Actor Andrei Merzlikin became known to the Russian audience since the late nineties. It was a turning point for the whole country. The heroes played by the young actor were very typical for this time. Many new people came to the cinema. Merzlikin's debut was one of the brightest in the new Russian cinema.
How it all began
The biography of Andrei Merzlikin is quite ordinary. But he owes professional success only to his industriousness and talent. No influential people and ramified acting dynasties supported his aspirations to become an artist. The future actor was born in 1973 in the city of Korolyov, near Moscow. Andrey's family, like many residents of this city, was connected with the space sphere. Andrei has a younger sister, Elena.
After graduating from high school, the young man entered a technical school and received the radio engineering profession that was relevant in the city. But the country was on the verge of big changes, and against this background, Andrei revised his choice of profession. At the acting faculty of VGIK, in the workshop of Evgeny Kindinov, Andrei Merzlikin entered in parallel with studying at an economic university. The years spent at the famous Institute of Cinematography were not cloudless, they excluded Andrei from there twice already. But he was recovering and continued on his way to the intended goal. A student at VGIK began to try his hand at cinema during his studies. He played supporting roles in the television series "Truckers" and the film "Old Nags" by Eldar Ryazanov. But real success was ahead.
Boomer
The formal filmography of Andrei Merzlikin does not start with this film. But it was the role of Dimon "Scalded" in "Boomer" that the actor declared himself in full voice. To say that the acting work of Merzlikin turned out to be bright means to put it very modestly. In terms of expression and sharp characterization, only the work of his film partners can compete with this character. They are not much inferior to him. The sharp brutal nature of the character is indicated by his nickname. It really is scalded, criminal nicknames often very figuratively and characteristically convey the essence of the one whom they awarded. The plot of the film tells how a gang, consisting of four close friends, escapes persecution and travels to the provincial towns of central Russia. Bandit friends constantly get into difficult situations and almost always break out of them with a victory. But in the final part of the film, Dimon, played by Andrei Merzlikin, is left alone. His hero went through a difficult moral choice - two of his friends died from police bullets, and the third was taken alive. Dimon had a choice - to reverse the car and try to recapture the captured friend or rush forward. "Scalded" chose the second. He is seriously tormented by perfect betrayal.
Russian realities of the end of the last century
The time at which the events of the film "Boomer" takes place will later be called the "dashing nineties." Hardly this biting definition is capable of fully conveying the entire depth and inconsistency of events at a turning point in Russia. But the nerve of the era in him is certainly captured. Everyone survived at that time as best they could. Criminal life flourished. Many young people chose the path to the bandits. All this could not find its reflection in art. Artist Merzlikin depicted a very bright and colorful representative of his generation in Russian cinema. Andrei created a very controversial image, both attractive and repulsive. But as one of the characters in the film put it: "This is not us, this is life."
After Boomer
This story is quite typical. After a successfully played role, the actor receives many offers to play similar types. The further filmography of Andrei Merzlikin could consist entirely of variations on the theme of Dimon "Scalded". To go on about such circumstances for any creative person is unacceptable. When an artist goes into circulation, he ends there. Andrey Merzlikin happily avoided such a fate. Having established himself in the world of cinema, the actor starred a lot, and his roles are very diverse. The unifying moment is only the temperament and the sharp characteristic texture of the acting style of Andrei Merzlikin. Whom he would not be able to fulfill, this is always done with the same drive and brilliance. But this is exactly what his audience expects from a beloved artist. For sixteen years of work in Russian cinema, the actor took part in more than a hundred different projects. Often these were the main roles and supporting roles, even episodes. But it was always interesting and outstanding. The filmography of Andrei Merzlikin is constantly replenished with new points, at present it is so vast that it is quite difficult to analyze the actorâs work in full. But some of his works should take a closer look.
"Boomer-2" and "Zhmurki"
To his star role, which made him famous, Andrei Merzlikin still returned after three years. In the second part of the film, Dimon âScaledâ, who has remained at large, expiates his guilt before his dead friends and the âCatâ sitting in Bones' detention. In four years, he managed to become the owner of a prestigious car dealership on Rublevskoye Shosse from a cool bandit. Dimon helps release his friend and this is where his role ends. "Scalded" dies, his death is quite accidental. But for a typical hero of the "dashing nineties" it is quite natural. In addition, Andrei Merzlikin had the opportunity to show off his talent in Alexei Balabanovâs scandalously famous film "Blind Man". The enchanting temperament of Merzlikin, his characteristic motility and texture, came in handy in this "black" comedy.
People in uniform
Paying tribute to characters from the criminal world, actor Andrei Merzlikin left the temptation to exploit for a long time what made him famous. He did not become an actor of an endlessly replicated role. But a significant place in the gallery of created images belongs to people in uniform, military and police. One of the most striking events in Russian cinema was Nikolai Dostalâs film "Shtrafbat". In this series , scripted by Eduard Volodarsky, Andrei Merzlikin plays the role of captain Bredunov. In the same series are such roles of Andrei as reconnaissance man Sedykh from the film âFour Days in Mayâ and tanker Nikolay from Nikon Mikhalkov's Burnt by the Sun-2. All these heroes are constantly in critical circumstances of the war. Hardly anyone else would have succeeded in translating them on the screen with the same persuasiveness that Andrei Merzlikin could do. In the film "Brest Fortress" he plays a real person - Lieutenant Kizhevatov, Hero of the Soviet Union.
Action movies
With no less brilliance than people in the war, Andrei Merzlikin portrays all kinds of adventurers, adventurers and other "gentlemen of fortune". This is a special type of people who constantly lack adrenaline in their blood to feel fullness of life. To be happy, they need extreme circumstances. A typical example of such films is âPiranha Huntâ and âCountdownâ, as well as âInhabited Islandâ according to the book of the Strugatsky brothers. Of course, Merzlikin in them at the height of his talent. Action is his element.
On the stage
Not all fans of this artist know the fact that Andrei Viktorovich Merzlikin is also a brilliant theater actor. For more than ten years he was in the troupe of the repertoire drama theater under the direction of Armen Dzhigarkhanyan. Theatrical roles of Merzlikin are very diverse. But for the most part, these are the pinnacles of the worldâs dramatic repertoire - Figaro in the classic comedy Beaumarchais, Vershinin in Chekhovâs âThree Sistersâ or judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin in the famous Gogol âs school program âThe Examinerâ.
The personal life of the actor
Andrey Merzlikin is married. He has three children - two daughters and one son. Andrei's wife, Anna, a psychologist by training. She currently works as an assistant director.