It is hard to recall any Russian film - more or less famous in the world - without Oleg Menshikov's participation in it. "Burnt By The Sun" won an Oscar award, "Prisoner Of The Mountains" received an Oscar nomination… And certainly, it was he who played the leading role in the new film by Nikita Mikhalkov.

- Oleg, tell me how you fled from Nikita Mikhalkov when he invited you to play Mitya in "Burnt By The Sun".
- Why are you saying that I fled from him? There was no such thing.

- Then, I guess, Nikita Sergeevich lied to me.
- We-e-e-ell… Yes, I fled from Mikhalkov, but it was not the way you think it was. By that time I had already signed a contract with a Romanian director concerning the film "A Duel". As for Mikhalkov's film, everything was still very obscure. Then suddenly he announced, "We are starting!" And I was bound by the contract. But it's impossible to say no to Mikhalkov.

- Yes, I understand, after all he is your godfather.
- I am considered to have at least two godfathers. Besides Mikhalkov, it is also Roman Balayan.

- You are saying, "you are considered to have". What are the facts?
- Actually, Balayan let me go to Mikhalkov. My first film was "I Wait And Hope", and Balayan was an assistant to the director there. It was he who let me go and act in Nikita Sergeevich's film without anyone's knowledge; he said he couldn't forbid a young actor to learn from Mikhalkov. That's how I got in "Kinfolk". By the way, that was also the time when I met brilliant Nonna Mordyukova. We had a wonderful time together. Mikhalkov locked us in a room so that we could concentrate upon the scene we had to act. And there we were, staring at the floor… We sat there - me, a boy, a third-year student of the Drama school, and Nonna Viktorovna, a great, fantastic actress. I looked down trying to pretend I was growing into the role; but in fact, I was nervous and scared to death. Then suddenly I heard some noise. I looked up and saw Mordyukova who was trying her best not to laugh. And at that point we burst into laughter in unison. And we roared with laughter until we cried! That's how I met Nonna Viktorovna, that's how I began to work with Nikita Sergeevich.

- Is it true that now Mikhalkov is jealous of other directors when it concerns you?
- Where did you pick up all those rumours?

- I have to compensate for the lack of reliable information by some "grass" material.
- Well, you should look at the grass sometimes, you never know what you can step on… I like the question! When it comes to what directors exactly? No doubt, Nikita Sergeevich is our number one director now. You can like him or not, but among those who make films in Russia, there is no one equal to him. That's the fact; and there's no need to compete, vie or get even with Nikita Sergeevich. He is the best. The other thing is that there are directors who don't make films now, and it is very regrettable. For example, Panfilov can't finish his film for many years now and it is sad. The situation will probably change tomorrow; but now the things are exactly the way I am saying. Gentlemen, take off your hats to Nikita Sergeevich: he is the only one who works! Only Mikhalkov could shoot a film like "The Barber Of Siberia" in Russia. And he shot it. In addition to all that, he is a wonderful, unique director who can work with actors like no one else can.

- And still you fled from such a man, you didn't want to act in his "Burnt By The Sun".
- Look, I am explaining you in Russian: I DID NOT FLEE!

- Why did Nikita Sergeevich catch you in the wings after a performance and seize you by the coat-tails then?
- What could I do? Before making a contract on "Burnt By The Sun" I had to do something with "A Duel". You understand it yourself that they could have sued me for breaking the terms of the contract. Thank God, the shooting of "A Duel" was postponed to the next month; I immediately took advantage of it and said joyfully, "If it is so, I can't act in your film". After that I phoned Mikhalkov and told him all my problems were settled. That's how it was. As you see, there were no any heats at all.

- Nevertheless, the situation with "The Barber Of Siberia" was quite the opposite - now you wanted to act and Mikhalkov hesitated. Is it true? Or did I make a mistake again?
- Is it what Nikita Sergeevich told you?

- You better tell me your version.
- The first attempt to shoot "The Barber" was ten years ago. Nothing came out of the idea then. Afterwards Nikita Sergeevich and I met many times but we never discussed that subject. I heard there were preparations for the new shooting; but as there were no exact dates, I was quiet. Moreover, I didn't think about cinema at all, I made specific theatre plans - was going to stage a play. And then by chance I heard in a TV program, "Famous director Nikita Mikhalkov begins the shooting of the film "The Barber Of Siberia". The leading parts will be played by Oleg Menshikov, Oleg Basilashvili and Vladimir Ilyin". I thought, "Weird things are happening!" and gave Nikita Sergeevich a call. He said he didn't speak about it with reporters. I said, "If you have some plans concerning me, let's meet and discuss everything. Otherwise it'll be late - I'll launch a theatre project. Mikhalkov answered, "Give me two days". Then we met and he said, "OK".

- Was it scary to play a person who was two decades younger than you were?
- Well, not two decades actually.

- Almost two decades. You'll be 38 soon, and Andrey Tolstoy, the character of "The Barber" was not even 20.
- There was no Andrey's age in the script. Besides, among actors who played cadets there were many those who were older than their characters.

- But we are not talking about the actual age of the actors, we are talking about the age of those they - that is, you - played. A cadet can't be 30 years old. At that age one should have had shoulder straps of a captain.
- There are many things impossible in the real life. For example, it is impossible to ride on a horse in the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin; but still Nikita Sergeevich pranced there… But I understand your question. Of course, it was hard to play a young man. And I worried not only about the appearance. Although I had some fear about that too. I even gave up smoking, went to a gym, began to look after myself. In fact, I always try to care about my health, to keep in shape. But during the shooting I had to pay extra attention to it.

- So, after it was over you relaxed, didn't you?
- No. I started smoking again though, but then I gave it up two months later; and I have not been smoking for three months now. Everything is periodic for me.

- What about a gym?
- No, that is the thing invented not for me. I won't pull iron, sorry. That's a very gloomy prospect. I would rather play tennis.

- I interrupted you. You were saying why it was hard to play Andrey Tolstoy.
- It required a special state of mind. How could I return twenty years back and shake off the burden of all the years? Nikita Sergeevich put it like this, "How can we hide experience and wisdom?"

- Did your father, a retired military man, help you to grow into the role of a cadet before the shooting?
- I didn't need my relatives' help in that case. Besides, we spent three months in a military school in Kostroma.

- But by that time you had some military experience, didn't you?
- What do you mean "some"? I am a sergeant, a platoon leader commander!

- Can I not salute you, please?
- Well, what kind of warrior am I?.. I served in the Theatre of the Soviet Army and was in command of other actors, my colleagues. I posted up lists of duties: to assemble decor, to clean up the territory - that's what I did… The service was great! There I met wonderful guys - Denis Evstigneev, the deceased Igor Nefyodov, Anton Tabakov. We don't see each other often now though.

- Let's get back to Kostroma. Everyone knows that Menshikov doesn't like to rehearse.
- No, I don't. But that was different. Mikhalkov did an outstanding thing when he brought us there. Otherwise we would have failed to create and portray the atmosphere of cadets' brotherhood. One cannot play it with professionalism only. This is about the feelings. It was an unusual experiment; there was nothing of the kind in my life before; at first it was hard to agree to go to Kostroma though. I won't hide it, I am used to different living conditions.

- Which ones?
- Good ones.

- Is the jeep "Mercedes" outside yours?
- Mine… Therefore, I was a bit afraid - but at the same time, glad - to start that barracks life. I could imagine what it would be like - cold water etc… But I survived. Of course, there was some indulgency for me - for my contribution to our culture (laughs).

- Did you have a personal WC with toilet paper in it?
- Straight away! I could go to a sauna twice a week; when everyone else - only once. We were very well fed, although, certainly, there were no delicacies.

- Did you use cell phone?
- If I only could. Unfortunately, it didn't work there.

- Did you have leave warrants?
- One, two, three… Three times.

- Did you leave without permission to meet girls?
- I'll confide in you and you'll immediately write about it. What will people think?

- That nothing is alien to Menshikov.
- Nothing is alien, but it has nothing to do with leaving without permission. We broke the order drinking sometimes, but that was all. Where could we run in winter? It was 30 degrees below zero! Will you jump over the fence and walk in the street wearing a cadet uniform so that people would rush aside? It doesn't sound too romantic… But we were not bored without all that stuff: we got up at 6 a.m. and ran.

- You mean they made you do everything all soldiers do, right?
- Absolutely.

- Did you live in quarters with all the others?
- Ilyin and I got a tiny room next to a quarter. At first, I wanted to live with others, but Volodya [Ilyin] stopped me, "Olezha, don't hurry! Stay here for a night and then decide." I didn't agree, "Why? I want to be with the guys. Otherwise it didn't make sense to come here." But Ilyin kept saying, "Don't hurry". Later I understood, Volodya was right 100 per cent.

- Why?
- It is hard to live in a quarter. 70 people lie in the same room. It's impossible to breathe.

- And they snore, don't they?
- Their snoring was heard in our room!

- If snoring irritated you, I can imagine what you felt in that gas-mask.
- What gas-mask?

- The one you had to put on because of your corporal's order. At least, that's what I read in the script.
- Oh, you don't know… An English actor ran in a gas-mask instead of me. The shooting group laughed afterwards - an English guy played in a gas-mask, and when it was time to show the face of a hero, there was my turn…

- You were lucky!
- The good English speech was required in that scene, I couldn't do it.

- As if your accent could be heard at all!
- Well, this or that, but it wasn't me in a gas-mask.

- But the characters speak English in the film, you included. Do you speak English well?
- Better when at school. I can't say I speak freely, but I try to formulate some of my thoughts. Unfortunately, the language can be forgotten very quickly without any practice. Now I'll have to learn French.

- Is it because of your up-coming work with Regis Wargnier?
- Yes. You know him, don't you? The director of "Indochina". Three leading roles in his new film will be played by Catherine Deneuve, Sandrine Bonnaire and me.

- What is the film about?
- It is about a hard fate of emigrants. I don't remember what year it was, emigrants who left the country after the revolution were allowed to return then. A family comes back to Russia. He - me - is a former Russian citizen, she - Sandrine Bonnaire - is a Parisian, my wife. They come to Moscow and exciting life begins. You can imagine.

- Again horrors of the red terror?
- This is not a political film. It is about common people who lose themselves in the chaos surrounding them.

- Where will the shooting take place?
- Some scenes will be shot here, but mainly it'll be in Bulgaria. That's a usual practice. To shoot in Moscow is too expensive. That's why "The Barber" was partly shot in Prague.

- Do you have any offers besides Wargnier's one?
- I played in Denis Evstigneev's film "Mama". The role was small, but it was another chance to work with Nonna Mordyukova. Other people were very good too; and the script was interesting. Do you remember a story about a family band that tried to hijack a plane? …There are offers to act, I get offers all the time. Luckily, they stopped palming off rubbish on me. They realized - I would never do that.

- Do you negotiate about the terms and the fee yourself?
- Thank God, I have an agent for that purpose.

- Is there a minimal sum of money, which you never reduce?
- It happens in a bit different way actually. The starting point is the budget of the film. For example, the budget is a million and I'll ask for a million and a half. Then the negotiation doesn't make sense at all.

- A million of what?
- It's not important. It was an example. My agent finds out the terms, then he calls me and says: here are the real opportunities, but I can try to persuade them on this sum - do we agree? I think the offer over and give an answer.

- Do you agree to act for the love of art?
- For free?

- Let's say, for some symbolic fee.
- I have never done that. But it was not because I am so greedy. I guess, if the film is very interesting, I will act without a fee. But nothing like that has happened yet.

- Do you still think that a person can't be a slave of his profession and because of that your work is not the main thing in your life?
- I truly believe in it. Each day I understand more and more that I am right. Why are you looking at me like that?

- I don't understand you.
- Why not? It is as essential as "hello" in the morning for me. I need my profession not to become important for others, but to understand myself. That's why I think aloud onstage, instead of simply repeating the lines learned by heart. And every time it amazes me that so many people came and are listening to me!

- Maybe the reason is that you are very successful and to shake yourself a real failure is necessary?
- Don't think I am being immodest, but I should try hard to fail. I won't be able to act really badly. It's true! Of course, there may be a role people won't like, but it won't be my failure. I have some certain professional acquirements that won't let me fail badly. Moreover, I won't play a role that… how to put it?... a role I don't feel. If I felt it then there is something in it, then I'll be able to perform it. Of course, there can be a project people will say about, "The film is rubbish. He shouldn't have acted in it". Is it a failure?

- Did people say that?
- I don't think so… Well, even if they did, so what? "You shouldn't distinguish a victory from a defeat"…

- Don't you care what people will say?
- You know, everyone always answers that he doesn't care about other people's opinions. That is certainly a lie. So if I say that I don't care what people say, you'll think - oh, well, another one… How can I put it to make you understand better? That's an example. Not long ago after the Riga premiere of "Woe From Wit" a man came up to me. He must have been a nice man, a theatre-goer and so on and so forth. He was saying different good words and then there was a phrase: "Oleg, I only have two…"

- Remarks?
- No, he didn't even say that word, "…two points I would like to discuss with you. Can I?" And I answered automatically, "No". I don't know what he was going to discuss, I didn't even think about it, I just blurted that "no" out. Later I realized that I really didn't want to listen to any points, explanations, critique, praises. I didn't need them. Period. I've played a role - that's it. Interpret and understand it the way you want. If you don't like it, then don't watch; if you like it, compliment. If you say "thank you", I'll answer; if you pass by in silence, I'll live without your words. It is not indifference; I care about people's opinions. But at some point I stop deriving emotional strength from the outside; I don't gain anything from discussing a new film or performance. That's why I gave that answer in Riga. "Do you want?" - "No, I don't". It surprised even me. Actually I am rather patient with other people, I can listen attentively. Although I can lie to an interlocutor. I pretend listening and think about something else. Maybe, my dark eyes help - a person looks in them and thinks that I am listening… And then I had no time to stop myself. I guess, I should do something about it. Of course, there are people whose opinions are important to me, but to name them all…

- But do you invite anyone to your premieres?
- No, never. By the way, that is another problem. I feel I have to change; or not even change, but start inviting people. I used to think that it was improper to invite people to watch my films and performances. What would it be like - "come to watch me for two hours"? There is something abnormal in it. On the other hand, some began to get offended: like, what do you expect? He is too proud. Although… Not long ago I read an article about myself where an author wrote, "what a wonderful biography Menshikov has! The Maly Theatre, the Theatre of the Soviet Army, the Ermolova Theatre, the Mossovet Theatre, a role of Caligula in Fomenko's performance, a role in the Globe Theatre, the Laurence Olivier Prize, the State Prize of the Russian Federation, the "Triumph" prize… Wow, wow!" One after another, divided by commas. Well, on the surface it may seem wonderful - a young actor managed to act in five Moscow theatres during a short period. That's not bad! But who knows, for example, the story behind my leaving of the Ermolova Theatre? I didn't simply change the theatres, I went to nowhere. I had no offers then, I was in debt up to my neck; but I couldn't stay there either. That theatre - I am not talking about the Ermolova Theatre; but THAT very theatre - stopped satisfying me. I realized - two more years and I could go crazy. So… I left and soon was hospitalized with stomach ulcer. I spent a month and a half in a hospital, and only after that Peter Fomenko offered me a role of Caligula. If I had stayed in the Ermolova Theatre, he wouldn't have invited me; and my whole life would be different. That's the destiny of a lucky actor. That's a story behind one comma. I gave you one example, but there may be dozens of them - and that is my life. I won't run outside screaming, "I am like all of you". Maybe, I'm not exactly like everyone else. Luckily, everyone is different. But I don't live in space; and I walk along the same streets as all the others do.

- Well, I assume, you drive most of the time.
- So what? Are comrade Stalin and me the only people in Moscow who have cars? Please, don't demonize me without necessity. I am normal.