Dmitry Pevtsov is a famous theater and cinema artist, a talented performer who is also involved in teaching. He was very lucky in life; all his endeavors were doomed to success. Many famous directors consider him a universalist, because the man can easily transform into any character. Few people know that young Dima got into the theater by chance - he came to support a friend in the exams, and in the end he himself passed the selection.
Childhood and youth
On a hot July day in 1963, the future famous artist was born in the capital. Dmitry Pevtsov grew up in a sports family: dad Anatoly was an honored coach of the Soviet Union in pentathlon, mother Noemi was involved in show jumping and was a sports doctor. It should be noted that the woman became the first chairman of the National Federation of Hippotherapy and Disabled Sports of the Russian Federation.
A mixture of Russian and Jewish blood flows in the man’s veins, although the artist himself has never commented on the issue regarding his nationality. At the time of Dima’s birth, his parents were raising their son Sergei. The latter later moved to live in America.
As a child, Pevtsov was fond of sports disciplines (judo and karate). The boy dreamed that when he grew up, he would be a sea captain. Due to the fact that his mother was a specialist in therapeutic horseback riding, at the age of 3, little Dima rode a horse for the first time.
In addition, he tried his hand at swimming and figure skating. From childhood, Pevtsov was distinguished by a love of risk. It is noteworthy that Dmitry did not plan to connect his life with the acting profession, he wanted to continue the sports dynasty and enroll in the Faculty of Physical Education at the Pedagogical Institute. However, his plans were not destined to come true; a month later he went to work at the factory.
Soon the parents' genes took over. In 2001, Dmitry developed a new serious hobby - racing. Pevtsov was a member of a team called “Sport-Garage”, which took part in the Volkswagen Polo Cup.
An accident brought the young man into the acting profession. The thing is that a close friend persuaded Dima to apply to the theater institute. He agreed without hesitation, but in the end his friend failed the entrance exams, and Pevtsov became a first-year student at GITIS.
Participation in the war
In 1940, the guy graduated from the theater studio and came to work at the Musical Comedy Theater. Smirnov worked on the theater stage for only a few months, after which he decided to go to the front.
Alexey managed to prove himself to be a real hero, for which he received many medals and orders. Despite the complexity of the situation, Alexey Smirnov managed to organize various concerts in front of his colleagues. Shortly before the end of hostilities, Alexey was wounded, which is why the guy was sent home.
Theater activities
After graduating from the theater institute, the aspiring artist was assigned to serve in the Taganka Theater, where the famous Vladimir Vysotsky once played.
Dmitry was involved in the play “Phaedra” by a famous director named Roman Viktyuk. He brilliantly played the role of the thief Vaska Ash in the production “At the Depths”. The plot is based on the play of the same name by writer Maxim Gorky.
After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, changes came to the life of the young actor. Dmitry was invited to work at the Lenkom Theater, where the man continues to appear on stage today. According to authoritative theater critics, the best works in Pevtsov’s theatrical career are:
- The main role in the play “Hamlet”, based on the play by the famous William Shakespeare.
- "The Seagull" based on Chekhov's work. In this production, the artist appeared in the image of Treplev.
- A rock opera called “Juno and Avos”, where he got the character of Rezanov.
- Figaro in the production of "Crazy Day".
- Chichikov in the play "Hoax".
Due to his spectacular appearance and good vocal abilities, the artist is popular among famous musical directors. In addition to Juno and Avos, Pevtsov appeared in the play The Witches of Eastwick, as well as in the first domestic musical Metro.
Last years, death
In recent years, Vasily Vasilyevich has suffered greatly; he was diagnosed with a severe form of diabetes; injections had to be given by the hour.
And his wife tirelessly watched this, accompanying him both to the theater and to the acting workshop. He refused film roles: he understood that he would not be able to pull it off, although he continued to play on stage and teach. Merkuriev's students adored him, and he was charged with the energy of youth from them. Colleagues remember the last year of Vasily Vasilyevich’s work. Looking into the dressing room before the performance, they saw an old, terminally ill man. And they began to have doubts - could he even go on stage? But the traditional Alexandrinka gong sounded, and the actor transformed: he jumped up and hurried towards the audience with a youthful, cheerful gait.
His last performance was called “While the Heart Beats.” It was so symbolic... The artist was taken away in an ambulance right from the stage. He was able to finish the game at the limit of his strength, after which he fell unconscious.
Vasily Vasilyevich died on May 12, 1978, at the age of 75. Cause of death: diabetes. The actors present at the farewell ceremony claimed that when a record with his favorite romance “Calm down, worries, passions” was played at the coffin, a tear rolled down the cheek of the deceased...
Previously popular films with Merkuryev’s participation are still watched in one breath: “Heavenly Slug”, “Cinderella”, “True Friends”, “The Cranes Are Flying”... Unfortunately, they are shown infrequently - completely different films and other characters are in fashion.
Film career
Dmitry's creative activity in cinema began back in 1986. Pevtsov received his first episodic role in a detective film called “The End of the World followed by a symposium.”
This film was shown on screens for the only time, but did not bring fame to the artist.
After 4 years, Pevtsov received two star roles at once. He became famous after the release of the action-packed film Nicknamed the Beast, where he played the role of Savely Govorkov. Then he starred in the dramatic film “Mother”, where he received the role of Yakov Somov. The last work brought the artist the European Film Academy Felix award for Best Supporting Actor.
Soon the actor begins to regularly appear in domestic films. The most striking works with his participation:
- "Queen Margo".
- "Gangster Petersburg".
- "Request stop".
- "Countess de Monsoreau."
- "The Death of an Empire."
A striking full-length film in Dmitry Pevtsov’s filmography was the film adaptation of Boris Akunin’s detective story of the same name - the film “The Turkish Gambit”. As performed by the artist, hussar Zurov looked brilliant, and some of his lines became household names.
The artist was awarded the Order of Honor in 2007. 6 years later he received the IV degree of the award “For Services to the Fatherland.”
In 2014, the actor was invited to star in the TV series “Ship”. The film is an adaptation of the popular Spanish television novel "The Ark". Dmitry is the main character. The character of his hero, Captain Viktor Gromov, combines masculinity and care for his daughters Valeria and Alena, who were left without a mother at an early age.
In the same year, he got the main role in the film “Internal Investigation”. The artist again showed viewers another image of the hero.
In 2020, the premiere of the melodramatic film “About Love” directed by Vladimir Bortko was released. His character is one of the participants in a mysterious love triangle. Pevtsov’s partners on the set were Alexey Chadov, as well as the incomparable Anna Chipovskaya.
Movies
In 1934, Vasily acted in films for the first time.
Irina Meyerhold, the daughter of the famous theater director Vsevolod Meyerhold, came to invite him to the shooting. She worked as an assistant on the film “Engineer Gough”, and she was tasked with persuading Merkuryev to come for an audition. Later, the actor admitted that he agreed only because of Irina. National fame came to Merkuryev in 1945, after the release of the film “Heavenly Slug.” The actor could not calmly walk down the street: he, tall and stately, was immediately recognized by fans and surrounded in a dense ring. Friends even joked that Merkuryev was stopping trams and blocking traffic.
He was lucky to have directors and bright, memorable roles. But almost all of them were comedic, and Vasily Vasilyevich dreamed of playing Othello all his life. “You have a talent of a different nature,” the directors insisted, “you will fail in drama.” “So let me fail! - the actor shouted. - Let them throw rotten tomatoes at me! Prove me wrong." Merkuryev never played Othello, but he still appeared in dramatic roles. And he performed them no less talentedly than the comedic ones.
On stage and on screen, the actor usually played cheerful jokers, but in life he was completely different. Calm and balanced, Merkuriev smiled infrequently. At the same time, everyone felt warm and comfortable around him.
There were enough problems and hardships in his life, but there was an outlet - theater, and there was great love. They lived together with Irina for 44 years and managed to preserve their youthful love. They had a touching relationship filled with care and tenderness.
Vasily Vasilyevich was always a support for his family, but refused to ask for his children, to place them somewhere. “I am not eternal,” he said. “And I want to be sure that the children can cope without me.” But how many applicants he helped get apartments, places in kindergartens, trips to resorts and referrals to hospitals! Things got funny.
One day, the chairman of the executive committee of the Leningrad region approached the actor and asked him to call the Minister of Agriculture. There was no way they could bring seed peas to the region; there was nothing to sow... Merkuryev had to resolve this issue.
Singing talent
Good vocal abilities, love of music and, as the artist himself jokingly says, his last name, made him think about his musical project.
So, in 2004, Pevtsov released a collection of his own compositions, and 5 years later, in a duet with a famous singer named Zara in the “Two Stars” project, he won second place.
In 2010, the artist began performing with a program called “Many Singers, One Singers.” He performed his works both independently and together with the group “Kartush”. Over the course of several years, the number of Dmitry’s solo performances across Russia and post-Soviet countries has exceeded one hundred.
In the spring of 2020, the artist participated in the “Three Chords” music show. In this project his competitors were the following famous personalities:
- Igor Sarukhanov.
- Dmitry Dyuzhev.
- Irina Apeksimova.
- Eva Polna.
- Alena Sviridova.
The man performed works by Alexander Rosenbaum, Alexander Vertinsky, Sergei Trofimov, etc.
Television projects
Dmitry Pevtsov is always a welcome guest not only on movie sets, but also in various programs. In the early 2000s, the artist was the host of the reality show “The Last Hero.” The winner of the project received a prize of 3 million rubles, filming took place in Malaysia.
In 2020, Pevtsov participated in the debut episode of a circus project called “Without Insurance,” but soon left the set of the show.
Of course, the actor himself had enough of his own athletic training to perform risky stunts (Dmitry trains regularly, so his body weight is kept at no more than 80 kg with a height of 1 m 85 cm), but the man was struck by the unprofessionalism of the organizers.
The thing is that there was no doctor on staff, there was always some kind of confusion on the set, and inexperienced celebrities immediately began performing various dangerous stunts at high altitudes.
In 2020, the artist starred in a commercial for the mobile operator MTS. He is also often invited to popular programs. Some of them:
- "Life Line".
- "My hero".
- "Evening Urgant".
Personal life
Even during his student years, the artist was in a relationship with a classmate. Pevtsov's common-law wife was Larisa Blazhko. In 1990, the girl gave her chosen one a son, Daniel. After some time, the young people separated, the girl went to live in Canada. However, warm friendly relations remained between them; Dmitry took an active part in the child’s life, helping when Danya decided to follow in his father’s footsteps.
During the filming of the film “Walking on the Scaffold,” Pevtsov began an affair with a co-star. His chosen one was the Sovremennik actress named Olga Drozdova. In 1994, the lovers got married. From that moment on, the only woman in his life is his beloved wife.
In 2002, shocking news about the artists’ divorce spread across the tabloids. However, this turned out to be another journalistic duck; the information was denied by both colleagues and friends of Olga and Dmitry.
Of course, there were reasons to think that not everything was so smooth in the famous creative family. The fact is that Drozdova and Pevtsov constantly quarreled noisily, and they did not hesitate to do this even during the filming process. While working on the “Stop on Demand” project, the spouses asked to be provided with separate dressing rooms and arrived separately from each other. But later it turned out that not a single scandal ever led to cracks in the relationship, much less to separation.
For a long time, the family of Olga and Dmitry did not have any children together, but in 2007 a long-awaited boy was born, whom the happy mother and father named Elisha. Pevtsov and Drozdova are always together, the actors take as much part in each other’s lives as possible.
In 2020, the media again began to publish a whole wave of articles about celebrity divorce, however, this information was also denied by the administration of the theater where the artists serve. Now the couple are happy, raising a son, they have many joint creative plans and ideas, so they do not plan to divorce.
Dmitry Pevtsov has a page on Instagram. More than 150 thousand fans watch the biography and personal life of the star. The artist posts both work footage and photos with his family.
Titles and awards
- European Felix Award - for performance in a supporting role (1991)
- "Honored Artist of the Russian Federation" (1995)
- "People's Artist of Russia" (2001)
- In 2007, Dmitry Pevtsov was appointed to the Order of Honor, and in 2013 he was awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree.
- Nominated for the Golden Rhino Award in the Best Actor category for the film Sniper. Weapons of Retribution" (2010)
- Laureate of the Russian National Acting Award named after Andrei Mironov “Figaro” (2015)
Based on materials from the sites: KinoPoisk, TV channel “Russia”, StarAndStar.ru, Kino-teatr.ru, Lifeactor.ru, Wikipedia, sat tetr “Lenkom”.
The artist's tragedy
In 2012, a terrible grief came into the life of Dmitry Pevtsov - his eldest son Daniil died. As a result of an accident, the young artist fell from the third floor. All the doctors' efforts to bring the guy back to life were in vain. The son of the famous actor died in intensive care without regaining consciousness. It all happened at a meeting with classmates. As a result, journalists spread many rumors regarding the possible causes of death.
Spiteful critics claimed that the younger Pevtsov did not just fall out of the window. This was allegedly due to alcohol or drug abuse. However, the artist’s colleagues and close friends vehemently denied such speculation. They claimed that Danya was a positive young man and did not have any bad habits.
Due to the fact that there were many different conjectures and slander in this story, Dmitry Anatolyevich decided to hide Daniil’s funeral from outsiders. The guards did not allow press representatives to attend the funeral ceremony; they promised to break the video cameras of persistent and arrogant journalists. During the farewell at the Troekurovskoye cemetery, only relatives and close friends of the deceased were present. Fans were able to get there only after the funeral. Admirers of his talent still care for the grave of the young man.
Vasily Merkuryev - biography
Vasily Merkuryev is a famous Soviet theater and film actor, theater director, and teacher.
Since 1960, People's Artist of the USSR. Winner of three Stalin Prizes. Fame came to Merkuriev after the film “Heavenly Slug.” His appearance on stage or on camera changed everything. And not only because the actor was of enormous height and had a booming voice. Merkuriev managed to raise any film and any play to new heights. The famous actor, in life Vasily Vasilyevich remained a very modest person. He did not pursue fame; he was indifferent to awards and titles. “Glory comes in the meantime, if the cause is worthy of it,” he liked to repeat.
