Russian theater and film actor Anton Shagin, winner of the Presidential and Government of the Russian Federation awards, in an exclusive interview with our newspaper told how he got to play a metro builder.
How long has it been since you went down to the Moscow metro as a passenger?
– Just recently, last week. And now I’m going home by metro, so as not to stand in traffic jams for an hour or an hour and a half, but to spend this time with my family. It will definitely be faster by metro. As long as I’ve lived in Moscow, I’ve been riding the metro. This is not a pose. And I only got a car in 2017.
Do you like the Moscow metro and how rapidly it has grown in recent years?
– Yes, of course. Big changes are visible. The capital's metro is increasingly looking like a place that is intended primarily for people. And this cannot but rejoice. It is encouraging that the metro is being improved, unique projects are appearing, and a lot is being done for the convenience of passengers. This is very important.
Do you have a favorite metro station?
– Some stations are associated with a certain period of life. I cannot single out any particular one. I like the red metro line. I love Krasnoselskaya, probably because I live here. I also like the Mayakovskaya station because there are metal arches, and if you put a coin on one of them and launch it, it will go around the entire perimeter and come down on the other side of the arch. I learned this from a friend; his father showed him this trick as a child, and I showed it to my son. One day we found ourselves at Mayakovka, I launched a five-ruble coin, and it worked. You just need to launch it really, really hard so that the coin’s inertia rolls across the entire arch.
Have you been on the subway abroad? What can you say about the subways of other countries in comparison with Moscow?
– Yes, of course. I’ve been to Paris and Berlin. It seems to me that we are better. Both from an architectural and convenience point of view. And somehow it feels more familiar. We have both the Komsomolskaya and Ploshchad Revolutsii stations. For us the subway is a museum, but for them it is a means of transportation.
Tell us about the filming process of the film “Dovlatov”, in which you played metro builder and poet Anton Kuznetsov.
– Filming took place in the St. Petersburg metro. We went straight down into the mine, to the station under construction. I was amazed that at such great depths they mine Cambrian clay, which, by the way, is part of women's cosmetics. As metro builders told me, in Soviet times they sold this clay for pennies to local beauty salons. Ladies came and used masks - they refreshed themselves with real Cambrian. I even took a piece of Cambrian with me as a souvenir during filming. This rock can only be obtained in the St. Petersburg metro.
How was the image of the poet-metro builder created in the film “Dovlatov”?
– We discussed it with Alexey Alekseevich (director Alexey German Jr. - editor's note) solely as a collective one. Partially autobiographical, because I read my poem there. This was done deliberately by both the director and me.
What personal qualities do you think a person who chooses the profession of a metro builder should have?
– Metro builders are amazing, selfless people who are ready to spend most of their time underground, not seeing the sun. They do incredible things for people. This inspires admiration and respect for this profession. Low bow to them.
In Georgy Danelia’s 1963 film “I’m Walking Around Moscow,” a metro worker, tunnel worker Kolka, is shown, played by Nikita Mikhalkov. Do you think people would go to the cinema now to see a film about a modern metro builder?
– I would go with pleasure. First of all, it's interesting. In addition, the popularization of this profession - to bring people into the light and say that they are doing a great job - this is necessary, in my opinion. Like any other profession, it deserves attention and its own story, film.