Childhood and youth
Vladimir Mashkov was born in Tula on November 27, 1963 into a family of creative people. Nikiforova’s mother Natalya Ivanovna is the daughter of an Italian teacher. Father Lev Petrovich Mashkov is Natalya’s second husband. From her first marriage she has a son, Vitaly Nikiforov. Having moved to Novokuznetsk in the 60s, the parents got a job at the Puppet Theater: Natalya Ivanovna as a director, and Lev Petrovich as an actor.
At school in Novokuznetsk, “failure” in discipline was a common thing for Mashkov. The guy wore long hair and played the guitar. By the 10th grade, the student began to show more and more interest in the stage and even began to participate in performances with his parents.
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Vladimir Mashkov in his youth
Mashkov’s path to an acting career was not easy. The first attempt was to enter the Krasnoyarsk State Institute of Arts, but it ended in failure. Then the applicant went to the Novosibirsk Theater School. As the artist admitted in an interview, he entered due to a shortage of boys in the course. But even here there were scandals: in 1984, the student was expelled for a fight, after which he went to Moscow.
In the same year, young Mashkov entered the Moscow Art Theater School “under the wing” of master Mikhail Tarkhanov, from where he was again expelled for his violent character. A year later, the future actor began studying with Oleg Tabakov.
The childhood of Vladimir Mashkov
Vladimir Mashkov’s grandmother was Italian by blood and Swiss by passport, so Mashkov can be considered one-fourth Italian. A woman came to Moscow to build a career as a teacher, married a man with a typical Russian first and last name: Nikifor Ivanov; from him she gave birth to a daughter, Natalya, the actor’s future mother.
Natalya Ivanova connected her life with puppet theater, was a talented director and wrote a scientific study dedicated to her favorite activity. She brought her work to the court of Sergei Obraztsov, a prominent metropolitan theater figure of those years. He highly appreciated and pledged to publish the work, but with one condition: the woman was obliged to include his name as a co-author. When Natalya refused to give half the credit, Obraztsov threatened to “cut off the oxygen” and fulfilled his promise. In search of work, Ivanova had to move from Moscow to Tula.
Parents of Vladimir Mashkov: Natalya Ivanova and Lev Mashkov There Natalya met the actor of the local puppet theater Lev Mashkov. The woman already had a sad experience of marriage behind her, which ended in divorce, but the charming merry fellow and joker Leo won her heart, and soon the lovers got married. When Vladimir was born, his father was already 40, and his mother was only a year younger than her husband.
Mashkov visiting the Novokuznetsk Puppet Theater, where his mother worked. A couple of years after the birth of Vladimir, Natalya had the opportunity to become a director of the puppet theater in Novokuznetsk, and the Mashkov family hit the road.
Vladimir Mashkov in childhood It is not known whether the Siberian expanses influenced the boy’s character, or whether his freedom-loving disposition was inherited from his Italian grandmother, but Vladimir studied very poorly, preferring to spend time in the company of the yard boys. Still, two subjects were easy for the teenager: music and biology. Vladimir played the guitar, taking the work of Paul McCartney and Suzi Quatro as a model, and also dreamed of becoming a biologist and even created a real “living corner” at home with rodents, a crow and a turtle. And, of course, Vladimir spent a lot of time behind the scenes of the puppet theater, watching his parents work.
Theater and directing
In 1989–1990, Mashkov worked at the Moscow Art Theater. Anton Chekhov worked as a decorator, and in 1990 the artist was accepted into the Oleg Tabakov Theater.
The list of Vladimir’s theatrical roles includes more than a dozen characters, the most famous of which is Abram Schwartz from “Sailor’s Silence” based on the play by Alexander Galich. The artist first played an old Jewish man when he was a 24-year-old student - the age difference was hidden by makeup.
The actor performed in this role for more than 10 years without replacement, and went on tour in Siberia, Ukraine, Japan, France and America. But the rest of the artists changed - the son of David was once performed by Evgeny Mironov, Sergei Bezrukov and Philip Yankovsky. From the moment of its premiere, the production immediately became a hit in the Moscow theater scene.
Vladimir Mashkov and Elena Shevchenko
Posted by Elena Kim on Friday, November 27, 2020
Vladimir Mashkov and Elena Shevchenko
In 1991, Mashkov got the role of mayor Skvoznik-Dmukhanovsky in the comedy “The Inspector General”. His colleagues on stage were Alexander Marin, Sergei Belyaev, etc. The production invariably attracted full houses. According to theatergoers, even the most serious people laughed at this performance.
Vladimir received his first directorial experience in 1992 - rehearsals for the production “Finest Hour in Local Time” were held unofficially. And when the result was presented to Tabakov, he approved and accepted the performance into the repertoire. The comedy ran with great success for 8 years.
Another successful work of Mashkov as a director can be called the detective play “No. 13”. The premiere of the comedy with Avangard Leontyev and Evgeny Mironov in the leading roles took place at the Moscow Art Theater in 2001. According to Tabakov, it became the best performance of the decade.
Paulina Andreeva and Vladimir Mashkov
Posted by Elena Kim on Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Vladimir Mashkov and Paulina Andreeva
For their joint acting work in the production of “Anecdotes” in 1997, Mashkov and Oleg Tabakov received the “Chaika” theater award in the “Double Impact” category.
In 2021, Vladimir headed the Oleg Tabakov Theater after the untimely death of his teacher. The reins of government were entrusted to him at the master’s Moscow Theater School. Mashkov began his activities by carrying out a number of reforms. First of all, the theater group changed its name, renovations were organized, and new disciplines were added to the educational institution. The composition of the troupe also changed - the wife of the theater founder Marina Zudina and his son Pavel Tabakov, one of the oldest actors of “Tabakerka” Andrei Smolyakov left her, and Roza Khairullina became one of the invited artists.
The artistic director of "Tabakerka" decided to return to the theater stage the play "Sailor's Silence", which began his triumphant theatrical career, and later the film "Papa" (2004) was based on this play. Mashkov became not only the leading actor, but also the director of this film. To work on it, he refused to play Angelina Jolie's partner in the Hollywood blockbuster Lara Croft 2.
Theater career
At the end of the 70s, the Mashkovs again changed their place of residence. The family moved to Novosibirsk, where Vladimir entered the biology department of the local university, but a year later he took the documents and passed the competition of the Novosibirsk Theater School.
At the school, Mashkov (on the left, with a guitar in his hands) quickly became the life of the party
Mashkov immediately established himself as a cheerful and cheerful young man: from the first day of school, not a single birthday or skit party of his classmates passed without his participation. At one of the holidays, he got into a conversation with a classmate, 17-year-old Elena Shevchenko; in 1984, the young people got married. However, their union quickly fell apart: the wayward student quarreled with his pregnant wife, and she did not miss the opportunity to complain to the director of the school, who without hesitation expelled the problem student.
Vladimir Mashkov's first wife Elena Shevchenko and their daughter Masha
Mashkov, who unexpectedly received his freedom, left for Moscow to try his luck at the Moscow Art Theater audition. The actor’s talent was helped to develop by teacher Ivan Tarkhanov, who accepted the young man for the course. During his first year of study, Vladimir was expelled again, this time due to a fight. The reason was noble: the actor stood up for the insulted honor of an unfamiliar girl, but this did not stop the Moscow Art Theater administration. This time the actor did not move anywhere, but got a job as a decorator at the same Studio School, and a year later he returned to Oleg Tabakov’s course.
Mashkov came to the Moscow Art Theater after his divorce from his first wife
In 1987, Mashkov played his first serious role in the play “Sailor's Silence”. Tabakov was so impressed by the performance of the 24-year-old student, who soulfully got used to the image of the elderly Jew Abram Schwartz, that he sincerely admitted: an Actor was born!
In 2004, Mashkov made a film from the play “Sailor’s Silence”
In 1989, Mashkov was among the permanent troupe of “Tabakerka”, and in 1990 he successfully graduated from the Moscow Art Theater, continuing to play in the theater under the direction of Tabakov. The image of Schwartz was followed by the roles of the mayor in the play “The Inspector General,” Don Juan in the production of the same name, and Ivanovich and Ugarov in “Anecdotes.”
Movies
In 1995, a bright character in Karen Shakhnazarov’s drama “American Daughter” brought fame to the actor. Soon followed by another high-profile work in Mashkov’s creative biography - the main role in the film “The Thief” by Pavel Chukhrai.
Since 2001, the actor’s foreign career began. Mashkov starred with Nastassja Kinski in the film “American Rhapsody.” One of the brightest pages in Vladimir’s Hollywood filmography is his work in the blockbuster “Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol,” where he played the “bad Russian.”
The actor, despite the fact that he does not have the parameters of a “super soldier” (height is 179 cm and weighs 82 kg), has become especially popular in military and detective series.
Vladimir Mashkov and his second wife, journalist Ksenia Terentyeva.
Divorced Posted by Galina Dolgacheva on Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Vladimir Mashkov and Ksenia Terentyeva
In 2007, the artist appeared in the role of the deputy head of the Odessa criminal investigation department, Lieutenant Colonel David Gotsman in the detective series “Liquidation”. Mashkov managed to simultaneously convey the specific features of the hero’s nationality and not slip into parody and comedy, embodying on the screen a serious and noble image of an honest law enforcement officer.
Work on this project brought the artist an award from the Federal Security Service of Russia in the “Acting Work” category, an award from the Oleg Tabakov Charitable Foundation, TEFI, “Golden Eagle” and a special award “For contribution to the cultural life of the city of Odessa” at the Odessa International Film Festival in Ukraine. This film is notorious for the fact that actor Andrei Krasko died during its filming.
Ignat’s portrayal in the drama “The Edge” (2010) added to Vladimir’s collection of awards with the “Nika” film award. The film received 4 Golden Eagles - the talents of Alexey Uchitel, Yulia Peresild, Anyorka Strechel and Mashkov were noted. Despite the abundance of action scenes, the project has virtually no computer graphics. The performers actually burned, plunged into cold water, and the pre-war locomotives needed major repairs after racing on set. The actor not only drove the locomotive himself, but also almost drowned - he was carried down the river. According to media reports, the artist lost weight especially for filming this project and had plastic surgery to tighten sagging skin.
Oksana Shelest and Vladimir Mashkov
Posted by Elena Kim on Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Vladimir Mashkov and Oksana Shelest
In the Russian-French mini-series “Rasputin” (2011), Vladimir managed to work with Konstantin Khabensky and Gerard Depardieu, who played Elder Gregory. Mashkov himself got the role of Emperor Nicholas II. Three years later, the artist played the most mysterious temporary worker in the Russian biographical drama “Gregory R.”
In 2016, the actor played the main role in the disaster film “Crew” about the feat of civil airline pilots. As Mashkov said in the “Evening Urgant” program, he and his project colleagues Danila Kozlovsky and Agne Grudyte were trained at a flight school on state-of-the-art flight simulators before filming. The film became the highest-grossing domestic hit and received the Blockbuster Award.
In 2021, the comedy “Odessa Steamship” was released, based on the works of Mikhail Zhvanetsky. The star cast, in addition to Mashkov, included Chulpan Khamatova, Roman Madyanov, Sergei Garmash, etc. In the atmosphere of Odessa in the 70s, a kaleidoscope of 13 humorous stories unfolds, the fates of the characters are intertwined. According to the artist, this movie is “about a country that no longer exists, but we all come from there.”
Film career of Vladimir Mashkov
Mashkov’s film debut took place in 1989 - the actor played the main role in Anatoly Mateshko’s drama “The Green Fire of the Goat.” Afterwards, he starred in several films together with Evgeny Mironov (“Do it once!”), Elena Korikova (“Ha-bi-assy”) and Oksana Kaliberda (“Love on the Island of Death”). The films did not receive a strong response, but thanks to these works, the directors noticed the aspiring actor.
Mashkov and Mironov are one of the most powerful duets in Russian cinema. In 1994, the son of director Pyotr Todorovsky, Valery, invited Mashkov to shoot the film “Moscow Evenings.” The psychological drama received many positive reviews; With bated breath, the audience followed the development of the conflict between the characters of Ingeborga Dapkunaite and Alisa Freindlich, simultaneously noting the excellent performance of Mashkov.
Vladimir Mashkov in the film “Moscow Evenings” A year later, two films with Mashkov in the title role were released: “Limita” and “American Daughter”. Vladimir’s talent made him a worthy competitor to the exceptional cast of both films: “American Daughter” starred Armen Dzhigarkhanyan and Maria Shukshina, and “Limit” starred Kristina Orbakaite and Evgeny Mironov. For his role as hacker Ivan in the film Limita, Mashkov was awarded many awards at both domestic and international film festivals.
Stills from the film “American Daughter”: Mashkov and Alison Whitbeck Vladimir Mashkov became truly famous after the premiere of Vladimir Chukhrai’s drama “The Thief,” which was released in 1997. The cruel story of the boy Sanya and his adoptive “father”, the professional thief Tolyan, so skillfully played by Mashkov, received six Nika awards and in 1998 was nominated for an Oscar in the category “Best Foreign Language Film”, but the award was awarded the film of the French director Alan Berliner “My Life in Rose”. Vladimir Mashkov in the film “The Thief”, 1997. The actor entered the new century as a full-fledged master of Russian cinema, in demand in Hollywood. In 2000, he was involved in the detective film “Dancing in the Blue Iguana” directed by American director Michael Radford, and in 2001 he played a cameo role in the drama “American Rhapsody” with Scarlett Johansson. Then there was a role in “15 Minutes of Fame” with Robert De Niro. In addition to Vladimir, other actors from Russia were also involved in the film: Vera Farmiga, Irina Gasanova and Oleg Taktarov.
Stills from the film “Dancing in the Blue Iguana” In 2001, Mashkov starred in the Hollywood blockbuster “Behind Enemy Lines”, playing the role of the Serbian killer Sasha. The film quickly became a box office success, and in 2008, Mashkov's fans noticed that the main character of the just released GTA IV game, Serbian assassin Niko Bellic, was surprisingly similar to Mashkov's character from the acclaimed action film. Mashkov later confirmed that the similarity is not accidental.
Vladimir Mashkov became the prototype for Niko Bellic from GTA IV. According to critics, one of Mashkov’s most interesting works was his role in Sergei Bodrov’s work “Let’s Do It Quickly.” For his colorful role as a gangster, Mashkov received the Silver George Award at the Moscow Film Festival. In Russia, they also didn’t forget about Mashkov: in 2002, he got the leading role of Platon Makovsky in Pavel Lungin’s acclaimed drama “Oligarch.” Together with the actor, Maria Mironova and Andrei Krasko took part in the filming.
Mashkov in the film “Let's Do It Quickly” The character of Mashkov in the mini-series “The Idiot” by Vladimir Bortko, which premiered in 2003, was highly praised. The audience again witnessed the confrontation between the heroes Mashkov and Mironov: with his characteristic passion and determination, Vladimir played Parfen Rogozhin, and Mironov took on the role of Prince Myshkin. It is noteworthy that in order to participate in the series, the actor rejected the offer to work with Clint Eastwood.
Mashkov and Mironov in the series “Idiot” In 2007, director Sergei Ursulyak presented the series “Liquidation” - a fourteen-episode epic about the struggle of the police against the criminal forces rampant in post-war Odessa. Mashkov reincarnated as David Gotsman, the head of the Odessa criminal investigation department, who, together with Marshal Zhukov exiled to Odessa in the person of Vladimir Menshov and his partner Major Krechetov - Mikhail Porechenkov - is investigating the complicated case of a spy nicknamed Academician. Gunner Ida (Ksenia Rappoport) added a certain charm to the picture.
“Liquidation” created a sensation: the series was repeatedly compared to Stanislav Govorukhin’s imperishable “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed,” highlighting the emotional performance of each member of the cast, the excellent work of the screenwriters and the tension that kept the audience until the final credits. “Liquidation” behind the scenes by Vladimir Mashkov more than once declared that he had achieved all his goals. However, the actor is in no hurry to end his career: together with Sergei Garmash and Pyotr Fedorov, he starred in the historical drama “The Duelist,” which will be released in the fall of 2021, and also worked on the continuation of the series “Motherland” with his partner Victoria Isakova.
Vladimir Mashkov successfully continues his acting career. By the way, in “The Duelist” Mashkov performed all the stunts himself, including the most difficult vertical fall.
“The Duelist”: Vladimir Mashkov as Count Beklemishev
Personal life
Vladimir’s personal life includes 4 marriages. He met his first wife Elena Shevchenko in his youth in the 1st year of theater school: a whirlwind romance, then a wedding, Elena’s pregnancy. But the marriage of 2 young and talented people was doomed. Soon after the birth of their daughter Masha, the couple divorced. Today, Maria Mashkova already has her own children - the girls Stefania and Alexandra, making the actor a grandfather.
The second marriage with the Moscow Art Theater actress Alena Khovanskaya also turned out to be short. The man met his third wife at a film festival. She turned out to be the daughter of actress Nonna Terentyeva - Ksenia Terentyeva (Mashkova), a fashion designer. The couple got married in a Catholic church.
In Hollywood, during the filming of the film The Quickie, the artist met the American actress of Ukrainian origin Oksana Shelest, who became his fourth wife. The age difference between the lovers was 22 years. But this relationship did not last long either - after 2 years, a message appeared in the media about the separation and division of property, including a mansion in the USA, and then about Oksana’s pregnancy. Shelest's son from her first marriage, for whom the actor replaced his father, and her mother stated that there was no divorce and the couple still live together. Vladimir himself did not comment on his marital status.
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Vladimir Mashkov and his daughter Maria Mashkova
Later, Mashkov was credited with another affair with his ex-wife Ksenia Terentyeva, relationships with young actresses Daria Kulida, Aigul Milshtein, Paulina Andreeva. Actress Olga Lomonosova also became a victim of the artist’s charm. But all the talk about Vladimir’s novels looked more like rumors than truth.
In 2021, the biographical documentary film “Vladimir Mashkov. One by the Blade of a Knife,” in which the actor talked about his childhood, youth, parents and acting career.
Mashkov has a personal profile on Instagram. Here the artist posts rare photographs and recent photos related to his activities.
Vladimir Mashkov now
Now Mashkov continues to direct “Tabakerka” and plays in plays. His theatrical repertoire in 2021 included the productions “Sailor’s Silence”, “And There Were None”, “The Inspector General”, etc.
In 2021, the actor’s filmography was supplemented by the series “Raid-2”. This is a continuation of the story of four friends from the judicial police department, who, in pursuit of justice, may break the law. In the continuation of the crime-drama film, Mashkov’s hero is under investigation and risks receiving a real prison sentence. According to the artist, the plot of season 2 is eventful.
