About fame
“Do I consider myself a successful actress? Yes. But success is a very difficult and shaky concept. Rather, it's about quality. Success is a pleasant reward and responsibility, not an end in itself. If you define it only by the number of fans, subscribers and tinsel around, then there is probably little point in such “success”. In addition, this deprives a person of a large and important part of his personal life and his own space. And in it, you know, there is also a huge field for self-realization. I just want my work to have a resonance in the human soul, and as a result, a meaningful scale. For the audience of the country, for example, and not only. How significant is the personality of Meryl Streep in world cinema. For me, she is definitely the most successful superstar.”
In our new Most Invited column, professional stylist Irene Duzhiy talks with young, successful and fashionable heroes of Moscow, whose names are always on the lists for invitations to the most interesting metropolitan parties, events and ceremonies.
Photo: Olga Zhadan Style: Irene Duzhiy MUAH: Anna Kartashova , Narek Sirekanyan
Julia is wearing Louis Vuitton shirt, camisole, shorts and trousers
Why are the heroes of the column so in demand, and every self-respecting publication is ready to publish their photos in the “Gossip Chronicle” section? Because everyone we’re talking about has one quality in common: they not only dress stylishly and look incredibly natural in photos, but they also turn out to be truly interesting conversationalists. Our first heroine is the young theater and film actress Yulia Khlynina.
For the interview, I invited Yulia to my favorite restaurant “Severyane” for a gastronomic breakfast. She agreed willingly, but only admitted on the spot that she was actually fasting and she simply couldn’t eat two-thirds of the menu. Delights include gluten-free bread and water-based oatmeal. Could this have led to a juicy conversation? And how!
— Irene Duzhiy : Julia, I know that you are now working on a new role: in the film “Lev Yashin. Goalkeeper of My Dreams” you play the wife of a legendary football player. Tell us a little about this work.
Yulia Khlynina : This is my first growth role in the literal and figurative sense of the word, since I play not just a wife, but a wife throughout the hero’s life, and go through many age stages. And for me, as a young actress, this path was both difficult and interesting to go through. The story begins when we met when my heroine was 18, then about 30, and then over 40 years old. For the last age, I was given complex plastic makeup, since at that time forty-year-old women looked completely different. Nowadays you can get fillers, get beauty injections, and no one will understand how old you are, but back then women aged very naturally. Lev Yashin has not been with us for a long time, but Valentina Timofeevna, his wife, is now 87 years old and in good health. I was lucky enough to meet her, and several times we talked about their family life and discussed details that could help my work. This is an amazing woman with a strong character and a cool, one might say, sporting disposition - at our informal meetings with her, I tried to adopt this. She is honest, straightforward, with a good sense of humor, smokes strong cigarettes, but in the film, the corners, of course, were smoothed out, and the character turned out to be more lyrical. After meeting and working on the role, I learned a lot. For example, that a woman, like strong alcohol, only gets better with age.
— Wasn’t Valentina Timofeevna afraid that such a young actress would play her?
- No. When she saw me for the first time, she looked at me and said: “Pretty” and something else about my nose... It seems that I have a snub nose. In general, I approved.
— So she was directly involved in the filming process?
- Of course. We listen to all her comments with great attention and respect, because we are talking about her husband and a very important part of Yashin’s life - family, their partnership. Everyone really appreciates her advice. She is a serious and warm-hearted person. Real.
I would like to separately note the fact that we were lucky with the performer of the role of Lev Yashin himself. This is Alexander Fokin's film debut. He is talented, charming, very tall, like Styopa’s uncle, but the most important thing is that he is a good and decent person, which is rare among male artists. I hope that everything will continue to work out for such a good person in the film industry.
— I noticed that a very large number of Russian films in the sports genre talk specifically about the Soviet era, about our past achievements.
- Yes! And everyone is very proud of it.
- But don’t you get the feeling that these films appear because we have nothing to tell about today? Or do we simply lack some kind of artistic invention to film an abstract story?
“I’ve never thought about it, but it seems to me that this is due to the fact that the Russian film industry is to some extent lagging behind the Western one. Our language of dialogue with the viewer through cinema does not always have a sufficient number of precise expressive means to film real commercially successful and non-trivial science fiction, for example. We have learned well how to make arthouse dramas or films on our knees, but few people watch them. But sports cinema is a step and a new milestone. After all, the theme of sports cinema is always relevant - as a theme of overcoming great difficulties, achieving victory, developing leadership qualities - all this is understandable and close to a very wide audience. And filming about it is not technically as difficult as action or fantasy, the main thing is to tell the story. This is a movie about us, about our superheroes that need to be talked about.
— I noticed that the more turbulent the time and political situation, the more fairy tales, fantasy and films about superheroes are made.
- Maybe. I wonder if del Toro’s Oscar-winning tale “The Shape of Water,” which I haven’t seen yet but will definitely watch, is also a response to “turbulent times”? At some point they even dissuaded me from watching it, so as not to spoil my opinion of the film award.
— I liked the film, but I was waiting for the outcome of the Oscars to still be in favor of “Billboards...”. By the way, do you have enough time to evaluate some new films?
“Now I’m able to allocate time for this, which I’m very happy about.” It’s not always possible to watch a film on time: while it’s out in theaters, while everyone is discussing it. But I’m used to it—I read and listen to discussions, and they absolutely don’t spoil my impression of the film or prevent me from forming an independent opinion. Moreover, I often watch movies on my phone, and despite this format, I become immersed in the story. I concentrate and get the most out of watching! If I don’t like a film, I try to constructively break it down into its components: the script is excellent, but the actors didn’t finish the performance, or the cinematography is great, but the plot sagged, questions for the director... But these are special cases, more often I definitely like something than the other way around . I really love festival arthouse, rare debut films, for example, the film “Tightness” by Kantemir Balagov. Subtle, sincere, sonorous cinema. Maybe you heard.
- I heard and saw. By the way, the script for this film was written by an old friend of mine. Who is your main judge in evaluating your work?
“You know, oddly enough, I’m alone in this.” My family has nothing to do with the film industry and can judge a film on an intuitive level: “like” / “dislike”. But still, they are a little biased - mostly they like my work, I’m their child.
I love listening to the opinions of professional people: both positive and negative. Sometimes they say: “good”, sometimes - “the film is so-so, but it opened you up”, and sometimes - “sorry, but I really didn’t like it” - and I understand them all. I think, first, how cool it is that people can so boldly share their opinions, second, despite all this, this opinion does not seem to apply to me in any way, it does not detract from my work, my participation in this picture, or my feeling from it. For me, such opinions are something like initiation, this is how I recognize “my people,” because anyone can like or dislike them, but the way people formulate and what exactly they liked or didn’t like shapes my commonality with them. Although, of course, in our profession, as in yours, there is envy, and sometimes it is difficult to be open and sincere and rejoice in the success of colleagues. It happens. And this is normal: I envy myself, and I can envy absolutely everything! Now I look at your earrings and envy you. I only recently allowed myself this feeling, since we were all taught from childhood that envy is bad. But in fact, demonstrating your feelings, even envy, sharing it is funny, honest, and relieves tension.
— Where do you find inspiration? For example, art and visiting exhibitions have become almost the most fashionable leisure activities today. Have you already appreciated Andro Vekua’s video in “Garage”, for example?
- Yes, it hypnotized me. And, to be honest, I was scared. Incomprehensible and frightening. Although I love everything that I don’t fully understand, I love when there is a “running start”. It’s fun to figure out the message - to analyze your feelings, what message they are trying to put into me now, whether I like it or not. Stand and try to catch, get to know yourself a little more.
“That’s the power of art.” After this, the mirror glass dogs from Jeff Koons seem like just Christmas decorations.
“So let these beautiful and not overloaded with meaning dogs settle in people’s heads, and not advertising pictures from the Internet.” This also makes sense.
— Let's talk a little about fashion? Here in Russia, actresses quite rarely work on a single style of clothing. There is no such commercial move as style presentation, although this practice works great in the West.
“I don’t know exactly how it works for them, but with us, while studying at a theater university, it is preferable that you have no face, no style, no gender, so that you come out as just a bundle of energy.” The main task is to accurately, cordially and ambitiously direct this energy into your professional field: cinema, theater, performance... In our crowd it was unfashionable to be fashionable. Yes, there is Monica Bellucci - this is super-femininity, we have something to answer. Oksana Fandera, Evgenia Kryukova, Katerina Guseva... This is a generation of artists who are older than me. When I entered this water, I had to shove my femininity far away. The fact that this nature is supposed to exist in every woman is already clear, it is not a subject of interest to the actress. You must be recognized first of all as a deep, feeling, intelligent, active, professional person. And you always have time to dress up. Now, going out on the carpet, I understand that we still have a very long way to go towards ourselves, towards beauty, to connect with our taste, with our individuality. In most cases, the actress is on her own, and the clothes are on their own. I don’t know much about this, but I understand that it’s difficult for me to cope with this on my own; I need a team of professionals who will simply say: we feel you, we will dress you and make you a little better. I now feel that there is a lot of creativity in style that I did not capture or understand before. Clothing and image often introduce someone to you.
- Yes Yes. Sometimes a set of clothes can give you the strength, confidence and ambition you need. Which brand fills you up in this sense and brings you closer to yourself?
— I treat any public appearances as a kind of performance, and even kitsch. I go out to a party and understand that I am going to share professional information, exchange thoughts and news, but it will probably not always be an honest, spiritual event. Some people just go to show off, show off their feathers, look at the feathers of others, drink a glass together, that is, all this is already a performance. And of course, my image should help me play this performance as I want. Because they accept you based on your clothes! I like the energy position, the bold position, the sex position, because I am an absolute Freudian and I believe that everything is “sex”: eating, drinking, dressing, looking at art - it’s all sex. Therefore, on all counts - sexuality, chic and honesty - this is the Louis Vuitton brand. I feel right in these things: the way I want to see myself. There is a lot of taste and aesthetics in this, for this I respect this brand. For me, it has nothing to do with age, figure or leg length, it gives you a feeling of confidence, even if you are without makeup and with hair a la just out of bed.
— Louis Vuitton is wonderful, and I understand exactly what you are talking about! With the arrival of Nicolas Ghesquière, the brand has reached a completely new, ultra-modern level and has reached speeds that must be met. And if we talk about clothes for every day - a uniform, if you want. What criteria do you use? Convenience? Emotions?
- You know, I personally want to hide in casual clothes. So that I have such a big, big, cozy, cozy sweater, gray, gray, like everyday life. It's big things like this that make me feel protected, because I'm actually a terrible social phobe. And such comfort saves like medicine, especially after a difficult filming shift or performance, when you are emotionally devastated for the day ahead and just want to be alone with yourself. So my recipe for every day is lack of style.
— Lack of style is also style and position. Moreover, now everyone wears sweatpants and pilled sweaters.
- Oh, this is actually my favorite! (Laughs.)
- What about diamonds?
- Well, of course! I’m a girl and I’m delighted with diamonds. I come from a simple, modest family and could not even imagine that I would ever be able to say this openly, but what to hide: the size of the diamond matters. The size of a diamond is, in a sense, an indicator of your chosen one, this is his work, his money, his passion, his desire to please you... I love gifts, and I meet men in my life who understand this.
— Okay, what is the most important thing in a man at the stage before the first diamond given to him? Besides generosity.
“I have now reconsidered the significance of some masculine qualities, but I have not yet formulated a new understanding... It will probably seem abstract, but in my opinion the most important thing is “so as not to let me down.” A wide space of action immediately appears. Here, for everyone, “didn’t let you down” is very special, individual: someone can forgive betrayal, someone is calm about alcohol addiction, and someone is okay if he didn’t come on a date because he works, because “he I’m a genius”... We all have our own boundaries.
— Does the presence of a serious relationship affect the choice of clothes and jewelry? Do you feel the urge to dress for a man?
- Certainly! I dress for my loved one. When there is love, sincerity and dialogue, everything begins to have the right true meaning. It makes sense to wake up in the morning, put on something after waking up, choose which perfume is right for today, because someone is present inside you and with you all the time. I even perform the play differently when I’m in a relationship or alone. I give my all in the same way, but some kind of super task appears, the viewer feels who I send it to... Love influences the choice of my image, including onions... Leeks.
- I really want to ask you one question. It's in the "school questionnaire" category, but it's about strategy and planning. Where do you see yourself in ten years?
- Does this mean I will be 36? I see myself in a nice, quiet area of Moscow, two children, one is already a schoolboy. I rarely, but accurately, film wherever I want, I don’t need to think that I’m earning a living from this, I’m just doing it for fun, for self-expression, making a statement. I continue to work in the theater and periodically, or better yet often, escape to different countries, where I learn and travel - sometimes with my family, and sometimes without. It’s a must to travel sometimes without your family!
- This is apparently a message and wish to your future husband?
- Yes. Sometimes without. In general, I think that everything will be fine for me in 10 years.
About upcoming premieres
At the Theater of Nations
“After quarantine, you can see me in the play “The Passion of Thomas” based on the story “The Village of Stepanchikovo and Its Inhabitants”: a classic work by Dostoevsky, which, thanks to the director’s decision of Evgeniy Marcelli, will become relevant for the viewer. The heroes of the production are in the same space, as if in a feast format: they, together with the viewer, watch the battle, the argument of the main characters, during which their secrets come to the surface. My heroine, Nastenka Ezhevikina, is a poor girl from a large family who works in the house of one of these heroes, Colonel Yegor Ilyich. And who has a romantic relationship with him. The girl, at first glance, is quiet and ordinary. But as the play progresses, her incredible survival ability becomes visible. She grabs any chance to feed herself and her family - she has such cunning.”
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...and at the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya
“Another premiere that I hope will take place: “Bulba. Feast." at the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya. This is an interesting experimental story directed by Alexander Molochnikov. It combines the text of Gogol’s “Taras Bulba,” which is usually taught in school, but is vaguely remembered, and the motifs of the film “Triumph” by Thomas Vinterberg. For those who don’t know, this is one of the films of “Dogme 95” - such a “party” of the 90s that was looking for a new language of cinema. It included the famous Lars Von Trier. The performance will feature many crowd scenes, colorful elements of everyday life, hooliganism and music. And also thoughts about the confrontation between the Western and Slavic worlds. It should turn out bold, bright and meaningful"
The best roles of Yulia Khlynina
In the series “Lie if you love” (2013), Khlynina played the role of the girl Marina, who should become a kind of “exam” for the modest and enslaved son of a businessman (Nikita Smolyaninov) and help him overcome embarrassment. She performed all the stunts in the series herself: both simple ones - running across the road in front of a dense stream of cars, and quite complex ones - galloping on a horse.
Yulia Khlynina in the film “Trick If You Love”
For Yulia this became a great challenge, since she had never had to ride a horse before that moment. But the actress liked the interesting character of her character, as well as the exciting plot of the series, so much that she endured all the difficulties of filming with pleasure. The friendly atmosphere on the set, created by Sergei Chirkov, Marina Zudina, Yulia Rutberg and Alika Smekhova, helped me cope with the role.
Two years later, in 2020, Julia starred in the teenage series “Law of the Concrete Jungle” as Tim’s older sister (one of the characters in the series). Her heroine, an arrogant intellectual, a bohemian person, captivated the viewer with her outrageousness, which was felt in her every gesture.
Beautiful Yulia Khlynina (“The Law of the Concrete Jungle”)
According to Khlynina’s stories, she was surprised by the attention of the director and screenwriters to the completeness, richness and believability of the image of her heroine, because serial characters are usually given only in sketches, without detailed elaboration.
In “The Duelist” Yulia Khlynina played Princess Marfa
In 2020, the premiere screening of the film “The Duelist” took place, where Julia played the role of Princess Marfa, a woman who unwittingly creates dramatic situations around herself, into one of which the main character of the film, a professional duelist (Petr Fedorov), found himself drawn. When reading the script, Yulia did not immediately understand her character, but with the help of director Alexei Mizgirev, she managed to understand Marfa’s inner mood and create a complete image. In addition, she had to learn to move and breathe in a new way, because the costumes of the 19th century require a different plasticity of movements, posture and gestures.
Still from the film “The Duelist”
In the same year, another film with Yulia Khlynina was released - the drama “Watermelon Rinds”.
About the pros and cons of quarantine
“Actually, before quarantine, I practiced “isolation.” Publicity is part of the job, not a way of life. That’s why I always tried to spend my free time at home with my family. But the absence of the usual workload, filming, and rehearsals, of course, affects my mood: I feel like I miss the process, creativity, and the rhythm of life. However, I accept this forced pause as a gift. I find new activities, discover some previously unused opportunities for communication and application of my profession. For example, I recently launched a series of live broadcasts on my Instagram, where I communicate with colleagues whom I have long wanted to ask about their profession, work, theater and cinema. Denis Shvedov, Aglaya Tarasova, Nikita Efremov, Stasya Miloslavskaya, Pavel Tabakov, Oksana Akinshina, Yang Ge, Daniil Vakhrushev - this is an incomplete list of those with whom I will speak on live broadcasts in the coming days.
@yulia_hlynina
THEATER
The actress began acting on the big stage while still studying at the theater institute. Khlynina took part in the choreographic performance “The Final Cut” by Alla Sigalova, and played in the plays “MYKARAMAZOVY” and “In our Kamergersky”. In Satyricon, the actress was involved in two repertoire productions - the plays “Romeo and Juliet” and “Once Upon a Time in the Village...”.
Since 2013, Julia has been a member of the theater troupe. Mossovet. She participates in the plays “Casting/Casting”, “The Cherry Orchard”, “Mashenka”, “It’s not all Maslenitsa for cats”, “Dangerous Liaisons”, “Three Sisters”, “Exercises in Beauty”
About everyday life during self-isolation
“I don’t give up good habits during quarantine. For example, I try to play sports via Zoom with a trainer. Of course, this is not very convenient: at home there is not enough usual equipment. You have to use what you have at hand: five-liter bottles, elastic bands... It turns out the same strength training, after which it’s hard to walk. And the food has even changed for the better! We live as a large family, and every day we eat delicious home-cooked food, which you usually cannot afford in the working rhythm of Moscow. Of course, I’m enjoying myself, but I can’t say that I’m destroying the contents of the refrigerator. It even seems to me that I have lost a little weight: now there is almost no stress that I want to eat.”
About beauty
“Of course, care has changed during quarantine. The best side too. Finally, there is an opportunity to wear less makeup, avoid damaging your skin, and take more care of it. I am spending self-isolation at the dacha, I brought my entire arsenal of “jars” here from Moscow (this is what I always do, my skin is quite problematic). I do the treatment every morning and evening and already feel the benefits: the skin is rested and restored. Of course, professional care is not expected in the near future, but I myself am coping well: I am mastering the profession of “my own cosmetologist.” And for the first time in many years, I became the happy owner of long nails. I break them all the time at work: they have no place either in the theater or in the cinema.”
@yulia_hlynina
Personal life of Yulia Khlynina
Julia’s acting career has consumed her so much that she still has no time left for personal relationships. In 2020, a joint photograph of Yulia and the young actor Daniil Steklov, a guy from a famous acting family - the son of Agrippina Steklova and the grandson of Vladimir Steklov, appeared on Yulia's social networks. However, neither Julia nor Daniel commented on the fact of their appearance together.
Yulia Khlynina does not share details from her personal life
About plans for the future
“On the day when they announce the end of quarantine, I... will run along the green lawn next to the dacha, soak up the rays of the sun, to remember this beautiful day (whether spring or summer), to remember how the grass and leaves rustle in the wind. I’ll eat something tasty, cooked by my mother, watch the latest self-isolation film, go about my daily routine for the next working week and start frantically remembering the texts of the roles.”
@yulia_hlynina
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