Oleg Menshikov's face doesn't belong to any epoch. Either he is working with Nikita Mikhalkov on a retro-film "Burnt By The Sun" or making a contemporary "Dyuba-Dyuba" with Alexander Khvan, he is always in place, and it seems that a face more representative of a given time period is hard to find. This belonging to all times simontaniousely and none in particular gives Menshikov a gloss of mystery.
What's known about him? Menshikov was born on November 8 of 1960. He graduated from Schepkin Higher Drama School. He worked in the Theater of the Soviet Army, then left to work in the Ermolova Theater, where he performed in the much known "Sport Scenes of the Year 1981". At the same time he performed in Camus' "Caligula" staged by Peter Fomenko. After a disastrous "The Second Year Of Freedom", where he held a part of Robespierre, Menshikov left theater and never again worked steadily with any particular crew.
Recently, in Britain a play was staged about Sergey Esenin, where his works were used to tell the story. Isadora Duncan was portrayed by Vanessa Redgrave, and the main part of Esenin himself was performed by Oleg Menshikov. All the actors in the play spoke English, except Esenin, who spoke Russian as if to emphasize mystery of a russian soul. For this role, Menshikov had gotten the most prestigious Lawrence Olivier Award, while Vanessa got nothing. Inspired by such a triumph Menshikov also performed without any translation in the Gogol's "Gamblers", but didn't succeed. Then, Menshikov found a french actress and toured France with "Esenin".
Menshikov is a man of the momentum. Friends consider him fun and sociable, while often ignored journalists think otherwise. It's been said that Menshikov never celebrates his birthday, he even doesn't answer the phone that day. If you would like to wish him a Happy Birthday and are unable to do so, don't get upset: probably, at that moment he is somewhere in a different epoch.

Submitted by Maria Srogovich
Presented by Anita