Vera Vasilyeva - 94: Why the star of "The Legend of the Siberian Land" did not get roles in the cinema

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

September 30 marks the 94th anniversary of the famous theater and film actress, People's Artist of the USSR Vera Vasilyeva. She was glorified by the main role in the film "The Legend of the Siberian Land", but after the triumphant film debut, she starred a little, although on the theatrical stage she was expected to be a great success. Why the directors did not give Vera Vasilyeva roles, and she herself said that her life in the cinema did not work out - further in the review.

Vera Vasilieva was born in 1925 into a simple village family. After moving to Moscow, they settled in a communal apartment. Life was very difficult - the family had many children, and the parents disappeared at work all day long. And Vera, meanwhile, read a lot and since the first time she visited the Bolshoi Theater, she dreamed of the stage. When the Great Patriotic War began, the girl did not leave for evacuation - she stayed with her father in Moscow, as she was preparing to enter the theater school. She still recalls with a shudder how horrible the air raid signals caused to everyone, and how, together with other teenagers, they were on duty on the roof of a high-rise building to extinguish incendiary bombs.

Even during the war, in 1943, Vera entered the drama school. As a student, she began acting in films - at first in extras, and in these films her last name was not even mentioned in the credits. And at 22, Vasilyeva got her first major role, which made her a star of the all-Union scale - she played Nastya in the film "The Legend of the Siberian Land." The success of this work was phenomenal - for a whole year the film was shown in all cinemas in the country, and the young debutante was awarded the Stalin Prize. People came up to her on the streets, calling her Nastenka, and sent her bags of letters.

After the premiere of the film, director Ivan Pyriev invited Vera to the hotel for a conversation. She expected to be offered a new role, but she was severely disappointed. She was unequivocally hinted that she should thank the director for her success. The actress replied with a categorical refusal, and an angry Pyryev threatened her that she would no longer act in films. While he remained the director of Mosfilm, Vasiliev was really not approved for the role. However, there were other reasons for her failures in cinema. The most important of them, the actress considers her "ordinary appearance".

The first success played a cruel joke on her: on the one hand, her role in The Legend of the Siberian Land brought her recognition and popularity, on the other, she made her a hostage to the image of a simple village girl. And if outwardly she corresponded to him for some time, then internally it contradicted her nature. Vera Glagoleva said: "". She was offered to play the roles of the chairwoman of the collective farm and village simpletons, but things rarely went beyond the trial. The directors expected to see a rosy-cheeked girl, "blood and milk", and a sophisticated, intelligent young lady came to the set. They sighed in disappointment: "". And they were denied roles.

Despite the fact that her theatrical destiny was successful, even here Vera Vasilyeva did not receive all the roles she dreamed of. The actress believes that in the Theater of Satire she did not manage to fully reveal herself, because she was offered grotesque images, without subtle psychological nuances, and she wanted to play in performances based on the plays of Chekhov and Ostrovsky and at the Maly Theater or the Moscow Art Theater would feel more confident. In the Theater of Satire, it was difficult for her, there she always felt out of place. "", - said Vasilyeva. She did not hide the fact that all her life she felt like a heroine of another time - the 19th century, with its ideas of love, honesty and nobility. And the theater seemed to her an opportunity to live in this time, playing in productions based on the works of classical literature.

The theater director Valentin Pluchek did not see in Vera Vasilyeva the sinfulness and passion necessary for the roles she dreamed of. For many years he trusted her only small roles of simpletons. For 5-6 years she was involved in the same productions, without receiving new proposals. Only 10 years later, she finally got a prominent role - the countess in the play "Crazy Day, or The Marriage of Figaro." This work was called one of her best theatrical roles.

The actress was married - she lived for 55 years with actor Vladimir Ushakov, but she had no children. From the age of 28, she often played the role of mothers, she was called one of the main movie theaters of Soviet cinema (Znamensky's mother in the TV series "Experts lead the investigation", Nikita's mother, the hero of Alexander Abdulov, in the film "Carnival", Lena's mother, the heroine of Vera Glagoleva, in the film "Marry the captain", etc.). "", - says Vasilyeva.

The actress has no children of her own, her husband has passed away, but today she does not feel lonely - more than 25 years ago, fate brought her together with Daria Miloslavskaya, a fan of her talent, who replaced her own daughter and became her goddaughter. Today Vera Vasilyeva does not regret and does not yearn that she did not give birth to children - she says that she never imagined herself as a mother.

At 92, the actress continued to perform in the theater, playing love scenes with a young man. She still participates in theater productions, goes on tour and cannot imagine her life without work - she says that this is what keeps her afloat: "".

When she was asked how she manages to look and feel so great at such a mature age, she replied: "". Vera Vasilyeva never did plastic surgery - she did not want to lose her own face. She does not follow diets, does not play sports, but at the same time is in excellent physical shape.

Her secret lies elsewhere - Vera Vasilyeva is an optimist, knows how to rejoice in trifles, does not get angry with anyone and does not harbor resentment. Despite all the difficulties that she had to overcome, the actress believes that her life is a success - both in the professional sphere and in the family - and thanks fate for all the ups and downs. Perhaps that is why she looks so light, airy, 30 years younger than her real age. It remains only to wish the magnificent actress many more years and new roles!

Her own experience helped her to play so many diverse roles: The inextinguishable tenderness of the unrequited love of Vera Vasilyeva and Boris Ravensky.