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An intellectual who could not stand the betrayals and showdowns in "Matchmakers": the difficult path of Anatoly Vasiliev
Anatoly Aleksandrovich Vasiliev was born on November 6, 1946, in Nizhny Tagil. His parents met as teenagers and later worked together at Uralvagonzavod, and his father was called up for war. When everything ended in 1945, the couple decided to start a family, and a year later, Anatoly was born.
The father quickly began to climb the career ladder and took up positions in the Soviet administration, allowing the mother to devote herself entirely to caring for the family and raising her son. The boy participated in various clubs, but most of all he loved going to the theater and musical concerts.
When Anatoly was 9 years old, his father was transferred to a new post in Bryansk, where he went to a drama club, and when the boy grew up, he had the idea of studying art.
After finishing school, Anatoly wanted to enroll in a theater school, but his father was against it and insisted that he get a technical education. So, young Vasiliev entered a mechanical engineering technical school. However, after studying there for only two years, Vasiliev dropped out and went to Moscow to fulfill his dream of becoming an actor.
On his first attempt, he entered the Moscow Art Theatre School, although his father did not support this decision. The only person who believed in his talent was his mother. In 1969, Anatoly received his diploma and became a certified specialist.
After graduating from the theatre institute, Anatoly Vasiliev joined the troupe of the Satire Theatre and served for 4 years. However, his main activity is connected with the Theatre of the Soviet Army. Here he worked for 22 years, playing leading roles in many productions.
Since 1995, Vasiliev has performed on the stage of the Mossovet Theatre. Spectators have seen him in many popular plays, including the roles of Anatoly in "School for Defaulters", Andersen in "The Devil's Disciple", and Adamov in "Weekend Men".
In 2011, the premiere of "The Prank" took place, where Anatoly Aleksandrovich went on stage with his ex-wife and son from his first marriage. According to the plot, they portray a family on stage connected by ordinary children.
Vasiliev also actively collaborates with the Nikita Mikhalkov Academy. In 2020, he worked as an artistic consultant on the play "Scenes of Village Life" based on A.P. Chekhov's play "Uncle Vanya", prepared by graduates and students of the Academy.
As for the film, everything went well for Anatoly Vasiliev as well. He made his debut in 1977, playing the role of Dymov in "The Steppe" based on Anton Chekhov. Sergei Bondarchuk became the project manager. After the success of his first film, he was invited to other productions. In 1978, he played in the melodrama "Close Distance" with Zhanna Prokhorenko and an episodic role in the drama "Ivantsov, Petrov, Sidorov".
In 1979, Vasiliev joined the cast of the Soviet disaster film Crew, directed by Alexander Mitta. The film was originally going to be called Safe Limits, but over time, Soviet officials decided to rename it Crew. Despite its limited budget, the film became one of the highest-grossing films in Soviet history. It was seen by over 71 million viewers!
In 1980, Vasiliev played the role of a major general in the war drama General Shubnikov's Legion, where he fought against the Red Army's tank army. Sergei Prokhanov and Pyotr Shcherbakov starred in the film alongside actors Marina Yakovleva. A little later, the work Loon's Cry was released, in which Vasiliev played the role of a soldier. He also participated in the filming of the drama Accidental Discovery about the construction of an oil refinery.
In 1981, he starred in the comedy-melodrama "The Public's Mistress Gavrilov" directed by Pyotr Todorovsky. Incidentally, an interesting fact: the script was written for Lyudmila Gurchenko, with whom Vladimir Vysotsky had to play. However, Gurchenko insisted that her partner be Sergei Shakurov.
A significant work was the role of the father of a scientist and public figure in the TV film "Mikhail Lomonosov". The film crew visited Tallinn and Germany for filming, which helped add authenticity to the scenes and create an atmosphere of antiquity.
In total, Vasiliev starred in almost 100 films and continues to work on the set. Most often, he transformed into a soldier, a pilot and a policeman. In the 90s, she had the chance to star in the film "The Scent of Your Fingers", and later appeared in the TV series "Time Cannot Be Chosen", "Tatiana's Day", "Short Breathing", "Major". . Vetrov" and others.
In the early 2010s, he played the lead role in the TV series Family Detective. In 2013, he appeared in the drama Howl of the Owl and played the role of a thief in law.
In July 2020, Channel One aired the series "Andreevsky Flag", in which Vasiliev starred again. The story concerns the Chernobaevsky family, hereditary naval sailors who dedicated their lives to serving on submarines.
Following this project, Vasiliev became an actor in the medical drama Red Zone, released in 2021. The story touches on the current topic of the COVID-19 pandemic and shows how healthcare workers are responding to this global crisis.
In 2008, the actor was invited to play one of the leading roles in the comedy series "Matchmaker". He played the role of Olga's intellectual husband, professor and grandfather Yuri Kovalev (her role went to Lyudmila Artemyeva).
In preparation for this project, Vasiliev took his character seriously and adopted many of his habits. Friends noticed dramatic changes in Vasiliev's life.
The actor remained in the lead role until season 4, but had disagreements with the creators of the series. Vasiliev did not like the development of his character and many scenes in which Fyodor Dobronravov's character often joked about Kovalev. The actor expressed the opinion that although it was a comedy, the dignity of the characters should not be insulted, but on the contrary, efforts should be made to show respect for them. They never listened to him, and in the end, due to the conflict, Vasiliev decided to leave "Matchmakers".
He also thought the character's humor should have been changed, but no one listened to him.
The creators made this decision by writing the script in such a way that Anatoly Aleksandrovich's character dies. Fans have long been worried that the characters will disappear from history in this way.
One of the main handsome men of Soviet cinema was successful with women. He believes that his love and care are actively used.
His first serious love was Ekaterina Gradova, who played the role of radio operator Kat in the legendary story "Seventeen Moments of Spring." Vasiliev now does not like to remember this story, saying that it is a feeling of youth.
He met his future wife when he was 20 years old. Anatoly himself claims that Tatyana herself showed interest in him, but there was no particular love between them. However, they lived together for 17 years and divorced when their son Philip was five years old.
After the breakup, Anatoly said that he was tired of tolerating his wife's infidelity. At first, she was with director Valentin Pluchek for several years, and when she became pregnant with Vasiliev's child, she had to break up with Pluchek.
After this, she had an affair with Mikhail Derzhavin, with whom she played in the theater.
Then she began to live openly with Georgy Martirosyan. Having learned about the betrayal, Vasiliev raised his hand against his wife for the first and last time. After that, he decided to put an end to it, despite the fact that he had a small child.
Later, Vasilyeva also began to accuse her ex-husband of leaving her for another woman.
Son Philip also became an actor. Most of the time I play with my mother in the theater. But for a long time he was reluctant to talk about his father, who was used by his mother.
As for the production, when the whole family comes out to play together, Vasiliev explains it all very simply. He needed money, so he went into corporate projects because of the high fees. However, shortly before the start of filming, the actor had a heart attack, and he needed a break to recover. Now he feels well and takes care of his health.
Vasiliev married for the second time in 1991 to an editor of one of the federal channels named Vera. In 1992, their daughter Varvara was born. The couple began to actively raise the girl.
Unlike his first marriage, the actor is in no hurry to talk about his second marriage, preferring to keep his personal life to himself rather than put it on display.
Anatoly Vasiliev and his attitude to the SVO
Like many actors, Anatoly Vasiliev took the events of February 2022 hard. According to him, the two fraternities fought against each other specifically to separate them.
Since I filmed a lot in Ukraine, I saw a lot of things that happened in the 2000s.
He also expressed some not very flattering words about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has become a puppet in the hands of Western structures.
Lately, Anatoly Vasiliev has not often acted in films, but he can be seen in cinemas. For example, he played the role of Epanchin in the play "The Idiot" at the Mossovet.
At the same time, he spoke about the rise of Russian cinema in an interview in 2024. According to him, after the departure of Hollywood films, producers began to make a move and shoot our films more actively. He explored St. Petersburg, Vyborg (he played in Andersen's fairy tale "The Old Lantern") and many other places.
Two star premieres are planned for 2025. These will be a historical series and a full-length work.