Alexei Guskov - 62: How a "random artist" got rid of the role of a charming villain

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

On May 20, the famous theater and film actor, producer, People's Artist of Russia Alexei Guskov will be 62 years old. Today he does not need introductions, his filmography is already more than 80 works, but he did not come to the acting profession right away, became popular only after 40 and for a long time remained a hostage of one image - "a charming scoundrel". Why the actor decided to take a break in his career for several years, and how he could get rid of the boring role - further in the review.

Alexey Guskov was born into the family of a military pilot, navigator-sniper. When he was 7 years old, his father died in the line of duty. Of course, in his youth, his son also wanted to become a pilot, but at the medical board at the military registration and enlistment office, he was diagnosed with cataracts - and he had to say goodbye to the dream. He got into the acting profession by accident. After school, Guskov entered the Moscow State Technical University. N. Bauman and studied there for 4 years. But, having once seen a rehearsal of the play directed by Anatoly Vasiliev, he realized what he really wanted to do and applied to the Moscow Art Theater School.

Later he said: "". And although Guskov succeeded quite early and unmistakably, he still calls himself "an accidental artist."

According to him, he never dreamed of any specific roles, like artists who dream of playing, for example, Hamlet. Guskov was primarily interested not in the role, but in the topic, therefore, there are already a lot of diverse works in his filmography. He made his film debut at the age of 27, and his first fame came to him at the age of 33, when the actor played the main role in the action movie "Wolfhound". Since then, he was often offered images of bandits - heroes with negative charm were especially good at him. At the same time, the actor himself did not consider them to be negative characters. "" - he said.

However, Guskov least of all wanted to become a hostage of one role, so he refused many roles and in 1995 decided to pause filming until he was offered the role of a billiard player in the movie "Classic", which attracted him with psychological depth. The actor said: "".

2 years later, Alexei Guskov played a role that became his hallmark - captain Nikita Goloshchekin in the film by Alexander Mitta “Border. Taiga novel ". And again he managed to get away from the image of a classic villain - in his performance this image turned out to be very ambiguous. For this role, the actor was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation. About his hero, he said: "".

Guskov was so convincing in the role of the courageous but cruel captain Goloshchekin that the actor began to be identified with his character. After the release of the film, he was constantly asked questions about how close this hero was to him. Guskov was so tired of answering these questions and explaining the difference between him and himself that once again he said: "". After that, it was even more difficult for him to go beyond the role of a villain, because both the audience and the directors saw him that way. In addition, he was often offered the same type of military role, which, in his words, "".

Domineering, strong-willed, brutal and cruel on the screens, in fact, in life he has always been very charming, funny, intelligent and kind. He himself often repeats that "there is nothing from Alexei Guskov in any of his roles." His wife, actress Lydia Velezheva, claims that he is a very domestic person, devoted to family and children. Together they survived the lack of money, and wandering around hostels and communal apartments, and downtime at work, but for more than 30 years they have remained together, which is a rarity in the acting environment.

After 40 years, fame and recognition finally came to him, and in the early 2000s. directors bombarded the actor with many new proposals. Since then, he has played dozens of roles, for which he received several prestigious film awards. Guskov finally managed to get rid of the stigma of a hero with negative charisma, and today he is offered many diverse roles.

After the actor at the age of 50 played the conductor of the Bolshoi Theater in the French comedy "Concert", he became famous abroad, and since then has often starred in foreign films. When Alexei Guskov played Pope John Paul II in the Italian film "He is a Saint, He is a Man", his work was approved even in the Vatican, admitting that his hero turned out to be very similar to his prototype.

At the moment, there are already more than 80 works in his filmography, but the actor is still in search of new images and hopes that the most significant roles are still ahead of him. But for many viewers, this role of Alexei Guskov is still one of the most beloved: Secrets of the series “Border. Taiga novel .