The wicked irony of fate of Yuri Stepanov: What caused the premature departure of the star of the series "Penal Battalion"

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

He was allotted only 42 years of life, but during this time he managed to play about 50 movie roles, the most famous of which were the protagonists of the films "Dancer's Time", "The Artist" and "Karasi", as well as the series "Citizen Chief" and "Penalty battalion". 10 years ago, his path was cut short by an absurd accident, at the very takeoff, at the moment when, it seemed, in both his professional and personal life, everything finally worked out as if fate had rewarded him for many years of hard work on himself …

Neither he himself nor his relatives could have imagined that he would one day become a movie star. He grew up in the outback, his first years were spent in the village of Ryssevo in the Irkutsk region, then the family moved to the village of Taiturku, where his father, an agronomist, headed the state farm, and his mother worked as a teacher, and later they moved to the village of Pyatertsy, Usolsk district. All three children from childhood were accustomed to work and helped their parents with the housework. Yuri became interested in the theater thanks to the director of the local House of Culture, who was engaged in boxing with children, and went with them on hikes, hunting and fishing, and staged performances.

His father wanted Yuri to graduate from an agricultural institute and become a hunting expert, but he had his own plans - he entered the Irkutsk theater school. On the eve of graduation, a teacher from Moscow came to them and, seeing Stepanov, advised him to enter GITIS. The father still hoped that his son, "having played enough of the theater," would finally take up the real work. But he left for Moscow, successfully passed the competition, and after completing his studies he was admitted to the theater of his mentor - "Workshop of Peter Fomenko". Soon Yuri Stepanov became the leading artist of this theater.

Unlike many of his colleagues, Yuri Stepanov did not aspire to get on the set - he called cinema "anti-theater art" and played his first role only at the age of 28. At the age of 30, he gained his first popularity and recognition after the main role in the film "Dancer's Time", which won several prestigious awards at Russian and international film festivals and competitions. Only after his father saw him on the screen in this film, he finally believed in his son as an artist.

After that, Stepanov was often approved for roles even without samples - the directors saw in him one of the brightest, most promising, talented and organic artists in any way. In the mid-2000s, he became an incredibly sought-after actor. After 35 years, Yuri Stepanov played his most memorable roles in cinema - in the series of Nikolai Dostal "Citizen Chief" and "Penal Battalion". This director saw him in the movie "Dancer's Time" and decided that he must definitely work with him. He considered him one of the best actors of our time and said about him: "". For the sake of a good role, Stepanov was ready to thoroughly work on himself and change - before filming in "Penal Battalion", he spent hours discussing with the director the psychological picture of his role and in 2.5 months lost 37 kg.

Only after 30 years did Stepanov find personal happiness. While working on the play "Adventure", the actor met the costume designer Irina Sorokina, courted the girl for a long time, then they began to live together, and later signed. Their first son was born when Stepanov was already over 30. Later, he admitted that this event radically changed his worldview and forced him to reconsider his life values. Soon the couple had a second son. Yuri was an excellent father, his children simply idolized. Although the actor often disappeared on the set, performances and rehearsals, he tried to spend all his free time with his family and always rushed home, worried that he did not pay enough attention to his loved ones.

Shortly before the birth of his second child, Stepanov began to go to church and took his wife and son with him there. Even those close to him seemed incomprehensible to these changes, but they did not argue with him. The actor was in a spiritual search all his life, and even in his profession, which never complained to the church, he saw a kind of service, an opportunity to convey true values to people.

By the age of 40, he had achieved everything that could only be dreamed of: success and recognition in the profession, understanding, support and happiness in the family, harmony with himself. He probably would have played dozens of bright roles, but at the very takeoff, his life suddenly ended. On the evening of March 3, 2010, after the performance, the actor returned home, caught a ride. The Zhiguli stopped at a traffic light, and then a foreign car crashed into their car from behind at high speed. The blow was so strong that the car was driven into the oncoming lane, where it was rammed by another car. The driver survived, and Yuri Stepanov died on the spot from his injuries.

His departure was a great shock for everyone - both colleagues and spectators loved him very much. Director Nikolai Dostal said: "". Stanislav Govorukhin emphasized that there was not a drop of falsehood in him, he was a very sincere and honest person, which is quite rare in the acting environment.

However, his departure was the worst blow to his family - at that time his wife was expecting a third child. He was born a few weeks after the death of his father, in the same March 2010 Irina named her son Yuri, in honor of her husband. He left 3 months before his 43rd birthday. Some of his colleagues and acquaintances saw in his premature departure a fatal and even mystical coincidence. Someone said that evil fate persecuted many actors who were filmed by Alexei Balabanov - several artists died ahead of schedule, like the director himself. However, the evil irony of Yuri Stepanov's fate was different - having achieved everything he dreamed of, he never had time to enjoy the results of his labor and family happiness …

Unfortunately, Yuri Stepanov was not the only one an actor whose life was cut short in a traffic accident.