Table of contents:
- Childhood dream
- Frustrated clown
- Ability not to give up
- Conquest of the capital
- Rejection of roles
- Language problems
- I wanted to leave the stage
- Favorite roles
- An uninteresting role
- lone wolf
Video: Why Armen Dzhigarkhanyan called himself a "lone wolf" and other little-known facts about the legendary actor
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Armen Dzhigarkhanyan is a unique phenomenon in theater and cinema. His surname appears in the Guinness Book of Records, where he was included as the most filmed actor in Russia. And there were also many theatrical works, scoring films, participating in radio performances, creating your own theater. On November 14, 2020, the actor's heart stopped. And it is difficult to imagine that Armen Dzhigarkhanyan will never play new roles again and will not smile his special smile from the screen …
Childhood dream
He was born in Yerevan in 1935, but his father, Boris Akimovich, left the family when his son was barely a month old. But his mother, who served in the Ministry of Culture of the Armenian SSR, doted on the boy, and dreamed that he would love the theater just as she loved it herself. True, she could not even imagine that her son would transform this love into a passionate dream of becoming an actor.
Frustrated clown
But even before little Armen Dzhigarkhanyan developed a desire to devote himself to the acting profession, he dreamed of how he would enter the circus arena and clearly imagined himself in the role of a clown. Subsequently, it turned out that the boy was desperately afraid of heights, so he simply would not be able to work in the circus.
Ability not to give up
The actor knew how not to give up in difficult situations. And when he was not accepted into GITIS, he decided to pursue his dream in a different way. And he became an assistant cameraman at the "Armenfilm" film studio, and then entered the acting department of the Art and Theater Institute in his native Yerevan. And already in his student years he began to appear on the stage of the Yerevan Drama Theater.
Conquest of the capital
The actor was quite pleased with his service in the Yerevan theater and would hardly have dared to go to the capital at random, without an invitation. But fate was favorable to him and provided a chance in the person of the Lenkom theater actress Olga Yakovleva. She saw the actor in the production of "Richard III" in Yerevan and was so impressed by Dzhigarkhanyan's talent that she described the young talent to the artistic director of her theater Anatoly Efros in the most vivid colors. In 1967, he offered Armen Dzhigarkhanyan a place in the Lenkom troupe. After the director left Lenkom, the actor moved to the Mayakovsky Theater at the invitation of Andrei Goncharov, and in 1996 he created his own theater.
Rejection of roles
He became the Guinness record holder for the number of roles played, but there were situations in his life when he still refused to work in films. At the same time, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan did not say that he was very busy or that he did not like the script. He frankly admitted: the reason for the refusal was most often fear. He was simply afraid of failing to cope, making mistakes, failing to reach the required level.
Language problems
The actor has lived in two countries for more than 15 years, with pleasure flying from Russia to the United States and back. He dreamed of acting in a theater in Dallas, where he had a home, but was never able to learn English. He studied independently, invited teachers, but it was all in vain. The actor himself called it "a great tragedy", which prevented him from even going to the theater in the United States, since he did not understand a word.
I wanted to leave the stage
Shortly before his 75th birthday, the actor was about to leave the stage. When asked about the reasons for such a decision, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan said that he could no longer afford to play big roles and read long monologues. As it turned out, the actor was embarrassed that he had a false jaw and was afraid of a situation in which it might fall out. Perhaps later he was still able to somehow solve this issue, because the audience could see the talented actor on the stage and later.
Favorite roles
In one of his numerous interviews, the actor talked about what he loves most of all animated films. And in general, everything cartoon and fabulous was close to him. He always played a lot in the theater, acted in films, but he called the Bear from Little Red Riding Hood his best role. He appeared on stage in this image in 1958 in Yerevan and throughout his life he remembered how he could do whatever he wanted on stage. And the actor's favorite work in cinema was the film "Triangle" by Henrikh Malyan, filmed in 1967, where Armen Dzhigarkhanyan played a kind and wise blacksmith named Mukuch. For this work, the actor was awarded the State Prize of Armenia.
An uninteresting role
The audience noted how harmonious Armen Dzhigarkhanyan was in the image of Humpbacked in Stanislav Govorukhin's cult series "The meeting place cannot be changed." The actor noted: the film was made very well, good literature, the talent of the director and the persuasiveness of the actors came together in it. But at the same time he admitted that he was not very interested in working on the role of Humpbacked. This image did not require complex drama, which the actor was spoiled for.
lone wolf
Armen Borisovich called himself a lone wolf and admitted that he succeeds best when he has to overcome resistance. But at the same time, he was always alone in his suffering, searches and mistakes. This was his path.
For the number of roles played in the theater and cinema, he got into the Guinness Book of Records. But it’s not about quantity. Few of the Russian actors and directors were so loved by the public as Armen Dzhigarkhanyan. He was always frank when he talked about himself, about his life, about happiness and love, about creativity and fame.
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