From the biography of Viktor Stepanov
Viktor Stepanov was born in 1947 on Sakhalin. Over time, the family moved to the mainland, to Serdobsk. There Victor graduated from school and went to Tambov to enter the Institute of Culture. After graduating, he worked in many provincial theaters and traveled all over the country: from Tambov and Novgorod to Sakhalin.
In the early 80s, I got tired of the itinerant acting life. Tired of acting, he decided to live in the village for a year or two. At first I just enjoyed village life. He loved to wander through the forest, take a steam bath, and participate in village gatherings. He even went to a village school to teach history, an interest in which he had had since his youth.
Friends say that Stepanov was a tramp by nature. He always wanted new sensations and impressions. There was a certain wildness of nature in him. It was primitiveness, pristineness and enormous masculine charm.
Biography
The biography of actor Yuri Stepanov began on June 7, 1967 in the Irkutsk region. The father of the future filmmaker was an agronomist and was well versed in how to manage a farm. Yuri and his brother spent their entire childhood away from large cities. From a young age, the father taught his sons to hard work. He raised them quite strictly, but, according to Yuri himself, this helped him grow into a purposeful person, ready to achieve everything on his own. In his small town, Yuri Stepanov, whose biography and filmography is presented to your attention in the article, quickly found himself a suitable type of activity, to which he devoted all his free time. This hobby turned out to be boxing. Thanks to a professional coach, the young guys who attended the section learned many techniques and also gained self-confidence. The coach also often organized all kinds of hikes, fishing and much more. Yuri's second hobby was the local theater group, in which he regularly performed on stage. Even then, he began to show incredible talent, thanks to which he was finally convinced that he wanted to become an actor. At the same time, the young man studied at a local school. After graduation, the father dreamed of his son following in his footsteps and taking up hunting and farming. But Yuri Konstantinovich Stepanov did not intend to stay in the provinces all his life without achieving anything. To fulfill his dream, after graduating from school, he moved to Irkutsk, where he was able to enter the local theater school. He completed his studies with honors, thanks to which the aspiring actor was noticed by a commission that arrived in Irkutsk. They advised Yuri to go to conquer the Russian capital, since it was there that he could achieve truly serious results. As a result, he packed his things and went to enroll in the famous GITIS.
Invitation to Moscow for auditions
Viktor Stepanov was discovered by director Alexander Proshkin. It was he who sent the then unknown Tambov actor to Moscow for an audition, who took for granted the director’s invitation to play the main role in the serial epic film “Mikhailo Lomonosov”. In general, he was always sure that the role of the great Russian men: Ermak, Peter the Great, the same Mikhail Vasilyevich - was his. Nobody can play better. And he turned out to be right. Now they are perceived only in his performance.
Stepanov was absolutely suitable for the role in terms of power, appearance, and character. The entire image of Lomonosov-Stepanov was invented by the director, because there was no lifetime portrait of the Russian scientist. The well-known portraits of Lomonosov were painted after his death, according to oral descriptions.
Stepanov, who came to arrogant Moscow from provincial Tambov, found the right word, gesture, joke for everyone on the site. The director considered the actor a big man, not in terms of size, but in terms of some human ambitions, in relation to life, in terms of fate. He walked to Moscow from afar, almost like Lomonosov himself.
Natasha - wife of Viktor Fedorovich
Natasha is Stepanov’s guardian angel, a gift from fate. At the time of their chance acquaintance, he was already a famous actor, and she was a “firecracker.” This is the name given to girls who clap a special clapper in front of the camera and shout, for example, “frame 25, take two.” She will never become an actress; Natasha will play the main roles only in home videos. Then, in 1987, the director ordered the girl to take the script of the new film to actor Viktor Stepanov. It was in Kyiv, immediately after the premiere of the film “Mikhailo Lomonosov”.
Their love story is ordinary. A chance acquaintance, then meetings, no longer casual, then a chaste friendship between a venerable actor and a young girl. In the personal life of Viktor Stepanov, there was already one marriage in his youth, so he behaved carefully with this young and very pleasant girl. But you can't escape fate. His sudden insight is that it is her! Natasha rejected the first marriage proposal, then changed her mind. Once, having arrived from Kyiv to St. Petersburg to visit Victor, who was sick with the flu, for the next weekend, she never went back. Thus began an almost 20-year life together, and a joint struggle for life. Being 20 years younger, she became his friend, wife, mother, and then nurse and nanny.
Recognition of the theatrical beau monde
After Alexander Proshkin’s film “Cold Summer of ’53,” which was filmed in 1987, actor Viktor Stepanov was recognized by the theater beau monde. Famous directors began to call him: Goncharov to the theater. Mayakovsky, Efremov at the Moscow Art Theater, Pluchik at the Satire Theater.
Stepanov did not recognize social life, avoided fashionable parties, his name and handprint are not on the Mosfilm Avenue of Stars. The greatness of the actor was recorded in concrete at the dacha near Kiev, where he settled in the mid-90s. Friends made him his own star walk and signed him. Although it turned out to be a cement star, it was just like in Hollywood. Stepanov valued this path with the signatures of his friends very much and forbade replacing the concrete with modern tiles.
Cities and theaters
Viktor Stepanov chose the profession of director; to master it, he entered the Tambov branch of the Moscow Institute of Culture and graduated from this educational institution in 1972. Then there were many years of work in theaters in different cities. Tambov, where he studied, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in his native land, as well as Novgorod became the geographical points in which the artist attended professional school.
Many years later, during a Leningrad tour, the management of Lenkom drew attention to the artist’s textured appearance, and he was invited to join the troupe. This happened already in 1991. The actor revealed his talent almost immediately, and during his theatrical career he managed to play many bright roles.
What is surprising is not that Viktor Stepanov began working in one of the best Soviet theaters, but that this happened at such a mature age. And yet it's wonderful. As they say in such cases, better late than never.
The role of Ataman Ermak
In the late 80s, Viktor Stepanov defeated Arnold Schwarzenegger himself at the auditions. The American superman wanted to play the conqueror of Siberia - Ataman Ermak, but Stepanov was approved for the role, who, even without bodybuilding, was more powerful than Schwarzenegger in everything that the role required: a broad soul, crazy eyes and frantic prowess.
During the filming of Ermak, Natasha was always next to Victor. She accompanied her husband everywhere. Natasha’s video camera caught both working moments and when the men under the leadership of Viktor Fedorovich Stepanov thought for three. Stepanov was an ataman both in role and in life. He was the only one who could cope with the uncontrollable crowd, where there were people with dubious reputations who came to earn extra money. He managed it easily. He got into the role so much that he even ate and slept like his character.
Stepanov in the role of ataman impressed the local Biysk Cossacks so much that they promoted the actor to general. This attitude towards his work flattered the artist, and besides, he himself took the Cossacks quite seriously.
Bad fall from a horse
In the film, the chieftain rides a horse in many episodes. Usually in films where there are horse races and races, the main artist is replaced by a stunt double. The close-up should be played by the actor himself, and in the chase filming - by his stunt double. But Stepanov flatly refused to use an understudy; he could not allow him to play the true Cossack.
The horse suddenly bolted, the actor fell and injured his spine. This happened in the fall of 1994. Then Stepanov could not even imagine that this fall would ultimately cost him his life. But at that time, it seemed that nothing terrible had happened; many fell from their horses during the filming.
Lenfilm still has Viktor Stepanov's acting card; it does not indicate that he has horse riding skills, but for some reason he got into the saddle. Apparently it was not in his nature to be cautious. Stepanov was “lucky”; he rested in a hotel for a couple of days, then got up. I didn’t go to the doctors after the fall, I hoped that the Russian “maybe it will carry me through.”
“And suddenly I was hit with an electric shock...”
- Where did you find such an understanding wife? Surely Irina is also an actress?
Irina : You guessed wrong. I am a cutter-tailor by profession. Before meeting Yura (although this happened at the Fomenko Theater), I had not seen a single performance with his participation. And I didn’t even know that there was such an actor Yuri Stepanov...
- How did you meet?
— I’m not a Muscovite. I came to the capital to visit, and one of my friends was just offered to sew costumes for the premiere performance at the Fomenko Theater, where Yura was supposed to play. She invited me to join the team. I've been here ever since. At the fitting I saw Yura for the first time.
— And of course you immediately realized that he would be your husband?
- What do you! He was personable and a sociable guy. But after I did my job, we broke up.
Yuri: How did you break up? Have you forgotten that after the first fitting, the driver and I gave you a ride to Mayakovka? Wow!.. And before that, can you imagine, the driver Sasha buzzed all over my ears: “There’s such a girl there!.. Such a girl!..”.”
Yuri Stepanov with his wife. Photo: RIA Novosti/Sergey Pyatakov
Onset of the disease
In the spring of 1995, Stepanov broke his hip. After the operation, with an iron pin inserted, he continues filming, moving in a wheelchair. It was necessary to play the final episodes in Ermak. In the scene when the forest is burning and Ermak dies, his stunt double did not show up for filming, and Stepanov had to get out of his wheelchair so as not to disrupt the filming. The film was shot. But Victor did not save himself; the artificial hip joint broke. Thus began a chain of injuries...
My bones hurt terribly, but the doctors could not make a diagnosis, and no one simply offered to do serious examinations. Stepanov continued to act in films. He cut with sabers, fought, danced. It is impossible to even imagine what these seemingly simple movements cost him. None of his fellow artists suspected that he was working on the set, overcoming pain.
Actor career
While still a student at the Shchukin School, Vasily decided to try his hand at cinema and went to the casting of the future blockbuster “Inhabited Island”. The project manager, Pavel Kaplevich, who selected the actors, noticed Stepanov’s talent and introduced him to Fyodor Bondarchuk.
On the set of the blockbuster "Inhabited Island"
The famous director was fascinated by the appearance of the young man. For the role of the traveler from other worlds Maxim Kammerer, he was looking for just such an actor - tall, stately, with bottomless eyes.
Vasily Stepanov as Maxim Kammerer
Stepanov’s candidacy was even approved by Boris Strugatsky himself, co-author of the story “Inhabited Island”:
To star in Bondarchuk’s blockbuster, Stepanov had to take a leave of absence from school, tighten up his fitness, and highlight his hair. But any trials were worth it - he was lucky enough to work on the same set with such actors as Sergei Garmash, Pyotr Fedorov and Yulia Snigir, and the day after the premiere of the film on January 1, 2009, the actor woke up famous. The main glossy publications invited him for photo shoots and interviews, the paparazzi tried to find out about his personal life, and fans went crazy over his blue eyes and Apollo figure.
Pyotr Fedorov, Yulia Snigir, Vasily Stepanov and Fyodor Bondarchuk
However, no matter how hard Vasily tried, Bondarchuk was dissatisfied with the result of the joint work:
Due to the actor’s poor diction—Stepanov always burred heavily—he had to be re-voiced by Maxim Matveev. According to Vasily himself, Gosha Kutsenko helped him somehow correct his pronunciation on the set.
Sergey Garmash, Gosha Kutsenko and Vasily Stepanov in the film “Inhabited Island”
Critics had mixed reactions to Stepanov's performance: many spoke of the handsome young man's acting talents with caustic sarcasm, but some even noted that the debutant coped with his role better than many famous artists in this blockbuster. The high-budget film with a lot of special effects and action scenes received extremely negative reviews from critics and viewers who read the Strugatsky novel. However, as of 2009, “The Inhabited Island” became the most successful Russian film at the box office, grossing $21.8 million. Vasily Stepanov in the film “Inhabited Island: Fight.” Trailer Despite all the negative reviews, in 2009 the sequel to the film, “Inhabited Island: Brawl,” was released. Bondarchuk did not change Stepanov for another actor, but remained as tough as ever: “He played so poorly that we had to edit scenes from different takes,” he said after the release.
Vasily Stepanov in the film “My Boyfriend is an Angel”
In 2011, the actor got a far from leading role in the comedy “My Boyfriend is an Angel,” where Arthur Smolyaninov and Ivan Okhlobystin played.
Vasily Stepanov on the TV show “Long time no see”
That same year, I decided to try my hand at a new industry and went to the casting for presenters. Soon he began hosting the show “Long time no see” on the TV Center channel. But after several graduations, Stepanov was removed from his position.
Vasily Stepanov in the film “Insured Event”
Also in 2011, Vasily played one of the main roles in the detective melodrama “Insured Event”. The last work this year was a minor role in the television series “The Kiss of Socrates.”
Vasily Stepanov in the production of “Veronica Decides to Die”
At that time, Vasily Stepanov could also be found on the theater stage. Among the most important works of the talented actor, the audience remembered his performance as the schizophrenic Edward in the Yuri Vasiliev Theater production of “Veronica Decides to Die.” Vasily Stepanov in advertising In 2013, Stepanov played an announcer in the crime drama “Okolofutbola”. After that, he disappeared from view for a long time, declaring that he would no longer act in films. After 2 years, he finally came out of the shadows and said: “I didn’t have a permanent job, so I had to be content with small orders. Because of this, I have big problems, since it is very difficult at this age to sit on my parents’ necks.” Visiting Vasily Stepanov Finally, in 2020, the actor was noticed on the set of the film “Tank Men,” which also starred Roman Madyanov and Vladimir Epifantsev. But some kind of evil fate again intervened in Stepanov’s life - right on New Year’s Eve 2020, Vasily could not keep his balance while climbing the stairs, which is why he broke his hip bone and several vertebrae.
Vasily Stepanov in the hospital
The actor's latest roles
Over 19 years in cinema, Viktor Stepanov’s filmography includes more than 70 films and roles, many of them were passable. At first Stepanov earned money for an apartment, then for treatment. The actor believed that a professional should constantly train, and therefore never refused roles, and directors never refused him. The main projects include the following:
- "Jager";
- "Tsarevich Alexey";
- "Cyrano de Bergerac";
- “Varenny’s Last Case”;
- "Richard the Lionheart";
- “The cold summer of '53...”;
- "Deja Vu";
- "See Paris and die."
He played in television series: “Mikhailo Lomonosov”, “Ermak”, “Detectives”, “Healing with Love”, etc.
One of the last works of actor Stepanov will be the role of manager Averka in Alexander Proshkin’s series “Doctor Zhivago”. Victor walked with difficulty. Working on the set was a feat. The actor could barely move and understood that his days were numbered, nevertheless, he made plans for his life. He was not married to his wife and insisted that the priest he knew marry them. But it was the Nativity Fast, and people don’t get married at that time. The priest suggested performing the ceremony on Christmas, coming home and getting married. To which Stepanov replied: “I will try to live.” This was the only promise he did not fulfill.
He no longer acted in his last film, “Attorney at Law.” The film crew literally carried the actor in their arms. Stepanov transformed in front of the camera, he became a tsarist general. This was in the fall of 2005, three months before he left.
On December 20, 2005, the artist and his wife boarded the Moscow-Kyiv train. They were driving home. After another course of treatment he felt better. He was very glad that he was going home. They were traveling to Kyiv. We went to live. Five days later, Viktor Stepanov passed away. The last Russian man left the cinema. The grave of Viktor Stepanov is located at the Berkovtsy cemetery in the city of Kyiv.
