His popularity is greater than any official regalia: 3000 residents of Gorodok, born of the imagination of Yuri Stoyanov, and millions of fans of the program are eloquent witnesses of his acting and comedic gift. A meeting with an actor who does not tolerate compliments and a man of exceptional charm.
Everyone who comes across us along the way comes up to him for an autograph. The driver who delivered the artist to the shooting. The guard who met him at the entrance. An employee of the neighboring editorial office … At the end of the shooting, photographers Masha and Mariusz, a little embarrassed, ask their model to take a picture together — as a keepsake. Yuri Stoyanov keeps a phenomenally correct tone: he communicates with everyone simply, but not in his own way, with dignity and without pathos, tactfully, but without false modesty. He is absolutely natural, and this is perhaps the most surprising thing about him, given 15 years of his continuous television success: 90 (!) Hours of air, three TEFI figurines … He has no illusions about his appearance: the figure is “not heroic”, his face overweight, and age … But categorically against the efforts of the makeup artist to make his image more «glamorous». “I wouldn’t want to be different on the cover,” he says with noticeable excitement. — I think that by my 50 years I have earned the right to be recognized for who I really am. The right to be yourself.» However, he talks about almost everything emotionally. And each phrase seems to be weighed on the scales: “Didn’t you exaggerate, didn’t embellish?” Contrasts are striking in him — a solid, prosperous appearance and thin ladies’ cigarettes, which he smokes almost continuously; habits of rigidly formulating thoughts and frank, almost childish sensitivity. The role of a comic simpleton — and a strong, explosive male character. Dramatic actor, brilliantly playing women. Supervisor. Leader. An endlessly busy person.
Psychologies: Do you like your rhythm of life? In the press, you sometimes admit that you can’t stop, you don’t know how to relax …
Yuri Stoyanov: This is not a plus, but a huge drawback, a sign of disorganization. And what is not good is a sign of dislike for oneself. I try to fight it, because at my age not loving myself is very dangerous for my loved ones. If you have children, especially small ones, you simply have to love yourself — otherwise you don’t really love your children. After all, loving them does not mean bringing them toys every day in return for yourself, you need to be in the family, devote time to it. And for this you need to be able to relax and be healthy. Saying that I am loaded to the limit, I do not oppose myself to people who — loafers — work little. I rather envy them…
Did you try to slow down?
Yu. S .: For me, every stop is the end. My problem is not to find a few free days, but not to invent new things for myself these days. Do not allow the thought that during your rest someone can outrun you in your business — this thought is dangerous.
What are you running for or who are you running from?
Yu. S .: Man is always running towards himself and running away from himself. Today, in the genre that I do, I, unfortunately, have no one to run away from. Who should I run to? Only to Charlie Chaplin, no offense to others will be said.
You have played about 3000 different characters — what do they have in common?
Yu. S .: All played by Yuri Stoyanov!
And it’s all?
Yu. S .: Wow «everything»! After all, completely different roles are built on the organics of one person. Who lived one life, not several. All these 3000 characters came from my observations, from my childhood, from my biography, from my ability to distort and show someone. This is a lot.
As a child, you dreamed of becoming famous so that you would be recognized on the streets. Does it make you happy now?
Yu. S .: Is it possible to rejoice in what accompanies you daily over the past 15 years? A person, no matter how scary to realize it, gets used to everything — and to happiness, and to great grief, and to success. Fame should be a companion of the acting profession. Yes, such was the dream of a fat, clumsy boy who did not shine with beauty … Naturally, he wanted everything to be the other way around, like in a fairy tale. I saw that actors are people who are always in sight, and since everyone recognizes them, everyone loves them … Our fame is of a special kind: the heroes of Gorodok are not associated with the audience with the starry world of show business. We are neighbors, people from the “box”, to whom everyone is accustomed and with whom there is no need to prepare for a meeting. We are treated warmly and friendly. There were no entrances written by fans or promises to lay hands on myself if I did not come on a date. No, everything is somehow smiling, calm and kind. This is the kind of relationship I like.
With a smile, calmly, kindly… Is your personal attitude the same?
Yu. S .: Not always. Thirty years of life in this country are taking their toll – before certain changes. Hence some tension, disbelief in stability. What else? Restless, waiting for a dirty trick and what can not be good for a long time. (Without a pause, he decisively turns the conversation in a different direction.) You are very serious about this interview. But all the stupid things are done with a serious expression on your face! I didn’t say it, but Gorin. Let’s take it a little easier. And then — the big price of the question, the big price of the answer …
Is sincerity bothering you?
Yu. S .: In an interview, yes. She is akin to vulgarity. Sincerity is naked, frank, as in confession, inappropriate in public. For her, a person speaks the way he wants to be thought of. For example, when I talk about my program, I also appeal to those who will read this interview in 30 years. (Laughs.) Each of us has things that no one will ever know and that we will take with us. Out of love and respect for the viewer, it is easier for me to talk about the business we are doing.
You give him a lot of time. And what does the family get?
Yu. S .: I’d like to think that all my time is whole. Not in the sense of my physical stay at home, but in the sense of my relationship with loved ones. By the way, it changes a lot over the years, it becomes easier. But I really do not like to talk about two things — about the family and about God. They should be thought about, not talked about. In a word, work and family are not in conflict with me. Probably my wife loves me, including for who I am.
That is, devoting yourself to your loved ones, do you feel internally free?
Yu. S .: Well, you are far from everything! Although for me the feeling of lack of freedom is rather productive. I will tell you honestly: I am not an ascetic in my profession, by nature I am a very lazy person. Very! Therefore, all my life I build in such a way that I don’t have a minute for laziness. There was already one such period when I was lazy — I lay on the couch and argued that my time had not yet come. And it came — in the early 90s. I’m not a visionary, I just understood that if I don’t start doing anything, then I’ll definitely go crazy! (Laughs) Life has changed, and with it I ran forward. I became a different person — I have never noticed such ability to work!
Did these changes somehow change your attitude towards yourself?
“I AM A VERY LAZY PERSON. AND THEREFORE I BUILD MY ALL LIFE SO THAT I DON’T HAVE A MINUTE FOR LAZY.
Yu. S .: I do not think. In general, I am not enthusiastic about myself. I hate compliments: I did the biggest stupid things, I played the most mediocre things after listening to compliments. I think that I know everything about myself in general. And good too — do not think that I am a Samoyed. I know my worth as an artist, but I won’t talk about it out loud. And from praise from the outside, I feel embarrassed, uncomfortable. It has nothing to do with self-esteem. It’s just that when I enter the frame with other artists — especially well-known ones — it’s like I’m starting everything from scratch. At this moment, you will not find a more insecure person on the site. Every time I have to convince myself that I can do something that others can’t, and until some serious internal mechanism starts, until dry mouth leaves, more than one sweat will come off.
You were a fat, clumsy boy, you entered the institute thin and handsome — and then?
Yu. S .: Do you want to know how long I looked good? (Laughs) Quite a long time. And it took me a long time to get used to it. The reflection in the mirror did not convince me, I continued to live as I was before. The first inconsistency was success with women. Imagine: such a long-haired, thin, with a guitar comes from Odessa to Moscow, begins to study at the theater and cannot understand: why such attention? Then he realizes that he likes it simply because he is a nice guy. But he cannot take a reciprocal step, because that boy, whose metabolism was disturbed after Botkin’s illness, wins for many more decades. (Laughs.)
You never managed to get close to that thin young man?
Yu. S .: I think no. And that was the problem: the actor needed to understand the nature of his own charm. The great teacher Vladimir Naumovich Levertov immediately noticed the discrepancy between my comedic role and heroic appearance. “You are a characteristic artist,” he said, and I looked at my face, so cutely indefinite, and for a long time did not understand this. Over the years, I brought the appearance in full compliance with my role. What should I say? Complete and funny.
Is that just your charm?
Yu. S .: I’m very embarrassed to say this, but I think my strength is that I’m an unexpected artist. Some unpredictable value. A person of dim, indefinite external data, which multiply any surprise by three. Unpredictability and knowledge of the mechanisms that need to be launched within oneself — this is the highlight of my profession.
What is your relationship with your appearance today?
Yu. S .: In normal. I am comfortable. I understand that it would not hurt, of course, to lose 10 kilograms: because of them, some opportunities go away. Somehow after the operation, I lost a lot of weight and played in Tigran Keosayan’s «Hare over the Abyss». They didn’t recognize me! But for Gorodok, thinness bothered me: something was missing.
Is there anything else you would like to discover in yourself?
Yu. S .: On this topic in bad American cinema, they communicate with psychoanalysts. And I don’t feel like I need it at all. Although I know that I am an explosive, terrible psychopath and I can give out such that people will leave with the feeling that they were communicating with some kind of animal. In fact, I just give out everything that is inside. And in two seconds I feel so good, calmly … I smoked a cigarette and … I terribly regretted that I had arranged it! To curses at your own address! But I never felt the need for psychological conversations.
What do you value most today?
Yu. S .: It may sound trite, but the most valuable thing in life is, of course, children. The child is a part of you! I am ready to watch my youngest daughter Katya for hours. And I would give a lot to see her smile more often, to be with her constantly.
«I AM COMFORTABLE: YES, FULL, FUNNY, BUT THE MAIN THING IS AN UNEXPECTED ARTIST.»
What would you wish for Katya?
Yu. S .: A very selfish thing. So that when she is 20 years old, I will still be there. I’m 50 now and she’s only four years old. For me, this is the most important thing, everything else is empty words.
What would you wish for her?
Yu. S .: God forbid, if she decides to take up the acting profession! And I, unfortunately, see that she is disposed to this. This is a very thin and quivering girl, enthusiastic and impressionable. She took everything from my mother, whom I am very similar to, and a lot from me. And I would like her to have more of her own mother — a woman who balances me, soft and very non-acting woman in essence. I am against the acting future of my daughter: for this you need to be very strong.
Are you strong?
Yu. S .: I think yes. After all, strength is not only actions, sometimes it is the ability to survive something. How you get out of trouble — this is very important. In my life there were … all sorts of situations, but I always got out of them.
What helped you?
Yu. S .: I tried to look at myself from the outside. I thought that anyway, in a couple of years, the wound would heal and I would remember it calmly, and maybe even with a smile. It’s hard to believe, but you can at least say it to yourself!
This month, the theme of our Dossier is «Stop Blaming Yourself (For Everything).» Do you succeed?
Yu. S .: Sometimes I very painfully blame myself — but for the cause. In my opinion, the real guilt of a person is not forgiven here on earth. You still have to answer for her at the Last Judgment. This is not football, where he scored a return goal and equalized the score. Hurt someone, abandon a child, and then bring him $100? You will probably start treating the other child differently. But the first still had a wound for life. How to smooth it out? No way! Sometimes it’s important to come and ask for forgiveness. Let the other person know that you feel guilty. I think that only two words make a person a person: “sorry” and “thank you”. My guilt may be a pain, a wound, but it never becomes pathological. I can talk to myself about these topics.
Private bussiness
- 1957 July 10 was born in Odessa in the family of a doctor Nikolai Georgievich and a teacher Evgenia Leonidovna Stoyanov.
- 1974 Acting Department GITIS them. A.V. Lunacharsky.
- 1976 First marriage, in which two sons are born to him: Nikolai (1978) and Alexei (1980). The marriage ends in 1982.
- 1978 Accepted into the BDT troupe.
- 1983 Second marriage that lasted over 15 years.
- 1988 The role of Mozart in Georgy Tovstonogov’s play Amadeus. Acquaintance with the actor Ilya Oleinikov. Program «Adam’s Apple» (Leningrad TV). Director, author and presenter of the television program «Gorodok».
- 1996 First TEFI Prize in the nomination «Entertainment Program Host».
- 1999 Film debut in Dmitry Astrakhan’s film The Alchemists.
- 1999, 2001, 2002 Second, third and fourth TEFI awards.
- 2002 Third marriage. Wife — Elena, engineer.
- 2003 On April 16, Yuri and Elena had a daughter, Katya. Role in the film by Tigran Keosayan «Hare over the abyss.» Role in the film «12» by Nikita Mikhalkov. The main role in Igor Konyaev’s play Reboot (Baltic House Theatre, St. Petersburg).