Childhood
Pyotr Skvortsov was born on June 12, 1994 in Moscow. Peter's parents were not associated with theater or cinema; his father works as a sailor, but his grandfather, a graduate of GITIS, served in the Irkutsk theater, then in the Voronezh Youth Theater. To Skvortsov’s great regret, grandfather died before the boys were born.
Pyotr Skvortsov in childhood
Artistic Peter already in childhood decided on his future profession. The reason for this was his friend, a girl 5 years older - together they came up with scenes and staged sketches. He studied the basics of skill at the House of Actors named after A. A. Yablochkina.
Pyotr Skvortsov made his film debut in the film “Montana”
At the age of 13, Peter first appeared on a film set, starring in an episode of Alexander Atanesyan’s action film “Montana.” Soon Skvortsov got a tiny but bright role in an episode of the TV series “Visyaki”, and then a larger role in Roman Prygunov’s adventure film “Indigo” about children with unusual abilities.
Pyotr Skvortsov in the film "Indigo"
After graduating from school, Skvortsov entered the Moscow Art Theater School, in the workshop of Dmitry Brusnikin.
Vladimir Talashko, Lieutenant Skvortsov
In the film by Leonid Bykov, the hero Talashko, an experienced pilot, at some point loses control of himself, begins to avoid battle, and tries to survive. The commander helps him cope with himself. As a result, Lieutenant Skvortsov dies like a hero: he goes to ram a burning fighter.
During the Soviet years, Talashko played many roles as heroes, defenders of the Soviet Motherland. True, in the eighties the actor once played Simon Petlyura. And today, apparently, this image is much closer to him than Lieutenant Skvortsov.
In 2020, Talashko distinguished himself by starring in a Ukrainian social video for Victory Day, where he played a general who went through the Great Patriotic War, who blesses his punisher grandson going to Donbass.
“I had the opportunity, in cinematic language, to play Sergei Skvortsov in the new proposed circumstances. An aged, but not disheartened, front-line soldier who bids his grandson before he leaves for the war in Donbass: “Glory to Ukraine!” I am glad that I am creatively participating in the relay of generations and promoting the patriotic tradition,” Talashko himself described his role.
“When the volunteer movement was just unfolding in the ATO zone, I wandered around as part of a cultural landing party to military units. At every step, Bandera’s words were heard: “Glory to Ukraine!” Glory to the heroes!“ Of course, holy words. But they also decay from thoughtless use. Patriotism is like talent: either you have it or you don’t. For more than two years I have been helping my fellow countrymen in the ATO zone for free. Recently, I even made a charitable monetary contribution (from pension savings) to the purchase of a cash-in-transit vehicle and its conversion into an armored reconnaissance vehicle,” says Talashko about his current activities.
Vladimir Talashko. 1973, 2020 Collage AiF
Actor career
In 2009, Peter appeared as the drummer of the group “Tender May” in the film of the same name by Vladimir Vinogradov. The next year, Skvortsov received his first leading role - in the drama “It Doesn’t Hurt for a Fighter,” the young actor played the teenager Slavik, a resident of a provincial town who has to choose the right path in life.
On the set of the film "Tender May"
In 2011, Sergei Ginzburg’s multi-part film “The Life and Adventures of Mishka Yaponchik” was released, telling the story of the life of the legendary crime boss. It was this hero who was portrayed by Peter in his youth, while the main role was assigned to Evgeniy Tkachuk.
Pyotr Skvortsov and Sergei Shnurov in the film “It Doesn’t Hurt for a Fighter”
During the same period of time, Skvortsov could be seen in the military saga “MUR. The Third Front", the serial comedy "Matchmakers" and one of the short stories of the film "Fairy Tale. Yes” (which also starred Ksenia Rappoport, Gosha Kutsenko and Sergei Burunov).
Still from the film “The Life and Adventures of Mishka Jap”
2014 brought Skvortsov the main role in Vladimir Beck’s arthouse drama Without Skin and participation in the science fiction film based on Alexander Gromov’s story The Calculator, which was a box office failure.
Pyotr Skvortsov in the military saga “MUR. Third Front"
Skvortsov admits that he is more of a theater than a film actor. In 2020, Peter graduated from the Studio School and, together with like-minded guys from the course, he created his own theater group, “Brusnikin’s Workshop,” whose performances (“Cavalry,” “Svan”) could be seen at the Center. Meyerhold. Soon the “Brusnikinites” became part of the Drama Theater “Man”.
Pyotr Skvortsov learned his craft from Dmitry Brusnikin
In 2020, Skvortsov became a resident of the Praktika experimental theater. For his role in the play “This is Me Too” in this theater, the young actor received the Golden Leaf Award.
Pyotr Skvortsov in the play “This Is Me Too”
Then he played the main role in Kirill Serebrennikov’s film “The Apprentice”. Previously, the director and artistic director of the Gogol Center staged a play of the same name, where the main character, Veniamin Yuzhin, who fanatically embraced religion, was played by Nikita Kukushkin. The rest of the play's cast "migrated" to the film without changes.
In 2020, the young actor starred in a supporting role in the comedy series “You All Infuriate Me” and the historical drama “The Duelist” with Pyotr Fedorov. In the same year, a film was released in cinemas, which became a breakthrough in Skvortsov’s career. The young man played the main role in Kirill Serebrennikov’s scandalous drama “The Apprentice” about a teenager who enters into a fierce battle with those around him for his religious beliefs.
Working with Serebrennikov and venerable actors - Yulia Aug, Victoria Isakova, Nikolai Roshchin and others - made an indelible impression on the young actor. I especially remember the work on the final scene - it was in it, playing in tandem with Alexander Gorchilin, that he felt, in his own words, “the partner’s thrill from the game.”
Pyotr Skvortsov, Victoria Isakova, director Kirill Serebrennikov and Alexander Gorchilin (from left to right) at the 69th Cannes Film Festival
The film became Serebrennikov's first work to receive an award at the Cannes Film Festival - the film was presented in the Un Certain Regard category and won the François Chalet Prize of the Independent French Press. For the trip to Cannes, Peter had to rent a jacket from a friend. Peter himself was nominated for the Nika Award in the Discovery of the Year category (however, the award went to director and screenwriter Alexei Krasovsky).
Pyotr Skvortsov as a fanatically religious teenager
Peter is busy not only in independent cinema - in 2020 he could be seen on the Domashny TV channel in the serial drama “Not Together” and in Margarita Mikhailova’s drama “Hit” about the adventures of provincial women in the capital.
Sergei Podgorny, Smuglyanka
In his youth, the future actor took up ballroom dancing and then football. Both there and there it worked out well, but there was no great career. And Sergei became an actor after meeting a girl. She was going to enroll in acting courses, and the young man went with her and... failed. Podgorny's failure only provoked him, and a year later he became a student at the theater institute.
Already in his first year, Sergei Podgorny auditioned for Leonid Bykov, and the director chose him for the role of Smuglyanka.
Sergei had amazing appearance, a bewitching “Gagarin” smile. Despite the fact that the role was small, after the release of the film Podgorny turned into a real star.
Unlike his namesake, Sergei Ivanov, Podgorny received much fewer offers from directors. In addition, it was mainly about supporting roles.
Alcohol became an even more serious problem for the actor. It all started with the fact that Sergei simply could not refuse fans who wanted to drink with a celebrity. Over time, Podgorny got involved and began to suppress his creative crisis with vodka.
In the nineties, Podgorny completely disappeared from the screens. Rumors appeared from time to time: the actor drank himself to the point of delirium tremens.
Colleagues in the shop in the 2000s tried to pull him out of the hole; they were ready to pay for treatment and help with work. In 2009, after a 14-year break, he appeared on screen in two films at once, playing small roles. But, alas, the actor still could not give up alcohol.
Sergei Podgorny died on July 18, 2011 at the age of 57 years.
Sergei Podgorny. 1973, 2010 Collage AiF
Personal life of Peter Skvortsov
In December 2020, Peter married the eldest granddaughter of Nikita Mikhalkov (daughter of Stepan Mikhalkov and model Alla Sivakova), 25-year-old Alexandra.
Pyotr Skvortsov and his wife Alexandra Mikhalkova
Pregnant Sasha and Peter came down the aisle without traditional wedding attributes: the bride chose a cap over a veil, and the groom came to the ceremony in jeans, a sweatshirt and a hat.
On February 23, 2020, the couple had a son. Thus, Nikita Mikhalkov became a great-grandfather for the first time.
Film work
Films with Vladimir Skvortsov regularly appear on air. He is well known to a wide audience from numerous television series. The actor began acting in 1995. He played journalist Volodya in the serial film “On the Corner of the Patriarchs” and Esenstein’s assistant in the film “Return of the Battleship.” Since 2003, a new stage has begun in Skvortsov’s film career. He appeared in such TV series and films as “The Executioner”, “Rope of Sand”, “Penal Battalion”, “Swan Paradise”, “Adventurer”. After the release of the series “Cursed Paradise” on television, the actor woke up famous. In the multi-part film about the activities of an elite brothel, Skvortsov played the administrator Alik. Working in a film on such a sensitive topic attracted the actor with its provocativeness. Vladimir managed to create an ambiguous, bright and tragic image of a man who, under the influence of circumstances, falls on the wrong path, cannot withstand the struggle for existence and ultimately dies. After “Cursed Paradise,” Vladimir Skvortsov, whose photo can often be seen on the pages of magazines, often received invitations to appear in films as villains. But the actor is an opponent of stereotypes of any kind. Therefore, in the film “One Day There Will Be Love,” the artist agreed to work on the condition that his negative hero Arkady would change and do positive things as the plot developed.
Vladimir Skvortsov played in such famous films as “City Lights”, “Capital of Sin”, “Bachelorette Party”, “You Ordered Murder”.
Oleg Skvortsov: Folk funk and jazz
How did your passion for music begin?
From family. We had a record player, and there were... not even LPs, but ten-inch records with classics. There was a tape recorder, there were recordings of Okudzhava and Vysotsky, dad played the guitar, uncle sang Russian folk songs. When I got older, I listened to the Beatles on my cousin’s tape recorder. I also played the guitar at school, and even now I can remember something. I got my first tape recorder from my sister - a huge heavy reel-to-reel tape recorder. There was also some kind of radio... And when I became a student, I started earning money in the summer, I bought myself a Soviet Hi-Fi: “Vega-108” and a reel-to-reel “Nota”.
Did they start buying records then?
I studied at the Mining Institute on Leninsky Prospekt, opposite the Melodiya store; the cheapest was the classic - 1 ruble 45 kopecks. The first record that I bought on my own as a schoolboy was the legendary album by lutenist Vladimir Vavilov “Lute Music of the 16th–17th Centuries.” Not a bad debut! Then there were The Beatles records - those small ones where it was written “Vocal and instrumental ensemble”, there was jazz. I must say that in my circle of friends there were many musicians, and it was a shame to listen only to the Beatles and Nazareth. For example, a neighbor called me and invited me to listen to him play Stravinsky’s “Petrushka” or Taneyev’s concerto - on the button accordion! Therefore, in our minds there was no antagonism between classics, jazz, rock... The only thing I don’t like is pop music and never have. In Soviet times, everything that was shown on TV caused irritation, all these performers and VIA - I had already heard good music and understood that there was deception here! I first gained respect for our music when I attended an Arsenal concert in the early 80s. I immediately bought the record - the very first one, with the shell - although at the time it seemed a bit complicated to me.
How did your tastes finally develop?
One of my friends, who knew about fusion music, began to recommend new records - Weather Report, Return To Forever, by guitarist Eric Gale, who remains one of my favorites to this day... That’s how I fell in love with jazz-rock. I already knew jazz quite well, and I approached jazz-rock, financially speaking, musically diversified in terms of taste, and thereby further reduced my risks (laughs)…
Have you passed the cassette phase yet?
I remember they brought some kind of AKAI, I connected it and realized that the sound was somehow different. By the way, the same disappointment awaited me when I turned on the CD for the first time.
What an interesting reaction! Then everyone admired the purity of the sound!
Maybe it was an element of self-hypnosis: at that time compacts cost exorbitant amounts of money. Yes, everyone around was talking about some kind of unattainable quality, but other than “it doesn’t crack,” I didn’t hear any special quality. Anyway, at that moment it was somehow not up to that. I remember I was on a business trip in the Urals and found vinyl deposits in a local store! Our Bulgarian ones are discounted illiquid goods. And something skipped a beat in my soul... But I restrained myself: why, I think, all this is dying.
How did you manage to return to philophonology?
When I became relatively established in my career, there wasn’t enough music. I bought a Marantz turntable, figured out my tastes and started going to the Purple Legion. At first I bought what I loved - jazz-rock, of course; began to close gaps in rock, the Kinks, for example. By the way, on the first CD of theirs that I bought, I couldn’t hear anything at all. On the remastered edition I heard the second guitar, but could not listen: the sound was lifeless, emasculated. Nevertheless, I purchased an inexpensive but high-quality Hi-Fi - JVC CD player, NAD amplifier, KEF acoustics (my son now has all this and works great), but remembered vinyl.
And then the Internet appeared, I found out what Ebay was. I didn’t really understand quality gradations and thought that VG+ (Very Good +) was very good; it turned out - almost on the verge of a foul! I started buying. I bought jazz for three to five dollars plus two or three dollars shipping... and thought: why should I buy these compacts when I can pick up vinyl again?
But vinyl isn’t always cheap either!
I'm lucky: my tastes lie away from pure jazz of the 50s and 60s, which are insanely expensive, or from the early Vertigo editions (the ones that are "on the drill"). I listened to jazz-rock, soul-jazz, folk-rock (CSNY and everything around The Byrds) - and it was all not very expensive and sounded amazing. Now I have about 2,500 vinyl records, purchased consciously, including classics - I listen to them less, but my wife does.
Do you have records labeled “So that it may be”?
Eat. With all due respect to The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, they are more likely to “let it be.” Although it cannot be said that I don’t listen to them, I know them almost by heart. There are other examples, but they are very few.
Tell me, Oleg, are you an audiophile or a music lover?
I'm more of a music lover. I love vinyl, but if I can’t buy it, I buy a CD and, if possible, change it later. This happened with some Funkadelic releases - either I couldn’t find them, or they were expensive.
What is “expensive”? When do you feel sorry for money?
The point is not that money is a pity. The fact is that vinyl can come crooked or uncentered, and if it is uncentered, then the sound begins to “float.” This just makes me sick. Curves will be replaced, but uncentered ones will not.
In general, now I have targeted purchases. I'm not a completist... but I like the CTI label. Such a reasonable compromise between jazz, rock, funk... I have collected almost the entire catalog, with a few rare items remaining.
How and where do you buy vinyl?
There are verified sellers. I found them on Ebay, some have their own websites - Records By Mail, for example. It's a little more expensive, but the selection is better and the quality is always guaranteed, and there are a lot of DJ copies - and this is the first matrix, and they, as a rule, sound great. I still buy things on Ebay. I buy it when I travel. In Stockholm I bought, for example, Jon Johansson, a Swedish pianist; in Germany there are records from the MPS label, in England there is a little folk rock on Transatlantic. Sometimes I go to stores in Moscow, but I almost never buy: as a financier, I’m not always ready to overpay! Not because, again, it’s a waste of money, but because they don’t cost that much, these discs.
Tell us about your system.
I have a Rega 7 turntable, Exact head, Graham Slee Revelation external phono stage - it has the ability to adjust RIAA equalization. Some time ago I fell in love with the jazz of the big band era, the 40s and 50s, and these are mainly 10-inch records, they have a different correction, and on my Mobile Fidelity they sounded much worse. Amplifier - integrated Naim Audio NAIT 5i, acoustics - Elac BS 133 JET bookshelf speakers; They play great, but there isn't enough bass. The CD path includes a vintage EAD T-1000 transport and a Philips DAC 960 DAC. By the way, I’m thinking of upgrading the amplifier - my friend restored a Marantz PM5 Ezotec for me. Sometimes I use a Sony TC-D5 Pro II cassette reporter voice recorder as a source. A decent device, despite its size. This is so exotic.
What are the prospects?
At first, I had such conditions that I had to use shelf holders: everything is on shelves in the closet. This is not very correct, so the main plans are to increase the space for music.
Do you follow modern music? Are there any discoveries?
Recently I have become interested in the Norwegian Marie Boine and our Inna Zhelannaya. I recently became interested in tango (primarily tango nuevo). But most of the interesting CDs were released in Argentina, even if you search online, you need to know Spanish... I discover something in rock, but the main thing - folk, songwriters, funk and soul, fragmentary blues - has been with me for a long time. And jazz, of course.
Five best discs from Oleg's collection.
[01] Igor Stravinsky - “The Rite of Spring”, conductor Evgeny Svetlanov (“Melody”). A landmark work.
[02] Grant Green - Idle Moments (Blue Note, 1963). I really love this record and Green in general.
[03] Mendelssohn/ Schumann - Violin Concertos, Henryk Szeryng, Antal Dorati, LSO (Mercury, 1965). Henrik Szering's favorite performance of the concerto.
[04] Don Sebesky - Giant Box, (CTI, 1973). Everything is good: material, execution, sound, design.
[05] Astor Piazzola - Tango: Zero Hour (Nonesuch, 1986).Nuevo tango is my newest hobby.
Text: Artyom Lipatov
Photo: Dmitry Pisemsky
