Behind the scenes of "Sherlock Holmes": What viewers do not know about one of the last roles of Andrei Panin

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

On May 28, the famous theater and film actor, Honored Artist of Russia Andrei Panin could have turned 58, but 7 years ago his life was cut short. One of the last and one of his best films was the role of Dr. Watson in the TV series "Sherlock Holmes" by Andrei Kavun. In this new interpretation of the works of Arthur Conan Doyle, Watson became the main character. However, this happened with almost all the films in which Andrei Panin was filmed: even episodic characters in his performance could outshine the main characters. However, he did not manage to complete work on this image …

When director Andrei Kavun, known for the films Piranha Hunt and Kandahar, decided to release his film version based on the famous works of Arthur Conan Doyle, he took a big risk: Sherlock Holmes is one of the most popular literary characters in world cinema, already Dozens of films on this topic were shot, and the Soviet film adaptation of "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson" with Vasily Livanov and Vitaly Solomin in the lead roles was recognized as a classic not only in our country, but also in the writer's homeland.

Any comparison that inevitably suggests itself would clearly not be in favor of any new version. But the director decided to take a chance and chose a different path, abandoning the idea of a remake. Andrey Kavun said: "".

Here Sherlock is an attractive young man, and Dr. Watson is older and more experienced than his friend, he is a desperate dreamer who in many ways embellishes the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. In the new film version, not only the main characters were different - Mrs. Hudson also surprised many, because she was not an old woman, but an attractive young woman (played by Ingeborga Dapkunaite) who had an affair with Dr. Watson. No wonder the slogan of the series was chosen the phrase: "The same, but completely different."

In the role of Dr. Watson, the director initially saw only Andrei Panin. He was called an actor with negative charm, best of all he succeeded in villains of all stripes, who, in his performance, looked ambiguous and made the audience both resent and empathize at the same time. Kavun hoped that Panin's Watson would not be schematic, and he was not mistaken. The director said about him: "".

The director created his interpretation of the image of Sherlock Holmes, starting from the character of Andrei Panin: "". Igor Petrenko was the first actor who was presented by the director in this image. But nevertheless, he invited other actors to audition, among whom were even the stars of the first magnitude - Yevgeny Mironov, Konstantin Khabensky, Ivan Okhlobystin, Ivan Stebunov, etc. Some of them could not be removed due to excessive employment in the theater and in other film projects, some were "rejected" by the director himself. When he saw Igor Petrenko's samples, he realized that he should play.

Igor Petrenko admitted that he was very worried and worried at first, because he risked being in the shadow of his bright partner on the set. Moreover, at first, Panin doubted that he would master this role. He even told the director: "" But when he saw him at the audition, he changed his mind and said to Kavun: "". Once, during a break between takes, Panin admitted: "".

On the set, Panin encouraged his partner: "" Petrenko said: "". As a result, they made a very interesting tandem, really unlike all the previous ones.

The workload was very heavy - the actors worked 162 shifts with virtually no breaks. For Panin, this was not a problem - he lived in an insane rhythm, devoted himself to work selflessly, spending all his strength and forgetting about rest. The actor took the filming very seriously - he always came to the set in advance, he always knew his text very well. With his irrepressible energy, he charged everyone around, setting a level of professionalism that everyone around was trying to match.

Unfortunately, Andrei Panin did not have time to complete the work on this role. On March 6, 2013, he passed away under unclear circumstances - his body with a head injury was found in his apartment. By this time, all the material had already been filmed, but the scoring work had not yet begun. During the filming, sound was recorded, but this was not enough - the actor had a specific manner of speech, he spoke quietly and very quickly. The director did not want the voice of another actor to sound in the frame, and he tried to use the maximum recordings of Panin's voice from the filming. As a result, only 5% of the text was spoken by another actor instead, which the audience most likely did not notice.

The premiere of the series caused an ambiguous reaction: someone called it a failure, someone appreciated Andrei Panin's excellent acting, someone believed that all modern versions lose to the British "Sherlock" with Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role, and even more so to the Soviet film … It is unlikely that this series is worth comparing with them - it was not a competitor to "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson", nor to all other versions. This series is aimed at the modern viewer and is filmed in a new aesthetics and a different rhythm, which in many ways sets the characteristic acting style of Andrei Panin - nervous, emotionally tense, invariably hypnotizing the viewer. And if only for this reason, this version definitely deserves attention.

On the set of the Soviet "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson" there were many interesting moments: How Livanov almost lost the main role, and Solomin - his life.