Read the interview with Nina Usatova. Stubborn and happy. The fate of the famous Nina Usatova. Your son already has thoughts about his future profession
Recently I was in my native land, in the Kurgan region. In the city where I studied, the school organized a meeting for Theater Day. I went there, all the way I remembered my past life, the people I knew. So much time has passed... A new generation has already been born. I thought I wouldn’t recognize anything: so everything and everything has changed. And when I arrived, it felt as if it hadn’t been so many years. The faces are the same. In a big city, feelings, relationships, even time all come together in a small circle. And there they seem to understand better how important it is not to lose your soul, there the size of life is different. People say: “Where are we in a hurry?” They know everyone. They can stop and look into each other's eyes. Nothing, no mask can cover you.
Everything is simple, natural, just like in nature, either it’s raining or the sun is shining, you can’t confuse anything. With such people from small towns, villages, villages, when you communicate or even just look at them, it’s as if you are purified. After the meeting, they thank us, but we, the artists, should thank them.
There was no theater in my childhood dreams. There was nothing concrete at all. But there was something incomprehensible, just some kind of happiness, which is somewhere not here in heaven, or what? I dreamed a lot. Now less. Now there is more reality, life, but before you fantasize, dream, then you remember and think: “Was it really or just my imagination?” My father worked as a forester, we lived in Altai, a hundred kilometers from Rubtsovsk. It wasn't even a city, just a station. It was called Raspberry Lake. The station is small. A little higher are the Kazakh Zaimki. Then it seemed that nothing else existed, that all life was here, in these places. I remember how they ran to dig wild onions, how they took beetles out of their holes, I also remember how they used to tell fortunes by the stars. When the hay was brought in, it used to be that at first they would jump in the hay, fool around, play hide and seek, and then lie down and look at the sky. And they made wishes. And they waited for a long, long time whether a star would strike the sky or not... But this is in the fall. And in winter, sometimes the snow covered the houses and you couldn’t see them. Only the lights from the windows glowed from the snowdrifts. I remember the holidays. What festivities there were then! When we saw off the winter, the collective farm allocated ten triples. And they were all harnessed, decorated and played out in different ways. The first troika rushes along, the bells are ringing, and behind it, for example, the nag is carrying a stove, from which Emelya throws pancakes to the sides. And so each team seems to be from a fairy tale. Nowadays you can gather few people for such holidays. And then everyone went around, dressed up in whatever they wanted, on their own, without any organization. And everyone seemed to be playing someone.
And in the summer we went to poppy fields to pick flowers. Although our grandmother kept scaring us: “Don’t go, Bukaneshek lives there, the naughty children will immediately fall asleep from the dope.” I was probably afraid that we would go far from home, so I composed it. And my grandmother also said that when you go beyond the lake, you have to take the red card. I ask: “Why, woman?” And she explains that when a snake is nearby, you need to spread out a red cloth, the snake will jump into it, go blind, curl up in a ball and lie down, and at this time you can calmly pick berries. I didn’t know whether it was true or not, but I took the red handkerchief. I'm generally a superstitious person.
I was afraid to talk about my desire to become an actress, which was formed in high school. Although I performed at home all the time, sang ditties and different songs. As a child, they called me an artist, but not seriously, they simply teased me: “Come on, make us laugh, artist!” Well, I made you laugh. Nobody thought that this would be the name of my profession.
As a child, I didn’t imagine anything specific about the theater. I didn’t know the directors at all. I didn’t even know the director’s words like that. I watched a lot of films when the car club came to us. The first was "Clear Sky". There is such beauty and purity of the relationship between Drobysheva and Urbansky... Nowadays completely different relationships are usually shown, as if the concepts about everything were different. But this is a separate topic.
Like all girls, I collected postcards and photographs of artists. I bought everything that was on sale. For some reason I liked the actress Khityaeva most of all. Many friends began to draw their eyebrows in the same way, squint their eyes, and make a smile the same as that of movie stars, but I mostly just looked and admired.
In fact, everyone used to want to become pilots and captains. The main thing was considered to be work that involves a feat. Although the theater was a fashionable institute. The competitions were great. The Shchukin School seemed something unattainable to us. But I didn’t do it because of fashion. I just wanted to go there. My teacher from the studio, Lyudmila Arkadyevna Makarova-Yaroslavtseva, captivated us. True, maybe it was fashion, I don’t know. I wasn't the only one who did it. Several of us went every year, for many years in a row. In the end, by the third year there were probably six people left. And we got a job at a factory near Moscow, in the Kaluga region. We worked, got a three-room apartment in a hostel, but then everyone settled down in life: some got married, some got married. And in the end, in my fifth year, I entered the Shchukin School, my wish came true.
I studied with Maryana Rubenovna Ter-Zakharova. Nowadays, very often directors complete a course at an institute, and then don’t work with students; it’s unclear why they even started. You either have to be a teacher or not. It doesn't work in the middle. Maryana Rubenovna was an excellent teacher. I remember that when we students came to the institute for classes in the morning, our Maryana Rubenovna was already there. When they left, she still remained there. She gave us all her strength, all her soul.
Our diploma course was the play “The Marriage of Balzaminov.” I remember, when there was no distribution yet, Maryana Rubenovna told us to write on a piece of paper who represented whom in what role and who they saw themselves as. I described myself as the cook Matryona, but Maryana Rubenovna trusted me more than I did myself, and in the end I played matchmaker. The role was interestingly structured, the performance consisted of three parts, and everything was connected by the matchmaker; she seemed to be leading the action. It was such a popular performance, very lively. They sang different songs. I remember I brought all my grandmother’s songs.
When we played our graduation performance, Evgeniy Rubenovich Simonov said: “I’m taking this actress to my place.” So as not to jinx it, I didn’t tell anyone, but I really wanted it, I was waiting. But Maryana Rubenovna dissuaded me. “No,” says Nina, you need something else. You need to plow and plow. A theater is opening in Leningrad, go there.” And so it happened that Maryana Rubenovna and another teacher, Maryana Korbina, sent my friend and me to Leningrad. Since then, thank God, I have always been at work.
My first director in Leningrad was Vladimir Malyshchitsky. In general, I think that he got my start as an actor. My friend Tanya Kozhevnikova and I came to show him in the studio. I remember they showed for an hour, maybe more. For Malyshchitsky, time did not exist. He could work day and night, even until six in the morning. And everyone around him was also a fanatic. In general, if he took someone new to the theater, it was immediately clear whether they were “his” people or “not his.” We worked a lot. And everyone was busy. Malyshchitsky loved mass performances. Maybe this annoyed some, but I loved and love theater so much and the dream of working and working as hard as possible was so strong in my life that I still don’t understand when I hear the words: “Is this really a role?” Because for me it doesn’t matter who you are in the play, but what’s important is that the play works, that people go to it.
Until now, I measure everything from Malyshchitsky’s performances. He saw everything, noticed everything. I couldn't stand it if you came on stage empty. After all, you can leave as much energy in a small role as in a big one. But everything must remain in your soul, otherwise you can go to the other extreme. I remember one funny incident. The theater staged the play “The Price of Silence” based on poems by poets about war and war songs. So, in this performance, only one female role was that of the Nurse, and the rest of the actresses played war women in greatcoats and caps in the aisles. I was among these women. It was necessary, while the actor was reading the poem, to walk in a row with others without changing the rhythm. It was very important to walk precisely, together with everyone, without getting lost, so as not to destroy anything. But at the institute, Maryana Rubenovna taught us that you are not a mass, you are a person, and so I fantasized that I love this hero whom I pass by, and not just love, but that I have a child under my heart from him. And so Sasha Mirochnik, suspecting nothing, reads “The Forties-Fatal” and seems to peer into the faces of those passing by. And I got so used to my woman that I forgot to walk, I stand like a painting in the spotlight, tears are rolling down. Sasha fell silent. The hall froze. The audience thought that something would happen, no one knew that the artist simply forgot the verse from surprise. And I stood and stood and went. One. To the sound of your own boots. As soon as I walked out into the corridor where Malyshchitsky was standing, he flies up: “What are you doing?” speaks. I answered: “I played fate. I will have a child from him.” Malyshchitsky pulled me so hard by my braids, wrapped around my head, that I forever remembered how to play fate in the crowd... So the saying remained: “Nina, don’t play the whole Great Patriotic War in one aisle."
My first performance at the Youth Theater was “Dialogues”. In the episode “All Our Complexes” I played Tanya. I was also introduced to all the old performances “The Price of Silence” and “Sotnikov”. I outplayed all the women in Sotnikov. First, just a woman who came out with a cast iron pot, then Starostiha, and then Demchikha. I am very grateful to Malyshchitsky. He opened up so much in me... I didn’t even look up at some roles and didn’t think that I could play any role. Like the Old Woman in “Trouble,” for example. And he said to me: “Who else will play?” And I look at myself in the mirror, my face is round, young, and not only should I play a grandmother, but also a beggar, on whom the clothes are hanging and dangling. And this Old Woman remains my favorite role. She gave a lot to my life, she influenced not only my acting destiny, but also my human destiny. It could be played and played. Enrich and enrich. My mother is close in character to this grandmother. Also the kind of person who could give everything, she lived for others. Then, when the play was already on, I received letters from the audience: they asked why the play was canceled. But it so happened that one actor left, then the director changed. It's hard to part with such roles.
After Malyshchitsky, Efim Mikhailovich Padve came. It was a difficult start, but starting is always difficult. Although I usually fall in love with directors and follow them. You always hope that the director will discover something new, unexpected in you, which at first glance is far, far from you. But usually directors are afraid to take risks and use something familiar in an actor. And if the director is not afraid, then there can be real discoveries. The work makes sense when the director knows more than you what you can do. This happened to me with Malyshchitsky and with Padve.
My first role with Padve was in “Evening”. I played the Old Woman there again. We rehearsed intensely. So many passions... He shouted: “This is some kind of Sofronov!” He left and slammed the door. He said about me: “You, Nina, don’t have nerves, but a cable. Oh, what wires!” I answered: “Yes.” And she cried so much... One day he says: “Come on, amateur artists, show what you can do. I do not know you". And I immediately had this kind of rejection and burst out: “I don’t know you.” And he: “How come you don’t know?” Scandal. “That’s it, I think they’ll kick me out of the theater.” (We always used to be afraid that the director would either kick us out of the theater or deprive us of our roles.) But Efim Mikhailovich was unpredictable. At first he seems eccentric and nervous. And then you realize that it’s wonderful. So it is after this quarrel. He came the next day and said: “Sorry, I was wrong yesterday.” And it was as if nothing had happened. My heart immediately lightened, I thought: “Lord, how good!” We went to work, and it was as if everything had turned upside down. We started rehearsing and found so many new things... Efim Mikhailovich always watched this performance, then, when we played the hundredth “Evening,” he admitted: “This is my favorite performance, I’m in it with all my soul.”
Padve was, of course, of a tough character, but honest. Always told the truth as it is. Many people feared him for this and did not like him. He could, for example, call the artist and tell him directly that he was fired. He spoke himself, not through the director. He simply called and openly said: “I don’t see any prospects of working with you, I don’t know where to assign you, you are not my actor.” And he looked honestly in the eyes. And I think that after a while the person was probably grateful. Although at first it is indeed bitter to hear this, for any artist this is a heavy blow.
When Padve left the theater, we did not understand what had happened. He said: “I need to sort myself out.” Now I, and not only me, almost all the guys would say: “Efim Mikhailovich, don’t leave the theater, don’t do this.” He needed these words. Now I understand this, but then he said so convincingly: “I have exhausted myself. I need new savings to do something on stage...” Time cannot be returned. Later I thought: “After all, Padve was the first to discover Vampilov on stage, and he, as it were, completed the Zilovsky circle. And in general, he is Zilov. This is fate... I feel so sorry for him.” As I remember, a young man, in the prime of his life, and there was so much life in him, energy, so much was planned. What a strong man he was, he left one theater and left another theater. This happens rarely, at least with us.
I keep remembering how he said: “We will stage with you For Whom the Bell Tolls. Only I will bring to the fore the Pilar line, the female line.” He also wanted to stage Marquez...
After Padve left, while the main director was not yet at Molodezhny, Kirill Yuryevich Lavrov called me and invited me to the BDT for the role of the merchant Belotelova in the play “What You Go For, That’s What You’ll Find.” I already knew the play well, from my student years. When I was already leaving, Spivak, who had just been appointed chief, said: “Nina, if you wanted to stay, I would be very glad.” But I've already made my decision.
When I came to the BDT, “What you go for is what you will find” was already being rehearsed. Olga Volkova and I were sitting in the same dressing room then. We came up with a lot. She'll come up with something, then I will. Let's laugh.
We'll show it to director Astrakhan. Not just us. All the actors offered something. It was easy to rehearse. Although Belotelova was never interesting to me. I generally can’t stand such roles, to be honest. I'm interested in when fate is capacious. So that the image of a woman can be revealed in many ways. What's in Belotelova? The set was up, the hammock was hung, and the costume was put on. All I had to do was find an extension, run away and fall.
Unfortunately, I didn’t work much with Chkheidze. In his performance
“Cunning and Love” I have a tiny role. Yes, in fact, the role is without beginning and end, as they say. But I’m happy about this work, because I have scenes there with Valery Mikhailovich Ivchenko, and it’s very good to rehearse and play with him. He helps so much as a partner...
When we were rehearsing “Insidiousness...”, Chkheidze saw that I wasn’t doing well, but he never offended me. He generally works tenderly with actors. I remember I was in love with him. When he’s rehearsing a scene, he seems completely lost in it. You can just watch him walk around the hall, say something to the actors, help and light up himself...
There are directors who stupidly drive things into their boundaries, but Chkheidze does not. Although, it seems to me, he knows everything about the performance. From the first rehearsal, even from the reading, there is a feeling that he sees the performance in the music, in the scenery, and in the costumes. And the dream remains to work with him in some serious role, and not just ride on a broom.
There is also a performance at the Liteiny Theater. But I have such a duality: I both want to play in Galibin’s “Three Sisters”, and I don’t want to. This has happened only once in my life, when Malyshchitsky staged “Four Songs in Bad Weather.” During the distribution, several performers were assigned to each role in this performance. And separately the column “Ophelia, Agafya Tikhonovna, Dulcinea, Woman and Children Nina Usatova.” I was still afraid that they would laugh at me: what an Ophelia I am! But Malyshchitsky said that it didn’t matter to him whether the actress was thin or not, he needed a woman with Ophelia’s destiny; and I have to play it. The sketches began. But there is a classic Ophelia and all these stereotypes, traditions and I was scared. And in the end I only worked on Dulcinea. But even in this monologue I was not completely immersed in the material. And on the day when the performance was supposed to take place, my mood worsened in the morning. I only now understand the Dulcinea that Volodin wrote and which Malyshchitsky wanted to see. And only now I know how to play it, but then I either got it or didn’t get it. But this is me talking about the “Three Sisters”. When Sasha Galibin called and said: “Nina, I invite you to the role of Olga,” I was very surprised, because Chekhov also has canons according to which I am not suitable for this role. And then, before, I always liked Olga less than the other sisters; it seemed that her essence, her woman’s fate, could not be expressed in any way. Gray cool lady. Well, I think if I’m in Chekhov’s Olga, then something like that will happen. And she agreed. Although many perceived the distribution of roles with Sashino’s irony. Sasha generally works completely differently. As he himself says, he does not build a role, but constructs it. Both the role and the performance. But we are used to something else; we have a realistic, psychological school. Sasha said during rehearsals: “Nina, don’t lose anything, just say Chekhov’s text.” And this “simply” is the most difficult thing for me. I’m used to playing everything with an open soul, to the emotions, and not only to let it pass through myself, but also to bring it into the hall, so that it resonates with the viewer. But here everything is different. Here, as far as I understood Sasha, the character is nearby, I have to speak the text, keep myself in line. And only in the end can you let yourself go. Everything that exists here happens against my will. I should not impose my emotions on the audience, but should give them time to work on their own, so that they themselves respond where they want, laugh, where they want, cry.
Of course, it’s hard to play in this performance. Maybe if he walked more often it would be easier. And if you don’t play for eight months, you need to rebuild, tune in. A lot of expenses come with nerves. On stage sometimes you feel: there is not enough air, or as if some scenes are missing, but you want to act out the ones that are there. But in Three Sisters you can’t think about yourself separately. Because here the whole work is so rhythmically laid out that you can’t jump out of it, here you can’t play out in your own piece if you want. Sasha builds the performance like a musical score. I'm just now starting to understand this. Many people don't accept this. Their performance is annoying. And those who accept do not go to analyze individual acting works, but somehow talk about the performance as a whole and about Chekhov. And they are not embarrassed by either the Moscow Art Theater recording of 1940 or anything else. And they also say that Chekhov should probably be played like this now. I could have told Sasha a long time ago: “I didn’t live up to your trust. You probably wanted another Olga.” Moreover, there is a second performer. But this performance is interesting to me. And let the critics tear me to smithereens, but it is important for me to overcome my barrier. And if this performance were performed often, I think this Olga would be as dear to me as my old stage heroines, whom I love and remember.
I can’t imagine myself without theater; I can’t imagine much in the future. No, of course, if something had happened in my life, I would probably have tried not to let myself and my child die. I probably would have gone where they paid me, but I would have already been broken. In general, I’m cheerful, sociable, now I’ve calmed down a little, I’m tired, while Kolyunka is little. For now there is little where you can get me out. Before, I used to run everywhere. While I was studying, I watched all of Lyubimova’s performances. And everyone was a revelation. And from the last thing I saw, I liked Galibin’s play “La Fünf in der Luft.” The atmosphere in the hall is so special. In his play “Harp of Greetings...” I also find some ideas and techniques interesting. The game within the game, the atmosphere of the theater in life... There you could probably still be naughty.
I myself wanted to be naughty there.
The most recent thing I liked was Fomenkov’s play “Guilty Without Guilt.” It was simply a celebration of the soul. The actors perform amazingly well. It's obvious how much the director loves the actors. “The Oresteia” was watched by Peter Stein. A very modern performance. The audience was somehow hysterically animated during the screening. Sometimes I wanted to cover myself, to get away from what was happening on stage. The topic of enmity always leads to rejection. But, unfortunately, it will always be modern. In general, if we talk about directors, I love many.
Everyone who is interesting to work with. I remember my work with Tanya Kazakova. She staged “An Old Man Leaving an Old Woman...” at the Molodezhny Theater. Kolya Gravshin and I performed this performance for two. It seems that the play is everyday, but Tanya, through her show, took us away from everyday life. I met her in the only work I did, but I would also like to work together.
Now I actually want to try to do something in the theater for the soul. There are some suggestions. We need to find a director. Because it’s hard for yourself. You will definitely do it again. I lack a “third eye”, I lack a director who will take not what I can do, but will open something in me with a different key. I recently read an interview with Vladislav Pazi, and here’s what’s interesting: when asked how he appoints an actor for a role, he says that he saw an actress in the theater and realized that she should play specific role and that a play should be staged with her. It’s wonderful that the director feels this way about the actor.
As one Vakhtangov director told me: “It’s not the play that needs to be tied to you, Nina, but some play that needs to be cast on you.” After all, this is how everything should ideally happen for actors. In this regard, I have better luck in cinema. I love cinema. I really like Sokurov's films. But, unfortunately, it didn’t happen to work with him. I remember when I was still at Molodezhny, Sasha wanted to stage something, but, unfortunately, it didn’t happen, they didn’t let him. And of those with whom I worked, I love Proshkin, Ovcharov, Khotinenko. When I met Sergei Ovcharov at Kinotavr, I was struck by the fact that he remained the same person as he was. He retained this naivety, trepidation, and purity of soul. In general, in theater and cinema, people usually change, and in a bad way. Although there are many wonderful ones. Here was Vitya Mikhailov. We filmed with him at Mamin’s. Or Georgy Burkov. We worked on “The Tale” together.
In general, all my friends are from childhood. Here is my godmother Kolyunya, she helped me so much in life in the most difficult moments that it’s not even like a friend, but like a sister. But these are from the old ones, and among the new ones they are more likely friends, because now, in order to make new friends, you have to spend so much effort so as not to make a mistake again. Trusted old friends. There is no need to strain yourself in front of them. The way you are is how they perceive you.
I don't really like giving interviews. Sometimes journalists are scolded for reasons other than business, but sometimes they criticize journalists for reasons. But when they come to the factory, they ask, for example, how many parts were invented, in what way, and do not pry into their personal lives. And what does personal life have to do with it? Why ask unnecessary questions...
Recorded by A. KOLONISTOVA
Nina Usatova is a woman with a strong-willed character. Already in the eighth grade, she knew exactly what to be - of course, an actress. And for exactly five years she persistently entered the Shchukin School. And she entered, though, into the directing department, after which she went where? That's right, into an actress.
Nina Usatova lives in St. Petersburg, works at the Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater and actively acts in films. Many viewers remember her from such films as “Cold Summer of ’53”, “Muslim”, “Window to Paris”, and the television series “Waiting Room”. After the actress’s participation in the “Russian Project,” everyone repeated after her: “Dima, wave your hand to mom!” But Chelny residents will be able to wave Usatova’s hand in the near future. On November 21, the play “Man, wait!” will take place on the stage of the KAMAZ Cultural Center. — the main roles will be played by Nina Usatova and Igor Sklyar. Before the actors arrived in Chelny, we called St. Petersburg and interviewed N. Usatova by phone.
— Nina Nikolaevna, in the film “See Paris and Die” you played a heroine named Farida, who spoke Tatar with absolutely no accent. Do you really know the Tatar language that well or did someone voice your character?
— No, I myself spoke Tatar in this film. How do I know the language? (Laughs) But we are all half Tatars! Everyone is so high-cheeked and narrow-eyed. So I fit into the role of the Tatar Farida very well.
— What movie roles do you consider to be among your favorite?
- You know, all my roles are dear to me, because you put a piece of your heart into each of them and they all leave some kind of mark on you. Well, the most favorite ones are the works in the films “Neverbelievable”, “Fairy Tale”, “Cold Summer of ’53”, “Window to Paris”, “Muslim”. This list will probably include a role in “Caucasian Roulette” - on November 14, the premiere of this film will take place at the Moscow House of Cinema, and from December 5 it will be shown in the regions. By the way, I was told that at the capital’s film market there were representatives of the Ministry of Culture of Tatarstan who want to purchase “Caucasian Roulette”. And they are going to invite me to the presentation of this film in Tatarstan.
— Your path to becoming an actress turned out to be very winding - through the directing department. Do you sometimes feel like trying yourself as a director?
— Since childhood, I really love to invent, and my first, let’s say, directing experience was in a pioneer camp, where I was involved in various productions. But now I have no desire to do something as a director - for this you need to be a real teacher. And just like that... Although, when I watch some performances, I comment to myself: oh, but I wouldn’t stage this scene like that. That is, the director in me does not sleep, moreover, he spurs me on and even helps me in my work. Because I analyze each of my roles both as an actress and as a director.
— Speaking of directors. You starred in Dmitry Astrakhan’s television series “The Waiting Room,” where you played a businesswoman who would stop at nothing. Astrakhan's films always cause so much controversy and opinion: some enjoy watching his work, others hate it. What can you say about this director?
“I worked with him back in the Bolshoi Drama Theater, where Astrakhan staged the play “The Marriage of Balzaminov,” and I played the merchant Belotelova. I can say that he is a very enthusiastic person, but he does not reject ideas from outsiders. Olga Volkova and I did whatever we wanted at this performance. And then Dmitry invited me to the “Waiting Room”. The picture as a whole, in my opinion, turned out, although purely storyline I didn't like something. For example, there is some amount of lies in the fact that our screenwriter is invited to Hollywood. But the cast is wonderful - Ulyanov, Tikhonov, Boyarsky...
Imagine that we shot 14 episodes (later they were shortened a little) in just two and a half months - it was a lot of work! And how much risk there was... We flew on a military helicopter (it is not clear who was at the helm) right above the icy wires. The cold is terrible, the weather is disgusting, we all got sick during filming. I later said that this picture pulled all the veins out of me. But the series, in my opinion, turned out to be convincing; you believe and sympathize with its characters. And even my grandmother, a businesswoman who decided to buy the city - I believe that there are such people.
— Many famous actors often share that they discourage their children from following in their footsteps. I don’t know, of course, whether this is sincere or not. I wonder if you are also against your son becoming an actor?
“I’ll answer sincerely - I went to this, as they say, barefoot, lived in hostels for many years and did not dream of any fame. I just really wanted to work in the theater and I’m happy that I’m going on stage, doing what I love. After all, I went to school for five years and achieved my goal! My son has already been invited to act in films, but I would not want to see him as an artist. Neither talent nor desire is inherited. By the way, children of actors often run away from theater universities.
— Nina Nikolaevna, what kind of performance will we see on November 21?
“This is both a comedy and a melodrama, during which the audience both laughs and worries. Igor Sklyar and I really love this performance. I hope the Chelny audience will like it too.
Elmira YAKOVLEVA.
In the photo: After the “Russian Project,” everyone repeated after Usatova: “Dima, wave your hand to mom!”
She began acting in films at the age of 30, and woke up famous after working in the film “Cold Summer of '53,” where she talentedly and vividly embodied the image of a deaf-mute cook.
The actress has over 80 film roles and many theatrical works. She keeps up with modernity and teaches young actors not to refuse even the smallest roles. She does not invite anyone except her closest people into her home, diligently protecting her place of happiness from prying eyes. Nina Usatova considers St. Petersburg the best city on Earth, and her husband, Yuri Guryev, cannot imagine life without his native Tula.
Persistent pursuit of a dream
Nina Usatova.
She stormed the acting department of the Shchukin School for four long years. It was a difficult peak, because she set out to prove to everyone, and first of all to herself, that she could become a real actress.
She did not pass the competition and went to Borovsk again. At first she worked as a warper at a cloth factory, then she transferred to the club as the leader of the factory choir, collecting the best singers throughout the enterprise.
Nina Usatova.
Of course, neither conductor's, nor at all music education she didn't have it. But they had very good organizational skills. She literally explained to her choristers how they needed to sing.
The choir played an important role in her life. Over and over again, failing to pass the competition, she returned to her club and stubbornly continued to prepare for the next entry. Speech and vocal teachers were invited to work with the group. Nina eagerly absorbed everything the teachers said, slowly accumulating the necessary knowledge and experience.
Nina Usatova.
The fifth attempt to enter the Shchukin School turned out to be successful for the future actress. True, she passed the competition for the directing department. After graduating from college, Nina knew for sure that she would not stay in Moscow. And I went on assignment to Kotlas, Arkhangelsk region. She worked at the Kotlas Drama Theater for a year, managing to play more than ten main roles. But most importantly, she realized that she still turned out to be an actress. She believed in herself and boldly set out to conquer the Northern capital. 
Nina Usatova.
Already in 1980, she was accepted into the troupe of the Leningrad Youth Theater, at the age of 30 she played her first film role, and in 1989 she went to work at the famous BDT.
At that time, she never refused roles in either theater or cinema. She received incredible pleasure from her work and collected bits and pieces of acting experience into the treasury of her profession.
Happiness is not for show
Yuri Guryev.
Once upon a time, a very long time ago, the actress agreed with her husband that they would not make their personal life public. The story of how the actress and her husband, Yuri Guryev, met was and remains a secret to the public. It is believed that the couple met, according to one version, when Nina Usatova came as a director to the people's theater, where Yuri played for a long time; according to another, they met during the Tula tour of the Leningrad Theater.
Yuri Guryev is a linguist by profession and is fluent in French and German. Sometimes he acts in films. But he doesn’t want to part with his native Tula. He comes to filming with pleasure, but after it’s over he always returns to his hometown, where he has friends and work.
Yuri Guryev.
The actress is especially proud of the fact that male dominance is always maintained in their family. Nina Usatova at home, by her own admission, is a simple Russian woman. She doesn’t employ housekeepers and tries to handle everything herself. She also relies in everything on her men, who are completely independent in everyday life.
The spouses try to communicate a lot and spend time together whenever possible. And always avoid questions about their personal life in all interviews. This is a secret that only the two of them are privy to.
Son
Nina Usatova with her son.
Nina Usatova considers her son Nikolai to be the most important man in her life. He is her pride and hope. She and Nikolai were always friendly, she knew all his friends and girlfriends. And she herself tried to be more of a friend to her son. 
Nina Usatova with her son.
This is probably why she quite easily and now gives in to all his persuasion. At the same time, the more she was opposed to her son’s idea, the faster she agreed with his arguments. Nikolai, to his mother’s great delight, did not even dream of an acting profession, but became a lawyer.
My home is my castle
Nina Usatova.
Nina Usatova at one time categorically refused to film in the program “While Everyone is Home.” The option of filming at home is categorically unacceptable for the actress. Just as her home is not suitable for giving interviews or conducting business negotiations.
Nina Usatova.
She considers the house a fortress for those who live in it. And there is no place for television cameras, photographers or any outside presence. Home is a place of happiness that loves silence.
She can sit at home, drinking tea with fragrant Tula gingerbread brought by her husband. And have long, long conversations about everything in the world with the person closest to you. And this is happiness. Real, quiet and very simple.
We are publishing another interview between journalist Andrei Vandenko and actress Nina Usatova from 2014.
Danila Trofimov, editor
People's Artist of Russia Nina Usatova She’s no stranger to the roles she’s played being called pictures from life: the on-screen heroines look very recognizable and believable. So in Nadezhda Volkova from the series “Stanitsa” shown on Channel One, many saw the features of Nadezhda Tsapok, the mother of Sergei Tsapok, who was found guilty of murdering 18 people in the Kuban village of Kushchevskaya. However, this similarity did not make Nina Nikolaevna happy...
- I’m chasing you from the Stanitsa, Nina Nikolaevna.
Yes, in Lately I'm passing through Moscow. I tour around the country with an enterprise. I only have two titles, but I’ve been playing in the play “Love is not a potato, you can’t throw it out the window” for ten years. He went to the Bolshoi Drama Theater, then he was removed from the repertoire, and we felt sorry for him. The audience likes it, the artists enjoy it. In December we will play for the nine hundredth time. They call us to Siberia, the Far East, the Baltic States... If there is interest, we are going.
- The series also attracted attention. Although they reacted to it differently. You probably heard?
- Why?
Firstly, touring - flights, travel, performances. Secondly, you need to cool down from the role, move away from it, so that you feel sick inside. Then I’ll sit down calmly and review everything from beginning to end. Sometimes I flip through the channels at home and come across an old picture of mine, the same “Cold Summer of '53,” which I seem to know by heart, and suddenly I notice that I perceive everything differently. And the performance of the artists, and what’s in the frame, and what’s behind the scenes... So “Stanitsa” needs to defend itself a little. Colleagues say there are a lot of responses on the Internet - positive and not only. This is fine. It’s surprising when they try to draw a parallel with Kushchevka. I didn’t even want to say the name...
- What's strange about that? Surely this is what they were counting on: the news is talking about the trial of the Tsapkov gang from Kushchevskaya and back to back they show a movie about the Volkov gang from Loschinskaya. There was even talk about the fact that your “Stanitsa” is putting pressure on the jury...
The topic is painful for the Krasnodar region, people scrutinized every detail with passion, looked for coincidences, found them, then heatedly expressed complaints, forgetting that we are talking about work of art, and not about a documentary investigation... If you wish, you can always see something in common. But it’s better to ask screenwriters and producers such questions. I am an actress, I am responsible for myself and my work. Tsapok did not try to play or copy Nadezhda. After filming, I saw a small fragment of her interrogation, and that’s all. And before that, like others, I only heard about the terrible crime that happened in Kushchevka.
- Sergei Tsapok was sentenced to life, his mother was given the previous sentence of three years.
I’ve already served more than two years and should be released in August 2014... You drag me into a conversation on an unpleasant topic, and I explain that the name Tsapok was never mentioned on our set, we didn’t think about them. But since the series hooked the viewer, it means our team worked well.
- Director Yuri Bykov started filming, then for some reason he was replaced by Vladimir Shevelkov...
Again the question is in the wrong place. I was not privy to the behind-the-scenes details, and I wouldn’t retell other people’s secrets. It seemed to me that Bykov was ready to film. He is a warm-hearted man, we discussed my role with him. And what happened next...
-Have you ever left the picture?
During filming? One day. It was a very unprofessional team; it was impossible to stay. Vanya Bortnik and I turned around and left. They left everything, didn’t take a penny of the fee, and then they accused us of mortal sins. In the back. It happens. You won't guess... Have you seen the movie "Home"? Recently shown on Channel One. Sergei Garmash played fantastically there. We first met in the film “The Resentment” in 1986. Filming took place in a village near Vyshny Volochok. I remember arriving at the site, going into the barn, and there was some strange guy sitting there in a sweatshirt and cap. He looks like a local drunk. Looks sideways at me. I ask: “Who is this?” They say: "Garmash". I will always remember the last name. And then she fell in love with him as an actor so much that she was ready to bite off his ear when, years later, she played his wife in the film “The Last Slaughter.” I love Sergei! But I started talking about “Home” for a different reason. The film ends with a terrible, bloody scene: the large family of the hero Garmash is killed, both women and children are shot. Fear of the Lord! In real life, there was probably a similar story, so the screenwriter spied on it. But for some reason no one clings to “House”, and “Stanitsa” is endlessly compared to Kushchevskaya.
- The events coincided in time. Court and series. As if in hot pursuit...
Well, yes, perhaps... I know one thing: Vitaly Moskalenko wrote the role for me, but I refused, I flatly did not agree. God knows! And then I thought that I had never played such characters before. New paint, complex character... If you look at it, my Nadezhda Volkova deserves sympathy and pity. Life put her in such a framework. You remember: in her youth, Nadezhda Alekseevna was undeservedly convicted, put in prison for other people’s sins, her fate was broken, but the woman wanted to start a family, raise her children, so she fought for a woman’s happiness as best she could.
- Along the way, ruining other people’s lives...
The world around us makes us cruel. Children are born kind, but adults grow up to be different... Recently, young actors from St. Petersburg approached me who wanted to wish a happy birthday to a monk from Optina Hermitage. He writes poetry, and it is so pure that the guys decided to record a short film for him. And I read a poem called “Be like children.” The idea there is simple and beautiful: you need to look at the world through the eyes of a child, and everything will be fine. It’s hard to argue with this, but how to do it?! Sins draw you to the earth, poison poisons the soul... In order not to come into contact with dirt, you probably need to become a hermit, but we live in a human environment. Nowadays you can't be Robinson. I spent a day with a heart monitor, came to the doctor, and he began to understand the readings of the device. It turned out that just going outside was enough to make your pulse race and your heart race. A banal meeting with random passers-by is already stressful! How many of these turns do each of us have in a day? This is how Nadezhda Volkova turned into the Wolf. Take the scene when the son came and said that the prosecutor was asking for money. She replies: “If he asks, give me...” Where can I stay? normal person?.. And this is not bitterness, no. I remember my grandfather, who was completely dispossessed in the twenties, he died of hunger, miraculously survived, and the war began - he volunteered for the front, although he was not conscripted due to his age. He defended his homeland... And another person went to the police. How to explain this? In 1986, I starred in the film “Witness”, playing the director of an orphanage. According to the plot, the events unfold after the liberation of Belarus from the Nazis. Filming took place in Disna, near Vitebsk. And there was a terrible episode when they filmed the scene of the trial of the policemen. Local residents who remembered the horrors of the occupation were invited to join the crowd. The craters stopped, the disguised artists began to be brought out in handcuffs, and the crowd suddenly began to flood. People forgot that they were on a film set, and surrounded the cars, tightened the ring... The soldiers posing as guards from the cordon were confused, the villagers crushed their formation. The director had to take a megaphone and bring the crowd to their senses. The episode that stuck in my memory was how two women were reaching for the throat of a pseudo-policeman, and they had camp numbers stamped on their wrists. The cameraman pointed the camera at these hands and filmed and filmed... A terrible sight!
Why did you talk about this? To repeat the well-known truth: life is richer than any fantasy, you don’t need to invent anything, it’s enough to be able to see. I recently met a friend on tour. He is somewhat similar to my Nadezhda Volkova, if you don’t take into account what’s behind the scenes, beyond the law. He helps churches, warms the poor, takes care of an orphanage, hardly rests, works, works... There was once an attempt on his life, an accident was set up, and he remained disabled. Nadezhda Volkova was also shot at, stones were thrown at her back... In a word, I saw an acquaintance, and he said: “Nina, you played me!” Can you imagine? This is more valuable than any reward!
- Which you also have enough of.
There is a Russian State Prize. Two “Nicks” - for “Muslim” and for “Barak”, “Golden Eagle” for “Pop”. It's not like I dust them off every day, but it's nice to be celebrated. I think “Stanitsa” will not be left without prizes, although last December, when filming ended, I was so nervously exhausted that I said: “If only no one would ever see this series!” As if I felt...
- You mentioned “Muslim” by Vladimir Khotinenko. This is 1995. At that time, the adoption of Islam by a village boy looked very exotic. Today this is no longer surprising. How would you, Nina Nikolaevna, react if not the screen Kolya Ivanov, but your own son Kolya Usatov suddenly decided to change his faith?
Any mother will always remain with her child. There is no choice here, this is not the situation. My St. Petersburg friends’ son recently converted to Islam, although this is an Orthodox family. He has changed internally and externally, he has become a different person, he performs rituals, observes fasts, and celebrates holidays. The family didn't know anything for a long time. Until one day the son said: “I went to the mosque. Pray". They thought he was joking. It turned out no... They asked him to explain the reason for the changes, but he did not answer. And the family agreed: in the end, faith is everyone’s personal choice. We must treat other people's beliefs with respect. Islam is a traditional religion. The main thing is that without extremism and fanaticism. It’s bad when various sects become active and fool the heads of young people. This is truly scary. A person can wander into such a jungle that he cannot get out. People find it difficult to find themselves in modern world. Look at a Moscow street: it seems like a multi-headed river is flowing, but look closely and you see that everyone is on their own. One has headphones, the second has an iPad, the third has some other gadget.
- But you, it seems, do not shy away from the achievements of civilization.
I go to the Internet to check and clarify information, watch a movie recommended by friends, and receive mail, the address of which few know. Bright and attractive sites are not designed for people like me, but for young people, they are hooked... Have you read the book by Seraphim Vyritsky “It Was From Me”? I would really like everyone to wear it in their bosom. There's a lot of useful stuff written there. You see, people would sin less, they would live with caution and the understanding that you have to pay for everything in the world. After all, even natural disasters- not an accident, but a sign and punishment of God. We don't take care the world, we don’t think about tomorrow. The obituary will be read out on TV, the terrible news will be conveyed, and a second later they will play a show where everyone is laughing. Do they believe that trouble will not affect them? Life turns over the calendar at such a speed, the end of the world will come without us noticing... And Moscow and St. Petersburg are not all of Russia. Nothing has changed in the village in half a century; if you turn over the fence - the same gullies, dirt, impassability. Who will raise the country like our fathers did? Excuse me for getting too philosophical, I don’t know if you will be able to coherently formulate my flea jumping from topic to topic... I was lucky to meet in my life Father Vasily Ermakov, a spiritual father. Unfortunately, I communicated with him less than I should have, but he managed to give a lot. Father Vasily spoke little, but to the point. Before you have time to think, he’s already answering as if he’s read your mind. He repeated: “Knock and it will be opened for you.” At first I didn’t understand the phrase, then I understood it. You need to know what to ask and from whom, to feel moderation in everything. Then you will be responsible for what you took. As a child, I dreamed of becoming an actress, internally I played out the destinies of others. My old school album from 1968 has been preserved, it contains two photos - the great Alla Tarasova and the young Inna Churikova. At the bottom there is a note in childish handwriting: “My dream, may God grant it to come true!” And it worked out, I went on stage, began filming... She asked correctly! Meeting Father Vasily is a reward for something in my life. I check every step with an internal tuning fork. I always wanted to study. And now it hasn’t cooled down. I wish I could paint pictures and play a musical instrument! I listen to Denis Matsuev, and my soul blurs. Or when I watch a friend embroider. And satin stitch, and cross stitch, and guipure, and on a typewriter, and on bobbins... I would like that! Why not work... Sometimes I tell my son: “Kolka, I’ll give up everything, I’ll sit at home for a year, take care of myself, without being distracted by anything.” But I understand: they will immediately forget, they will stop inviting me to the cinema, but I have to feed my family... Therefore, I put off my studies until better times and start filming in the series “Zemsky Doctor”. A good family melodrama, wonderful partners - Irina Kupchenko, Svetlana Nemolyaeva, Tatyana Vasilyeva, Olga Budina. I have a funny, comedic role. This is the kind of movie I love to act in.
- Not “Stanitsa”, in a word.
Well, here you go again, I asked...
Nina was born in the small village of Raspberry Lake in Altai. The future actress spent her early childhood here, and a few years after the birth of her daughter, the family moved to Kurgan. There Nina went to school and for the first time began to dream of becoming an actress.
The actress herself no longer remembers where her passion for dramatic art came from. Suddenly, she suddenly became interested in the atmosphere that reigned in the school drama club. Taking part in amateur performances over and over again, Nina caught herself thinking that in the future she wanted to become an actress.
Mom, to her surprise, did not laugh at her daughter’s hopes. She respected her dream and continued to support her, even when Usatova failed the entrance to “Pike”. The stubborn young girl had no intention of returning to Kurgan and did not even think about going anywhere else.
In order to spend the winter in Moscow and wait for the entrance exams next year, the future actress got a job as a worker at a confectionery factory and lived in the capital. As expected, I was on vacation, but I went home on weekends. There, no one even thought that Nina wouldn’t do it.
Reach your dreams
But time passed. In the second, third, fourth and fifth years after school, Usatova failed exams. At one stage, she stopped working at the confectionery factory and got a job at the House of Culture, first in one of the regular positions, and then rose to director.
She was a real fan of the amateur performances that were often staged there, and began to observe how real actors behaved, moved, and spoke. Over the course of a year of work, she managed to improve her program so much that now the selection committee could not find fault with either her obesity or her country dialect: the future actress stood before them!
So Nina Usatova entered the Boris Shchukin Theater School.
She wasn't the best. Graduating from university at the age of 28, Nina had no plans to stay in the capital. By distribution, the actress ended up in the theater of the city of Kotlas, Arkhangelsk region. As many as twenty roles in a year and invaluable experience were given to her by a small regional theater. After such work, Usatova was not afraid to go to storm Leningrad, where she remained forever.
Star
The next year after her arrival, the actress served in the troupe of the Youth Theater, where she soon attracted the attention of critics, was called an accomplished actress who had found her role, and was also noticed by directors. At 30, Usatova received her first film role.
A charming and comical talkative village woman - this is how she appeared before the whole country in the film “Where Fomenko Disappeared”; other directors also noticed such an actress with a non-trivial appearance.
In the 80s, Usatova was in great demand: she starred in an average of two films a year. In 1989, she received an invitation to play in the BDT. The happy 90s began for the actress. “Chicha”, “Window to Paris”, “Muslim”, “Fatal Eggs” and many, many more films beloved by the whole country. Now she was simply torn between filming, being involved in four or five projects at once in some years.
Yura
But before becoming a real star, she experienced those feelings that women in her role so rarely have to play.
Nina Usatova and her husband, Yuri Guryev, once agreed that they would not reveal the story of their acquaintance, and they really don’t like to talk about how their relationship began.
In only one interview, Tula linguist and actor Yuri Lvovich said that once, in the late 80s, one of the Leningrad theaters came to their theater on tour... It is generally accepted that it was those tours that turned out to be turning points for the couple.
The lovers were never able to live together for long, but they have no intention of getting a divorce. Accustomed to his own hometown Yuri did not want to stay in the cold northern capital, especially since he found very little work for himself there. Nina, on the contrary, had already truly fallen in love with St. Petersburg and did not want to leave anywhere.
Kolya
Well, this is a fixable matter. In the bohemian acting environment, a guest marriage will not surprise anyone. Now Nina Nikolaevna and Yuri Lvovich go to visit each other, they still communicate warmly, call each other on the phone and take care of each other - only at a distance.
Their son Nikolai now also lives in St. Petersburg, in his mother’s old apartment (not so long ago Nina Usatova moved to a new one). She is looking forward to her grandchildren, but Kolya is in no hurry to get married.
Nina Nikolaevna very closely monitored the upbringing and education of her son, however, without limiting his choice. If he wanted to become an artist, he wouldn’t resist. But the son chose a different profession. For some time he studied in London, completed his education in his native St. Petersburg, and now has become a lawyer.
Now Nina Nikolaevna calls Kolya the most unbiased and objective critic, witty and accurate in his statements. The son loves to attend his mother’s performances and knows all the roles by heart. Sometimes, having settled comfortably in her home, he begins to play this or that scene with her, and Nina just smiles: he inherited acting talent, but did not use it.
Nina Nikolaevna does not lose popularity and people's love. She is a highly respected actress and a real show stopper at any event.
Usatova most often goes out with her son, and her husband prefers a measured lifestyle, but he often comes to visit his wife with delicious Tula gingerbread.
