Mikhail Gorevoy: “My brothers-in-law are Gary Oldman and Tom Hanks”

BIOGRAPHY

Mikhail Gorevoy was born into the family of a colonel of the General Staff of the Soviet Army. The father wanted his son to become an officer. After 8th grade, Misha was going to enter the Suvorov School, but fate decreed otherwise.

The young man was engaged in boxing. It so happened that one day he received a serious injury, after which he required long-term rehabilitation. The actor recalls: “Then I went to the hospital and started binge reading everything there. I haven't read it before. In general, perhaps, I consciously began to exist only after this strong shock, this trauma.”

Mikhail's fate was decided by chance. After being discharged from the hospital, his mother bought him a ticket to the play “Warsaw Melody” at the Moscow Theater of Miniatures (Hermitage Theater). What he saw made a tremendous impression on the young man. “It was there that I became deeply infected with the theater and its magic. Apparently fate wanted me not to poke around anywhere else. To this day, theater is my favorite bacillus, a disease for which I do not want and do not need to be treated. My passion. I then clearly and precisely understood that I wanted and would be an actor. Then events began to happen in my life that only confirmed me on this path,” admits the actor.

After graduating from school, Mikhail applied to four theater institutes at once, but that year he did not get anywhere. There was nothing left to do, and the young man went to look for work. The actor recalls: “I got hired as a lighting designer at the theater. I came from the street to the Moscow Art Theater, where I was offered to work as a lighting designer. And in nine months I studied the theater from the hold to the grate. I fell in love with the smell of the scenes and learned how to set up the scenery and direct the lights. He was present at the rehearsals of Efremov, Smoktunovsky, Kalyagin, Evstigneev, Nevinny and went on stage with them all as extras. I bless heaven that I cut myself short and didn’t go to college. Who and where would teach me all the mysterious theatrical wisdom?

The next year, Mikhail submitted documents to the Moscow Art Theater School and entered. Mikhail Efremov, Nikita Vysotsky, Maria Evstigneeva, Vyacheslav Nevinny (Jr.) studied in the same course with him.

Mikhail Gorevoy today

The actor is not going to stop with the success he has achieved and continues to act in films. But he does not forget about his family.

On the set of the series “Ekaterina. Takeoff"

Mikhail Gorevoy takes into account past mistakes in his personal life, and tries to make his wife and children happy, which can be seen from the photos that he periodically posts on social networks. He also gives extensive interviews to the media, highlighting the stages of his career and the difficulties he had to face. By his example, Mikhail proves that success is achieved by those who strive for it and overcome obstacles!

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THEATER

Immediately after graduating from the institute, the actor began his career at the Sovremennik-2 theater studio, created on the basis of the course where he studied. A few years later, Mikhail joined the troupe of the Mayakovsky Theater. “At that time I was going through a difficult period in my life. I played in sold-out performances of the Mayakovsky Theater, there were great people nearby: Natasha Gundareva, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Emmanuil Vitorgan, Allochka Balter, Zhenya Simonova. But this is just called acting, in fact, every time I went on stage, I tore my soul to shreds. After “Music Lessons” I got completely drunk, because the role was hellish! I played a cruel young man. I once calculated that I played 38 performances a month. There was no blood left in me, there was nothing to play with, I was empty, like an overturned bucket. One fine day he left the theater. But they didn’t make movies back then—the situation was wild. At one time we had nothing to eat,” recalls Mikhail. Soon he and his family left for the USA, where for a long time he tried to find himself.

Family scandal

My career had just begun to improve when my wife suddenly left. He will tell you that Anna’s departure was extremely difficult for him. I lay flat and could not recover. “I already had my own theater, but I didn’t want to live,” Gorevoy will tell you. The charming actress Maria Saffo pulled him out of depression.

The grief-stricken one will say that love always tastes like blood.

He doesn’t like this story so much, but it was heard all over the country: Gorevoy’s close friend, Pavel Maikov, will later tell how a spark broke out between him and his friend’s practically fiancee Masha Saffo. They were so attracted to each other, how hard it was to give up intimacy, because he continued to treat Mikhail with respect.

However, it is a fact: Maikov stole Saffo from Gorevoy. He will later say that love always tastes like blood. The next day the traitors were supposed to play together. Mikhail himself appeared on stage instead of Pavel, and Masha was replaced by Katya Volkova. Creativity helped to quickly jump out of this story, and the experiences gave the actor a powerful impetus to development.

USA

In 1992, Mikhail and his family left for the USA. As the actor admits, at that time he had neither work nor prospects in his homeland. Abroad, he worked as a waiter, taxi driver, and even as a translator. The actor admits: “For a year and a half I was fascinated by America, I was interested in everything - how people communicate, how they live, what they read, what they watch. Everywhere I stuck my curious nose. It quickly became clear that the American dream was quite feasible for me: I earned decent money and could afford to buy a large house on credit. Only you would have to pay for it all your life, and this is slavery. I thought: I will live to be gray until I finally pay off my debts, and the next important event will be my own funeral. No, it's boring. And I returned to Russia."

In Moscow, Mikhail Gorevoy organized his own theater, “Factory of Theatrical Events,” where he is still the artistic director. The theater's first performance was Gorevoy's production of "Of Mice and Men" based on the story by John Steinbeck. According to critics, this work became one of the most striking theatrical premieres of the late 90s. The theater’s repertoire also included the plays “A Cruel Lesson” and “The Waiting Room,” in which Mikhail successfully combined the profession of actor and director.

Personal life

In the career of theater and film actor Mikhail Gorevoy, everything is more or less successful, which cannot be said about his personal life. They lived with their first wife Anna Margolis for 14 years, they had children - Daria and Dmitry. At some point, the actor’s son tried to follow in his father’s footsteps, starred in the films “Bastards” and “Kadetstvo”, but later chose a different path in life.

Mikhail Gorevoy with his son

Gorevoy calls his ex-wife a “fighting friend”; the couple had to endure many trials, which they passed with dignity and still separated. The actor was busy with his career and had no time left for his family.

Mikhail Gorevoy with his wife Olesya

Later, Gorevoy was actually married to fellow filmmaker Maria Saffo, but this relationship also reached a dead end. Today, Mikhail Vitalievich is happily married to graphic designer Olesya. In 2012, the couple had a daughter, Sophia.

MOVIE

Even before leaving for the USA, Mikhail starred in the films “The Edge”, “A Young Man from a Good Family”, and “Alaska, Sir!”. Small roles in these films did not bring him fame. Soon the actor moved to the USA.

The first work after returning home was the role of Alex in the film “The President and His Woman.” After this, there was a short pause in the actor’s film career. Mikhail returned to the screens only in 1999, starring in one of the episodes of the detective story “Kamenskaya”. Directors are beginning to actively invite the actor to their films; Gorevoy starred in the films “Fatalists”, “Antikiller-2”, “KGB in a Tuxedo”, “Efrosyne”, “Guardian Angel”, and others.

"Die but not now"

In 2002, Mikhail took part in the filming of a major international project. The actor played the role of Russian scientist Vlad Popov in the anniversary episode of the Bond movie “Die Another Day.” He recalls: “I got into this project in a civilized way. I came to an audition at one agency, they were filmed and sent to London along with the auditions of other actors. The producers and director Lee Tamahori watched them there. I was lucky - they chose me. My role there is not that big, but I’m not ashamed of it. It's a decent job and I was treated decently. And I am extremely pleased that I participated in this event.”

Director Lee Tamahori assembled a brilliant ensemble of actors in the film. Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Judi Dench, Michael Madsen, and others starred in the film along with Mikhail. “The first day I arrived for the shoot, they took me to Brosnan and introduced me to him. We shook hands, he said: “Hello, old man! I heard that you love theater, and you even have your own theater. That’s it, forget about it, we have a madhouse here!” Probably it was prepared and they told him about me, but I was pleased. We talked a lot and played backgammon. Pierce was interested in Russian cinema. He knows Mikhalkov’s films,” says Mikhail.

"Bridge of Spies"

A real acting success was the role of the 2nd Secretary of the USSR Embassy in the GDR Shishkin in Steven Spielberg’s film “Bridge of Spies” (2015). 300 actors from different countries auditioned for the role, but the director approved Gorevoy. Mikhail says about his role: “I’m used to the cliché that in foreign films the Russian is presented as either a fool or a villain. But Spielberg has no hint of such images. Soviet intelligence officers are presented as worthy rivals to American agents, full-fledged partners.”

According to the actor, his relationship with Spielberg was brilliant. “When the director is inspiredly busy with his work and knows what he wants, then we pray to the same God and time passes quickly. And everything turns out right. We need to be creative, not bullshit. I touched this miracle live. I became friends with Stephen and received compliments from him on my work that I will never forget. I hope that this meeting with him is not the last, but the first. Stephen told me this: “You’re on the team,” admits Mikhail.

INTERVIEW

About my life

“More and more often I understand that I am a happy person. My life was neither black nor white - it was always colorful. How was it though? It’s too early to talk about myself in the past tense - I’m cheerful, ruddy, it doesn’t matter that I’m wooden.”

About age

“Yes, I’m 50, but I can’t apply this figure to myself, because if you don’t go to the mirror, then I’m 33. Let the reflection show a strange dude. This doesn’t mean that I’m spinning in front of the mirror, but that I soberly perceive reality.”

About the differences in work in Russia and in the West

“I like working with us. And we really have everything to make a good movie: ideas, people, technology. But there are two main reasons that hinder us. They are the two key principles that must be observed in life: do not lie and do not steal. And then everything will be fine with us.”

Based on materials from the sites gorevoy.com, kino-teatr.ru, 7days.ru, nashfilm.ru, vokrug.tv, 24smi.org, izvestia.ru, mk.ru, hellomagazine.com, tele.ru.

FILMOGRAPHY: ACTOR

• Translation from German (2020)
• Catherine. Imposters (2019), TV series
• Crossroads of Fate (2016), TV series
• Noah Sails Away (2016)
• Real Scenario (2016)
• Widows (2016)
• Catherine. Takeoff (2016), TV series
• Investigator Tikhonov (2016), TV series
• On the trail (2016) /Skiptrace/
• Forgotten (2016)
• Light and Shadow of the Lighthouse (2015), TV series
• Bridge of Spies (2015)
• The Far Side of the Moon-2 (2015), TV series
• Cage (2015)
• Bloodhound (2015), TV series
• Champions (2014)
• Secret City-2 (2014), TV series
• Secret City (2014), TV series
• Moscow Greyhound (2014), TV series
• Meteorite (2014), TV series
• Forced march: the hunt for the “Hunter” (2014)
• Easy to find (2014)
• Cop-2 (2014), TV series
• Shell-shocked, or Freestyle swimming lessons (2014)
• Haute cuisine (2014)
• Only girls in sports (2014)
• Cold Dish (2013)
• Fort Ross (2013)
• Flint. Liberation (2013)
• Doctor Death (2013)
• Violetta from Atamanovka (2013)
• The teacher-in-law. Return (2012), TV series
• Nightingale the Robber (2012)
• I'll give the kittens to good hands (2012)
• Moms (2012)
• Curious Varvara (2012), TV series
• Cop (2012), TV series
• Klushi (2012)
• The case of investigator Nikitin (2012), TV series
• Five Brides (2011)
• Chiropractor (2011), TV series
• Diamond Hunters (2011), TV series
• Shadowboxing-3. Last Round (2011)
• Two ladies in Amsterdam (2011)
• 45 centimeters (2011)
• Manna from heaven (2011), TV series
• Flowers from Lisa (2010)
• Enigma (2010), TV series
• The Last Minute (2010), TV series
• Soldiers-16 (2010), TV series
• Promotion (2010)
• At game-2. New Level (2010)
• Euphrosyne (2010-2013), TV series
• Mothers and Daughters (2010)
• House of the Sun (2010)
• Sakura jam. Episode 1: Japanese Policeman (2010)
• Angelica (2010), TV series
• Traffic cops (2010), TV series
• I will live! (2009)
• Random Recording (2009)
• The Best Movie 2 (2009)
• The Way (2009)
• At the Game (2009)
• Soldiers-16. Dembel is inevitable (2009), TV series
• BURDS: episode one (2009)
• Kromov (2009)
• Zhurov (2009), TV series
• House on Ozernaya (2009), TV series
• Wolf Messing: Seeing Through Time (2009), TV series
• Gentlemen Officers: Save the Emperor (2008)
• Crazy November (2008)
• Yarik (2007) /Yarik/
• Shadowboxing 2: Revenge (2007)
• Situation 202 (2007)
• Turkish March-4 (2007), TV series
• Running on the Waves (2007)
• Guardian Angel (2006), TV series
• Point (2006)
• Shift (2006)
• Hunting a Genius (2006), TV series
• Mustang (2006)
• Battle for Space (2006), TV series
• Gangster Petersburg. Dutch Passage (2006), TV series
• Men's Season: Velvet Revolution (2005)
• KGB in a tuxedo (2005), TV series
• Mirror Wars: Reflection One (2005)
• Lethal force-6 (2005), TV series
• Bachelors (2004), TV series
• Hope is the Last to Leave (2004)
• As if it weren't so (2003)
• Fatalists (2003), TV series
• Murphy's Law (2003 - 2008), TV series /Murphy's Law/
• Antikiller 2: Antiterror (2003)
• Next 3 (2003)
• Circus (2002), TV series
• Die Another Day (2002) /Die Another Day/
• Fatalists (2001)
• Stop on demand 2 (2001)
• Stop on Demand (2000)
• Maroseyka, 12. Wet business (2000)
• Kamenskaya (1999 - 2000), TV series
• The President and his woman (1996)
• Auction (1993)
• Alaska, sir! (1992)
• Music Lessons (1990)
• Tomorrow there was a war (1990)
• A young man from a good family (1989)
• Fringe (1989)
• Step (1988)