Sergei Bodrov, Jr.
Biography
Childhood
Sergey Bodrov was born on December 27, 1971 in Moscow. His father is a famous stage manager, Sergey Bodrov, and his mother Valentina Nikolaevna is a fine art expert. Sergey Bodrov Jr considered that "childhood is the most important time in life." and what you'll become happens in the first sixteen years". Different publications say that Bodrov wanted to become an garbageman and drive an orange car.Bodrov wrote "Composition on the topic: eight events which influenced me or how I became a good person" about the years of his youth and events which changed his view of the world."
Education
Sergey Bodrov attended the specialist French language school № 1265. He was the banner-bearer in school.
Bodrov wanted to enter the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, but his father explained to him that "cinema is a passion and if you don't have it you should wait for it or forget about it". Between 1989 and 1993, Bodrov Jr. studied art history at Moscow State University's Faculty of History. He graduated with an Honors degree and began postgraduate studies. In his own words, he "learned to see the beauty in simple things which surround us" in university. Even when he became a well-known actor he defended his graduate dissertation "The Architecture of Venetian painting of the Renaissance" in 1998 and received the degree of "Candidate of Science".
In 1991, he went to Italy to study art. He managed to get a job as a lifeguard on one of the local beaches to earn money to travel throughout the country. During the next three summers, he travelled to Italy for this work. When he was asked if the education was useful in his life or not, he answered:
Of course. So you come to any city. What do you usually know about it? That there are central square, some shops...And I know there is a picture in one of the museums and you can spend the whole day in front of it. And this day is added to your life.
Cinema
First roles
Sergey's first role was in his father's movie Freedom is Paradise in 1989. He appeared on screen only for a few minutes, playing a minor lawbreaker waiting for a decision concerning his destiny. During his university days, he also had a bit role of an usher's courier who was bringing mail to the hotel in the movie White King, Red Queen (1992).Prisoner of the Mountains
In 1995, his father was going to move to Dagestan where his movie Prisoner of the Mountains (Kavkazskij Plennik) was to be filmed. Bodrov asked to go with him and was ready to do whatever he could to help. Instead, he became one of the featured actors, playing conscript soldier Vanya Jilin. His partner was Oleg Menshikov, who played contract soldier Alexey Ryapolov. Bodrov got an award for best actor jointly with O. Menshikov in the cinema festival in Sochi.Bodrov himself did not claim to be an actor:
I always say everywhere: I'm not an actor, I'm not an actor, I'm not an actor. And I hear: "No, you're an actor". Actor is a quite another thing. It's another people, another constitution. A role is not a profession for me. It's an action.
View
From October 1996 to August 1999, Bodrov was a host of the show View (Vzglyad) on Channel One. He said that he left the show feeling it had given him a good schooling:I've got acquainted with so many people, I've heard so many stories, I've read so many letters - it's impossible on any other job. It had a very positive impulse. Help two or three people and the telecast exists not in vain. But it's necessary to do it responsibly.
In 1997, Sergey married Svetlana Mihailova (the author of the projects "Sharks of plume" and "Canon"). In 1998, their daughter Olga was born, followed in 2002 by a son, Alexandr.
Brother
During a cinema festival in Sochi in 1996, Sergey Bodrov became acquainted with stage manager Aleksei Balabanov, who invited him to studio STV. Just in this studio, the movie Brother (Brat) was shot and released in 1997. Sergey was a featured actor, playing Danila Bagrov. The mass media criticized the movie. It was accused of fascism and racism and even of Russophobia (as a movie which was made for foreign audiences). Bodrov himself viewed his character in the following way:I know that Danila is often blamed for his being primitive, simple and inelaborate. I partly agree with that. But I have metaphor concerning him in my mind: I imagine people in primitive chaos who are sitting in front of the fire in their cave and don't understand anything in their life except for the responsibility to eat and to breed. And suddenly one of them stands up and says very simple words that it is necessary to defend friendly, to respect women, to defend brother.
The music to the movie was compounded from the songs of "Nautilus Pompilius" and Sergey admitted that he listened to them in real life.
Nevertheless, the merits of the movie were recognised and it got an award in a cinema festival in Sochi, a special jury's award and award FIPRESCI in an international festival in Turin, the same awards in Cottbus, and the Grand Prix in Trieste. Bodrov received a prize for the best role in cinema festival in Sochi and in Chicago and got the "Golden Aries" prize.
A great number of people liked the movie and for many of them, Danila became a hero and ideal.
Other roles
From 1998 to 1999, Sergey played two roles. The first as Vadim, a wedding photographer in P. Pavlikovsky's movie Stringer. The second role was in Régis Wargnier's movie East-West. Sergey played Sasha, the neighbour of an unlucky couple, Dr. Golovin and his wife Mary.In 2000, the movie Brother 2 (Brat 2) was released, with Bodrov playing Danila Bagrov again. Critics attacked the movie as they had its predecessor. It was written that the movie expressed racist ideas and offended the American and the Ukrainian nations. Bodrov responded:
The Americans make movies about the Russians where Schwarzenegger as a policeman tears off gumbah's leg and drugs are hailing from it and bears are walking along the streets. So we're full bananaheads. So why can't we make a joke on the Americans?
In 2000, the movie How Brother 2 was shot was released. The same year, Bodrov moved to California to take part in the shooting of his father's movie Quicky. Lets Do it Quickly. Sergey played Dima - the security officer of a rich American with the Russian ancestry - Oleg (Mashkov).
In Bodrov's free time during the filming of Quicky, he was writing a screenplay for his first movie Sisters (Sestry). His father shared the idea of the movie with him. After that, Bodrov Jr wrote a screenplay and in four days, filming began. At first, the movie was called Bandit's daughter, Belly-dancer and The junor. The heart of the movie is a story of two sisters - Sveta (thirteen years old) and Dina (eight). Sergey had a cameo role because there was no other actor available. The film opened on May 10, 2001. At a festival in Sochi, it received a Grand Prix award "for the best debut" and the young actresses were awarded for "the best actor's duet".
In the autumn of 2001, Bodrov became a host of the game show The Last Hero. Sixteen people landed on an island near the coast of Panama and competed in various trials. The last participant which lasted through all the votes received the main prize of three million rubles. Bodrov conducted the game and commented on it. He gave his understanding of the telecast:
I think that the subject of hunger and physical existence will emerge in front of them very seriously. But the true survival lies in how you're strong inside, how you can keep your humanity in unhuman conditions. And this is also related to me.
The shooting of Balabanov's movie War began in the spring of 2001. Bodrov had a role of short duration (he played captain Medvedev). Opening night was in 2002. The movie got the "Golden Rose" award at the "Kinotavr" festival and Bodrov received the "Nika" award for the best supporting role.
Bear's Kiss (Medvejiy Potseluy) opened on November 28, 2002. Bodrov played a bear protecting a female circus performer.
The Messenger
In July 2002, Bodrov settled down to shoot his second film, with the working title The Messenger. He characterized the movie in the following words:Philosophic-mystical parable about the life of two friends. They are romantics, travellers and venturers. Of course there will be bandits, hostages, in general all that accompany us in life. The movie is called "The Messenger" and I'm like a coffee in a carton in it: the author of a screenplay, stage manager and performer of the leading role.
The film crew arrived in the Caucasus in September. In September, 19 of the scenes in a women's penal colony in Vladikavkaz were shot.
Catastrophe
The next morning, the film crew went to Karmadon Gorge, where the hero's return from military service was to be filmed. At approximately 7 p.m., filming stopped due to poor lighting conditions. Then tragedy struck. According to official reports, a block of ice fell from Djimara Mountain onto the Kolka ice flow, bringing with it mud and large boulders. This mud flow covered Karmadon Ravine, where Sergey Bodrov and his crew were working. A massive search and rescue operation proved fruitless.Filmography
- СЭР (Свобода — это рай) (Freedom is Paradise) (1989) cameo
- Белый король, красная королева (White King, Red Queen) (1992) cameo
- Кавказский Пленник (Kavkazskij Plennik) (Prisoner of the Mountains) (1996) Vanja Jilin
- Брат (Brat) (Brother) (1997) Danila Bagrov
- The Stringer (1998) Vadim
- Est-Ouest (East/West) (2000) Sasha
- Брат 2 (Brat 2) (Brother, Part 2) (2000) Danila Bagrov
- The Quickie (2001) Dima
- Сёстры (Syostry) (Sisters) (2001) stage manager, cameo
- Война (Voyna) (War) (2002) Captain Medvedev
- Медвежий поцелуй (Bear's Kiss) (2002) Misha
External links
References
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Wednesday October 01, 2008 at 23:39:32 PDT (GMT -0700)
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