Alexander Demidov from Quartet I: I am not a very exemplary husband

Biography

Alexander was born in the city of Shadrinsk. After his parents' divorce, Sasha and his mother lived in a barracks. “I was left to my own devices, no one cared about me. Mom worked a lot, arranged her personal life,” said the actor. A little boy would take ten kopecks from his grandfather and go to the cinema, where he could sit for hours.

A few years later, the parents decided that their son would be better off with his father, and the seven-year-old child moved to Ryazan. It was there that he realized that they were taking care of him. The happiness lasted for a year, and then his twin half-sisters were born, and the nightmare began. After school, he ran to the dairy kitchen, and at home, in a 12-meter room, newborns were constantly screaming and crying. He saw his mother again only five years later. “Mom fought for me, wanted to take me away, but dad was stronger,” the actor is sure.

Alexander studied at GITIS, where he entered on the first try.

↑ Alexander Demidov biography

Alexander Sergeevich Demidov was born into an ordinary family. The parents quickly divorced, the child remained with his mother. The boy often felt unnecessary, and one day he asked his mother to allow him to go visit his father. Mom allowed it. Father lived in Ryazan. Sasha went there. But he never returned to his mother.

In Ryazan, the boy went to a regular school, became interested in theater, and joined a local school club. Participation in amateur productions became firmly established in the boy’s life. Theater became more than a hobby, and the child wanted to connect his future life with it.

Theater

Together with three classmates - Leonid Barats, Kamil Larin and Rostislav Khait, the actor created his own comic theater "Quartet I", which made him famous.

Alexander Demidov is the best performer of female roles among men of the Quartet I theater: the roles of Martina and the Nurse in the play “La Comedy, or We will entertain you with all the means that are good!” and Madame Colombo in the play “La Comedy 2, or a Completely Different Story with Elements of Great Art.”

Theater works

Theater "Quartet I":

• "Conversations of Middle-Aged Men"
• "Radio day"
• "Faster than rabbits"
• "Election Day"
• "Comedy Club"
• "Letters and Songs of Middle-Aged Men"
• "Acting Games"
• “A Comedy-II, or a Completely Different Story with Elements of Great Art”
• “These are just cliches,” Vanechka

Alexander Demidov: “All men want to see a mother in a woman”

When Alexander Demidov came to us for an interview, he modestly sat down on the edge of the sofa, lowered his eyes to the floor, and a serious conversation began. But after the first two questions, Alexander apparently got used to us, after which the interview started to be very fun. Everything that was said was immediately portrayed. As a result, the interview turned into a performance in which Alexander’s personality sparkled and began to sparkle like champagne.

Alexander Demidov is one of the creators and performers of the comic theater “Quartet I”, created in 1993 by a group of graduates of the variety department of GITIS. The first production of the comedy “It's Just Cliches” took place on the stage of the alma mater; it was based on typical student jokes. Creators and performers of “Quartet I”: Rostislav Khait, Leonid (Alexey) Barats, Kamil Larin, Alexander Demidov, Sergei Petreikov (director).

OUR PSYCHOLOGY: When you were working on the film “Conversations of Middle-Aged Men,” did you read any books about psychology, about the midlife crisis from the point of view of psychologists?

ALEXANDER DEMIDOV: My first wife is a psychologist, so five years of living with her was enough for me to learn everything about Gestalt therapy, addictions and how to deal with them. I even went to a specialist and read the relevant literature. And I can say that the process associated with psychology and psychologists is like choosing a doctor, coach, instructor. There is a sea of ​​proposals, literature, information, but at the same time it is impossible to choose what will help you for the rest of your life.

NP: So you didn’t have a family psychologist who counsels couples?

AD: I had a personal psychologist. But on the set we are our own psychologists. Psychology is also some kind of experience, when a specialist in his field takes knowledge either from his life, or from any trainings, courses and some literature. We wanted to make a movie, let’s say, as specialists in this direction, and we gained experience over 17 years of creative activity, performances, and tours.

NP: A number of psychologists analyzed your film and said that it was very interesting from the point of view of infantile men.

AD: I don’t agree with you, this is not immaturity, but sincerity. Stories about some things. On the other hand, men are big children. All men are childish, afraid of responsibility, want to see a woman as a sister, mother, aunt, I don’t know... But I still categorically remain in my opinion. NP: On stage, in the theater, you always have a lot of humor. Is there overcompensation when life has to be gloomy after this?

AD: Nothing special is being done: today I made people laugh, now at home I’ll be sad. It happens that we exchanged laughs, burst out laughing, and came home after the performance and felt sad. Or yesterday, for example, we had filming, then a performance, then we made some kind of appeal to the film market, and you come home not only sad, but simply tired. At the same time, my child, who is 2.8 years old, did not want to sleep at all, immediately turned me on, and we jumped and went crazy.

NP: So this is a banal myth that is not typical for you?

AD: Most of the actors who are positive, active, and playful on stage, in life are sick, suffering, trying to answer the question “to be or not to be,” relegated to the category of unshaven faces, sad clowns.

NP: Would you like to change something about yourself from a psychological point of view, some of your personal qualities?

AD: I would like to quit smoking, stop spitting on the street - these are external manifestations. And internally, I would like to calm down, and this is harmony in the deep and broad sense of the word. Throw away what prevents you from calming down. By the way, by the age of 40 I had more or less dealt with serious injuries, but there are a lot of these little things that have accumulated. NP: Did you study any special psychotechnologies? Meditation, for example?

AD: I went to a psychologist, we worked with breathing, it helped me.

NP: Body-oriented therapy?

AD: Yes. Plus, I went to the doctor, he tried to reduce my craving for alcohol, he wanted to hypnotize me, but he didn’t succeed. I say again: “You need to try all this!” In fact, I realized: if you are unlucky with a psychologist, mentor, instructor, then you need to look for a good one. I now have a new direction - Kamil sent me to “sticks”, this is an incredible thing when juniper sticks are massaged around the spine. It's quite painful, but then it's euphoric. And then from euphoria the transition to a busy state, but there is a feeling of life all around.

NP: Who is more scary to deal with – stupid people or those who always know who should do what and how?

AD: With both. I can feel comfortable with both erudite and developed people and stupid ones. Life has taught me to be a flexible person.

NP: Does it make you feel better when you see that other people have more problems than you?

AD: Rather, I then bring myself or my wife to this. I feel bad sometimes, but I don't come out of it well. I do what I love, I earn money, but I don’t consider myself a person living in harmony with myself. All the same, if you compare it with my colleagues, everything is much better for me.

NP: There is a statement: “Beggars are a vacuum cleaner of guilt”! That is, when a person walks past a beggar and gives him money, he feels better. Does it make you feel better?

AD: No, I just came to an agreement with myself. I just always hung between: either I give to everyone, or only to grandmothers. And then it is unknown who is lying. I remember a guy without legs was sitting in the subway (there are a lot of legless people, they wear some kind of padded jackets, the military - I don’t believe in it), he was always reading a book, it was written that he was collecting for a prosthesis. And he always, I noticed, took money from anyone and looked everyone in the eye. I believed him unconditionally.

NP: Was there a moment of some kind of psychotherapy for you personally?

AD: At first I suffered a lot. Is it my fault or what? He feels so bad, but I’m a bastard. And over the years I began to give less and less. And if he gave, he gave very consciously. Just like death, illness must be treated specifically. I've learned to turn off my heart sometimes. For example, one of my twin sisters is very sick, and when I visit her in the hospital, I understand that if I worry about her every day as a brother, as a person, I will go crazy. That’s why I turned off my heart; from the outside, you could even call it indifference. Sometimes - and very often - you need to close your heart, and this is not only better for you.

NP: How do you feel about this expression that we are all mortal, but not all of us are alive?

AD: I am periodically dead, of course, and I bring myself to this point.

NP: This means that people live like biorobots! People who are programmed by mom, dad, society, television, friends...

AD: I don’t consider myself a biorobot, because I’m always in motion, in process.

NP: What about the very awareness that a person is mortal?

AD: It scares me. There is nothing but fear, and by the way, we worked with psychologists on this matter.

NP: What do you recommend reading or watching?

AD: Zoshchenko’s incredible book “Before Sunrise.” This is a man who wrote funny stories, who was complex and sick. In this book he tries to analyze where all this comes from. Why did all the greats die before they were 30, while mathematicians and philosophers lived until they were 90? It made a very strong impression on me, a lot became clear. Now the guys recommended Maugham's book to me. It is incredibly modern, I am reading it now. Or our beloved Dovlatov, I read everything from him, now I’m interested in reading how he was perceived at that time, why he was like that, why he became popular now.

Alexander Demidovinterview quartet and

Cinema

Alexander played his first film role in 1990 in an episode of Vadim Derbenev’s drama “Hunting the Pimp.” Then he appeared in the adventure film “Five Kidnapped Monks,” directed by Isaac Magiton based on the story by the famous Soviet writer Yuri Koval. His hero Vasya Kurolesov was appreciated by critics and viewers.

A few years later, Demidov took part in the comedy series directed by Oleg Ryaskov “12 and a half chairs, or Everything is the other way around,” and in 1999 he played the main role in Roman Kachanov’s film “Maximilian.”

Real fame came to Alexander Demidov with the members of Quartet I already in the new century. First, the Quartet members filmed a television version of one of their most successful performances, “Radio Day.” Later a full-length film was released. In 2007, “Election Day” was filmed, and a year later the comedy “Radio Day” was staged. In these humorous films, he played the role of Sasha, the head of advertising projects.

The actor also appeared in the projects: “The Adventures of Soldier Ivan Chonkin” - Fyodor Plechevoy, “Phoenix Syndrome” - Yura.

Resounding success awaited the artist with the release of Dmitry Dyachenko’s comedy “What Men Talk About” in 2010. A story about the life observations of men. What Men Talk About? About women. No, also about work, about money, about cars, about football... but mostly, after all, about women. He was entrusted with the image of the owner of an advertising agency.

The main roles in this film were played by Leonid Barats, Kamil Larin, Rostislav Khait, Nonna Grishaeva, Nina Ruslanova, Konstantin Chepurin, Anna Kasatkina-Barats, Sayat Abadzhyan, Artem Fadeev, Zhanna Friske, Sergey Nikonenko.

Soon the artists filmed the second part of the cult film “What Else Men Talk About,” and in 2018 its next sequel. The comedy became a real hit at the Russian box office, collecting a total of $30 million.

It is worth noting the actor’s work in the films “Faster than Rabbits”, “Hello, I’m your Dad!”, “Pokhabovsk. The Other Side of Siberia”, “I Remember, I Don’t Remember”, “Wonderland”, “Groom”.

In total, Alexander’s filmography includes more than twenty works.

Movies

The cinematic biography of Alexander Demidov began at a theater university. In 1990, the actor starred in the ongoing episode of the film “Hunting for a Pimp.” In 1991, Alexander appeared on the screen, playing the role of Vasya Kurolesov in the film “Five Kidnapped Monks.” The debut turned out to be more than successful: both critics and viewers immediately noticed the hitherto unknown talented young man. Demidov began to regularly receive new offers from directors.

Alexander Demidov in the film “Radio Day”

The artist began to regularly appear in new film projects. In the mid-90s, Demidov starred in the films “Your Fingers Smell of Incense” and “12 and a Half Armchairs, or the Other Way Around.”

Since 1999, Alexander played in the sensational films “Maximilian” about the life of a rural sorcerer, “Money” about the work of an advertising agency and “The Adventures of the Soldier Ivan Chonkin.” But it was not these projects that brought Demidov the greatest fame, but the film adaptation of Quartet I’s productions.

Domestic viewers appreciated the work of the actors in the films “Radio Day” and “Election Day,” where, in addition to the four friends from the “Quartet,” Maxim Vitorgan, Nonna Grishaeva, Mikhail Efremov, Evgeny Steblov, and Valery Barinov also starred. The role of the head of the radio station went to the producer and presenter of “Our Radio” Mikhail Kozyrev. Alexander reincarnated as the hero Sasha, who is promoting creative advertising projects.

In 2009, with the participation of Demidov, the four-part comedy “Phoenix Syndrome” about the residents of a provincial town began. Popular actors of Russian cinema - Olga Budina, Georgy Dronov, Galina Polskikh, Anna Ardova - gathered on one stage.

In 2010, Demidov’s filmography was supplemented by work in the comedy “What Men Talk About.” The film was such a huge success with viewers that the artists soon filmed a sequel called “What Else Men Talk About.” The films became real hits at the Russian box office, grossing a total of $30 million.

From the actor’s film works you can also say, “Hello, I’m your dad!” and "The Clock of Cagliostro". The last film is a fantastic project by Mikhail Krupin about the heroes who found a watch in one of the old mansions near Moscow that supposedly belonged to the magician Count Cagliostro. The film was released in 2014.

Alexander Demidov, Lyudmila Artemyeva and Konstantin Kryukov on the set of the film “I Remember, I Don’t Remember!”

In 2020, work on the comedy “I Remember, I Don’t Remember!” was completed, in which Demidov tried on the image of a doctor of medicine. In the New Year's film "Wonderland" Alexander was transformed into a former paratrooper.

Recently, artist and screenwriter Alexander Demidov has created several new projects. Fans saw Demidov in a new capacity - also as a talented musician. Not long ago a musical group appeared called “Demidov I”. Alexander acts as a singer, musician, and producer in it. In 2011, fans saw the group’s new program, created together with another popular music group, “Beavers.” Now Alexander Demidov’s team is called “DemidoBand”.

In addition to creating and performing original songs, Alexander Demidov became the organizer of the annual festival “Day of the Defender of Good Music”, where professional musical groups are invited, as well as actors who want to realize themselves as vocalists - Gosha Kutsenko, Pavel Maikov.

Musician

In 2009, Alexander began his solo musical project, within which three albums were released - “Middle”, “Second First Album” and “Demid OFF/ON”. Over the years of the rock band's existence, he shot several videos, participated in festivals and other group concerts.

In the fall of 2011, he launched an exclusive project called “Demidov I”. The show consists of a series of programs, creative evenings and benefit performances dedicated to specific events. The artist appeared on stage together with leading musicians and actors: Alexey Kortnev, Nonna Grishaeva, the groups “Underwood”, “Zdob shi Zdub”, “T9”, “Chaif” and others.

A couple of years later, under the leadership of Alexander’s author’s production center, the group “DEMIDOBAND” appeared.

The musician says about his work: “I have been writing poetry, if you can call it poetry, and melodies for them since I entered college, since 1988. And over the course of 25 years I wrote a decent amount. And then, my classmate offered to finance my first album. I liked it so much that I started performing in clubs and organizing mini-tours with creative evenings. It gives me great pleasure."

Personal life

Alexander's first wife was Svetlana. 26-year-old Demidov met a girl on the subway. “Then two loneliness met, it was not love,” the actor recalls. In this marriage, a daughter, Sonya, was born. Two years later, the family broke up, and Demidov blamed himself for a very long time for the fact that his daughter was growing up without a father. “I was not allowed to see the child or was allowed, but under supervision. After that, I ran, drank and cried,” Alexander said about the difficult period in his life.

The actor met his second wife in Turkey. “Lena had a holiday romance. As it turned out later, it was a set-up. She grabbed me, roughly understanding what she could get from me. And I got it for a while,” Demidov shared. They lived together for eight years and had a son, Ignat.

Having not yet divorced Lena, he met Margarita, with whom he began an “incredible romance.” Director Dima Dyachenko invited her to work as an acting assistant on the film “Faster than Rabbits.” “Everyone immediately started looking at her except me,” Demidov recalls. And Margarita quickly realized that Alexander was her man. The girl plucked up courage and spoke about her feelings. They have been together ever since.

The artist spoke about the details of his personal life in the program “The Fate of a Man with Boris Korchevnikov.”

Sources and links

• al-demidov - Alexander Demidov’s blog on LiveJournal
• Official page of Alexander Demidov on Facebook
• Website of the Gesher Theater
• It's Hard to Be a Star, Helen Kay, Jerusalem Post Magazine, January 3, 2000
• portraits: Alexander Demidov “At the call of the heart”
• Israeli Ivan the Terrible, 06/22/2008
• “Maariv”: the unknown drama of the Demidov family. izrus.co.il (29.09.2008). Retrieved May 25, 2014.
• Demidov Alexander. rusakters.ru. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
• Alexander Demidov in the program “PYRAMID OF DESIRE with Lev Korchagin”
• Demidov Alexander, 05/16/2009
• Rimma Osipenko.
  Interview » Sasha Demidov. Actor and sons. netnews.co.il (20.04.12). Retrieved May 25, 2014.
• Rimma Osipenko.
  Interview » Sasha Demidov. Actor and sons. netnews.co.il (20.04.12). Retrieved May 25, 2014.
• The Secret of Zohar. The Zohar Secret. kinopoisk.ru (2014). Retrieved May 25, 2014.
• Official page of The Zohar Secret (English) on Facebook
• Rimma Osipenko.
  Actress, wife of an actor, mother of actors and directors. salat.zahav.ru (04/14/2016). Retrieved June 15, 2020.

Interview

"Quartet I"

“In “Quartet I” there are four men who have been friends since college. We played in the films “Radio Day”, “Election Day”, “What Men Talk About”. We are no longer just friends, it’s like brother and sister, like an arm and a leg, without which it’s difficult to live, it’s a given, it’s fate that brought us together in 1988 upon admission to GITIS. We are all very different: Slava – he clearly knows what he wants and does not waste time on trifles; I, more than everyone else, am torn in different directions, and I am not assiduous; Kamil is the most thorough, family-oriented, so to speak, fundamental person in the profession and in life in general; Lesha is a touching, vulnerable, reflective person. We have been together for a very long time, there was a lot of things between us, yes, probably everything, except... sex. And this union is for life, despite the many negative aspects of our friendship and communication, and there certainly were some. Over the years, we have become more tolerant and more careful towards each other, and even if we suddenly separate, we will still communicate. I have no doubt about it and don’t imagine us quarreling over women, money or creativity, or for some other reason.”

About plans

“The main thing is not to go into the insanity that many of our masters go into. That is, you no longer need to make films, but you just keep filming, filming, filming. You don’t need to sing anymore, but you just keep singing, singing, singing. Or you play in the theater, and everyone is already sick of you. Although theater and music - you can still play a role and sing something at any age... I would like to organize creative evenings, maybe try teaching, share my experience, of which I have a lot. These are my plans, I don’t know how global or non-global they are.”

Based on materials from Wikipedia and websites: , kino-teatr.ru, debonton.ru, ademidov.ru, kvartet-i.com.

Alexander Demidov from Quartet I: I am not a very exemplary husband

— Alexander, have you finished the film “Election Day 2” yet?

- Filming - yes, the film is currently in the editing process. All members of Quartet I play the same characters as in the first part. My hero Sasha works with Governor Tsaplin, whose second term has ended and his third election race is beginning. Tsaplin has two competitors, but he’s bored out of his mind and disappears. Where, why and why - I won’t say that yet.

— Now there are many different stories with governors - who is Governor Tsaplin based on?

— The material is rich, yes. But we try to stay within the framework of the first film, we don’t swim too far beyond the buoys - we’re making a comedy, not a set of particularly sharp political jokes. Another thing is that things that were simply ironic then may seem poignant now. But I'm sure the film will be light and funny.

— You filmed in Astrakhan and recruited extras there. Actors from among the people told you jokes and corrected you.

- Oh, they had no time for that! They filmed in a heat of 42 degrees, drank water all the time and melted - there was no time for improvisation. To be honest, we also strictly adhere to the written script, although from the outside it may seem that “Quartet I” is frolicking with might and main on the set and coming up with jokes on the go. But in fact, we have discipline like in the Airborne Forces - the comedian must be kept in line.

In “Quartet I” there is complete freedom, like the four musketeers. Photo: Mikhail FROLOV

— You won’t be able to hold on very well, as you can see, if, in addition to performances and filming, you also manage to write columns for “Russian Pioneer” and sing songs of your own composition in the Demodov band. By the way, are you doing all this for the sake of money?

- But no - not for the sake of money. And in order to show your different facets. I'm just interested in doing different things. I’ve been making music for seven years now, and I started writing columns a year ago. I'm shocked. In Quartet I we have complete freedom, like the Four Musketeers. We are together and we are friends, but we do not walk in formation and do not shackle each other. We do what is interesting, and we don’t make noise for the sake of noise and PR. Our new film has its own Twitter, but we post news about the case there, and don’t tell you who ate what today and how we walked with the dog.

— Alexander, they say “when a woman turns 45, the woman is a berry again.” What about the guy? Is he a flower? - No, the man is also a berry, everything is completely new for him after 45 years.

The founder and permanent member of Quartet I celebrates its 45th anniversary today. Photo: Mikhail FROLOV

- But your family is not new, but old? Or does every man at this age consider it daring to get a divorce?

“I won’t lie, my wife and I are not doing as well as we would like right now.” I don’t know a single person for whom everything would always be cloudless in his personal life. Many married couples experience a crisis after a few years of marriage—and Lena and I are going through it now. I am not a very exemplary husband and our relationship is not ideal, but renewal is already happening. We will cope for the sake of our son Ignat.

— Do you communicate with your daughter from your first marriage?

- Yes, I communicate with Sophia. Sonya is now 15 years old - almost an adult girl. And soon she will enter drama school, and I will help her with this as much as I can. I feel guilty that I once had to part with my daughter, I think that I am a bad dad and pay little attention to my children because I work a lot.

“But what you earn is enough for everything.” As an artist, you probably have good fees.

— The average artist’s fee is about 50 thousand rubles per performance. That's decent. So I have enough money.

Filmography: Actor

• Ribs (2019)
• Speakerphone (2019)
• What Men Talk About. Sequel (2018)
• Groom (2016)
• Wonderland (2015)
• I remember, I don’t remember! (2015)
• Election Day-2 (2015)
• The Clock of Cagliostro (2013)
• Pokhabovsk. The Other Side of Siberia (2013)
• Hello, I'm your dad! (2013)
• Faster than Rabbits (2013)
• What else do men talk about (2011)
• Troubadour (2010)
• What Men Talk About (2010)
• Phoenix Syndrome (2009)
• Radio Day (2008)
• The Adventures of Soldier Ivan Chonkin (2007), TV series
• Election Day (2007)
• Radio Day (2003), film-play
• Money (2002), TV series
• Maximilian (1999)
• 12 and a half chairs, or Everything is the other way around (1996-1999), TV series
• Your Fingers Smell of Incense (1993)
• Five Kidnapped Monks (1991)
• Pimp Hunt (1990)