Igor Botvin: childhood years
The future performer of the role of Andrei Klebanov was born in the Vologda region, a joyful event occurred in December 1973. Already as a child, Igor Botvin was distinguished by his independence and tried to stand out from the crowd. The boy liked Indian films, at one time he even dressed like his idol Mithun Chakroborty, ignoring the ridicule of his peers.
Little Igor loved to read, he liked the works of Bulgakov, Hemingway, Defoe, Cooper. As a teenager, Botvin accidentally came across an article that gave Arnold Schwarzenegger's advice for beginners who wanted to build muscle. The boy began to train hard, even developing his own system of exercises.
early years
Actor Botvin comes from the Vologda region. In the small village of Sarajevo, located on the territory of the Kichmengsko-Gorodetsky district, he was born on December 9, 1973. As a child, Igor was practically no different from his peers: he talked with friends on the street and did physical education. He paid quite a lot of attention to sports activities, especially after he came across an article by the famous American bodybuilder and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In it, the Hollywood star wrote about how to pump up your muscles and look like a superhero.
Igor wanted to become an athlete as powerful as his idol, so he systematically appeared in the gym. Moreover, he developed his own training system, with the help of which he improved every day. The young athlete also adhered to a certain diet.
After receiving a certificate of secondary education, Igor went to serve in the army. The graduate arrived at the recruiting station, after which he ended up in the special forces. There he also continued to train. After demobilization, the young man returned to his native land, but did not stay there long. After a meeting with close people, Igor decided to settle in a large city. Botvin drew attention to the Northern capital. The young man came to St. Petersburg, rented housing and began his career as a security guard in one of the private security services.
Choosing a life path
Igor Botvin barely had time to celebrate his graduation from school when he was drafted into the army. The young man served in the Moscow special forces. Then the guy already weighed approximately 110 kg with a height of 180 cm. Igor repaid his debt to his homeland, then moved to St. Petersburg.
Already while living in St. Petersburg, Botvin first had the idea of becoming an actor. For some time, the young man regularly attended preparatory courses, but he became bored with the classes. For four years, Igor worked part-time as a security guard and tried to find his place in life. His fate was changed by an advertisement for the recruitment of students at SPbATI, which he accidentally stumbled upon.
KisTv
Born 12/09/1973, Saraevo village, Kichmengsko-Gorodetsky district, Vologda region.
Childhood
Igor Botvin was born in the village of Saraevo, Kichmengsko-Gorodetsky district, Vologda region. Already in his youth, he stood out among his peers for his independence and character. His mother said that after watching enough Indian films, Igor dressed like the famous actor Mithun Chakroborty, and he absolutely did not care about the laughter of his classmates. And Igor was also very amorous. Together with friends, they rode motorcycles around rural discos, impressing local beauties. In order to impress the girls, Igor began to work hard in high school. He recalls: “Now I know that even the most unsightly person can seem beautiful. And then I decided to follow the path of least resistance - to make myself beautiful. So that all the girls are stacked. Spent a lot of time playing sports. Threw stones to build muscle. He made complexes that were published in magazines next to stories about Schwarzenegger.”
How to become an actor
After graduating from school, Igor Botvin was drafted into the army. The young man ended up in the Moscow special forces. By that time, he had managed to gain weight of about 110 kilograms with a height of 180 cm. A real hero! After serving, Igor Botvin returned home, but did not stay there long. At the invitation of his sister, he went to her wedding in St. Petersburg. He really liked the city, and Igor decided to stay here. Once Igor had the opportunity to meet a director. It was then that he had the idea of becoming an actor. He entered preparatory courses, began studying, but very soon lost interest in it. All these exercises, poems, monologues seemed unnecessary to him. If only I could get to filming right away! For the next four years, Igor worked as a watchman and continued to swing until he finally got tired of it. He again thought about the acting profession. Remembering what he was taught in the courses, he came to the entrance exams at SPbATI, where V. M. Filshtinsky was taking the course, and literally amazed everyone. Bald, huge, pumped up, unshaven. Both applicants and teachers at first decided that some kind of racketeer had come to the academy to take away the premises. It seemed that such a thing could happen among actors? However, the master just needed this type of real man, and Igor Botvin was accepted. Igor Botvin recalls: “They broke me terribly - I came with a Vologda accent. And he is older than other students - 24 years old. There were puddles of sweat underneath me on the rhythm, and a year later I already weighed 25 kilos less. Then all these stretching, dancing...” For the first couple of years, Igor constantly took time off from classes, hung out with girls, enjoying the proud title of an actor. Due to absenteeism, he was constantly under threat of expulsion, but his classmates appreciated him, and when the teachers asked the guys: “Staff, what are we going to do with Botvin?” - everyone answered: “Let’s leave it.” The guy is still a good guy." And by the third year, it suddenly dawned on Igor that, having graduated, he might simply remain out of work, and then he took up his studies with all tenacity, learned to feel the body, to be different. As a result, he received his diploma well deservedly...
Theater and cinema. Start
While still a student, Igor Botvin made his film debut. In one of the episodes of the famous series “Streets of Broken Lanterns” he played a small role. As a matter of fact, his hero Maltsev was not required to do much - just flex his muscles. Then there was also a small role in the detective series “The Hunt for Cinderella” (episodes 11 and 12), where his hero was a certain Bogomolov. Here the aspiring actor had the opportunity to play in a sex scene for the first time, and his partner was the main character, played by actress Amalia Mordvinova. In 2001, Igor Botvin graduated from SPbATI and was accepted into the Liteiny Theater. There he was involved in the plays “The Servant of Two Masters” (Florindo Aretusi and Brighella) and “Antigone” (Teresius). In parallel, the actor’s film career developed rapidly. In 2001, he starred in the TV series “Deadly Force 2” as the leader of the Zenit fan group, a charming scoundrel nicknamed “Tyson.” To authentically play his character, Igor Botvin met real fans. He recalls: “...I had to learn how to shout chants correctly and with intensity. For filming, the fans gave me a banner that was 40 years old, treated me like one of their own, looked at me with respect.” In the same year, in the series “NLS Agency,” Igor Botvin brilliantly played the charming womanizer Andrei Klebanov. This was his first big film role. The series was distinguished by its originality, humor, interesting script and high-quality acting. The hero of Igor Botvin, an employee of the Agency for Non-Standard Personal Situations, a heartthrob, a joker and an optimist, was liked by millions of viewers. Later, the actor admitted: “And in life I am also a womanizer, like my hero Andrei. He’s just as fickle, and, in general, it takes a lot of patience to be with me and feel normal.” Being a loving person, Igor Botvin regularly fell in love with his film partners. This happened on the set of “NLS Agency” and on other films. In 2001, the actor took part in the Russian-American action film “Gladiatrix” in the role of the gladiator Quint, where he fell head over heels in love with the American actress “Miss Playboy November” Karen McDugen. True, she did not reciprocate his feelings. But many Russian actresses were crazy about the actor...
Breaking the type
Directors often invited Igor Botvin to play roles based on external data. However, from his first roles he himself tried to diversify his heroes. Someone agrees to play bandits with policemen from film to film, but this is not for him. “It infuriates me when people invite me to act based on my appearance, as a type. I don’t consider it work,” says the actor. Therefore, there are practically no passing roles in various action films and detective stories to his credit. But Igor Botvin has interesting roles of Prince Grigory Potemkin-Tavrichesky in the historical series “The Favorite” (2005), the talented but unsuccessful actor Sergei Mikoshi in the melodrama “Tender Winter” (2005), the robber Mikhel Blyuvshtein in the adventure series “Sonka the Golden Hand” (2006), Ratmir in the historical film “Alexander. Battle of Neva" (2008), lawyer Vladimir Perov in the comedy "Marriage Contract" (2009), etc. While acting in films with action-packed, detective and crime themes, Igor Botvin also always tried to create diverse images. They had one thing in common - inner strength, masculinity and charm (regardless of whether his heroes were positive or not). Among the most significant works in this genre: journalism student, secret intelligence officer Sergei Kurlov in the series “Secret Assignments”, swindler Arkady Voskresensky in the series “Realtor”, Ligovsky UGRO operative Vasily Krasilnikov in the series “Ligovka”, police captain Alexander Marinin in the detective story “ Countercurrent", Dmitry Zakharov in the series "Shaman", employee of the operational search bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Felix Malinin in the series "Culinary". Igor Botvin's heroes, as a rule, are multifaceted and ambiguous. So in the criminal saga “Trap” he created the image of the criminal authority Yegor Silaev, nicknamed “Gunpowder”. His character is a tough man, even cruel, in some moments he is simply a “lawless man,” but at the same time he is smart and capable of great love. Igor Botvin combines a successful film career with work on stage. Since 2008, he has been an actor in the troupe of the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Drama Theater. G. Tovstonogov. Igorb Botvin is busy in the plays: “Don Carlos, Infante of Spain” by F. Schiller (Don Carlos, Crown Prince), “The School of Taxpayers” by L. Verneuil and J. Berr (Gaston Valtier), “The Innkeeper” by C. Goldoni (Cavalier Ripafratta) and etc.
Student years
Igor Botvin entered SPbATI on his first attempt and was enrolled in Filshtinsky’s course. Later, he told reporters that the master simply liked his “jock” type. At first, the young man doubted the correctness of his decision, and even thought about quitting his studies. He was older than his classmates and had a pronounced Vologda accent.
During the first two years, Igor Botvin devoted little time to studies; it was a miracle that he was not expelled. The entertainment that yesterday's provincial St. Petersburg offered in abundance attracted him much more. The young man only came to his senses in his third year, realizing that he was wasting valuable time. As a result, Igor still received a diploma.
Theater
The aspiring actor performed his first roles in graduation performances of SPbATI. He took part in the productions “Uncle Vanya”, “Having fun and rejoicing”, “Anthropology”. When Igor Botvin's student life came to an end, the Liteiny Theater opened its doors to him. The graduate played in the plays “Antigone” and “The Servant of Two Masters”.
In 2008, Igor joined the troupe of the G. Tovstonogov Theater. Over the years, he took part in many performances. “The Innkeeper”, “School of Taxpayers”, “Don Carlos, Infante of Spain” are the most famous of them.
Theater and films
Botvin's first professional stage was the Liteiny Theater, where Igor played his favorite role of King Oedipus in the production of the same name. In the same group, the actor performed roles in the classic plays “The Servant of Two Masters” and “Antigone.”
Since 2008, Igor has been a member of the troupe of the Bolshoi Drama Theater named after G. A. Tovstonogov, where he receives roles in the productions of “Don Carlos, Infante of Spain” by Friedrich Schiller, “The Innkeeper” by Carlo Goldoni.
Igor Botvin began acting in films in 1999. The first work in the young artist’s creative biography was the popular series “Streets of Broken Lanterns,” where Igor appeared in the 2nd season.
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Igor Botvin and Tatyana Cherdyntseva in the film “Arena for Murder”
The first popularity came with the crime-sports project “Deadly Force”, in which the actor recreated the image of a seasoned fan of St. Petersburg “Zenith”, nicknamed Tyson, who leads a group of football fans.
Igor was given even greater popularity by the comedy-detective serial film “NLS Agency” about friends who are the organizers of an agency helping people in unusual situations.
Also in 2001, Botvin took part in the creation of the Russian-American historical project Gladiatrix. The Russian actor's partners in the film were American Playboy stars Karen McDougal and Lisa Dergan.
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Igor Botvin in the film “Something for Free”
The filming of the Russian crime-biographical melodrama “Sonka – the Golden Hand” directed by Viktor Merezhko and the historical action film “Alexander. Battle of the Neva”, where Igor starred with Anton Pampushny.
The next time the artist appeared on screen was only in 2008 in the film “The August Ambassador” about Peter the Great’s unofficial trip to Europe, where Igor Botkin transformed into a foreign military leader - Admiral Osborne.
In 2011, Igor Botvin played the main role in the detective story “Countercurrent,” in which Maria Kapustinskaya became his partner on the work site. In the crime television film “Drug Traffic,” the actor played the role of a shooter.
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Igor Botvin in the film “Something for Free”
Soon the premieres of the melodrama “The General’s Daughter-in-Law”, the crime film “The Cook” and the drama “Trap” took place, in which Botvin played the main characters. The artist continued his successful career as a performer in the detective series “The Sniffer.” Igor reincarnated here as a negative character, which rarely happened in his filmography.
In 2020, Igor Botvin was included in the main cast of the film “Portrait of a Lady in Red” about a young girl Anna (Natalia Terekhova) from the provinces who falls in love with the capital’s young man Dima (Andrei Gorbachev).
At the same time, the premiere of the detective series with the participation of Botvin “Arena for Murder” took place, in which Tatyana Cherdyntseva, Yan Tsapnik and others starred. An interesting project for Igor was the film “Wings of the Empire”. The artist happily tried on the image of a historical character. But as before, the main genre for the performer remains action films - these are the 2020 television series “Melnik” and “Sea Devils. Borders of the Motherland."
First roles
Igor Botvin’s filmography began with the series “Streets of Broken Lanterns.” In this television project he embodied the image of the muscleman Maltsev. Then the young man played a small role in the detective television project “The Hunt for Cinderella.”
In 2001, he was invited to the series “Deadly Force-2”. Botvin reincarnated as a charming hero nicknamed Tyson, the leader of a fan group. Igor took his preparation for the role responsibly and talked with real football fans.
Film career
Igor appeared on the set in 1999. The debut work of the young actor was the series “Streets of Broken Lanterns”, to which the audience reacted quite favorably. Igor appeared in this tape in the second season. True, he owes his first popularity to another series. In the crime film “Deadly Force” the actor played a seasoned fan of St. Petersburg “Zenith”. Botvin's hero, whose name was Tyson, was at the head of a group of football fans.
"NLS Agency"
Igor Botvin played his starring role in the series “NLS Agency”. The television project quickly gained popularity thanks to its fascinating plot and humorous dialogues. Andrey Klebanov is the character played by the actor. An optimist, a joker and a heartthrob - this is how you can briefly describe an employee of an unusual agency, whose clients are people faced with unusual life situations.
Botvin later admitted that he was very similar to his hero Klebanov. He is also distinguished by his loving nature and fickleness, and has an optimistic outlook on life.
Creation
Roles in the theater
- "Don Carlos, Infante of Spain" by Schiller. Director: Temur Chkheidze
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Don Carlos, Crown Prince - “School of Taxpayers” Louis Verneuil (French) Russian. and Georges Berr (French) Russian. Director: Nikolai Pinigin
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Gaston Valtier - "The Innkeeper" by Carlo Goldoni. Director: Andrey Prikotenko
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Cavalier Ripafratta
Filmography
- 1999 - Streets of Broken Lanterns - Maltsev
- 2000 - Hunting for Cinderella - Bogomolov
- 2001 - NLS Agency - Andrey Klebanov
- 2001 - Gladiatrix - Quint
- 2001 - Lethal force 2 - "Tyson"
- 2003 - Special Forces 2 - commander of Albanian militants
- 2004 - National Security Agent-5 - Sergei (episode 49-50 “Family Jewels”)
- 2004 - NLS 2 Agency - Andrey Klebanov
- 2004 - Game on-line - Ermila
- 2004 - Lost the sun - Viktor Lipovich Gradusov
- 2004 - Special Forces in Russian 2 - Drynov
- 2005 - Gentle Winter - Sergey Mikosha
- 2005 - Realtor - Arkady Voskresensky
- 2005 - Favorite - Grigory Potemkin
- 2006 - Sonya Zolotaya Ruchka - Mikhel Bluvshtein
- 2006 - Secret assignments - Sergei Kurlov
- 2006 - His Majesty's Secret Service - Marcello
- 2007 - Scarves - Genka Golovanov
- 2008 - August Ambassador - Admiral Osborne
- 2008 - It's hard to be a macho - Dima
- 2008 - Alias "Albanian" 2 - Green
- 2008 - Bes - Oleg
- 2008 - Alexander. Battle of Neva - Ratmir
- 2009 - Rule of the Labyrinth - Valentine
- 2009 - Highway Patrol 3 - Rybakov
- 2009 - Marriage contract - Vladimir Perov
- 2010 - Sonya. Continuation of the legend - Michel Bluvshtein
- 2010 - Ligovka - Vasily Krasilnikov
- 2011 - Shaman - Dmitry Zakharov
- 2011 - Drug trafficking - shooter
- 2011 - Countercurrent - Alexander Marinin
- 2011 - Waiting for love - Sergey
- 2012 - Culinary - Felix Malinin
- 2012 - Source of Happiness - Pavel
- 2012 - Father unwillingly - Vladimir
- 2012 - Time of Sinbad - Merlin
- 2013 - The General's Daughter-in-Law - Pavel Mishin
- 2013 - Trap - Egor Silaev, “Gunpowder”
- 2013 - The Sniffer - Igor
- 2013 - Culinary 2 - Felix Malinin
- 2014 - Shaman 2 - Zakhar
- 2015 - It couldn’t be better - Denis
- 2016 - Something for free
Films and TV series
The series and films of Igor Botvin are worth watching simply because the actor’s roles are practically never repeated. Unlike many of his star colleagues, he flatly refuses to play “passable” characters in low-grade television projects. Even an impressive fee cannot force Igor to abandon this rule.
In 2001, Botvin embodied the image of the brave gladiator Quint in the action-packed film “Gladiatrix,” a Russian-American production. In 2005, he starred in the historical series “The Favorite,” brilliantly playing Prince Grigory Potemkin, the lover of Catherine the Second. In the same year, Igor was invited to the melodrama “Gentle Winter”, in which he played the role of the unsuccessful actor Sergei.
Botvin was a cheerful robber in the adventure television project “Sonka the Golden Hand”, and a lawyer-cracker in the comedy “Marriage Contract”. In the historical drama “Alexander. Battle of the Neva,” the actor convincingly played the warrior Ratmir. Igor had the opportunity to try on the images of an intelligence officer, a journalist, an operative, a swindler, and a student. The audience was greatly impressed by the crime boss nicknamed “Gunpowder,” whom he portrayed in the crime saga “The Trap.” In total, the actor’s filmography contains about 50 films and TV series.
Movies
Igor Botvin began acting in films in 1999. The young artist’s first work was the popular TV series “Streets of Broken Lanterns,” where Igor appeared in the second season. His first popularity came with the crime-sports series “Deadly Force,” in which the actor recreated the image of a seasoned Zenit St. Petersburg fan nicknamed Tyson, who leads a group of football fans.
Igor Botvin in the film "NLS Agency"
Igor was given even greater popularity by the comedy-detective serial film “NLS Agency” about friends who are the organizers of an agency helping people in unusual situations. In this film the actor has a bright negative role. In addition to Igor Botvin, the main characters were played by Taras Bibich and Maria Narutskaya.
Also in 2001, Botvin took part in the creation of the Russian-American historical project Gladiatrix. The Russian actor’s partners in the film were two stars of the American Playboy magazine – Karen McDougal and Lisa Dergan.
In 2004, with the participation of the actor, the comedy “Game on-line” and the action movie “Special Forces in Russian” were released on television. A year later, Igor joined the main cast of the melodrama “Gentle Winter,” which was about a young man starting a creative career in cinema.
Igor Botvin in the film "His Majesty's Secret Service"
In the same year, the artist received two more leading roles in the crime film “Realtor”, where Igor appeared in the image of Arkady Voskresensky, and the biographical melodrama “The Favorite”, in which the actor played the role of Grigory Potemkin. In the serial film “Scarves,” Igor Botvin starred together with Ekaterina Guseva, where he played the role of a young American who fell in love with a Russian girl from the town of Pavlovsky Posad. In 2006, the actor also appeared in the biographical film “His Majesty’s Secret Service” and the detective story “Secret Assignments.”
No less large-scale were the shootings of the Russian crime-biographical melodrama “Sonka the Golden Hand” directed by Viktor Merezhko and the historical action film “Alexander. Battle of the Neva”, where Igor starred with Anton Pampushny. The next time the artist appeared on screen was only in 2008 in the film “The August Ambassador” about Peter the Great’s unofficial trip to Europe, where Igor Botkin transformed into a foreign military leader, Admiral Osborne.
In the detective melodrama “Demon” with Anastasia Melnikova, Igor Botvin received a supporting role. A year later, the artist pleased fans with the main role in the adventure comedy “The Marriage Contract,” which was broadcast on the NTV channel.
Igor Botvin in the film “The Marriage Contract”
In 2010, with the participation of the artist, the crime film “Ligovka” was released about the times of the New Economic Policy. And in 2011, Igor Botvin played the main role in the detective story “Counter Current,” in which Maria Kapustinskaya became the actor’s partner on the work set. In the crime television film “Drug Traffic,” the actor played the role of a shooter. Together with actress Natalia Antonova, Igor reincarnated as the bride and groom.
Two parts of the detective series “Culinary”, the melodrama “The Reluctant Father” and the crime drama “Shaman” were also quite successful. Now the actor is working on the war film “Fate Called Farman” about the love of a pilot and a ballerina, which is intertwined with the October Revolution and the First World War.
