Oleg Evgenievich Menshikov is a Russian actor and theater director with incredible charisma and charm. His characters surprisingly attract the viewer, leaving no one indifferent. The biography of Oleg Menshikov is interesting because he prefers to lead a “closed” life and very rarely talks about his personal life.
Childhood and youth
The future actor was born in Serpukhov, Moscow region, on November 8, 1960. His parents are Russian by nationality and had nothing to do with cinema or theater. Father - Menshikov Evgeniy Yakovlevich - a military engineer, mother - Elena Innokentievna worked in the hospital as a neurologist. After the birth of their first child, the family moves to Moscow, where they are given a small Khrushchev apartment. It was here that the artist spent his youth.
The mother noticed that her son had an ear for music and sent him to a music school , where he attended violin classes. At the age of 6 (1967), the boy entered secondary school No. 688. There he also studied well and diligently.
Former classmates recall that Oleg was popular among the girls who constantly hung around him. And this is not surprising. After all, the guy not only had attractive appearance, but was witty, polite, intelligent and musical.
While still at school, Menshikov became interested in theater. Twice a week he visited the Operetta Theater. He watched theatrical productions that he really liked several times. Over time, this hobby grew into independent performances in high school. Moreover, he chose the music and words himself.
One day, the family of the future actor (at that time he was 14 years old) was invited to the wedding of a girl whose mother was a costume designer at the Maly Theater. At the celebration, Oleg managed to play the piano, accompanied the singers, improvised and recited poems. Among the guests was Vladimir Monakhov, a teacher from the famous Shchepkinsky School. He noticed the young talent and invited him to an audition.
And Menshikov came without much hesitation. He was asked to read an excerpt from any work. The young man chose “Desires of Glory” by Pushkin. Monakhov was pleasantly surprised by the reading and advised not to bury his acting talent , but, on the contrary, to constantly improve in this direction. Oleg did just that. After graduating from school, I applied to Sliver. The parents were not delighted with their son’s decision, but did not dissuade him.
Actor Oleg Menshikov: biography
A man from a simple family. His father was a military engineer, his mother a neurologist. Oleg was born in 1960 in the city of Serpukhovo, Moscow region.
The boy’s interest in acting surprised his relatives. But his abilities were not in doubt. After the family moved to Moscow, the boy was sent to a music school, where he learned to play the violin.
When he grew up, the guy fell in love with operetta. He often visited the theater. As a teenager, Menshikov could stage an opera and composed his own music and lyrics.
One day Oleg was invited to the birthday party of the daughter of an employee of the Maly Theater. There, the actor entertained the guests by playing musical instruments, accompanying singers and improvising brilliantly. His talent did not go unnoticed, the guy was invited to audition. The acting fate was predetermined.
Theater field
There were no problems with entering the school. Already from the first year, Menshikov’s talent attracted the attention of the teaching staff. Oleg, in some way unknown to anyone, managed to combine lively artistry, subtle humor and improvisation into one whole. In “Shchepka” they still remember the skit parties that the young student organized.
During her graduation year, the young talent was involved in the play “Invasions” together with Rudensky. It is noteworthy that the course director himself, Nikolai Afonin, offered him the main role. But the talented student refused in favor of the episode. It was not for nothing that Oleg was considered a promising young actor: his small role became the most memorable and colorful in the production.
After graduating from college (1981), Menshikov was accepted into the Maly Theater. Unfortunately, a year of work did not bring “serious” roles and soon the actor was called up for military service. For two years he has been performing on the stage of the Soviet Army Theater. The role of Ivolgin in the play “The Idiot” based on Dostoevsky is the most striking episode of this period.
After finishing his service (1985), the actor began working at the Moscow Drama Theater. M. Ermolova. Here he worked from 1985 to 1989. The most famous works:
- "Speak";
- "Second Year of Freedom"
In 1990, director Fomenko offered the main role in the production of “Caligula” with Margarita Shubina: that’s how he ended up in the theater. Mossovet. Thirty-year-old Oleg is beginning to be recognized not only in Russia, but also abroad.
But activity and energy haunt the artist. In 1995, he created his own theater called “Theatrical Partnership 814”. In almost all productions, Menshikov acts as a director:
- "Woe from Wit";
- "Kitchen";
- "Daemon";
- "Players".
This entrepreneurial company quickly became popular and famous.
In 2012, the actor became artistic director of the Drama Theater. Ermolova. Here Oleg Menshikov continues to appear on stage.
Oleg Menshikov - blue
The idol of millions of Russian women, elegant Oleg Menshikov , leads a closed life, never talks about family relationships and, at 49 years old, has no children.
Rumors about the artist’s homosexual inclinations have been circulating in social circles for a long time. Many who know Menshikov well did not hesitate to talk about this openly. At first, there was a lot of talk about Oleg’s romance with the graceful actor Andrei Rudensky , and since 1999, Menshikov began to be seen more and more often with the young, sugary actor Nikita Tatarenkov .
Andrey Rudensky
The artists met on the set of “The Barber of Siberia,” and soon began appearing almost arm in arm at social events. A year later, Nikita hastily left the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya and went to the creative association “Theatrical Partnership”, produced by Menshikov, where he received the best roles from him in all performances.
Nikita Tatarenkov and Oleg Menshikov
There was even more talk about Menshikov’s gay passions, and in order to strengthen his shaky reputation, in 2005 he decided to get married. With a woman. But it turned out even worse.
The actor’s chosen one was the little-known young actress Anastasia Chernova . Menshikov proposed over the phone, without yet knowing the girl personally. And only after that they started dating. But even after the wedding, the actor and his wife appeared in public in the company of... the same Tatarenkov. Moreover, in a conversation with journalists, Nastya indirectly confirmed the fact that her marriage to the famous actor is fictitious. “Do you want me to call my husband? He will come down and tell you a fairy tale about how everything is fine with him!” the girl said.
Oleg Menshikov with his wife and Nikita Tatarenkov
Moreover, Menshikov began wearing two wedding rings. As it turned out, this technique is often used by representatives of the “gay” environment, who, in order to avoid unnecessary gossip, get companions or wives for going out, who are called “seagull” or “beard”. One ring is a standard engagement ring, and the other is a sign of gratitude and loyalty to a true “friend.”
In 2006, filming of the series “Golden Calf” began. Menshikov was invited to play the role of Ostap Bender, and at first they wanted to invite comedian Pavel Derevyanko , but Oleg Evgenievich categorically insisted that the role go to Nikita Tatarenkov.
During long filming in the remote and uninhabited town of Plyos, the lovers, apparently, were finally tired of maintaining the regime of secrecy and the couple allowed themselves to relax. Menshikov and Tatarenkov came and went from filming to the hotel together, relaxed and had fun together. Only Tatarenkov was allowed to visit the personal trailer of his eminent friend. All other members of the film crew, including director Ulyana Shilkina , were strictly prohibited from doing this. Oleg Menshikov pampered and took care of his pet in every possible way: he took him on a boat, looked after his friend’s health and bought him jewelry. Oleg and Nikita did not spoil the rest of the actors and participants in the filming process with their attention. Such is male friendship...
As one famous director shared with KP, Menshikov, although he received the status of a star, turning into one of the sought-after and highly paid actors, many filmmakers are not eager to invite him to the roles of passionate Don Juans and machos.
“Menshikov, for all his external beauty, acting, talent, has an internal complex,” the director said. “It can portray love, but at the climax, when you need to show the highest degree of passion, it doesn’t work.” You have to feel, and if you don’t have the feeling, you can’t play! Playing men on screen, he seems to be in conflict with himself... Forgive me, you can get drunk to such a stage that you mistake a woman for a man. You can be with a woman, but not feel the proper pleasure... And although at present, unconventional orientation, as they say, is even in fashion among the beau monde, in reality it is a very big tragedy for men. To feel that you are made of a different cloth... As Dostoevsky said, God loves whomever he loves very much and for whom he hopes a lot, sends him a lot of misfortunes”...
Film roles
Menshikov was invited to the cinema in 1980. His debut role took place in the film “I Wait and Hope.” After 2 years, he transforms into Kostya from the film “Pokrovsky Gates”. The image of a cheerful and carefree student will be associated with the artist for a long time. It was this role that brought fame and popularity; he began to be recognized on the streets.
After some time, young Oleg is noticed by the famous Nikita Mikhalkov and invited to the film “Relatives”. A little later he starred in the film “Flying in Dreams and in Reality.”
Menshikov is offered successful roles in films:
- "Captain Fracasse"
- "Moozund";
- “Volodya is big, Volodya is small.”
The artist is the most sought after in Russian cinema. With his easy and universal acting, he captivated not only directors and spectators, but also critics.
In the mid-90s, the actor refused some roles, which he considered uninteresting and boring. During this period, the following films with Oleg Menshikov were released:
- "Dyuba-Dyuba";
- "Burnt by the Sun";
- "Prisoner of the Caucasus";
- "The Barber of Siberia";
- "Mother".
In 2003, he took part in the foreign series “Prime Suspect”. In the same year he was awarded the title People's Artist of Russia.
Then the filmography is replenished with the films “The Golden Calf”, “State Councilor”, “Doctor Zhivago”, “Burnt by the Sun 2”. “Legend No. 17” is one of the last films in which Oleg Menshikov starred.
In 2021, “Attraction” by Fyodor Bondarchuk with Oleg Evgenievich will be released. He transforms into the courageous Colonel Lebedev. At the presentation of the film, the director said that it was lucky for him to work with Menshikov. After all, lately the famous actor has been acting less and less in films and prefers to work in the theater.
