The launch of Yelena Raiskaya's popular new 10-part TV series 'Drugaya Zhizn' (A Different Life) on Channel One has propelled its starring actress, Natalia Antonova, into the limelight.

The launch of Yelena Raiskaya’s popular new 10-part TV series "Drugaya Zhizn" (A Different Life) on Channel One has propelled its starring actress, Natalia Antonova, into the limelight. Antonova, who acts at the Gogol Theater, has had TV roles in the past, but like the new series’ title, this latest show is set to change her life.

When asked what she thinks of her newfound stardom, Antonova just laughs. "Why should my life change?" she says. "I’ve been in the profession for six years now; I act in the Gogol Theater and I’ve already been in a number of popular TV series."

LifeStyle met with Antonova at the quiet cafe Gostinaya.

What with your filming sessions during the daytime and the Gogol Theater at night, getting ahold of you isn’t easy. You’re said to be in demand for TV projects now; is this a result of "Drugaya Zhizn"?

I’ve always had intensive schedules. Work on one project ends, and then it’s straight into the next one. This TV series just happened to get really popular. It’s airing on ORT [Channel One] and has high ratings. It’s true that since the release of "Drugaya Zhizn" I’ve had more invitations to work on various projects. At the moment I’m involved in two interesting projects, which are in the casting stages right now. But I’ve never been short of work.

There are so many Russian-made TV series these days. Were you worried that "Drugaya Zhizn" would be just another bland addition to the list?

No. "Drugaya Zhizn" is professionally done. It sticks to the rules of the genre, with plenty of intrigue fueling the plot, everything revolving around the characters and a budding romance. I’ve always been excited about love stories. Whether in the theater or on film, I’ve always found it interesting to act when the plot involves love. I want to love and to fight for love. And I want to be a woman! "Drugaya Zhizn" is a mini-series, not a regular TV series, of which there are so many now. The mini-series format has proved popular in the West. "Drugaya Zhizn" isn’t just for women to watch; men watch it, too, and they get really into it because it’s a sort of textbook of life and they find it interesting to learn how it is that women wrap them around their fingers.

Your character, Polina, isn’t exactly all sweet and nice.

My Polina is not quite a positive character. I see her as both a victim and aggressor. She was born and raised in the provinces and followed the standard path there – finishing school, getting married, having a son and only then finally asking herself what kind of future she might have in this provincial hole. That’s when she decides to change things. She leaves the baby with her mother and heads for Moscow in search of a new life, one full of pleasures and wealth. This is what she really desires, and she’s determined to achieve it. I wasn’t afraid to take on this character; there are no negative or positive characters, just different characters. Whoever I play, I see my task as justifying my heroine. The more negative the character, the more challenging and interesting it is to play it. I must say, I find it hard to play kind and positive people. It’s always difficult. It’s always more interesting to play roles that really stand out in some way. I like to study people’s characters, to delve into them.

What did you think at first when you agreed to play the role of Polina?

When I first got the part, I hadn’t even read the script yet. It was my friends who told me that Yelena Raiskaya was making this series with an amazing plot. I came to Raiskaya, and she said I could audition. I wasn’t alone – there were several other actresses auditioning. The script itself wasn’t even ready yet. And then Lena [Raiskaya] told me I’d been chosen for the part. That’s when I began reading the script. I read it and read it, piecing the clues together, until it dawned on me just why Polina did what she did and what her aim was. It didn’t really matter to me whether she was good or bad – I felt the most important thing was to understand her motivations. Then I really wanted to play the part. The script is amazing. I spent a whole night reading it; I began at 11 p.m. and finished at 5 a.m. I just couldn’t put it down. I felt connected to all the characters while reading it and didn’t divide them into positive and negative. Each of them interested me.

But in real life, don’t you find yourself dividing people into good and bad?

No, I don’t. I always try to understand why people behave the way they do. When I see something bad, even toward myself, I try to understand the reasons for this behavior. I don’t get angry with people.

Your work schedule is pretty intense. How do you manage it?

I always tell myself that I’m still young. When I’m 60, that’s when I’ll get out the knitting and sit in front of the TV. I still have plenty of energy. It doesn’t matter how hard I work, three days of doing nothing at home is enough to make me desperate to get back to work. I’m a mother, too, I have a son, but even so, I can’t stay at home, I just can’t. I love my work! The more the pressure, the more I really want to be working. Sometimes I even agree to take low-paying jobs.

Which suits you better: TV or theater?

Cinema and theater suit me best. I haven’t been in many movies because so few movies are made these days. And the scripts I’ve had a chance to read contain too many erotic scenes. Why should I waste myself on meaningless erotic scenes? I did too much filming over the last year, which is why I haven’t taken part in any premieres at the theater. I have some ideas, and I hope I will realize them soon.

How do you cope with unexpected situations that come up during filming or on stage?

These kinds of situations happen more often during filming than in the theater. There was a very funny scene in "Drugaya Zhizn." It happened when the bedroom scene with Alexei Kortnev and me was being filmed. They were supposed to do a close-up shot of him and me lying under a blanket, and they were using a crane because Raiskaya wanted to film it as a "view from the ceiling." But the cameraman was too short and it was extremely inconvenient for him to film from the crane. He said he would rather walk along the edge of the bed. So, we were lying there and he was filming us while walking along the edge of the bed, but just when he got to Lyosha’s [Kortnev’s] feet, we heard a crash. It was the cameraman falling down. And then we fell down, too. It doesn’t sound so funny now – you had to be there – but believe me, it really was a laugh at the time. • DM