Actress Vera Kobzar told us what she is grateful for the tough quarantine, why educates not only her daughter, but also herself, and also admitted how one series completely changed her way in the movie.
– Vera, it is commonly believed that you became famous after the series “Relatives”…
After this work, my movie career really took a new turn. Before that, I had played completely different roles. To a greater extent – secondary. And outwardly looked a little different – fuller, but I must say, I was comfortable in that weight. Then at some point decided to change something, lost weight by 11 kg, made a photo shoot and changed the photo in social networks. And somehow I got a call from the studio “Kvartal 95”, asked about my summer employment and invited me to a meeting. And at that moment I was ill with pneumonia, so I warned them that I was not feeling very well. They sent a car to pick me up. I come and see my photo from that photo shoot on the stand, where all the characters of the series. And already in conversation with the director Andrei Yakovleva realize that I am seen among the main characters. Just like that, without trying. Outwardly tried very hard not to give out emotions, but my heart seemed to jump out of my chest! For such trust will always be eternally grateful. And for the fact that opened another Vera Kobzar to the movie world! Since then, I starred in more projects than in my entire movie career before “Relatives”. Having spent four months on the set almost without a day off, of course, we are all very friendly, we all became very close. And with actor Jemal Tetruashvili, for example, we closely communicate on Facebook, congratulate each other on all holidays. He always sends me a video message on my birthday.
– Born on August 29, 1979 in Irkutsk (Russia). – Graduated from the I. K. Karpenko-Karpenko-Karogo Kyiv National University of Theater, Cinema and Television. – She was an actress of Donetsk Musical Drama Theater, Nizhyn Academic Ukrainian Drama Theater named after M. Kotsyubinsky, Young Theater in Kiev. – She made her debut in the short meter “Light” (directed by Ulyana Kovaleva). – She acted in films and TV series “Return of Mukhtar-2”, “Miracle”, “Matchmakers-6”, “Officer’s Wives”, “Poor Liz”, “Dark Labyrinths of the Past”, “According to the Laws of War Time”, “Forget and Remember”, “Forgive”, “Relatives”, “Good Guy”, “Skazhene Vesillya”, “Skazhene Vesillya-2”, “Daddy” and others. – Together with actor and director Oleksandr Kobzar she raises two children – daughter Varvara, 13, and son Prokhor, 11.
– By the way, how did you celebrate your birthday this year, given that it came during a time of severe quarantine?
My birthday is August 29th! The information that I was born in April is a mistake on the Internet. They also write that I am a native of Kiev. That’s not true either. I was born on Lake Baikal, in Irkutsk. And my older brother was born in Novosibirsk. Our father is a Siberian. At one time my parents moved to Ukraine to my mother’s parents for family reasons. I was in my homeland for the last time a long time ago, before my children were born. Baikal has incredible nature! Only there is a very tasty fish Omul and one of the rarest coniferous trees – larch grows. By the way, Venice stands on stilts made of this tree. Larch does not rot under the influence of moisture, but on the contrary, it only becomes stronger and harder, stony. Thus, the piles can serve forever.
– Vyacheslav Dovzhenko, your partner in several movie works, said about you in an interview: “Vera Kobzar – a terrific actress, not fully discovered to date. I think that she is just beginning”. What do you think?
I think he’s right: it’s probably the beginning, and from a low starting point, a kind of obstacle course. Slava and I worked on two projects, first the sitcom Giovanni, then We Are More Than Me. We have a long-standing friendship. I deeply respect and love him!
– In “We Are More Than Me”, you and Vyacheslav were switched bodies in the script. What was it like living in a man’s body?
We were all very worried so that the movie would not turn out to be about cheeky Slava and masculine Vera. For me it was one of the most difficult jobs. Filmed in a tight deadline, with a crazy workout, and we are in every scene. There was not enough time for anything – no text to reread, or sleep, or eat normally, fell asleep in the car on the way to the site and home. And there, if I had time to lie at least an hour before going to bed with my son and daughter, to talk, and in the morning to take them to school, it was happiness. Slava took most of the work on our characters. He is a director by education, he clearly analyzed the scenes, he was always suggesting something: let’s do this here, and here let’s try to say this. If necessary, he stopped the shooting process, and we calmly analyzed difficult moments. We corrected each other. He: “You’re standing wrong now!” It turns out that women keep their hands on the waist, and men – on the hips. And I said to him, “I’m pressing my shoulders like this, fixing my eyelashes.”
– How do parents feel about popularity? Your colleague Vitalina Bibliv told us that her mother collects all the magazines with her daughter’s interviews.
My mother used to collect everything about my activities – articles, theater brochures. She would cut them out and put them in a folder. It’s not like that now: when an interview came out, I bought a magazine, read it, that’s it. No fanaticism. Maybe it’s because I’m very calm about it all. When they ask for an autograph, I am embarrassed, feel awkward, although they recognize me even with a mask and glasses (laughs). But my parents do not perceive me as some other Vera, no. Although I think they are pleased with the attention to my activities.
– How were the months of forced isolation spent?
When the pandemic started, people on the set began to talk about preparing for hardship. On one of the shooting days, I sent the children to Shepetivka to my parents for spring break. I decided that this would be better: a small town, parents’ apartment on the second floor, from the window you can see the yard. The kids would be able to walk a lot and would feel less isolated. I put them on the last train that went in that direction, the next day the whole message was closed. Just like they “froze” all the filming – three of my projects – at the same time. I found myself isolated both from work and from my children. That was the only difficulty. Otherwise, I didn’t feel any discomfort. I watched a lot of movies and TV series, and read a lot. I finally had a chance to stop the endless stream of thoughts and think about everything calmly. I loved my morning – it became leisurely, I could enjoy my coffee in peace! My communication with the outside world was very limited – I didn’t call many people, only my kids a few times a day. I was enjoying the calm. This opportunity to recover, to listen to myself is wonderful. I know how to be happy! Got a bunch of useful things done that I didn’t have enough free time for. By nature, I am a “raccoon-raccoon” – I love to endlessly put the house in order. Once again, I rewashed and rewiped everything in the world. Slowly, in pleasure. Although at some point it seemed that I would throw the stepladder from the thirtieth floor! And then I looked: I could also rub here, and do this (laughs).
The only thing that tormented me was my longing for my children. And there was no way to go to them – there was no transportation, and I didn’t have a car. My brother took care of the matter. As a result, I ended up with my parents and children in Shepetivka. I stayed there for another month, and it was also a wonderful time. True, distance learning disturbed our inner harmony a bit. Like most parents this spring, I threw the phone, lost my temper, and cried. I’m a person who still writes letters by hand, I’m not friends with technology. I sincerely want to understand all this, but my brain is organized somehow differently. But had to figure out how to set up the whole system for distance learning.
– You say in an interview about your 13-year-old daughter Vara that “she can be impertinent and snappy, but she is very sensitive and kind. How do you cope?
I often say to my daughter: I don’t know what it is to be a mom of a teenager, so every day I am learning to be your mom. I have a lot of questions, I read special literature, listen to lectures on parenting, visit a psychologist. And when I understand why the child behaves this way and not otherwise, it is easier for me to accept her behavior. Sometimes, out of impotence, I break down. Then I apologize, again find the strength to explain. And sometimes I can’t find the right words, and I cry with her. I tell her about myself at her age, I share my experiences, trying to cause thereby reciprocal frankness. I’m always honest and open with her, I know all her friends. I know the guy she’s dating now. He’s a little older than Varya. I talked to him and felt a little calmer after he said: “I have a lot of respect for Varya. You don’t have to worry about us.”
– What kind of mom are you to your son Prokhor?
If with Varya I am learning to be a mom, with Prosha it is already a repetition. Although, of course, there are differences – the children are of different sexes, and their personalities are different. Varya is a little prickly now, you can’t hug her. But sometimes she gives in: “Okay, touch me, but do not tickle!” With my son, I’m bathed in affection and tenderness. It’s so adorable! When he passes by, he’s sure to give me a kiss. But, of course, time can not stop – our guy is also growing up. Although when I tell him “in a year or two you won’t want to hug your mom either,” he replies: “Never that will never happen! We have different blood types, but our heart is one for two.” And if he suddenly says “Knock, knock, knock” while talking on the phone, I must immediately pick up on it: “Knock, knock, knock, knock!”. This means we are tapping our hearts. My kids and I have our own “bird language” that only the three of us understand. For example, if someone says pathetically: “Love!”, the one next to him will immediately continue: “Hvilyue krov”! (laughs)
– This year your Varya became a champion of Kiev in boxing. Why this particular sport, which is considered a male sport?
I could never have imagined such a passion for her! From early childhood she loved horses, was fond of riding… In the days of my youth I was engaged in dancing for seven years and was sure that my daughter would inherit my talent. But no! Her father’s genes worked – at one time he became the champion of Ukraine in boxing. When Varya said that she also wanted to do it, Sasha reassured me: “I beg you! Two or three trainings, she will get tired of squatting and running, she will get a couple of times in the face – and she will quit”. No one thought that it would grow into such a serious hobby. She has a very good coach Dmitry Butunets! He says: some people need to work hard for results, and some people are given by nature. According to him, Varya has a talent for this sport. Of course, it is not easy to watch when your child’s hands are bandaged, gloves are put on, a helmet is put on, a mouth guard is inserted… In the final fight of the Kiev Championship Varya had to fight in the ring with her clubmate. For ethical reasons, the coach was not allowed to stand in either corner. The guys from their club stood with her opponent, while Varvara’s second was her father. I can’t even imagine what was going on in Alexander’s soul! The fight did not reach the end, Varvara won by technical knockdown. I was present at the fight. During the whole fight I thought that I could not feel my body, so everything was numb with worry. Prokhor had been practicing judo for five years. Alexander took him to different sections for a long time to make up his mind. And Prokhor chose this sport. He physically grew very much in training – he has a beautiful athletic figure, perseverance achieved a lot – took prizes in competitions. But at some point he quit! I regretted it very much, because sport is very important for the boy. And then he got a new hobby – a stunt scooter. Later he wanted a stunt bike, and Sasha and I made him a birthday present. He is still practicing on the Internet, working on his technique. But what an irony of nature: as good as Varya is at boxing, Prosha is such a great dancer!
– Did your parents raise you the way you raised your children?
I had a very happy childhood! Dad, mom, brother Sergei. Of course, my father was strict with Sergei. But still, we were favored children by our parents. Often in the evenings the whole family played board games, danced, watched figure skating. We laughed a lot. I remember, I was in the seventh grade, my dad brought home a sheet of chipboard, drew a scheme on it with ink – and we had a new game of cubes, which is still alive today. My kids play it! And when I visit my parents, I play it with them too. And how we went on vacation from Ukraine to Siberia! Four days in a cramped compartment, and we were good with each other – we play, talk, joke. I often remember such moments from my childhood – the feeling of love is very warming. This is now my model for relationships with children.
– Together with Oleksandr Kobzar you played spouses in the comedy “Skazhene Vesillya”, as well as in its sequel. What do you think of this experience?
And this is not our first experience of this kind! We have played husband and wife before in the movie “I’ll Never Forget You”. Sasha had one of the main roles. At home, we started talking about filming. I say that I have some one day in this project on such and such a day. He, it turned out, too. We were happy: we’ll go together. Early morning, we read each of our texts in the car. He says: “You’re playing Zina? My wife’s name is Zina.” We started to review the printouts of texts, and it turns out that we play spouses. It was an interesting job, well scripted. We played our characters as young people, then as old people. When you know a person well and intimately, the work comes easily. But not always.
Photo: facebook Vera Kobzar
