Oleg Menshikov - 60: What is the famous artist hiding from the public

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

November 8 marks the 60th anniversary of the famous actor, director and teacher, People's Artist of Russia Oleg Menshikov. Everyone is well aware of his creative achievements - he has more than 35 bright film roles, dozens of theatrical works on his account, since 2012 he has been the artistic director of the Moscow Drama Theater. M. Ermolova. He often appears on screens and gives interviews, but at the same time, for the majority, he still remains a complete mystery. Menshikov is a very private person, and there are many topics that he prefers to keep silent about …

His career was truly unique. If young actors, as a rule, have been seeking the attention of directors for many years and endlessly participate in auditions, the directors themselves began to fight for Oleg Menshikov almost from the first roles. He himself did not talk about this - this is known from the testimonies of his colleagues. He entered the Shchepkinskoye School on the first attempt, while still studying, he made his film debut immediately in the title role - in the film "I Wait and Hope." Thanks to this work, he was noticed by other directors, and a year later Menshikov played a cameo role in Nikita Mikhalkov's film "Relatives", from which their long-term cooperation had just begun.

In the first film, the debutant was noticed by the wife of the actor and director Mikhail Kozakov, who had just started filming "The Pokrovsky Gate". For a long time he could not find a suitable candidate for the role of Kostik, and his wife advised him to pay attention to Menshikov. At that time, he participated in the filming of "Rodney", and on his return came to audition. Both director Mikhail Kozakov and screenwriter Leonid Zorin immediately realized that they had found their hero. Kozakov recalled: "". And Zorin said: "".

But then it turned out that Menshikov had already been approved for the role in the film "Private Life" by Yuli Raizman. Then Zorin wrote a heartfelt letter to the director that he was looking for just such a hero, and asked to let the actor go to them for shooting. Raisman was persuaded, and so Oleg Menshikov got a role in "Pokrovskie gates", which became his calling card and brought all-Union popularity.

Svetlana Druzhinina also really wanted to work with Menshikov - she initially saw him in the form of one of the midshipmen. But after Yuri Moroz refused the role and was replaced by Dmitry Kharatyan, Menshikov did not fit into the new acting ensemble, and Zhigunov was approved for this role, while Menshikov voiced his hero. Druzhinina said: "".

After that Menshikov continued to act in films, played several main roles, but for 10 years there were no such brilliant works as "Pokrovskie Vorota" among them. But at this time international recognition came to him - in 1990 Menshikov was offered to play Sergei Yesenin on the London stage, in a duet with the English actress Vanessa Redgrave. As a result, he lived in London for six months and received a prize for this work. Laurence Olivier. He was even offered to obtain British citizenship, but he refused. Years later, the actor admitted: "".

When Nikita Mikhalkov started shooting the film Burnt by the Sun, he saw only Oleg Menshikov in the lead role - this image in the script was written especially for him. And then the story repeated itself - the actor had already been approved for shooting in the film of the Romanian director, but they were suddenly transferred, and Menshikov played another significant role for himself, which became a turning point in his creative biography and brought a second wave of national popularity.

The actor did not hide the fact that he was very grateful to Mikhalkov for this chance, but he rarely talked about further relationships with the director. They met on the set again, when Menshikov played the main role in "The Barber of Siberia", and then they parted ways. The fact is that Mikhalkov offered him one of the roles in the film "Twelve", Menshikov agreed, and then 4 days before the start of filming, he suddenly changed his mind. The actor admitted that Mikhalkov was greatly hurt. They say that because of this, their relationship soured. For more than 10 years they did not work together, but then Menshikov rehabilitated himself by agreeing to star in the sequel to Burnt by the Sun.

At the age of 60, Oleg Menshikov looks great and is in good physical shape, thanks to which he often hears compliments addressed to him. And only those close to him know that even after 35 years he began to have health problems, which he never talked about on the set. In 1996 he starred in the film by Sergei Bodrov Sr. "Prisoner of the Caucasus". The shooting took place in a Dagestan aul, the living conditions were close to the field conditions. The director worried that after a comfortable life in London, the actor would be outraged by such conditions, but he never once complained about the inconvenience. Only after they returned to Moscow did Bodrov learn that Menshikov's ulcer had begun to aggravate, which he did not say a word about in Dagestan.

Once such a habit of never complaining about anything and being silent about health problems nearly cost him his life. In early 2009, Menshikov was admitted to intensive care with an attack of peritonitis. After he returned to Moscow from a tour, his wife drew attention to his poor health. He did not allow her to call an ambulance - they say, he was just stirring up, everything would pass soon, but she, fortunately, did not listen to him. The doctors said that 30-40 minutes of delay could be disastrous - he would not have been saved anymore. Menshikov spoke about this case only a few years later.

There is another topic that Menshikov never talks about in an interview - this is his personal life. Just as in the case of his other secrets, this is known only from the words of other people. In 2001, the press often wrote about the actor's romance with aerial gymnast Lyudmila Kolesnikova, who was 20 years younger than him. She herself, several years later, confirmed this fact, admitting that they planned to get married, but the matter never came to a wedding. Menshikov was then captivated by the fact that the girl did not see films with his participation and did not perceive him as a star. Kolesnikova did not comment on the reasons for their separation, and soon the actor secretly married 22-year-old theater school graduate Anastasia Chernova. The spouses keep their privacy intact - they both do not give interviews on this topic.

When he is asked questions about how he differs from himself at the age of 30 at the age of 60, the artist says that he used to always try to prove something to someone, first of all, his own creative competence, tried to please, to win confession. And now he no longer lives "in the mode of proof" - there is no need for this for a long time. Over the years, he developed a "condescending attitude" to what people think of him. And Menshikov admits that in his youth he was not so closed, but over the years it became a habit. Very few people know what he really is. Which, in general, does not prevent the audience from enjoying his magnificent roles!

This picture became significant not only for Oleg Menshikov: Behind the scenes of the film "Burnt by the Sun".