Interview with the Dhampir.

Here's the translation of Danila's interview from a Russian magazine. (I know I suck at punctuation so don't pay too much attention to it :)
Be warned: you'll also see some random recent pics of Danila, they are not the ones used in the article.

Interview with the Dhampir

Danila Kozlovsky: New Blood of Hollywood

“If I were offered a part of a Russian fool, I wouldn’t rush after it headlong.”

Upon writing an article about Danila Kozlovsky, which could serve as the actor’s wiki-page, Lydia Maslova contacted Danila directly to discuss the topic of the day.

It’s already been posted everywhere that you’ve got a part in the Vampire Academy (VA) movie, but you yourself haven’t actually talked about it yet. Tell me something.

Sorry, I can’t go into details. But here are some basic facts. VA – is a book series by an American writer Richelle Mead. There are 6 books in the series, the movie covers the first one.

Do you like movies about vampires?

I do, though I can’t say I’ve seen a lot of them. I’ve certainly seen ‘Interview with the vampire’, different versions of ‘Dracula’, ‘The Fearless Vampire Killers’ (‘The Fearless Vampire Killers, or Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck’, originally titled ‘Dance of the Vampires’ – Translator’s Note). These are all classical vampire movies, and it’s a little bit presumptuous to put yourself in the same category. But actually VA is an extremely popular story in the West – millions of copies in different languages have been sold, it has a huge fandom around the world. Hollywood won’t miss such a thing. The filming starts in May (Zoey stated on Twitter that they start filming at the end of May – TN), the director is Mark Waters, I was cast for one of the roles.

Is it a big part?

It’s a good one, I even have some lines to say. Actually, I’ve got the male leading role.

Were you cast because the character is a Russian?

That’s the first reason that comes to your mind, isn’t it? Yes, the character is Russian, his name is Dmitry Belikov. I know that at first the producers were looking among American and British actors, but in the end they changed their minds. But they needed an actor with a good command of English, it was one of the main requirements. According to the protagonist (Remember Rose’s observation at the beginning of the first book? =) - TN) the guy’s English is as good and fluent as hers and it's his charming accent that betrays him as Russian. 

Will there be a lot of action in the movie?

There’ll be plenty of it but VA is not only about action, it also will deal with psychological aspects. That’s why to me it seems a bit more complex that ‘Twilight’. The characters, mine included, are no strangers to human emotions – they love, suffer, fall into depressions.

Doesn’t it bother you that this Dmitry might be dumber than you are? That this is not the part for which you have to grow and develop, that you’re taking up something beneath you?

I won’t say this part is beneath me. See, I’m very careful about picking roles on the whole, not only in Russian movies. If I were offered a part of a Russian fool, I wouldn’t rush after it headlong. I was offered a great romantic part. When it comes to that, it’s the first role for a Russian actor in an American movie in years. I was given a chance to become a ‘convertible’ actor. So I can’t say that this is beneath me. It would be wrong to rush to Hollywood and leave Russian films behind.  It would be improper, stupid, unwise – and it’d take time to get the same offers in US as I get in Russia. But I don’t mind living in two countries and work in two film industries. It’s no secret that it’s always been my dream. I like American cinematography and their culture. I even learned their language.

 Can you already tell what the difference is between American and Russian film production?

I’m no expert as I haven’t worked with Americans yet. All I’ve got is suppositions. One of the basic differences, I think, is that in the US people believe in what they do. In Russia it’s not always the case – they make it look like they’re working but in fact they are doing things that are not connected to the movie. The American side has some work ethics and you can feel it. Maybe it’s because in LA 80 or 90 per cent of people are involved in the film production, in one way or another. Either they are already a part of it or are trying to become this part – they’ve come to the city, took up a job waiting tables while working their way to become actors, scriptwriters or directors. The competition there is insane and your professional reputation is very important as all your hopes to find a job depend on it. In Russia you might fire a prop assistant for being unfit for the job, but tomorrow you’ll see this person messing things up at the filming of another movie. I remember on some project we had an assistant who seriously made a mess of the job. When he was fired, the director and I sighed with relief. But it turned out the person wasn’t fired, he was just asked to keep out of our sight.

Don’t you think that during the filming in Hollywood you’ll get used to their efficient way of doing things and that Russian slackitude and unpredictability will annoy you even more? That you’ll get Americanized and it’ll do you no good?

No, I can’t see that happening – I’m already too old. 27 years old, I’m basically ancient. As much as I love the States and the West I’ll always be Russian. But there’s nothing keeping me from starting my own Russian commune where I’ll be the only member. My own 51^st state. I don’t want to leave Russia for good but I don’t intend to stay put here forever. I want to be constantly on the move. I used to dream of living in two cities – I wished for it and was given such a chance. Now I have a new, more generous gift – I can live in two countries. And I’m gonna try it.

Soon it won’t matter where the actor lives: he’ll be digitized, the file will be transmitted via Internet and the computerized image will play the part.

Yeah, and the reviews will be written by computer programs. You know what the audition for VA was like? We did it via Skype. Waters was in LA, I was in St.Petersburg. Someone was filming while Mark gave me tasks and pointers, commented on the scenes. Then via Internet he got the footage, the team watched it and made a decision. All this time I was in St.Petersburg and flew to LA only when everything was decided.

You said that after the movie “SoulLess” you felt something change in your life. Can you specify?

I didn’t expect it to be such a hit, probably, no one did. All my expectations were about ‘Spy’. ‘SoulLess’ is about present days, there’s nothing interesting about it. ‘Spy’, on the other hand, has a pseudo historical location, a utopian Moscow with Skype, airships, surveillance cameras. It’s a special interesting world. A heroic movie based on a comic book, new experience for us. It turned out to be not our cup of tea. The audience wants to see themselves, or at least something set in their own time. I’m grateful to the success of the SoulLess – great box-office figures, awards, all the press talking about me. It was very nice. But new joys brought new fears.

What fears exactly? Are you afraid that you won’t be able to maintain your level?

That too, but frankly speaking the level is not that high to begin with to be scared stiff. It’s ridiculous. I’m only warming up, getting ready to start. I want to be an actor whose acting is believable. I want the producers who sign me up have no doubts that they’re hiring quality work power. When the viewers go to see my movie, they should be sure that they won’t get a crappy film because this guy doesn’t star in crappy projects. I’m sure this film won’t be an embarrassment – someone might not like it, but they will not be disgusted. To cut the long story short, I want my name to mean a certain professional level, a level of quality, and I don’t want to taint my reputation by some lousy comedies.

You haven’t been involved in a lot of comedies – only ‘Five Brides’ and ‘Merry Fellows’.

 

Several times I wanted to do a comedy but changed my mind at the last moment. Probably it was for the best. Pavel Ruminov (a Russian film director - TN) and I have an idea – it’s not purely a comedy but it’s funny and we like it and I hope it’ll come to be. I really want to play a cool comedic part. If I get a good scrip, I’ll fight for it.

You lack not only comedic roles, but also the parts of bad guys. Don’t you get offers to play negative characters?

At the moment – no, but in time the offers will come, as soon as people see how spoilt I’ve become. I’ve been offered several negative parts, but these were not villains but some idiots. I don’t need such roles. I’m not afraid to play a villain, just give me the part. I don’t think a negative role will damage my shiny image. I took the part in ‘Merry fellows’ without second thought. When will I get another chance to shave my legs, put on stockings, a women’s dress, high heels and sing Casta Diva? It’s a great experience for any actor, it can really shake you up, and I support that. The question is – are the quality and the content of the product good? And for a long time I’ve been wanting to do a musical.

For Russian cinematography it’s an alien genre, it’s underdeveloped. There’s hardly any chance for such a project.

Fine, it might be not a movie but a theatre-based project. Lev Dodin (a modern Russian theater director, the leader of Saint Petersburg Maly Drama Theate; Danila’s a part of the theatre’s company of actors - TN) has been considering such a production. I’m just waiting for him to say, “Guys, let’s make a musical…”

And if you are in the US when he says it?

I’ll rush back home.

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The Russian text is available at Sobaka.ru

Translated by Oksana Grafutko

Suggestions to perfect the style AND punctuation (ugh!) are most welcome!
Feel free to translate the interview into other languages, and I'd appreciate if you mentioned this blog or my name as the source of the English text!