Bichevin Leonid Aleksandrovich - Theater and Cinema Actor

Leonid Bichevin became famous thanks to his participation in such cult films as “Morphine” and “Cargo 200”. Currently, the young actor continues to act with honored cinema masters, for example, Alexander Kott, Jos Stelling and Nikolai Khomeriki. He is classified as one of those actors about whom, regardless of the quality of the film itself (although we must give him credit - all the works with his participation are good), they say: “But Bichevin played a great role there.”

Childhood of the future talent

In 1984, on December 27, Leonid Bichevin was born in the town of Klimovsk, Moscow Region. The biography of his parents is the simplest: his father managed to work in various professions - both as a driver and as a laborer, and his mother worked as a teacher of Russian language and literature for many years. Over time, she quit her job at school and began leading a theater group.

The future actor spent his childhood very actively, he loved to ride motorcycles with the guys, was involved in horse riding for four whole years, and attended many clubs. He learned to play the guitar quite early and from time to time he performed at school. But most often the concerts took place in the courtyard - together with friends they cheerfully performed the songs of “Alice” and “DDT”.

Childhood and adolescence

The future actor was born in the small town of Klimovsk near Moscow, in the family of a worker and a teacher of Russian literature, who later left school and began leading a theater group.

School photo of Leonid Bichevin (bottom row, second from right)

As a child, shy Lenya did not even think about acting. He was more interested in nature, and the boy’s special passion was horses. For four years, Leonid was engaged in equestrian sports, at the same time he attended various clubs, in his teens he mastered playing the guitar and began performing in school amateur performances.

After the ninth grade, he entered the Kolomna Agricultural School to subsequently engage in professional horse breeding. However, during his studies, his plans changed. The school lost Leonid's interest, and he began to think seriously about acting.

Interview with Leonid Bichevin on Mayak radio (2013) After the second year, he dropped out of college and on the first try entered the Shchukin Theater Institute on the course of Yuri Shlykov. Already in his first year, he began to take part in theatrical productions. In one of them, his stage partner was Sergei Makovetsky himself. Having met him, Leonid became even stronger in his desire to become an actor.

Youth: searching for yourself

Bichevin loved horses since childhood, and it was this love that explains his choice of profession in his youth: he became a student at the Kolomna Agricultural School. The guy’s dream was to become a breeder and breed special breeds of horses. But in reality, studying turned out to be boring, and after two years he left the educational institution.

After some self-searching, the young man decided to try acting. He had to start somewhere, and he became a student of the preparatory courses at the Shchukin Theater Institute. Having completed them, he without any problems became a student at the institute on the course of Yuri Shlykov.

Beginning of acting work

Leonid was accepted into the Vakhtangov Theater immediately after finishing “Pike”. Here he played quite a lot of roles. The most memorable roles for the audience were the roles in the plays: “Troilus and Cressida” based on the tragedy by William Shakespeare, “Dog in the Manger” based on the play by Lope de Vega staged by director Yuri Shlykov, “Masquerade” based on Lermontov with director Rimas Tuminas and others.

Like other talented graduates of theater universities, the young actor began his work in cinema with numerous screen tests, which were rarely successful. He does not hide the fact that he auditioned for the Amedia studio at least fifteen times, but never got anywhere. Looking at this now, one can only be glad that Leonid Bichevin did not get to film the series, where his acting talent would hardly have been able to manifest itself in full force.

The first significant films in the actor’s career

In 2006, he played small roles with David Keosayan in the film “Three Half-Graces” and with Vadim Ostrovsky in the film “More Important than Love.” Who knows how his career would have developed further if by chance he had not ended up filming an art-house movie.

Alexey Balabanov, the director of interesting but often scandalous films, was just beginning work on the filming of the film “Cargo 200”. During the selection of actors, Bichevin’s classmate and his girlfriend Agniya Kuznetsova recommended the actor to the director’s assistant. The actress herself had already been approved by the director for the main role, and Leonid Bichevin received the role of the dude and black marketeer Valera.

Movies

But Leonid’s cinematic career did not work out at first. While still a student, he came to audition for a number of projects at the Amedia studio, but for one reason or another he was not suitable for producers and directors. The actor was distinguished by enviable tenacity and even after the 15th refusal he did not stop storming the castings.

Leonid Bichevin (still from the film “Morphine”)

In 2006, filming began on the controversial film “Cargo 200” directed by Alexei Balabanov, who managed to become famous throughout the country for his films “Brother” and “Brother-2”. Agniya Kuznetsova, Leonid’s classmate and lover, was approved for the main female role. For Bichevin, the role of the dude Valera became a chance to break into big cinema, and he eagerly set to work.

Leonid remembered Balabanov as a brilliant child, with whom he managed to tune in to the same wavelength. In turn, the director highly praised the work of the young artist with the phrase: “He will be a star.” Thanks to this, a warm relationship was established between them, although the director of auteur cinema often reproached the actor for filming in TV series. The film turned out to be successful, and Alexey promised to involve the artist in the next project.

Leonid Bichevin: filmography

Of course, for an aspiring actor to act with such a famous director, even in a small role, was already a real success. For the sake of filming the film, he hid the fact that he did not know how to drive a car, and this was necessary on the set, and immediately began learning to drive.

The actor was not even frightened by the fact that the film’s script turned out to be harsh: it was simply an unacceptable act to miss the opportunity to work under the guidance of such a talented person, with whom the domestic masters themselves, Nikita Mikhalkov and Ingeborga Dapkunaite, considered it an honor to work with him.

In the film “Cargo 200”, the role of the dude Valera allowed Bichevin’s talent in cinema to reveal itself for the first time. He managed to demonstrate a hidden nerve, inner concentration, and the ability to change his state with lightning speed from normal to crazy. His skill was noticed by Balabanov himself, who promised to film the actor in the future and did not break his word.

Happy romantic Leonid Bichevin

The popularity of this actor is rapidly gaining momentum

Having first made his mark in Balabanov’s films “Cargo 200” and “Morphine,” Bichevin continues to work in films with such directors as Alexander Kott and Nikolai Khomeriki.

Of Leonid’s latest works, two attracted special attention from film critics and viewers. In the film by Dutch director Jos Stelling “The Girl and Death” Leonid very successfully plays the main character. And even against the backdrop of such stars of Russian cinema as Makovetsky and Litvinova, Bichevin looks very worthy.

Leonid Bichevin was born on December 27, 1984 in the city of Klimovsk, Moscow region. His father worked as a driver, his mother as a teacher. Then she left school and began leading a theater group.

Leonid rode motorcycles with friends and went in for horseback riding. He also learned to play the guitar from an early age and selflessly sang “DDT” and “Civil Defense” songs in the yard with his friends.

As Leonid himself admits, for all his sociability he was a modest boy: “I was very shy, although the girls liked me. In general, I always waited for the girl to take the first step.”

The love for horses led Bichevin to the agricultural school in Kolomna. He dreamed of becoming a breeder and breeding rare breeds of horses. But the dream did not pass the test of reality; studying at the technical school turned out to be very boring. Having left him two years later, Leonid decided to try himself as an actor.

Leonid Bichevin

A lucky entry into an art house

Bichevin signed up for preparatory courses in Shchuka, and the teachers immediately Fr. Soon he successfully entered the Shchukin Theater Institute, and after graduation he was accepted into the troupe of the Vakhtangov Theater, where he played many roles.

Like many aspiring actors, Leonid began his journey in cinema with auditions, which were not always successful. He admits that he visited the Amedia studio fifteen times, but for some reason did not suit them. Now we must admit that it was for the better. If Bichevin had then successfully auditioned for some formulaic series, he could have become a typical serial actor, of which there are a great many, and would never have revealed his acting potential.

In 2006, he starred in small roles - in the melodrama by David Keosayan “Three Half-Graces” and in the film by Vadim Ostrovsky “More Important than Love”. It is unknown how his career would have developed further if chance had not brought him instead of TV series to art-house cinema.

Director Alexey Balabanov, known for his always interesting films, at that time began filming Cargo 200. During the selection of actors, Agniya Kuznetsova, who studied at the institute with Bichevin, advised his assistant Balabanov. Agnia herself was cast in the main role, and Leonid ended up getting the role of the black marketeer Valera.

It was an incredible success for the young actor to get into the film of such a famous director. For the sake of the role, Leonid even hid the fact that he could not drive a car (which was required for filming), and he had to learn while working on the film. The fact that the script turned out to be tough did not scare Leonid off either: he simply could not miss the opportunity to work in Balabanov’s film, for whom such actors as Ingeborga Dapkunaite and Nikita Mikhalkov considered it an honor to act.

In the role of Valera in Cargo 200, Leonid first revealed himself as a film actor. He managed to demonstrate a hidden nerve, inner focus and the ability to change his state from normal to insane. For Balabanov, this did not go unnoticed, and he promised to film Leonid in his other project. Balabanov kept his promise.

Leonid Bichevin

High bar in skill

2008 became a landmark year for Bichevin - three films were released one after another in which he played the main roles. The first is the youth film “Closed Spaces”. The hero of Bichevin was a voluntary recluse who did not leave his apartment. The audience appreciated the young actor’s performance, his charm and smile.

Following “Closed Spaces,” Ekaterina Shagalova’s drama “Once Upon a Time in the Province” was released, where Bichevin appeared in the role of a guy nicknamed Che.

Then there was work in Balabanov’s film “Morphine”. Bichevin, having read the script, literally caught fire with the role. He later said: “There is such power, such a theme. I felt such adrenaline when I read it. I was in the same state when I rode a motorcycle for the first time at a speed of 150 km/h. It's not just a good script, it's a bomb."

Balabanov did not immediately approve Bichevin for the main role in “Morphine” - at first there was a long casting. Lenya appeared on the lists, but Balabanov thought that he looked older than his twenty-three years - but he should have been younger. And then the director himself called Bichevin: “Are you going to play?” - "Of course I will".

Preparing for the role of Doctor Polyakov, who became a morphine addict, Leonid met a lot of people, including heroin addicts. They helped him understand the nature of addiction and play a man in whom the inner core is destroyed by morphine, love stories with women and a revolution devouring his former life.

After Bichevina’s bangs were mercilessly burned off on the set of “Once Upon a Time in the Province” (every day they were made up to look like a curly mulatto), and on “Morphia” they were frozen to the bones, Leonid only chuckles at his previous dreams of the “easy life of an actor.”

The actor's fame was brought to him by paintings in the art house style. However, he is known to a wide audience from other films: the military drama “Rowan Waltz”, the TV series “Palm Sunday”, “Wild”, “The Last Encounter” and “Dragon Syndrome”.

Of his latest works, the role in Jos Stelling’s film “The Girl and Death” is especially interesting. Bichevin brilliantly played a romantic in love who changes his life for the sake of love and is ready to sacrifice a lot. Together with Makovetsky, Litvinova and the Dutch actress Sylvia Hoeks, they created a simply mesmerizing ensemble of actors.

And soon viewers will see him in new bright images - he played Marc Chagall in Alexander Mitta’s film “Chagall - Malevich”, as well as a gambler in the TV series “Kuprin”.

Leonid Bichevin

Proposal of a river and a heart on a volcano

For a long time, Leonid Bichevin dated actress Agniya Kuznetsova. They once studied together at the VTU named after Shchukin, where in their second year a romance broke out between them. They were together for almost seven years. When both Agnia and Bichevin began to act a lot in films and work in the theater, they began to see each other less. It got to the point that they spent only two or three days together a month. And although in interviews they said that they were satisfied with this situation - the costs of the profession - apparently, this is precisely what ruined such a seemingly cloudless relationship. Unexpectedly for friends and the public, the couple broke up. The actor called the reason “mutual grievances and reproaches.” “I’m a rather touchy and vulnerable person, but she’s so specific, she always tells the truth...”

In 2011, Leonid Bichevin married actress Maria Berdinskikh. They met on the stage of the Vakhtangov Theater. This is how Maria talked about how Leonid proposed to her: “It happened in Japan. One day Lenya called me and was glad that he had taken a trip to the island of Hokkaido. There, in the small town of Occam, we climbed the volcano. The ascent took the whole day: four hours there and three back. Then we went to Mount Masha. We climbed for a very long time, overcoming fear. And when they finally got up, Lenya invited me to become his wife.”

In one of the interviews, the actor admitted that it is very difficult for him to experience even a temporary separation from his beloved. For example, during the filming of “The Girl and Death” it turned out that Leonid practically did not see Maria for a month and a half, and even such a seemingly short period of time became a serious test for the actor.

Leonid loves Renaissance artists, but he also fell in love with Chagall, starring in Alexander Mitta’s film “Chagall-Malevich.” His hobbies include travel, photography and classical music.

“At the moment I’m happy,” the actor admitted. “I’m talking about my favorite profession, I’m thinking about the woman I love... My happiness is quiet and calm, but somehow confident - that’s what I would like to wish for you.”

Quote: “Love is so exciting that you begin to radically change your whole life.”

Photo from the site kino-teatr.ru

Leap in the career of Leonid Bichevin

In 2008, films took place that became significant in the actor’s life. The first among them is the youth film “Closed Spaces” directed by Igor V orksly. The main role is played by Bichevin - the boy Venya, a recluse of his own free will, who has not left his home for many years. He takes a pizza delivery girl hostage, but later recognizes her as a kindred spirit. The beginning of the film is almost a thriller, but soon the movie becomes a comedy. The actor admits that he really wanted to play Venya: “This is a character of our time who frees himself by the power of his will.”

As a result, a kind and optimistic film came out, beautiful, with an interesting and non-standard plot, which forces you to think about the existing problems of young people. The audience liked the actor’s performance, his charm and pleasant smile.

After “Closed Spaces,” the drama “Once Upon a Time in the Province,” directed by Ekaterina Shagalova, appeared, where a guy named Che was played by Leonid Bichevin. The actor’s filmography was replenished with the image of a man living in the harsh reality of provincial life.

Leonid Bichevin's wife - photo

Leonid Bichevin met his future wife, Maria Berdinskikh, also an actress, on the set. As it turned out, the girl, like Bichevin, was from a small town, but in the Kirov region. Since childhood, Maria was very artistic and loved dancing, so her relatives and friends supported her decision to become an actress.

Bichevin’s wife was able to enter the Shchukin School, but due to lack of money she had to live in a barracks in very difficult conditions. Another difficulty was Maria’s provincial accent, but by the end of her studies she was able to get rid of it. Despite all the difficulties, Berdinskikh did not give up on her goal and did not give up her studies. Romantic feelings between the young people did not appear immediately; at first it was just sympathy, which did not turn into something more. Everything changed when Leonid first saw Maria dancing Latin dances, which the girl had been doing since childhood. This captivated the actor. Bichevin proposed to his beloved in a very unusual way. This happened in Japan, where lovers climbed a mountain together. Maria couldn't refuse.

And again brilliant work with Balabanov

And finally, Leonid Bichevin (film actor) again found himself on Balabanov’s set - in 2008 his new film “Morphine” was released. This picture is an adaptation of Bulgakov’s stories; the script was written by Sergei Bodrov Jr.

Although the famous director promised to take the young actor into another of his films, no one was going to cast Bichevin in “Morphine”. There was a long selection and audition for the main role in the film, and then Balabanov himself called Leonid and offered to play.

According to the script, Bichevin plays the role of a doctor who, in the fight for the life of a patient with diphtheria, endangered his own life. He managed to escape death thanks to a morphine injection, and later the doctor became dependent on it. In order to make the image as truthful as possible, the actor communicated with drug addicts, attended a meeting of drug addicts who helped him understand the nature of addiction, and play a person whose inner core is destroyed by drugs.

Like “Cargo-200”, the film turned out to be a tough, hard and intellectual work. Balabanov and Bichevin managed to make Bulgakov’s story of Doctor Polyakov deeper and more interesting, identifying it with the death of an entire country. Bichevin's performance embodied the intelligentsia in the image of a doctor, who is hiding from problems in her own little world, sitting on morphine.

The newest film roles

Films with the participation of Leonid Bichevin in the art house style brought fame to the actor. And yet, viewers began to recognize him more from other films: the series “Palm Sunday” and “Dragon Syndrome”, and the military drama “Rowan Waltz”. One of Bichevin’s latest interesting works was in the film “The Girl and Death” by Jos Stelling. He did an excellent job of creating the image of a romantic in love, capable of changing his life and sacrificing a lot in the name of love. The director of the film gathered an excellent cast on one set: they were Makovetsky, whom Bichevin had recently been a little afraid of as a director of cinema, Litvinova and the Dutchwoman Sylvia Hoeks.

Leonid Bichevin, whose filmography consists of a variety of roles, most of all loves images with a certain amount of madness.

A new film with the actor’s participation has already been released - the film “Chagall-Malevich” by Alexander Mitta, where he played Marc Chagall; series “Kuprin”, where he plays a gambler.

Actor Leonid Bichevin: personal life

For a long time, the actor had a romantic relationship with Agnia Kuznetsova. They were students together at VTU. Shchukin and started dating in their second year of study. They were a couple for seven years.

As soon as both began filming in films and theater, both became busy and, as a result, spent less time together, sometimes it was only 2-3 days a month. And despite the fact that young people have repeatedly said in interviews that they are satisfied with this state of affairs, it may well be that this was the reason for their breakup. The couple's separation came as a surprise even to their friends, but it happened.

In 2001, Maria Berdinskikh became the actor’s wife. They met in his native Vakhtangov Theater.

Leonid Bichevin and his wife are happy, which they often talk about in their interviews. He is glad that “calm and quiet happiness” appeared in his life, which was given to him by his beloved woman and his favorite profession.

Personal life

While studying at the Shchukin School, Leonid met with classmate Agnia Kuznetsova. Their relationship lasted 7 years, and everything was heading towards the wedding, the lovers dreamed of having children together. But their relationship was far from cloudless; Leonid and Agnia often quarreled and made up. As a result, they broke up, according to Bichevin, the reason was mutual grievances and reproaches. The actor himself is distinguished by a subtle and vulnerable nature, while Agnia is straightforward and honest in communication.

The actor met his future wife, actress Maria Berdinskikh, in 2009. An affair began between them, and during a trip to Japan, the man proposed to Maria.

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Leonid Bichevin and Maria Berdinskikh with their daughter
In 2011, the lovers got married in the bride’s home village of Doronichi, and then went on a honeymoon to Italy. In 2014, a son, Ivan, was born into the family. According to Leonid, he is glad that his wife is in professional demand. At home, artists often discuss each other's work and also touch on topics related to theater or cinema.

Leonid Bichevin is not a fan of social networks, although he has an account on Instagram. There he avoids the topic of his personal life, devoting publications exclusively to his professional activities.