From the first minutes when the series “Interns” appeared on the screens, he won the hearts of all viewers with his charming characters and unique humor.
But if everything was clear with the main performing staff, then Phil from Interns raised a lot of questions: is this a Russian actor who imitates accents so skillfully, or is this a guest western star? A lot of guesswork and a minimum of information. Let’s try to figure out who plays Phil in Interns. Why was this actor chosen for this role?
Childhood and youth of the future star of "Interns"
Phil from The Interns, whose biography interests everyone so much, was played by Odin Land Byron. This is not a pseudonym - this is the real name of the actor who played this role.
One Byron hails from Minnesota (USA). At age 15, he moved with his mother to Michigan. When the time came to choose a future profession, Odin, who had a good voice and played the violin, decided to enter the local university at the faculty of musical theater. The young man had great expectations about his future career, because in Michigan - a rather lively theatrical life.
Before Phil from the Interns played Odin, the actor successfully received his education at his chosen university in the USA. But, according to him, the teachers of the educational institution taught their students more about the art of business than about the art of an actor. Therefore, when the opportunity arose to leave for an internship in Moscow, Odin seized on this chance in the hope of improving his performing skills.
Internship in Moscow, or translation difficulties
The Moscow Art Theater School warmly welcomed its interns from across the ocean, but the future Phil Richards from the Interns encountered, as they say, translation difficulties, because metaphorically the Russian language is one of the most difficult in the world. Acquaintance with the “hello” and “please” attendants became a real torture for Byron.
Despite this, Odin did a good job, so after 3 months of internship he suddenly received an offer to stay in Russia and continue his further studies at the Moscow Art Theater School, and even immediately enroll in the second year. One Byron agreed, because for that he was traveling to Moscow to join the Russian acting school. His artistic director was Konstantin Raikin.
But no one promised that such an experiment would be simple: after a year and a half, the future Phil from the Interns, whose biography is full of amazing twists, began to think about returning to his homeland. The fact is that it is important for the actor to think quickly, and most importantly - to freely express their feelings and emotions on stage. But the Russian language was difficult, Odin did not always understand the text that he pronounced, and therefore felt out of place.
"Ivan groznyj"
Having put his will and all necessary efforts, One Byron brought his studies in Moscow to the end and received a diploma. It would seem that you can go back to the USA, but the young actor decided that such an act would be rash: he learned a new language, tried to comprehend the Russian view of art - for what? Really, to leave Russia so quickly? That is why Odin gladly accepted the offer of Konstantin Arkadyevich Raikin to enlist in the Satyricon Theater.
Before Phil from "Interns" was played by Odin Byron, the actor played the role of Modest Baklushin in the play "Money" by A. Ostrovsky and tried himself several times in the cinema.
His first picture was the series "Ivan the Terrible." The historical serial film was shot in 2009 by director Andrei Eshpay. He told about the biography of the great Russian Tsar from the first days of his birth until his death. One received a cameo role - an ambassador from England - for which his perfect knowledge of the English language and English accent were very useful .
"The capital of sin"
Byron’s next work in the movie was the supporting role in the series Capital of Sin, directed by Olga Subbotina. The story is not new: two girls go to conquer Moscow and, as events unfold, lose all their illusions about success and the price that must be paid for it.
The future Phil Richards from the Interns, and this time appeared on the screens in an exotic way - Prince Max. There are not so many episodes with him, but he worked in the company of such celebrities as Dmitry Nagiev, Victoria Tolstoganova, Andrei Ilyin, Evelina Bledans, Lyubov Tolkalina, etc.
Samples at Interns
In 2011, Odin began to make or break a shooting in Interns: it was after the episodes with his participation in Internet search engines that more and more often began to appear queries “who plays Phil in Interns” - viewers sincerely believed that under the pseudonym One Byron is hiding a Russian guy who skillfully imitates an accent.
In turn, Odin admits that he was sure that the samples in the series failed. What was Byron's surprise when he was finally called back.
One Byron about filming in Interns
As the young actor recalls: Phil Richards (“Interns”) as a character seemed simple and familiar to him, because the life situations of the American trainee and Odin are quite similar. However, the very first shooting day showed that there would still be difficulties.
Again, problems began with the Russian text. In an interview, One Byron even joked that the scriptwriters probably mocked him on purpose — they selected words for sentences that were simply impossible for a foreigner to pronounce. Sometimes Odin needed about 20 takes to pronounce one sentence. But the color that a real foreigner brought to the outline of the series was worth the torment of the artist and the crew.
For advice on how various medical procedures are carried out, Odin turned to his mother, who works in America as a doctor in a private clinic. It was she who taught him the right way to inject.
One Byron about colleagues on the set
Phil from "Interns" (more precisely, the actor performing it) speaks warmly about the creative team of the series.
In an interview, Byron often expresses gratitude to the producers of the project for helping him solve important issues with documents, in particular, with the opening of a visa, etc.
He has long been offended by the sharp remarks and ridicule of his colleagues on the set, because he realized that in Russia it is customary to joke with one another.
The young actor says that his colleague, Ivan Okhlobystin, in life is still different from his on-screen character - Dr. Bykov: he is much calmer - in between filming, he constantly writes something, thinks about something. At the initial stages of the filming process, Okhlobystin helped Odin develop the right approach to the genre in which they play, especially to the Russian humorous text.
Awards and prizes
Two times the diligence of a foreign actor in comprehending the school of Russian acting was marked by honorary diplomas - M.I. Tsareva and M.I. Grishina. He was also nominated for the Golden Leaf 2009 Award for playing the role of Hamlet in the play of the same name by W. Shakespeare (the premiere took place on the stage of the M. Baryshnikov Center for the Arts).
Phil from the Interns has been living in Russia for 6 years. In response to questions from journalists about future plans, actor Odin Byron only smiles timidly and says that he is not ready to leave Russia so far.
And two years ago, Odin finally received Russian citizenship, which means that departure to his homeland is definitely postponed, and soon new films with his participation can be expected.