Danila Kozlovsky today is one of the leading actors in Russian cinema. He got to Hollywood in 2013, just at the moment when he finished work in "Legend No. 17". A year later, an American film was released with the participation of the artist, where his character was the vampire guard Dmitry Belikov. How did Kozlovsky get into Hollywood? And what is the film "Academy of Vampires" in which he starred?
The creators of the picture
The Vampire Academy was filmed by director Mark Waters in 2014 based on the novels by Rachel Mead.
For the first time, the writer’s book, which tells about life at the vampire academy, was published in the USA in 2007. The novel was a success, so 5 more parts were subsequently released. The work of Rachel Mead was replete with Russian surnames mixed with the names of the southern Slavs. However, the writer clarifies the origin of only the guard Dmitry Belikov, indicating that he is Russian and comes from Siberia. The origin of the other heroes is unknown.
The script for the film adaptation of the book was written by Daniel Waters - brother of Michael Waters. Director Michael Waters himself has been working in the cinema since 1997 and is mainly involved in the creation of teenage films: Freaky Friday, Mean Girls, etc. Produced by Don Murphy, the Academy of Vampires, who also oversaw the first three parts of the franchise "Transformers."
The film premiered in Russia in February 2014. At the box office, the work of Mark Waters raised only $ 15 million - half as much as was invested in the filming.
Short story
The main characters of the film are vampires Rosa and Lissa. In childhood, they were united by one grief: they lost their parents. Since then, girls have been inseparable. But since Rosa and Lissa are vampires, they have to study at a special vampire academy located in the heart of Montana. Girlfriends decide to escape from there, but they are intercepted by their teacher and mentor, Dampir Dmitry Belikov.
When Vasilisa Dragomir, the representative of the oldest noble vampire family, returns to the academy, strange things begin to happen to her: someone is chasing her, drawing obscene inscriptions on her wall and throwing dead animals. Rosa, who is the protector and guardian of Vasilisa, is trying to protect her friend, but she does not always succeed. And only the help of Dmitry Belikov allows you to cope with the pursuers - the hated strigoi (lower vampires) - and return everything to its place.
Zoe Deutsch as a Rose
“Vampire Academy” is a film in which the main role went to the young actress Zoe Deutsch. At the time of filming, she was only twenty years old.
Zoe was born in the family of an actress and director. Her father mainly shoots television series: "In the style of Jane", "Double", "Harry's Law." Parents early noticed artistic abilities in their daughter, so they attached her to a comprehensive school, where they simultaneously taught acting.
The girl was really keenly interested in cinema, so at the age of 16 she turned out to be a debutante: she received one of the main roles in the series of the Disney television channel under the name “All tip-top”. Zoe did not stop there: in 2011, she appeared immediately in five television films - “Naval Police: Special Department”, “Think Like a Criminal”, “Major Cupcake”, “Double” and “Hallelujah”.
In 2013, Zoe appeared in a cameo role in the movie Beautiful Creatures. After filming in the “Vampire Academy”, the girl was offered the main role in the film “Grandfather of easy virtue”, where she appeared in the frame with Robert de Niro.
The heroine of Zoe from the "Academy of Vampires" is a dumpira Rosa Hasevei. Dampires are a special caste of vampires designed to protect crowned spirits. Rosa as a guard is assigned to her friend Lissa. In addition to thoughts about how to protect her ward from strigoi, Rosa is still worried because of falling in love with her mentor Dmitry Belikov.
Dmitry Belikov (Vampire Academy): character biography
According to the plot of the film, Dmitry is a mentor to young dumpers who works at the vampire academy. He is from Siberia, but for some reason lives in America.
Dmitry Belikov is dedicated and honestly fulfills his duty. He catches the escaped Lissa and Rosa and returns to the academy. When he begins to train Rosa, mutual feelings arise between the characters. But Dmitry does not dare to have a relationship with Rosa because of the big age difference. In the film, Belikov repeatedly saved the girls, but the romantic line remained undeveloped. However, in the work of Rachel Mead between Dmitry and Rosa, the novel still begins in the third book of the series.
The role of the Russian vampire was given to the famous Russian actor Danila Kozlovsky.
Danila Kozlovsky and his career
In the Hollywood piggy bank of Danila Kozlovsky, only the hero Dmitry Belikov is listed. The actor considers this role his debut in the "dream factory." But in Russian cinema, Kozlovsky cannot be called a newcomer.
In 2008, the actor burst into the lists of the country's first celebrities after his participation in the military film "We are from the Future." In this project, Vladimir Yaglych, Ekaterina Klimova and Daniil Strakhov became his partners on the set. After the premiere, the press only talked about a new rising star. The first facts and gossip from the artist’s life immediately surfaced: allegedly during his studies at SPbGATI, Kozlovsky met with
Elizabeth Boyarska, but the couple broke up because the girl considered Danila an unpromising bridegroom. The tabloid press wrote notes that the young man had married his colleague, Ursula Malka, and had made his career out of spite.
Is this true, no one knows. And Danila continued to confidently go up the career ladder. The next hit with his participation was the drama "Duhless". The role of Max Andreev made the actor literally “a hero of our time”. The begun business completed the biographical film "Legend No. 17".
Today, Danila Kozlovsky remains a sought-after artist. A promising film with his participation - "The Crew" has already been released, the Viking is expected to appear soon.
Danila Kozlovsky - Dmitry Belikov: the story of how an actor got into a vampire movie
Not every Russian actor, even very talented, gets into a Hollywood movie. After Dmitry Belikov performed by Kozlovsky conquered the hearts of young spectators around the world (and the film was designed mainly for teenagers), journalists bombarded the actor with questions about how he managed to get into the project.
Danila admitted that everything is decided not only by perseverance, but also by chance. He tried to get into a serious Hollywood film before the “Vampire Academy” and even went to auditions in London, but nothing came of it. And in the cast of the film, Mark Waters, he was enrolled, not even coming to Los Angeles. Danila recorded his samples on camera and sent to the director. Soon they contacted him, and then it was only a matter of formalities.
During the filming, everyone was friendly towards the actor. Especially enthusiastic Danila spoke about his young partner Zoe Deutsch, saying that she was not only talented, but also a wonderful cheerful person.
Other role performers
Vampire Academy is a film that also starred Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace), Lucy Fry (Unearthly Surfing), and Samy Gale (Blue Blood).