"It is important that the viewer sees not a character, but a real person"
In real life, people usually avoid emotions, and the artist's task is to penetrate them without fear, Slava Kopeikin is sure. A wide audience remembers him from the TV series "The Word of a kid. Blood on the asphalt" and "Children of Change", which are set in the harsh 1990s. The film "BASTA. The beginning of the game", where Kopeikin will appear in the image of a novice rapper in the early noughties. In an exclusive interview with Izvestia, he told what he was preparing for after being approved for the role, what the essence of the acting profession is and why sometimes there is not enough opportunity in cinema to talk openly about serious topics.
"Our movie is only nominally about Basta"
— You lost 12 kg, learned to rap and record tracks. How did this transformation take place and what turned out to be the most difficult thing in the transformation into a young Basta?
— It wasn't easy. Rapping was the hardest part. I don't like singing in public and playing something musical. I'm doing this unprofessionally and, in my opinion, badly, so I'm very shy. When I come up to the microphone with my headphones on and hear my voice, it's like scratching on glass for me. Over time, I got used to it, and something even started to work out. Losing weight for the role wasn't easy either.
Playing such a person is a big responsibility. It's a difficult acting task, it's not known how to do it right. But the process turned out to be interesting and entertaining.
— Did Basta tell you how he sees the hero? How does your on-screen character differ from the real Vasily Vakulenko?
— Vasily Mikhailovich did not interfere much. At the same time, he told our director Stas Ivanov everything he needed to know, and did not conceal anything. From the few meetings with Vasily Mikhailovich that took place before the start of filming, I picked out everything that I could. I scanned him, tried to understand from his psychophysics what kind of person he was. Did it work? I don't know. (Laughs.) We'll see.
But he didn't say, "Slava, come on, make me like this." There wasn't a word. It even seems to me that our movie is only nominally about Basta. More about a young guy who has a lot of energy and talent. Unbridled energy can destroy him or create exactly the one he created. What should I do about it, what choice should I make? Many people make mistakes, but then they get out. Our hero is just a concrete example. Therefore, "BASTA. The beginning of the game" is not a biopic like "Michael", but a film about something else.
— What did you ask Basta while working on the role? How did he seem to you in real life?
— It was important for me to understand his relationship with his parents. This is important not so much for the development of the plot as for justifying the actions of the character. In terms of psychophysics, I came to the final conclusion that Vasily Mikhailovich is actually an ordinary man, and not some kind of caricature character. We don't know how young I should play him. And what should I do — try to take documentary videos of those times and copy his behavior, which will be unrecognizable? Or should we pay attention to the features from the present tense that the viewer considers and try to convey the mood, the feeling of time and what is happening?
"It was like the whole city knew me — it was hard to take a step"
— Part of the filming took place in Rostov-on-Don. How did the city greet you?
— Rostov residents are wonderful, lively, open—minded and, apparently, very hospitable people. We were warmly welcomed. It was as if the whole city knew me — it was difficult to take a step. At some point, he stopped leaving the hotel. Then he started wearing a mask and a hood. I wanted to walk, the city and the people were really very impressed. Literally every day, by the end of the shift, up to a hundred people gathered who wanted to take pictures. I promised that I would come out after filming, and almost everyone was waiting. I changed my clothes, got out of the trailer, and for a while after my shift, I took pictures with everyone almost every day.
— How do you feel about such attention? Do you perceive it as moral pressure, or as part of your profession?
— To some extent, this is part of the profession. Attention may or may not be pressure, it all depends on the specific situation and my mood. For example, everything is fine, and they came up to me, treated me like a friend, hugged me and asked me to take a picture. What if something happened to me? It happens to everyone. In fact, I'll take a picture anyway, I never refuse anyone. There may be an ocean of indignation raging inside, but of course I don't show it. I understand people's emotions. Perhaps they couldn't contain themselves. Then I can.
— What kind of reaction did you face on social media after it became known that you would be playing Basta?
— The audience is waiting and writing mostly something positive. They can comment on whether I look like Basta or not. When I was approved for the role, I immediately thought: "Getting ready for the wave." Haight is not excluded either. When the movie comes out, the reaction may be different.
— If we talk about the musical component, which tracks exactly will the audience hear in the film performed by you?
— I really had to rap in the studio. Vasily Mikhailovich's friend Vadim Kupe helped in this. Thanks a lot, I couldn't have done it without him. Vasily Mikhailovich recorded the track "Let's Rock it, bro" especially for the film, which I had already performed at his concert at the Luzhniki Stadium. He's going to the movies. Also, of course, "My Game" will sound — the track that made Vasily Mikhailovich who he is. There will be a couple more songs.
"If I'm not going to tell you anything new about the role, why all this?"
— The 1990s have already become a separate film genre - we went through a boom in TV series about this decade. Could the same thing happen with the noughties, where the movie "BASTA. The beginning of the game"? What has not been told about this era yet?
— It seems to me that there is something to dig into and something to be nostalgic about. Maybe a little bit later, in 5-10 more years. Slowly, the movies are already starting to touch on that period. I was two years old at zero, a good time. (Laughs.) Now I'm looking at what movies were released back then, and I realize that if I was 28 at the moment, like I am now, I would have liked zero. I think it's been a pleasant decade. Not without its own problems, aspirations and expectations, but interesting, with faith in the future. Naturally, there is a lot to tell about him, as well as about the 1990s.
— In early 2026, the second season of the Children of Change series was released. Is Peter a typical bandit from the 1990s, or rather, a guy with a romantic soul who was drawn into the gangster world by fate and time? Could his life have turned out differently in another decade — in the noughties, for example?
— It's hard to speculate about how his fate might have turned out. It happened as it happened. The point of the story is that Peter has exactly such parents. This is the sequence of events, and this is the result. Perhaps he himself would like a different life. At least, I didn't want to portray him as just an evil bandit — it would be boring for the viewer to watch such a hero. With a different course of events and a different relationship, today, naturally, Peter could have become a completely different person.
A shot from the TV series "Children of Change"
— In the future, would you like to plunge back into the 1990s and play a hero from that decade?
— I'm not guessing, it all depends on the material.
— Do you have any acting taboos or a role that you would turn down, even if it promised great success?
— I hardly think about that either, so it's hard to answer. It happened that they offered something that was not interesting, or something that had already been. If I don't show or tell you anything new in the role, then why all this?
"I usually watch the movies I've played in a few times."
— Another new project with your participation is the fairy tale "Princess Nesmeyana". After the crime dramas, there is a faraway kingdom. Where is it more difficult to play: on the gang streets or in a fairy tale?
— I haven't figured out the specifics of the fairy-tale genre for myself yet: how do I exist in it, did everything work out, and would I repeat something similar. Perhaps I would like to see fairy tales of a slightly different nature in the future. For example, a little darker. "Princess Nesmeyana" is a good fairy tale, but too bright and naive for me. Therefore, it is difficult to judge the result. I look, and everything works on the screen — charmingly. But according to my personal acting taste, I would like something different.
— It turns out that you are one of those who watch the projects in which you starred? How calm do you feel on the screen?
— I usually watch the movies I've played in a few times. The first time — cowering. It's hard to take, mostly I don't like it. Then I calm down and can work on the mistakes.
A shot from the movie "Tulips"
— What other projects can you be involved in in the near future?
— The film "The Missing" will be released in March 2027. This is an artistic full meter. The director of the project is Kirill Kemnits ("Centaur"). Besides me, Lev Zulkarnaev and Maxim Stoyanov starred in the film. In the center of the plot is a young guy. He wants to solve money problems, and a friend offers him an option: they kidnap a man to get a ransom.
"It is important that the viewer looks and sees not a character, but a real person"
— Do you often bring something of your own to the set, or do you usually obey the director implicitly?
— When filming begins, the first thing I do as an ideologist is always to suggest something, as much as possible. If I understand that it is impossible, I follow the director.
At the beginning, it is necessary to collect information about the character. The actor is interesting because of how he understands the story and how he tells it. I've put together a character — that's how he looks, that's how he walks. I understand this particular pain like this. I hope it's correct. Then it's up to the viewer to judge whether it turned out right or not.
— What scenarios does the industry lack today, in your opinion?
— There is not enough talk about love. Not melodramas, but honest conversations about how difficult, wonderful, and terrible it is in every way. In general, there is a lack of honest and deep films in which everything can be different: painful and wonderful. We mostly like to hide behind something. Sometimes there is not enough opportunity to talk openly about serious topics. But it's easy for me to judge, I'm just an actor. I understand that being a screenwriter is hard.
— Has your perception of the acting profession changed over the years?
— My attitude towards the profession is rather getting stronger and maturing. I'm just getting more serious about my job and loving it more and more. The main thing is to show a real person. The aspirations, experiences, and pains are the same at all times. We all love, suffer, and have fun in about the same way. The point is to try to live the feelings honestly through new decorations that will be understandable to today's audience. It is important that he looks and sees not a character, but a real person. We need to understand how people feel, what kind of pain or happiness it is. To get into all this without fear. We are afraid of emotions, we try to avoid them in real life. It is ok. Acting is about jumping without being afraid.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
