The series “Brigada” introduced her to the general public. The first domestic musical “Nord-Ost” discovered the singer in it. TV projects – a gambling athlete. Roles in theater and cinema – a diverse actress. Meeting with Ekaterina Guseva, who is ready to prefer the joy of motherhood to all these achievements.
She arrives very late for the meeting. He apologizes and immediately asks the driver to buy something to eat. “I just came from the film market and presented a new picture,” Katya explains. “And for me, food is like gasoline for a car, until I eat, I can’t work.” She is wearing a very beautiful tight navy blue dress and high heels. But, sitting down at the table and opening packages of noodles and salads, she subtly begins to resemble a schoolgirl. Lowering her eyes, she diligently, intently chews, savoring every bite.
These girls are usually referred to as “very nice.” It really is all right, okay. And chestnut curls, and a soft smile, and a smooth gait. Such a quiet Central Russian beauty. Birch-garden-jasmine. And no “special signs” – no peppercorns, no trace of depravity to provoke interest …
As a child, Katya Guseva had a simple, prosperous family and exemplary studies. Then – a strong long-term marriage, a calm, ascending career. The surname is the most prosaic, not particularly memorable. There are thousands of girls with such data in Russia. But after all, this ordinary Katya Guseva manages to be one of the most popular artists in the country for many years. And surprisingly – all the same, completely different: a Turgenev young lady and then a tenacious aunt, caustic and unkind; sometimes a flirty and torn, then a spectacular and victorious woman … Perhaps this is her flickering female inconstancy, this crafty unpredictability (“What is she really like?”) And intrigues and falls in love. And she has the most attractive actors in her partners: Khabensky, Domogarov, Mironov, Bezrukov, Baluev, Beroev, Sukhanov, figure skaters Kostomarov and Tikhonov … And a handsome husband.
This unpredictable and falling in love Katya answers my questions in the same way as she eats lunch – measuredly, in detail, making long pauses and thinking over every word for a long time. And then he carefully and harshly corrects the text of the interview – with the firm, calm confidence of a person who knows what, to whom and why he is saying.
Psychologies: Have you ever noticed that roles help you recognize yourself. Today in the theater you are rehearsing the role of Irina, the wife of Tsar Fedor. What do you see in yourself from her?
Ekaterina Guseva: I haven’t gotten to my character yet. I was so fascinated by Tsar Fedor and my partner Viktor Sukhorukov, who plays him, that now I study him first of all … that is, them. (Laughs.) Victor – as a person, as an artist, Fedor – as a historical figure. After all, I have to protect him, Fedor, with my wing from misfortunes, protect, guide. Therefore, I do not think about myself at all.
To shelter, to protect – do you know this need?
EG: Yes, of course, first of all in relation to the son. But Irina is childless, and therefore she transfers her maternal instinct to her beloved man.
Many of those who know you personally speak admiringly of you, in superlatives, naming talent, femininity, charm, strength, tenderness among your virtues … Would you argue with something from this list?
EG: Talent is not mine. And femininity, tenderness, strength – this is all mine, and there is nothing to argue with.
So, are you confident?
EG: Confidence comes with maturity, with love. A man just needs to appear who is able to reveal you, to show a woman in you. Then a lot comes. And wisdom, and the desire for motherhood, and a sense of one’s strength, and fearlessness. Before, I was insecure. My feminine qualities were weapons, but I didn’t know how to shoot them. I saw my strengths as weaknesses. They scolded me for being coquettish and wrote in my diary: a flip-tail, frivolous, making eyes at the boys at the next desk. And this affected the grades and upset the parents. Only when I entered the theater did my daydreaming, and indefatigable imagination, and excitement – everything turned out to be necessary and important.
You easily fall in love with people. Have you always felt it?
EG: Well, yes. (Smiles.) As a child, relatives or friends of my parents kissed me on the dimples on my cheeks. And school loves – I took them for granted. This was my habitat. I felt the attention and sympathy of the people around me very early, and even now little has changed in this sense. And I love it. I was brought up and raised in love. And what I give to the audience is the unspent contribution of my parents. The resource that I have not yet exhausted.
Was your younger sister also “the best”?
EG: The sister is completely different. At all! She is strong and willful. From the age of three, Nastya did everything herself, it was impossible to feed her, comb her hair, dress her – only “here”. My sister graduated from the Pedagogical Institute and literally a year later, at the age of 25, she became the head of a kindergarten! That’s what we call her at home – “manager”.
The younger one “built” the older one?
EG: Not only me, but also mom and dad, and grandparents! We could fight to the point of bloodshed: my mother left home cleaning for us, and we pulled pieces of paper with the words “kitchen”, “corridor” – who gets what. And it began … One to spite the other scattered things from the chest of drawers. And my sister and I didn’t do anything – beading, modeling, and embroidery … So, all these threads, buttons, beads, hairpins – all this spilled out of the boxes onto the carpet in one fell swoop, and then everything had to be disassembled by the one who bad luck. And we chased each other with a vacuum cleaner, sucking each other’s long hair with a hose. Despite the four years difference, Nastya was never the youngest – neither in height, nor in character, nor in attitude. She was always “over”… How did I perceive it? Like your cross. (Laughs.) But if suddenly a stranger offended her … Once I, already an adult, came to my mother. I was walking down the street, suddenly some man I met, recoiled as if from fire and ran away … And I remembered him as a boy. Many years ago, when my sister was walking in the yard, I heard her crying loudly and looked out the window: that boy threw a handful of sand in her eyes. I was so furious that I ran out into the street and rushed at him. He was terribly beaten by me, where did the forces come from.
In general, Nastya and I stood by the mountain for each other. I felt very bad when we ran away: having entered the Shchukin school, I came home only to spend the night, and then immediately got married and left home. And my sister was very much missed. I never found a single friend who would replace her … We still have a strong connection now.
How about with parents?
EG: My dad is a unique person – I have never met kinder people in my life. And my mother is an example of self-sacrifice for me. After all, for many years she worked “for an apartment” in some ministry or department. And we, like gypsies, went with bags from one house to another – first to my father’s mother, grandmother Zina, with bags, from her to my mother’s grandmother Lida, again with bags. And when they finally got an apartment, my mother went to work in a kindergarten, then to school – in order to be closer to us, next to us. It seems to me that she was very worried when one day she realized that we had grown up and no longer needed her help. And when my son Alyosha was born, he got a nanny – I think it was not easy for my mother to get used to this.
Why did you hire a nanny then?
EG: Four grandmothers would willingly take up the upbringing of their grandson at once. (Laughs.) Well, think about how it can be distributed evenly so that without offense? And in addition to his grandmothers, he also has his own aunt Nastya, the head of the kindergarten, which Alyosha, by the way, went to … Yes, he is, of course, very spoiled by female attention …
You said that in your life you have rarely met truly strong men. There is no temptation to bring up such?
EG: I have no confidence that in general it is possible to bring up someone. Good manners can be taught. And learn to make decisions on your own, probably, too. And explain that there is not only the word “I want”, but also the word “need”. Everything else has already been done for us. I can only hope that nature has endowed the son with wisdom. The quality that will help him accept and overcome what life will offer.
Life offered your generation a difficult start: the collapse of the country, the hungry and unstable 90s, the crisis in the cinema … This wave covered many, and you managed to exist as if out of time, to remain prosperous …
EG: Yes. (Sings.) “And outside the window there are wagons, wagons …” Which rushed swiftly past me. I have always felt protected, no matter how high the waves are overboard.
Why do you think someone was overwhelmed, but you were carried away?
EG: It’s not that I pay fate to be supportive, or please it with some of my deeds … I just try to correct my mistakes right away, without delay. As soon as I feel discomfort. Because I know very well: today you are alive and well, and tomorrow you were turned off, like a light, leaving the room, and you went out. I don’t want to leave something bad behind. I don’t know what influenced me so much. Probably “Nord-Ost” and those terrible events that are associated with it … Or, more recently, Dima Dyakonov (one of the main performers in the musical “Beauty and the Beast.” – Approx. ed.), who was only 29, died suddenly, without any apparent reason. How can this be explained? A man on the rise, strong, handsome… Why? I do not understand. Maybe as a reminder to others that you need to live here and now … But I always knew this! I don’t think that fate should present such terrible lessons just to remind you once again …
You have a very rich creative life, roles, concerts, not a single empty window. Do you know the fear of stopping, not catching up with a running car?
EG: Yes, there is such a fear. Or not? (Sighs.) Oh, anyway, I’m a fatalist in this sense. You know, I’m not fussy, not tenacious. I’m rather quiet. Quiet, confident and calm. Well, a fighter. How does it fit in me? It is hard to say. But to blame everything on the mercy of fate, in my opinion, is wrong. Let people think that this is so – I do not want to refute anything. I myself always feel when it is necessary to fight to the end, and when – to step aside and trust the flow. It’s just that when here, inside, there is a tremor, some kind of anxiety, I always look for the reason and do it so that I can breathe more calmly. And I find, yes. Here is a calm, even breathing – probably this is a sign of that harmony, balance, which I always strive for inside myself. But I’m not talking about calm. Sometimes you want storms.
Don’t you perceive today’s crisis as a storm?
EG: (Laughs.) I haven’t noticed a crisis yet and I don’t stock up on cereals. It’s a shame, of course, that some already finished, shot films are on the shelves. But nothing: we will sing songs, we will sew dresses from curtains and play on stage. We have not yet forgotten those times – they are still colored for me with an aura of romance. We will survive these. In this sense, I am a contemplative and optimist.
You seem to have been bypassed by another wave of glamorous values that are still being imposed by the TV screen: the brilliance of outfits and jewelry, cottages, cars, prestigious parties … Do you have a different hierarchy of values?
EG: My internal hierarchy, created by my grandparents and parents, is so strong that television and magazines are powerless here.
And what’s on top of it?
EG: It’s much more interesting what the foundation is, isn’t it? Abashkin (Ekaterina’s husband. – Ed.) Says to me: “Guseva, buy yourself a fur coat already and think about something high!” Of course, even without a fur coat I can think high, but if I hadn’t eaten (she glances at the empty plates), I definitely wouldn’t be able to give you an interview. An artist must be hungry – who invented this?
That is, you do not agree with the opinion that suffering helps creativity, and well-being hinders?
EG: To play Medea, it is not necessary to cook your own children, and then feed your husband with this soup. Fantasy is much richer than one’s own life experience. I believe that talent is indifference. Willingness to let in any experience. Do not remember how you yourself were, but make someone else’s life your own and believe in it. For example, athletes probably know better than actors what a broken head and a titanium alloy instead of a joint are, and what a gold medal costs after being paralyzed. They experienced it, but they cannot tell about it in such a way that the viewer would feel it. But I can. I am like a conductor: I have been fed by this, it hurts me, and my indifference also excites the viewer. That does not prevent me from treating the role as a game. I have a different life.
How do you see yourself in this life in 17 years, when you turn 50?
EG: (Thinks for a long time.) I don’t know… I’m afraid to look in there. I don’t want to scare you… Actually, I want to become a mother again. Maybe not just once. Still, an important mission of a woman is motherhood. I have done little in this regard so far. And nature demands! (Laughs.) There is a feeling that I’m not doing my job anyway.
Private bussiness
- 1976 July 9 was born in Moscow, her father Konstantin Vasilyevich is a tailor, mother Tamara Mikhailovna is an employee. Sister Anastasia is four years younger than her.
- 1980 Gymnastics, later – figure skating and swimming, dancing.
- 1993 Enters the Higher Theater School named after B.V. Shchukin. In his last year, he meets businessman Vladimir Abashkin, and soon marries him.
- 1997 Actress of the theater “At the Nikitsky Gate”. Debut in the cinema – in the film by Nikolai Lebedev “Snake Spring”.
- 1999 Ekaterina and Vladimir have a son Alexei.
- 2001 Role in the television series “Brigada” by Alexei Sidorov. The main role in the musical “Nord-Ost” (“Link” company). On October 23, 2002, the day the terrorists seized the Theater Center on Dubrovka, Guseva did not participate in the play.
- 2003 Actress of the Mossovet Theater, plays in the play “Dance Teacher” by Yuri Eremin.
- 2004 Film “On Upper Maslovka” by Konstantin Khudyakov.
- 2005 The Seagull Award for his role in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Pavel Chomsky (Mossovet Theatre).
- 2006 Film “Flash.ka” by Georgy Shengelia, performance by Vladimir Mirzoev “Dragon” (Theatrium on Serpukhovka).
- 2007 Film “Thank you for love” by Konstantin Khudyakov.
- 2008 Lead role in the musical “Beauty and the Beast” (Stage Entertainment and Disney). TV series “Hot Ice”.
- 2009 Awarded the title of Honored Artist of Russia. Plays in the film by Vladimir Mirzoev “The Man Who Knew Everything” (at the box office from June 11). Rehearsing a role in Yuri Eremin’s play “The Kingdom of Father and Son” (Mossovet Theatre).