Last year was your directorial debut in the film Doctor, where you played a major role. Is being on the other side of the camera and shooting movie yourself more interesting for you?

Everything is connected with the cinema and is interesting! Shooting, writing the script, creating the music for the film, editing, making colour corrections and even voice work is fulfilling, even though it can also be painful.

As you admitted to the media, you do not read professional reviews of your movies. Who is the one for your most ardent critics and how do you perceive the criticism?
Who am I that they would criticise me? Creative people are a phenomenon. How can you criticise the weather? The rain has gone, for example. What is there to criticise, then? For someone, it may be bad, but someone else will like it. There are many actors, singers and artists who “slide through the channels” of their talents! We, as creators, are people of mood and sentiment. Can people criticise this drive to work and perform?
Your daughter Pauline has starred in her first film. Have you, as a father, wished for her a professional acting career?
Yes, and not only in film. Pauline is currently shooting, with me, the series “Last Cop”. Of course, she still has a lot to learn. I believe it will go further, with her talents perfect for both stage and screen. This is, of course, her independent choice and, of course, I will always support her, even if she decides to take a 180 degree turn and become a designer or a cook. She may even follow in the footsteps of her mother (Masha Poroshina) and become a mom with seven children!

Do you consider yourself a role model?
Each person can be someone to imitate. It is very subjective. If I have someone whose soul is inspired by my work, I welcome it! I imitate the prototypes of my heroes.

Would you like a book to be written about you?
Yes, in detailed verses, and always accompanied with pictures.

If you had an opportunity to go back 20 years ago, would you change something in your life?
I would change everything…or nothing. If I was afraid of change, it would be nothing. If I was not afraid of the unknown, it would be everything. New challenges would inspire me.

Do you believe in luck? Do you consider yourself a lucky man?
Good luck is a most mysterious phenomenon! It cannot be calculated. I think people are always lucky in something. You just need the right orientation to realise it. If there is no luck in the cards, then follow your favoured path. If there are difficulties in the cinema, run to the theatre and make changes. If you have memory problems, write poems, plays and scenarios to stimulate your mind. The main thing is to not be frightened. Do not destroy your intuition. It is the heart of your success!

Perhaps this brings up the question: What is happiness?
Happiness, for me, is when my older daughter, Pauline, is happy. When I wake up by my younger child, Eugene, I feel happiness! I am happy when my friends and family are in a good health. I am happy when people do not kill each other in the news. I think I can call myself lucky, judging by the fact that I survived the Roaring ‘90s and am still occupying the space of our universe.

You lead a fairly active political life. Why are you not yet in the Parliament?
I lead a public life, but it is a different thing. The principle of existence in the political space acts contrary to my nature. Politics is a game that is not always clean, unlike acting, which is a sincere piece.

With access to the one o’clock audience with the President of Russia, what would you talk to him about?
I would talk about children and about charity. I have a Step Together Fund already. I once had such an opportunity to talk with the President. Through our meeting, 18 hospitals (now DP SPC) now have the Lokomat, an expensive apparatus with which the wards of our Foundation and other children may undergo rehabilitation. Thanks to Mr. Medvedev because he heard the urgency in my words.

Finally, you represent the Cyprus play Bench, which will be held on February 24th, at the Pattihio Theater in Limassol? What emotions did you have with this production?
This is one of my favourite theatrical works. With my beautiful partner, Irinochka Apeksimova, this play, since the days of the Soviet Union, has had 150 performances, with more than half of them abroad. These are probably the most pleasant journeys in life. Thank you to the theatre for bringing meaning to my life!