- Have you done everything?
- I wanted to mow the grass. And then the rain came pouring down!
- What do you mow?
- I can scythe. But there the field is not the same: for a scythe, you need a scope, and not a lawn with grass. That's why it's a lawnmower.
- In addition to giving, where do you rest?
- And where it is necessary. Filming in a beautiful place, in the countryside. On tour, too, a kind of recreation - you sit in front of the TV. It's usually not painful to look at, but it's possible. Well, I want to go somewhere. It's just hard to choose. Last year, my son entered, and we spent the whole summer laid up, and then rushed to look for a place to rest. They suggested Africa.
“Hunted in the savannah?”
Best of the day
I didn't go to Africa. I got scared. This is not mine - the animal world, insects. What is in Europe is closer and dearer.
- Where does it pull in Russia?
- Those who have not been to Switzerland exclaim: “Ah, Switzerland!” Yes, we have such places that Switzerland remains to envy. Gorny Altai, where people live according to ancient traditions. Polar Urals, Tuva, Naryan-Mar. Russia is so rich! There are many places where, it seemed to me, I would definitely return or where I would definitely visit. She lived in the summer on the Pinega River. This is the Arkhangelsk region, the birthplace of Fyodor Abramov. Oh, I also remembered the village of Mikhailovskoye - not far from Bologoye. There is a lake. In the center of the lake is an island, pines. We swam up and saw lilies - on long legs. Huge white lilies. They were afraid to hurt the oar. It's not like tearing - you can't touch it, such beauty. They made their way to the island, and there lingonberries - from one bush it does not fit in the palm of your hand. And the houses on the hills!
– But they were in Switzerland, for comparison?
- I was in Switzerland. Yes, it's beautiful. Fields, clean cows graze, at the cheese factory they show how the cheese is made. Great. This beauty is both natural and artificially natural. We have such things created by God, such corners, untouched by anyone!
- Do you visit your home country?
- When I go to Altai on tour, I'm afraid. I'm afraid to see something wrong and break the childhood impression - it is so strong, such colors in it. Went there recently. They visited Shukshin, Vasily Makarovich in Srostki. And to the school where he studied, and to his house. We sat on a bench by the bathhouse - he himself built a bathhouse for his mother. And we climbed Mount Piket, and along the Chuisky tract we reached the Katun. In the Katun, the water is like jade, green-green, silvery on the rifts, seething. We walked along the suspension bridge, then went to Lake Aya in the mountains. Like in a bowl of mountains. My countrymen came to us, brought a bag of watermelons. Oh, we sit and eat watermelons. Immediately childhood is remembered - melons, watermelons. We had few berries - this is the Altai steppe, and the melons are unusual. On the melon with Batya went on a cart. There were so many watermelons that they salted for the winter, and ate that way. First early, and then like this! There were watermelons half a shed.
Loneliness is scary
- You're all so busy. Are you not tired?
- It happens, but not from work. Only from moving in a car or bus, only physically. And to get tired of the stage or the cinema - this is not the case. When I feel tired and pull away from the city, it means that I need to be alone. I run out of town and communicate with insects. Then I like to be alone, and so loneliness is unusual for me.
I thought about how scary it is to be alone. It can and must be fought. But to get out of it, you need a lot of work. Yes, all work is life, love. Whoever has one child is already a great work, and whoever has two, work twice. And you have to work all your life to get a piece of happiness.
- What is happiness?
– It can be in a glance, in a second! This is a feeling. Do not explain, do not put it into words. You know - suffocated! And you say: “Lord, this is happiness!” Who is happy day, who is year. And someone for a lifetime. But this does not mean that everything falls from the sky and happiness falls on him. It means that he gives so much. This is a great work to get a second of happiness - everyday work on yourself. Like on stage, the more you give to your partner, the more you get. So we have with Igor (with Sklyar they play a performance for two “Man, wait!” Based on the play by Nadezhda Ptushkina “Abnormal”. - I.Z.). And he brings something new every time. We have everything checked out to the second, but everything is new. This is surprising.
What about other partners?
- Such a coincidence, understanding of the profession - a rarity. One feels, sees something immediately. The other is not given. And you need to specifically draw it in the cloud for him.
- What cloud?
We used to look at the clouds when we were kids. You lie down on the lake and in the clouds you see such figures: “Bear! Bear!" - "Just a bear!" - "Where?" - “Won-won, it’s already blurring!” So here - there are pictures that someone sees, but someone does not. Then you have to draw. This is what musicians do.
- Do you play something?
– What are you listening to?
I never liked loud music. I'm deaf, I feel bad. I hear and perceive only quiet. And today, when I was driving, I listened to Makarevich - my son gave him a CD. And I fell in love with Makarevich on the second wave. Because during that period of life, when a whole generation has grown up, he is still interesting, although he has become different.
The stove is good
– Have you changed?
- For what period? For those 18 years that the country is sausage? Historians will later say how great they see at a distance, how time heals or changes tastes, to evaluate. But we have advantages. We have passed from that era to this one and we can take everything good from there and strengthen something new, good. And so: they say, I don’t accept this - it’s impossible.
I always try to understand first. At first, I had a negative attitude towards the new television. I thought: “What a nightmare! Is it possible to show it? And then I think: everyone takes what is close to him. I remember myself in my youth. I've been to different companies, but I've been sifting. I knew where I would not go anymore, because it was not mine.
Well, my character has changed. It became difficult. Manageable but obnoxious. This is how the bottom of the ship is overgrown with shells, which must be constantly cleaned.
- Do you clean?
- Hygiene is good, hygiene of the body and soul.
- What about flying?
- In your youth you think: here is a steep mountain - and you will run up and fly. And it always succeeded - the dream was stronger. And let the flight last as long as possible. Every day I set myself a plan - for a day, a month. I have always had this. Although from the standpoint of experience, you seem to be reasoning sensibly: “No, this is not necessary. We discard it. And this is generally useless - I don’t even want to touch it. ”
Does this apply to cinema?
There were no shoots this year. They offer one or two days and in some trifle, and the role is trifling, and you don’t want to exchange money. I refuse. Waiting for proposals from good directors.
- How do you feel about serials?
- You can shoot a dozen close-ups and talking heads with a video camera from one angle and call it a series. And my series are all good: "Waiting Room", "Next", "Law", "The Case of the Dead Souls", "Death of the Empire".
- Doesn’t it pull you to sit in a chair in the country and just swing on your laurels?
- Oh, I have a chair there, it needs to be fitted. And I like to sit by the stove, on a bench, and not in an armchair. And looking at the fire, just don't think about anything. The main pleasure is just to watch. And listen to what nature whispers to you. And then I like to return to St. Petersburg.
I must be responsible to the audience for love
Tell us about your role in, how do you see it?
Nothing is known yet, everything is born on the set. You see, now: the director knows everything how he will shoot, but he throws a grain at us that starts to excite everyone, and each artist begins to work his own imagination, it is interesting to hear everyone's opinion. If Anna Andreevna, the governor's wife, I immediately drew how I want to play - this is one thing, there are many options, but then I will come, and Serezha Garmash with his imagination will say: "Let's do it this way," and this can only be born here, now, today. And it's very interesting. Well, of course, the text remains Gogol's, plus the author, plus the imagination of the actors and the director.
How do you feel in these outfits?
In outfits, I was in the cinema only in "The Wild One", and then there was a small role, and then not in a corset. Wonderful craftswomen sewed in the workshop of Natalia Dzyubenko, this is a theater workshop, there are all very talented seamstresses, artists, cutters. With such love, the decoration, all these cloves, "roses, scallops" were made. Many times there were fittings, I sit and it’s as if I always walked in it.
That is, all the costumes were sewn individually?
Of course, for men, all frock coats, tailcoats, for women - underwear, dresses were sewn all summer. Pavel Semenovich said: "Nina, you were born just for these outfits. You need to play the roles of Ostrovsky, Gogol - that era of the century before last." And I, unfortunately, played very little in the theater. Apart from Belotelova, let’s say, I didn’t have such a role that I felt at least like a merchant’s wife. It is a pity that some roles have already passed by. But at the school I played in excerpts Lipochka, or Agafya - these are my roles, for sure. Classic is always fun to play. It is good that now there is a trend of returning to the era. Right now, Vladimir Khotinenko played in the "Death of the Empire", there was a wonderful "Idiot" Bortko. It's great that not only today's interests are interesting, because what we see in life is already boring, and even watching it on the screen. But to immerse yourself a little, especially in Gogol, where the flight of fancy is such, where thanks to the screen you can also see dreams, because on the stage it is not always possible to show this for technical reasons. And now on the screen, with the perfection of money, you can make any, even a fantastic dream.
Do you feel something inside that has accumulated, and are you ready to throw it out on the screen?
I have always been hungry for work. If I was not offered anything interesting in the cinema, I went to the entreprise, to the theater. Indeed, this was before. Now, on the contrary, there is not enough time for everything. You can take on any job. The piggy bank of life experience has not yet been squandered enough, there is still a lot to be found: the baggage of the experience of my life, and what I saw, heard - all the acting observations pop up in my memory at the right time, so there are still many roles not played.
What can you say about your partner in the film - Sergei Garmash?
I have been in love with Serezha for a long time, just like a man. And all his characters, male images are very close to me. He has everything for real, in every role he is real. And he is one of those actors who do not spare themselves. I love these partners. He is in the game and gives you a lot, and does not spare himself. That's when an actor is given out completely - this is probably the most rewarding thing in our profession. This does not remain unnoticed by the audience, because the viewer sees how the artist works on stage, and the same pays gratefully, and the partner even more so.
Please tell us about your role in .
You see, what an interesting role I have, from a series of small roles that are very interesting. Kolya Lebedev, with whom I starred in "Admirer", suggested in the summer: "There is a small role," but when he told me what kind of role it was, I said: "Kolya, I will definitely act!" This is the leader of the tribe, a small role. We came up with it together with our St. Petersburg author of the script and novel, Maria Semenova. With Kolya, they still came up with an image on the go, with a make-up artist - they came up with makeup, with a costume designer - a costume. Filmed in a wonderful location in Slovakia, in the Tatra Mountains, where the tribe's huts were built. There is also a lake, which is under the protection of UNESCO, where in the heat the temperature is plus eight, there are some unusual fish, unusual worms, which are the only one in the world, so there are guards everywhere. But we were allowed to shoot in the mountains, there is a wonderful reserve there ... Oh, they lived great there. After Zvezda, it’s probably a very laborious work, few people take up such a topic in general, where it’s not computer graphics, but for real: both the technique, and shell explosions, and the guys actors give out the game without sparing themselves. Here's the movie, it's amazing. And in "Volkodava" by Kolya, when we arrived there - there were shootings, yes! I remember Tanya Lyutaeva, who, although she was in a heat-resistant diving suit, she had to dive into cold water so many times, because she plays a doctor, whom I, as the leader of the tribe, lead to execution, since I sentenced her. There they made such a cage, where it first sank into the water in it, and then this cage breaks, and it ends up in this lake. The divers in this summer were dressed so warmly that in addition to their diving suits there was also an undercoat, and she and Alexander Bukharov, who plays the Wolfhound, had to swim in this water many takes. Therefore, we were very worried about them, standing on the shore in fur coats and skins. Everything was real. Therefore, the shooting was very interesting, it's a pity that I have a small role there. But there is a destiny in it, everything about it is clear: what is behind the scenes, what will happen after the frame. So I love such roles - capacious, when they have character, fate, all life in three minutes.
It turns out that you now live between St. Petersburg and Moscow?
No, I'm always in St. Petersburg. There are performances when we come to Moscow. For example, "Man, wait!", staged by Viktor Kramorov, where we play together with Igor Sklyar, is a very good performance. Here, too, Igor is one of those actors, as I just spoke about Seryozha Garmash. Because he works up to a sweat on stage. He doesn’t take care of himself, he even had a heart attack last year, and I thought that in general he shouldn’t play this role now, because everything there is built on psychophysics, on dedication. I told him: “At least spare yourself here,” but he doesn’t, he still works at full strength. The performance was staged based on the play by Ptushkina, but there is a lot more added by the director, by us. In general, fantasy is also present there, so we really love this performance, it is about love, and we have been playing for a long time, and all this time we thank each other after the performance and confess our love. This is rare and very expensive.
Do you already feel like a native, did you fall in love with Peter?
It's been there for over twenty years. My son is now a Petersburger, and I’m not exactly rooted to this city, it’s impossible to study it in one life, because it’s a museum city, a city of destinies, stories - that is, it’s so interesting to live there that you can talk about it endlessly . And I don’t miss Moscow, because I often come here - I go to performances and to shoot. And then, still here, with Alexander Mikhailov, we play the play "Love is not a potato" based on Lobozerov's play "A Family Portrait with a Stranger". And Igor Sklyar also plays there, I, Zoya Buryak, Kira Kreilis-Petrova, an actress from Aleksandrinka, Alexander Sayutalin, a young actor. Also not like an artist, in the sense that it's not bad. There are artists - they are immediately clear that this is an artist. And there are men who do not look like artists, like Seryozha Garmash.
You entered the profession at the age of twenty-seven.
Don't tell everyone. I'm sixteen right now. Yes, I'm kidding.
And what have you been doing all this time?
Many of them. But I only took time until you go to the exam. I lived here, near Moscow, to be closer, to replenish my knowledge. She worked at the Krasny Oktyabr cloth factory, we wove scarves. I was a sixth class warder. And then she did a lot of things: she worked in the club, the director of the House of Culture, she stoked stoves there herself. In general, it was an interesting job when you have a dream ahead of you. Any work will be useful in life, in the knowledge of everything. I love learning, I've been learning all my life.
How do you work with Sergei Astakhov?
Seryozha Astakhov is not only enthusiastic about his profession as an operator, he also sometimes tells the actor, says: “Nina, turn around like this,” or correct something, or tell you something that will come in handy later. That is, purely professional things. And now he has one camera group, he works with his assistants in more than one picture, they understand each other perfectly. And I hear what kind of communication they have with director Pavel Lungin, they have such interpenetration. They improve the scene, supplementing it with knowledge, and this is probably how cinema is born, when everyone is involved in this, when the hostess kneads the dough, adds a pinch of vanilla, a pinch of salt, oil, and then, when the smell spreads throughout the apartment, the children say: " God, how delicious it smells! ”, And then, when they eat, they say:“ How delicious, how good, how happy! ”, That is, a little bit of all this, and then it turns out both tasty and beautiful. This is how we want our film to turn out.
You entered the theater school for five years. Did you have faith inside that it was yours, or perseverance?
I had a strong dream. She ran ahead of me, and therefore all that they say: "Oh, how did you live? Where did you live? How did you run in shoes in winter?" - I didn't have boots. I say, oh, I don't even remember. And then I remember, and I think, well, it was all because I still knew what I would do. Because I had such a dream, and I think that the Lord helped me in this. And I thank God for the fact that the audience thank me. I say that these are my characters, images that I love, I know from the inside. Those characters that I play are mostly, of course, contemporaries. But when the work is like, say, in "Muslim", a lot of people came up to me after this film, and moreover, almost everyone said the same thing: either I look like someone's grandmother, or someone's mother. Or they say: "Oh, you know, but I have ..." and they start telling me about my own role, and I think: "Lord, it's good that they understood it the way I understand it, and the way I would like it, for her to be." It's nice to hear, of course, but it should never be forgotten. Because in order not to leave the love of the audience, you have to be in shape all the time, work all the time, and prove that this is the case. Then this love will be justified. I must be responsible to the audience for this love.
Have you had to play something that is not close to you?
I had to, I rarely name these roles, they were not mine, and not even through my fault. And let's say the director demanded something that was alien to me. Or he insisted that I do what I did not want. I have two such roles, I don’t remember them, and no one remembers them. Therefore, now the experience has come when you have to choose. Today I was offered a role, which I realized would only harm me, and that would be the disappointment of the audience. Not that it is negative, I like to play all sorts of extravagant roles. Let's say, "Women's property" - there is also a character, recognition of this person. I do not strive only for positive roles, the actor wants to play everything. But there was such a vile role that I don’t even want to let it go through myself, so I refused. It is better to play such a small, tiny role that will be interesting to me, the audience, because it is new in me, the audience will say that they did not recognize me, or add something new to my those images. This summer, thank God, the roles were all different: Madame Gritsatsuyeva in "12 Chairs", the leader of the tribe in "Wolfhound", a lady from the 19th century in Vladimir Khotinenko and Gusman's "Park of the Soviet Period". All the heroines of their different times, different characters, different plots, different genres. And now, "Dead Souls" - a gift of fate. I met Pavel Semyonovich at a short advertising campaign about an anti-personnel mine, when twenty of the best directors in the world shot short stories about mines in war or peacetime. Lesha Serebryakov plays there, me and the boy from the hospital, who was without a leg. I didn't even see this video. We worked so well, I liked it there so much, but it was one day. And then after some time I saw Lungin at the Vyborg festival, and he says: "Nina, have you seen our video?" I say "No". And it was shown one night, and it won the award for the best short film. That's where we met. And when they brought me the script for The Case of the Dead Souls, they even gave me a choice of roles. I said, "It can't be! It doesn't happen." Because there are roles of Schiller's mother, Korobochka and Anna Andreevna. But I chose the Gorodnichiy's wife because I can play Korobochka a little later, and secondly, because Serezha Garmash plays the Gorodnichiy.
You said that the profession heals. What does she heal you from?
From everything. For example, today I came to the shooting, I don’t remember anything. And I have so many problems in life - I mean all sorts of everyday ones, but here I plunged into a completely different atmosphere. I enter, everything starts in the dressing room with tales, stories: who has what happened where. The day goes by at the speed of sound. Just like in the theater - you will step over the threshold, forgetting all your household chores, and all sorts of things in general: what is happening in the world, in politics, on the TV screen. It’s different in the theater, you’ll see old ticket attendants there, you’re already starting a different life, or you’ll go on stage - another story. Therefore, even when a sick artist enters the stage, he is cured.
Does your son already have thoughts about his future profession?
Not yet. As a child, I dreamed of being like everyone else: both a firefighter and an artist. I would like it to be some kind of profession that is already in him, so that it develops according to his inner world, his talent, what God has awarded him. And he did not take any heights that are not characteristic of him. That's how much he can jump, that's how much you need to take. And artificially, I will not impose anything on him, if I see - I can only help to push. As long as I am alive and well, I will help all my life, but I will not impose myself. It is in childhood that one should be led to a music school so that he himself joins in life what he himself does not yet understand. And at the age of sixteen, you need to let him think for himself, so that later it would not be insulting, or leave, start something new. It is important not to be mistaken for what you are capable of.
Do you have a secret to good mood?
Yes, I look at myself in the mirror in the morning (makes a face), and I don’t get scared, but I laugh, and my mood rises.
She began acting in films at the age of 30, and woke up famous after working in the film "Cold Summer of 53", where she talentedly and vividly embodied the image of a deaf-mute cook.
The actress has more than 80 roles in films, a lot of theatrical works. She keeps up with modern times and teaches young actors not to refuse even the smallest roles. She does not invite anyone but the closest people to her house, diligently protecting her place of happiness from prying eyes. Nina Usatova considers St. Petersburg the best city on Earth, and her husband, Yuri Guryev, cannot imagine life without his native Tula.
Relentless pursuit of a dream
Nina Usatova.
She stormed the acting department of the Shchukin School for four long years. It was a difficult peak, because she set out to prove to everyone, and first of all to herself, that she could become a real actress.
She did not pass the competition and again went to Borovsk. At first she worked as a warder at a cloth factory, then she transferred to the club as the head of the factory choir, collecting the best songstresses throughout the enterprise.
Nina Usatova.
Of course, she had no conducting or musical education in general. But there were very good organizational skills. She literally explained to her choristers on her fingers how they should sing.
The choir played an important role in her life. Over and over again without passing the competition, she returned to her club and stubbornly continued to prepare for the next entry. Teachers in speech and vocals were invited to work with the team. Nina eagerly absorbed everything that the teachers talked about, slowly accumulating the necessary knowledge and experience.
Nina Usatova.
The fifth attempt to enter the Shchukin school was successful for the future actress. True, she passed the competition for the directing department. After graduating from college, Nina knew for sure that she would not stay in Moscow. And I went on distribution to Kotlas of the Arkhangelsk region. She worked at the Kotlas Drama Theater for a year, having managed to play more than ten main roles. But most importantly, she realized that she still turned out to be an actress. She believed in herself and boldly set off to conquer the Northern capital. 
Nina Usatova.
Already in 1980, she was accepted into the troupe of the Leningrad Youth Theater, at the age of 30 she played her first film role, and in 1989 she joined the famous BDT.
At that time, she never refused roles either in the theater or in the cinema. She received incredible pleasure from work and collected bits and pieces of acting experience in the piggy bank of her profession.
Happiness is not for show
Yuri Guryev.
Once, a very long time ago, the actress agreed with her husband that they would not make their personal lives public. The story of the acquaintance of the actress and her husband, Yuri Guryev, has been and remains a secret for the public. It is believed that the couple met, according to one version, when Nina Usatova came as a director to the folk theater, where Yuri played for a long time, according to another, they met during the Tula tour of the Leningrad Theater.
Yuri Guryev is a linguist by profession, fluent in French and German. Sometimes he acts in films. But he does not want to part with his native Tula. He is happy to come to the shooting, but after they finish he always returns to his hometown, where he has both friends and work.
Yuri Guryev.
The actress is especially proud of the fact that the primacy of the man is always preserved in their family. Nina Usatova at home, by her own admission, is a simple Russian woman. She does not keep housekeepers, she tries to cope with everything herself. And in everything he relies on his men, who are completely independent in everyday life.
Spouses try to communicate a lot, if possible, spend time together. And always avoid questions about their personal lives in all interviews. This is a secret that only the two of them are privy to.
Son
Nina Usatova with her son.
Nina Usatova considers her son Nikolai to be the most important man in her life. He is her pride and hope. She and Nikolai were always friendly, she knew all his friends and girlfriends. And she herself tried to be more like a friend to her son. 
Nina Usatova with her son.
Perhaps that is why, she is quite easy and now succumbs to all his persuasions. At the same time, the more she was opposed to the filial undertaking, the faster she agreed with his arguments. Nikolay, much to the delight of his mother, did not even dream of an acting profession, but became a lawyer.
My home is my castle
Nina Usatova.
Nina Usatova at one time categorically refused to shoot in the program "So far, everyone is at home." The option of filming at home for an actress is categorically unacceptable. Just like her house is not suitable for giving interviews or conducting business negotiations.
Nina Usatova.
She considers the house a fortress for those who live in it. And there is no place for TV cameras, photographers and any extraneous presence. Home is a place of happiness that loves silence.
She can sit at home, drinking tea with fragrant Tula gingerbread brought by her husband. And to have long, long conversations about everything in the world with the closest person. And this is happiness. Real, quiet and very simple.
Nina Usatova is known by the whole country - thanks to her roles in the cinema; however, Nina Nikolaevna herself knows the country: she says that she has traveled all over it. For theatrical Petersburg, she is one of the leading actresses of the Bolshoi Drama Theater, and for the faithful Petersburgers, she is the host of evenings in memory of Archpriest Vasily Ermakov, whose spiritual daughter she was.
Man in his place
- Nina Nikolaevna, how did you meet Father Vasily?
- In 2004, Mikhail Shishkov settled on our landing - he went to the Seraphim Church for a long time, and his wife, Svetlana, sang in the choir. Misha talked about the priest, and I also found out that the actress of our theater, Maria Lavrova, has been going there for a long time and takes her daughter Olechka. When I first appeared at Batiushka's, I had the feeling that I had always known him. He had such charm, he won over people - it was not for nothing that it was impossible to enter the temple, especially on holidays, there were so many people. Throughout his life, he proved that this is exactly his place. When I saw him, it seemed to me that there was no one else around. I didn’t even ask him questions, he himself found all the words that I needed. I have retained a feeling of happiness from these meetings. Everything could be said to him, but not every person, even a priest, you will tell your innermost thoughts. In any city, one could ask: “Do you know Vasily Ermakov’s father?”, And surely someone knew. People came to him from his homeland, from the Oryol region, and from other places.
Batiushka always said that there are no accidents in life: if you meet a person in your life, he will always instruct you, teach you something, or even help you. Sometimes certain events are a “hint” that something should not be done. Now his sermons have been published, I have these books, I often read them. A lot of memoirs about the father were also published, I read some of them - and I see that each father had “his own”, everyone found something of his own. He has helped many people generously in life. And there were always a lot of artists to Father Vasily. Even if in their life the meeting with him took place only once, they remember it. But many remain parishioners. For example, I loved to listen to the choir in the Seraphim Church: they sing so that the soul trembles.
- There are so many spiritual obstacles in our life, and for artists too! ..
- Yes, once during Holy Week we went on tour in the Urals. They returned, came to the priest, I said: “These are my sins.” He answered, like any priest in his place, that it is desirable, of course, not to participate in entertainment events on Strastnaya. But someone will say and condemn, but the priest never had a condemnation, he said: “Ninushka, your work is your obedience.” Now, of course, I ask that I not be occupied with performances during Holy Week, but then it didn’t work out very well. And even now it doesn’t always work out, it’s impossible to predict everything, and I always remember Batiushka’s words.
Do you remember his sermons?
- Father Vasily always spoke very simply. Sometimes he gave examples, told cases from life. Sometimes, the priest says a sermon, you stand and think: “But he is talking about me.” I once told the girls from the kliros about this, and they replied that everyone who listens to the priest has a feeling that he is talking about them - he caught some general pain, general anxiety. There was always silence during his sermons… Batiushka could even say something serious so simply that it didn’t offend anyone… Ten years have passed, I can’t believe that he is gone, I have his portrait next to the icons at home, and I have him with me I take a photograph, so that he seems to be always with me ... When I was invited to conduct evenings in memory of Father Vasily, I immediately agreed.
Afraid of the word "sin"
Did you grow up in a believing family, or did you come to faith as an adult?
- She lived as my country lived, she was both a pioneer and a Komsomol member - it was impossible without this, but she always prayed, and there were icons in the house, and if the children were told that it was a sin to do something, it was taboo for children. We were not told why this was bad, but we pulled our hands away, as if from a red-hot stove.
My grandmother, Melanya Grigorievna, was a believer. We lived separately, went to my grandmother on a church holiday. We were afraid of her voice when she said: "Sin!". She was very strict. You behave inappropriately - for example, you laugh out loud - and she says: "Today you will not eat." And somehow it didn’t occur to me to ask someone else: my grandmother said that I wouldn’t, so I wouldn’t. I tried to please her, even if she did not ask, in order to atone for my sins with work. When I was already at school, I came to her: “Baba, can you do something? Maybe wash the floor? Go to the store?" Her sons died, these are my mother's brothers, they disappeared without a trace during the war. The grief made her an iron man, and it passed on to us, to the children. I understood her and did not take offense. She cried for her sons all her life. At the same time, she was a very generous person, giving everything to people ... Grandmother on Trinity gave us crepe de chine scarves - blue, lilac, with flowers. I remember their smell. Although my grandmother said on big holidays: “A bird does not nest, a girl does not weave a braid,” but she still had to work. She stood in front of the icon, crossed herself and said: “Forgive me, Mother of God! No one will do it except me, ”and went to work. It is now that we have technology all around, but we do not have time to do anything. And then people did everything with their own hands. My mother blessed me with grandmother's icons, when I left to study, I still have them.
- What about grandpa?
- Grandfather, Stepan Fedorovich, was softer, I had friendship with him. He made dolls for us: he turned his head out of wood with a knife, made hair out of hemp, stuffed his body with sawdust, and then I sewed clothes out of rags myself. When I see modern toys, we didn’t have anything! - so sometimes you want to buy ... it seems inconvenient to buy for yourself, and now my son sometimes gives me toys. Grandfather made small carts, sleds, felt boots, sewed boots. And he carved other toys from wood - I remember horses on wheels. On Trinity he did a swing, and we swung. I see old photos, I think: “This is my childhood.” With all the poverty, our childhood was happy: we were loved, cherished, taught only good things.
Everything comes from the family: the attitude to life, to loved ones, to oneself. I grew up in a working family, and continue to do so. It doesn’t matter what you do: you need to treat your work responsibly, give yourself all to your work.
Shot from the movie "Pop" (2010)
All Russia is our temple
- One of your notable roles is in the film "Muslim". Is the main idea of the film close to you - that there is no real faith in our supposedly Orthodox people? Have you come across such a “formally Orthodox” faith in your life?
— Of course, I had to. But I do not impose my opinion on anyone, a person must choose his own path. Everyone has a secret space in their soul that not everyone wants to open. Only if the person himself asks for help, says that he is in despair and does not know where to go, can I advise you to go to the temple. Everyone will come to the measure of faith that is due to him. I have been to many places, I know many churches all over Russia, I have talked to many people - I have such a job, it is connected with traveling. And I see: everyone has their own path, it’s good for those who, in the middle of the path, at least begin to understand this path. Yes, even in old age, let him understand what he did wrong, and repent ...
Vladimir Khotinenko is a man of deep faith. His films always teach something, they are like a guide to our real life. I am happy that I worked with him in four scenes. And in the film by Pavel Lungin "The Island" - I have a tiny role there, but I love this film. And so many people remember him! I was in Bulgaria this year - they saw the films “The Island” and “Pop” there, and they talked a lot about them, including the clergy.
- In the movie "Pop" you played the wife of a priest. Have you seen real mothers, did it help in working on the role?
- I had to communicate with mothers, but I can’t say that it was this that helped me in my work: the role is written out quite well, so it was easy to exist in this image. We had a father-consultant, and I often asked him if I was speaking sharply in the frame, and he answered: “No, what are you! Real mothers speak even sharper, they are closer to the earth than fathers! The business of the priest is to serve, and the mother leads everything, all the more so - the village mother, the whole household is on her.
- Do you refuse roles, and if so, in what cases?
- Somehow I was offered to play one of the Russian saints - I refused. My soul tells me that I have no right to play this. If you play like that, then after that you won’t play anything, and so ... then I’ll play in some kind of film or entertainment performance - what will it be? ..
- There are a lot of negative characters on your account - do you look for what you like in them?
- Not even that “cute” - there must be some kind of clue, an explanation why this person became like that, I must understand this. If I don’t understand, I refuse the role: it means that you don’t need to “enter” it, let it into your heart.
- National fame brought you a role in the film by Alexander Proshkin "Cold Summer -53rd". Has your family ever experienced repression?
- In my family there were dispossessed, "deprived". I did not know about the existence of many relatives in my youth, only now I began to recognize them, to find them in Altai. What wonderful people, “from the earth”, these are the roots of my family. They make me “pull myself up”, to comply, so that I bring some benefit.
- And what about Petersburg? Do you perceive it as your city or do you remain at home in your soul?
— The soul is enough for everything (smiles). When I come to Altai, I understand that I am at home, but even at a distance I remember and love everything. I pronounce "St. Petersburg" - and I understand that I have been living here for half my life, my friends are here, my son was born here, the family of Leningraders-Petersburgers will begin from him. So the main places for me are where I was born, where my parents lived, and, nevertheless, my home is here, in St. Petersburg, I always want to return here.
Have you ever thought that your profession is in conflict with the life of a Christian? ..
- Never. In ancient times, the theater was part of a pagan cult, and the negative attitude of the first Christians towards it is understandable. But since then, the theater has changed, and in our time, the opposition between the Church and the stage looks artificial. Many priests now perform on stage - for example, they sing songs of their own composition. If a person's soul sings, what's wrong with that? And then, this is a kind of mission, a story about faith. Please note: many artists become priests - for example, my co-hosts in the evenings in memory of Father Vasily, Archimandrite Isidore (Minaev), Hieromonk Parthenius (Shapanov). Why is this happening? It seems to me that the profession of an artist is somewhat close to the ministry of a priest. When you play another person, you begin to better understand someone else's pain, someone else's life in general. Therefore, there is no contradiction between faith and the stage for me. Of course, in any case one must be able to distinguish between what is sin and what is not sin.
Nina was born in the small village of Raspberry Lake in Altai. The future actress spent her early childhood here, and a few years after the birth of her daughter, the family moved to Kurgan. There Nina went to school and for the first time began to dream of becoming an actress.
Where did the passion for dramatic art come from, the actress herself no longer remembers. Suddenly, she was suddenly interested in the atmosphere that reigned in the school drama club. Time after time participating in amateur performances, Nina caught herself thinking that in the future she wants to become an actress.
Mom, surprisingly, did not laugh at her daughter's hopes. She respected her dream and continued to support, even when Usatova failed the entrance to the Pike. The stubborn young girl was not going to return to Kurgan and did not even think of going somewhere else.
In order to spend the winter in Moscow and wait for the entrance exams next year, the future actress got a job as a worker at a confectionery factory and lived in the capital. As expected, then on vacation, but went home for the weekend. There, no one even thought that Nina would not enter.
Reach for the dream
But time passed. In the second, third, fourth and fifth years after school, Usatova failed her exams. At one of the stages, she stopped working at the confectionery factory and got a job at the House of Culture, first in one of the usual positions, and then she rose to the director.
She was a real fan of amateur performances, which were often staged there, and began to observe how real actors behave, move, and speak. For a year of work, she managed to improve her program in such a way that now the selection committee could not find fault with either obesity or rural dialect: the future actress was standing in front of them!
So Nina Usatova entered the Boris Shchukin Theater School.
She wasn't the best. Graduating at the age of 28 from the university, Nina did not plan to stay in the capital. According to the distribution, the actress got into the theater of the city of Kotlas, Arkhangelsk region. As many as twenty roles in a year and invaluable experience gave her a small regional theater. After such work, Usatova was not afraid to go to storm Leningrad, where she remained forever.
Star
The following year after her arrival, the actress served in the troupe of the Youth Theater, where she soon attracted critics, was named an accomplished actress who found her role, and was also noticed by directors. At 30, Usatova got her first film role.
A charming and comical chatty village woman - this is how she appeared before the whole country in the film “Where Fomenko Disappeared”, other directors noticed such an actress with a non-trivial appearance.
In the 80s, Usatova was in great demand: she starred in an average of two films a year. In 1989, she received an invitation to play in the BDT. The happy 90s began for the actress. "Chicha", "Window to Paris", "Muslim", "Fatal Eggs" and many, many more films loved by the whole country. Now she was simply torn between filming, being involved in four or five projects at once in some years.
Yura
But before becoming a real star, she experienced those feelings that women with her role so rarely have to play.
Nina Usatova and her husband, Yuri Guryev, once agreed that they would not disclose the history of their acquaintance, and they really do not like to spread about how their relationship began.
In only one interview, the Tula linguist and actor Yuri Lvovich said that once, in the late 80s, one of the Leningrad theaters came to their theater on tour ... It is generally accepted that it was those tours that turned out to be a turning point for the couple.
The lovers could not live together for a long time, but they are not going to get divorced either. Accustomed to his hometown, Yuri did not want to stay in the cold northern capital, especially since he found very little work for himself there. Nina, on the contrary, had already fallen in love with Peter for real and did not want to leave anywhere.
Kolya
Well, this is fixable. In a bohemian acting environment, you will not surprise anyone with a guest marriage. Now Nina Nikolaevna and Yuri Lvovich go to visit each other, they still communicate warmly, call each other and take care of each other - only at a distance.
Their son Nikolai now also lives in St. Petersburg, in his mother's old apartment (not so long ago, Nina Usatova moved to a new one). She is looking forward to her grandchildren, but Kolya is in no hurry with marriage.
Nina Nikolaevna very carefully followed the upbringing and education of her son, however, without limiting his choice. If he wanted to become an artist, he would not resist. But the son chose another profession. For some time he studied in London, completed his education in his native St. Petersburg, and now became a lawyer.
Now Nina Nikolaevna calls Kolya the most unbiased and objective critic, witty and accurate in her statements. The son loves to visit his mother's performances and knows all the roles by heart. Sometimes, having settled comfortably at her house, he begins to play this or that scene with her, and Nina only smiles: she inherited acting talent, but did not use it.
Nina Nikolaevna does not lose popularity and people's love. She is a highly respected actress and a real persona at any event.
Usatova most often goes out with her son, and her husband loves a measured lifestyle more, but he often comes to visit his wife with delicious Tula gingerbread.
