class by Artem Kshnyasev (by the way, he also prepared for the filming of the film “The Time of the First,” which lasted almost a year) - he was recommended by my friend Olga Slutsker. This program included not just exercises, but small and tedious painstaking exercises. For example, you had to carefully rock and turn your leg. For me it was hell, because I was used to it: I quickly did it and left. But in the end, through joint efforts, I got back on my feet and began playing in plays, including Caligula. In general, it seems to me that it is each person’s decision whether to fight or not. And I know for sure that such situations always mobilize me, not only physically, but also psychologically. I understood that this was a certain stage that I had to overcome.
I often crack up on stage. We play, for example, with Chulpan Khamatova - and suddenly I notice some funny detail or hear a slip of the tongue. I turn my back to the audience so that they don’t see me laughing. This is unacceptable, but I can’t help it. This is where I confess I am sinful.
About beauty
I go to the Beauty Embassy salon. It’s a wonderful time, that’s why I sleep there: I pass out as soon as my head touches the couch. I don’t know what Valentina Mikhailovna Skibinskaya, on whose shoulders this salon rests, and her sorceress colleagues are doing to me, but when I get up, I realize that I am several years younger. An artist works as a face, it is important to always be in shape, regardless of whether he is in demand now or not. I have no ambitions as a politician or businessman. And, thank God, I don’t have the ability to do this either.
About the anniversary
This year I am 50 years old... I am not afraid of physiological old age - I feel great. But it’s still scary to say this number - I’ve always associated it with something final. I attended the anniversaries of many senior colleagues. This holiday is always with wreaths on stage, almost farewell words. And it seemed to me that 50 was such a “triumph dash sunset.” And suddenly I found myself in this position. Of course, I don’t feel my age - I just don’t have time to be distracted by it. And I won’t celebrate the anniversary. I decided to go to Yalta. I’m not running away, I have a good reason - the whole team will be rehearsing the play “Ivanov” at the A.P. Chekhov House-Museum. We'll sit together as a family, but nothing more.
About future
No matter how experienced we are, we must leave on time, making way for the next generation - they hear time better. So far, before my eyes, only director Peter Stein has done this, who at the age of 60 left the Schaubühne theater, which he headed, with the words: “Young people should lead.” I don't know what I'll do. I don’t have a dacha, and I don’t know what it’s like to barbecue - I can’t even imagine it. But I know for sure that ours main enemy- it's us. You can eat yourself up very quickly because you don’t give birth to anything. I have never been without work, even during periods of downtime in the theater and cinema. For example, I found some money and filmed for the “Culture” channel with Yuri Borisov documentary according to the diaries of his father Oleg Ivanovich. Wrote scripts and did voice-over work. For now, I'm interested in what I'm doing. Perhaps if interest will disappear to one thing, he will appear to another matter. It's hard to say what will happen next. I don't know what's there. And it’s possible that I’ll never know.
Evgeniy, you just celebrated your 43rd birthday...
I just didn't cope. Everything is correct, but I didn’t cope.
Looking at your website, it seems like you're just... superman. Artist Foundation, Theater of Nations, own theater company, work in the theater, work in cinema. How do you cope with all this?
To be honest... I don't know. It just happened that way - I took up the tug, don’t say it’s not hefty. It worked out with the company because I wanted to be independent, and I produced the play. There were a lot of ideas with the theater, and suddenly a concrete project came to fruition - the Theater of Nations. This international center, where a lot of things should happen and are already happening. These are new projects with great directors, and young projects - very young guys here can get their first chance. The Artist Foundation also started with an action, and then... it turned out to be a much bigger disaster than we imagined... This means that we had to create a fund, and it should work annually. And every year people are already waiting for help - both medical and food. What to do. That's how it works. (Activity Charitable Foundation“Artist” includes two main programs – “Actors for Actors” and “Actors for Children”. The goal of the Actors to Actors program is to provide financial and moral support to theater and film veterans. The Actors for Children program is aimed at helping orphans and disabled children - information from the foundation’s website ).
Are you a workaholic?
In general, I am a workaholic in life. I love this business. I was happy that I didn’t waste my birthday. I didn’t accept congratulations and didn’t think about myself, didn’t worry about how my birthday would go. I didn’t have these stupid thoughts, because I was filming at Mosfilm all day and playing Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, and I was tormented for another reason - because I didn’t get the role there.
The premiere of “Shukshin’s Stories” was already a year ago. What changes for you in a performance over time?
This question is actually not for me, but for the director Alvis Hermanis, but I can answer for him. In October we had a tour in his homeland, Riga. And he hasn’t seen the play for a year. And he says, “I really liked it. There are so many interesting, new things...” Despite the fact that what was before is not destroyed... But some things, of course, are introduced. Some nuances. The most beautiful thing that can be is the nuances. The heroes change, the characters are carved out even more. After all, there is such a parade of characters here. Everyone has. Everyone plays ten roles. And I’m also interested in watching the guys, how they change, how they acquire more details. This means that they have not frozen, have not died in their character, image, but are constantly living and developing.
I observed the progress of the rehearsal-chanting before the performance. As the action progresses, the actors sing, play harmonicas, and start dancing from time to time. All this needs to be honed before each performance. The atmosphere at the rehearsal was like in a theater studio. The actors smiled, laughed and looked at each other with interest and warmth. Lovely to watch.
The play is a huge success, and critics speak very flatteringly about it, but the only thing that sounds is that it is “a play about a village for today’s snobbish Moscow.” Do you share this point of view?
No no. You know, something may sound, but in general it’s rare case. In my life, maybe the only one. The performance suddenly satisfied and pleased critics, ordinary spectators, difficult spectators, foreigners, people who had never come to the theater in their lives. It is truly impossible to get to this performance, and places are booked until February-March... It is rare when a performance makes such an impression. And there is an answer to this question - this is suddenly an open treasure. Alvis Hermanis said, you have currency - this is Shukshin. Because there is such a shortage of kindness... Which arose a long time ago. For a long time people have been locking their doors, danger is in the air... And suddenly - a story about people... About our people, about those who live where we came from. I came from Tatishchev Saratov region. This is nostalgia, and a breath of openness, simplicity, when you don’t have a stone in your bosom, when if you don’t love a person, you tell him straight... And not as is customary in a civilized society, an eyebrow won’t rise - it won’t move, but such a plan is ripening towards you... Everything is open here, at a glance. This the most beautiful people. These people are who they are. When we were in Srostki, that’s what they are. And thank God that they have been preserved and exist. We will go there in December and perform this performance for them.
Before the start of rehearsals, the director, together with photographer-artist Monika Pormale and the entire cast, visited Valisy Shukshin’s native village - Srostki. In this ethnographic expedition, the actors worked on the images, the artist worked on the scenery.
Is touring in Altai scary?
Scary. Because these people are one of the heroes of our play. The photographs against which we play are real residents of the village of Srostki. So they will see themselves. So I don’t know... Maybe some tomatoes, although there are no tomatoes in winter, so maybe it will carry through.
You mentioned Tatishchevo. Can you still imagine yourself now as this person from the distant outback who came to the big city?
I never forget about it. Never. Not long ago, at the service entrance of the Moscow Art Theater, a boy approached me. Guy, probably about twenty years old. I came from somewhere in the outback. “I... Evgeny Vitalich, I... finished...” I finished something theatrical... “I really wanted to show myself to you...” And suddenly he starts crying! He stands and says: “I did it wrong... Well, I shouldn’t have said it that way... That’s not what I said...” I look at him and think, “My God, I stood in front of Tabakov in exactly the same way.” I was also sick, because I understood that now fate was being decided, it seemed to me... And it really was being decided. And I will never forget this and never have forgotten.
Israel. I understand that you have been there, but not on tour.
No, why. I was there on tour with the Tabakov Theater. We played in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and somewhere else...
I wanted to ask you what you expect from the Israeli public. Now I can ask you what you can say about the Israeli public.
You know, to be honest, I don’t remember well. I remember that it was very warm, nice and very well received. Everywhere. Now this is also a special event - the centenary of Tel Aviv. This is very honorable for us. I think we are closing the festival. It opened with The Threepenny Opera directed by Robert Wilson. Wow. Very good company. We understand all the responsibility. And I think that we will adequately represent our Srostki.
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