Vladimir Shevelkov - 60: What made the star of the films "Midshipmen, Go!" and "Hearts of Three" go into the shadows

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

May 8 marks the 60th anniversary of the actor and director Vladimir Shevelkov, who became famous for his roles in the films "Midshipmen, Forward!" and "Hearts of Three". At the peak of popularity in the early 1990s. he suddenly disappeared from the screens and returned to cinema only in the early 2000s, but in a new capacity. What disappointed the actor in his profession, and what he is doing now - further in the review.

Became an actor thanks to the physical education teacher

At first, neither he himself nor his parents could have imagined that Vladimir Shevelkov would someday become a famous artist: his mother worked as a mechanic at a factory and as a cleaner, his father went from a turner to a leading engineer of the factory. During his school years, Vova's main hobby was sports - he was engaged in athletics and football, but it was this hobby that brought him to the world of cinema. For the first time he witnessed the filming process at the age of 6: they lived on the Field of Mars in Leningrad, where they often shot films, and one day the boy, chasing football with friends, saw how the work on the film "Republic of SHKID" was going on. What he saw fascinated, but then he still did not seriously think about what he himself wanted to do in the future.

After school, Shevelkov entered the Electrical Engineering Institute and, thanks to his good physical fitness, attracted the attention of a physical education teacher. He noticed that the guy shows abilities not only on the sports ground, but also at the reading contests, and, having learned from his friend from Lenfilm about the casting of young actors, he advised Shevelkov to take part in it. So at the age of 17 he made his film debut and in 1979 he played in several films at once.

A year later, at the Children's Cinema Week, the aspiring actor met with Rolan Bykov, and he was very surprised to learn that he was studying at the Electrotechnical Institute, and recommended to enroll in VGIK. Shevelkov managed to become a student at the Institute of Cinematography, however, he was on the verge of expulsion 9 times - for conflicts with teachers, filming a movie, sleeping at a lecture, academic failure, etc. - and completed his studies with grief in half.

Star roles

All-Union popularity fell on Vladimir Shevelkov after filming in Svetlana Druzhinina's film "Midshipmen, forward!", Where he played the role of Nikita Olenev. Although this work brought him fame and recognition, the actor himself did not like to remember filming, because he was very dissatisfied with the process itself and its result.

Initially, Druzhinina saw other actors in the lead roles and with Shevelkov she never managed to find a common language. The actor said: "".

He believed that before the "Midshipmen" he was engaged in a real acting profession, and with this work, show business began, and this "pop" cinema of the new time did not suit him at all. He believed that his work in this film was not worthy of popular love and was sincerely surprised at the popularity of the film. In addition, even then Shevelkov felt cramped within the framework of the acting profession. He had directorial ambitions, he presented his hero in a completely different way, and, according to him, Druzhinina shot his own movie, and he shot his own. He said that he himself directed some scenes with his participation, and categorically did not want to fulfill the tasks set by Druzhinina. It was not surprising that in the continuation of the film, instead of Shevelkov, she removed another actor.

5 years later, Shevelkov played another striking role - Francis Morgan in the film "Hearts of Three". It was with this role that he wanted to put an end to his acting career. The one that is one of the most popular in the early 1990s. artists will decide to leave the cinema at the peak of fame, no one expected. Then there were many rumors about where he disappeared. They said that Shevelkov could not cope with star fever and began to drink, but in fact this did not correspond to reality at all - he never had problems with alcohol, and instead of star fever, the actor experienced an acute rejection of his own popularity.

Years later, Shevelkov explained: "".

Director's path

For six months Shevelkov worked as a bartender in a restaurant - he wanted to see the world with different eyes, and then, together with his concert director, he opened a company for the production of advertising, music videos and television products, released several television programs, and 10 years later he came to film directing. When in the early 2000s. Shevelkov was offered to play a role in the series “Opera. Chronicles of the slaughter department,”he agreed on the condition that he was allowed to shoot several episodes. This is how he began his career as a director.

After that, he shot melodramas "Where Love Lives", "Love Under Supervision", the social drama "Vasilievsky Island", the fantastic tragicomedy "What the French are silent about", the series "Women's Dreams of Faraway Countries", "To the End of the World", "Village", "Pregnancy Test", "Born by a Star", "Secrets of Investigation-17", "Spasskaya" and others. Shevelkov also appears in his directorial work as an actor. But fame for him is still far from the most important thing in his profession, but rather its side effect.

At the age of 60, Vladimir Shevelkov believes that his life has developed successfully, and that in his profession one can be happy while remaining in the shadows: "".

After filming this film, Shevelkov's colleague mysteriously disappeared: Where did the actress from "Hearts of Three" disappear?.