Theatergoers remember the honored artist of the Russian Federation Vasily Mishchenko by the role of Khlestakov, who he played on the stage of Sovremennik for many years in a row. And lovers of domestic detective films know Mishchenko on such projects as “Alone and Without Arms”, “Fools Die on Fridays” and “Cool Cops”.
Biography of Vasily Mishchenko
The childhood of Vasily and his younger sister, Tanya, took place in the mining Cossack village of Sholokhovsky in the Rostov Region. The boy was born on July 22, 1955 in a simple family, his father was a professional bricklayer, and his mother worked as a cleaner.
The early years of the future artist passed in Spartan conditions, the family could not afford excesses. Vasily recalls how he wore the only available tarpaulin boots and quilted jacket. At school age, the behavior of the boy could not be called exemplary. Together with a company of hooligans, a teenager drank port wine, strummed on a makeshift guitar and fought. In the vicinity of Sholokhovsky during the war years there were many fights. Vasily recalls how he and his friends were digging up German weapons and unexploded ordnance. One of these shells a boy was once wounded. Vasily in those years dreamed of becoming a pilot, but his parents demanded that his son certainly become a miner. At school, Vasily was not a diligent student, instead of mathematics or dictations, he preferred to immerse himself in his own thoughts. Then the creative talent of the young man began to appear. A photo of Vasily Mishchenko in his youth can be seen in this article.
Desire to become an actor
After graduating from school, the young man, contrary to his father’s ban, went to Moscow to apply to the theater institute. Unfortunately, Vasily did not pass the entrance tests. After failure, he left for Krasnodar and tried to enter the Krasnodar Theater School. But here the young man was not accepted: the guy failed to pass general education subjects. Parents told his son to return home and go to work in the mine, but Vasily showed firmness of character and studied for a whole year in Volgograd as a puppeteer, until it was time to pay off his debt to his homeland.
After returning from the army, Vasily went to Moscow and made another attempt to enter GITIS. The second attempt was successful, and Mishchenko was enrolled in the first year in the workshop of Oleg Tabakov. While still a student, Vasily made an offer to Olga Vikhorkova, and the young people got married. Students played a wedding in the Snuffbox. Today Vikhorkova works as a director on the TV channel "Culture". In 1980, Vasily Mishchenko received a diploma. In the same year, a daughter, Dasha, appeared in the family.
Actor's work in the theater
A year after graduation, the artist is invited to work at the Moscow Sovremennik Theater, and Vasily becomes part of the troupe. In this theater, the actor serves to this day. Over the years of work in Sovremennik Vasily played many roles, and he performed each of them expertly. The audience remembered Mishchenko for such roles as Epikhodov in the production of The Cherry Orchard, Binding in The Three Comrades by Remarque, Heinrich in the fairy tale performance More Expensive than Pearls and Gold, Lenka in the comedy Love and Doves, and others.
The longest-playing project of the actor Vasily Mishchenko was the Inspector General, in which the actor played the role of Khlestakov for twenty consecutive seasons. Mishchenko immediately became one of the leading artists of Sovremennik, and each season he participated in at least three productions of the classical repertoire.
Debut in the world of cinema
In the same period begins the cinematic career of Vasily. In 1980, he was approved for a vivid role in the drama Sergei Solovyov's "Rescuer." Vilya Tishin, who was played in the film by Vasily Mishchenko, turned out to be alive and convincing. The actor was immediately noticed, and the directors began to invite him to their projects, and the picture itself was awarded the prestigious prize of the Venice Film Festival.
Movie roles
In subsequent years, the actor starred in many film and television projects, which brought him more and more popularity. The most successful projects of the artist were “Our Calling”, “Great Adventure”, “Deja Vu”.
In the 90s, the actor continues to actively participate in the filming of various films and series. In 1991, the criminal action movie Fools Die on Fridays by Rudolf Funtikov was released. Mishchenko was approved in this picture for the main role of a former police officer Obukhov. A photo of the actor Vasily Mishchenko in the image of the character Obukhov is presented in this article. The next few projects did not become as successful for the actor, most often he received small episodic roles and supporting roles.
Work as a director and producer
In 1998, Mishchenko made his directorial and producer debut. Together with Igor Shavlak, they put the popular crime detective "Cool Cops", in which they themselves played two main roles. The picture was dynamic, and the plot captured the audience.
Since the early 2000s, Mishchenko began to actively produce films, but he did not stop acting. Among his most notable roles of this period are Kolomiyets in Detective File of Detective Dubrovsky, Gennady Kisunko in the melodrama Do Not Leave Me, Love, Uncle Misha in the film Under the Polar Star, and others.
Vasily Konstantinovich acted as a director in eight films and television projects, and in the multi-part project “To Remember ...” the actor played himself. Mishchenko’s plans are to realize the talent of the director. It is in the director's work that the honored artist sees his vocation.
Awards of the artist and further career
In 2001, Mishchenko Vasily Konstantinovich was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation in the field of art. A little later he received the valuable Order of Friendship. A few years later, Mishchenko became the head of the jury at the All-Russian Shukshin Film Festival.
In 2015, the artist becomes the head of the course at the faculty of film and television directing at the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography, but in 2017 the artist leaves the institute. Vasily Konstantinovich continues to serve in the Sovremennik Theater. He cherishes his memories of how he met the great Al Pacino on a theater tour on Broadway. The famous actor amazed Vasily with his extraordinary gushing energy.
Actor's family
The actor is kind to family ties. The artist’s daughter is very talented and received the profession of a restoration artist. When Daria expressed a desire to become an actress, no one in the family was surprised and did not interfere. The girl took the pseudonym Agnia Brodskaya, so that no one would accuse her of using connections.
A brave girl took part in a candid photo shoot for the popular PLAYBOY magazine, starting a rumor that she inherited the name Brodskaya from the famous poet. Now Agnia Mishchenko-Brodskaya is educated in Rome with a degree in fiction film directing.
Vasily Mishchenko also tries to maintain relations with his sister Tatyana. She left for the Czech Republic, and from the beginning of the 2000s she lived with her parents in Prague. Parents of Vasily and Tatyana are buried there.