Meet Alexander Petrov, protagonist of Roman Polanski’s new movie
Alexander Petrov was born in Pereslavl-Zalessky in 1989 into the family of an electrician and a nurse. From childhood, he dreamed of becoming a footballer: He attended a sports school and played for the town's football team and even once received an invitation to train in Moscow. Owing to an injury, however, he had to give up sport, after which he enrolled at the economics department of a local university.
At university, he took part in the famous ‘KVN’ comedy show and acted in the students' theater. In his second year, while attending a master-class, he made the acquaintance of drama teachers from Moscow. Subsequently, he dropped everything and enrolled at the Russian Academy of Theater Arts (RATI-GITIS) in Moscow.
He got his first movie roles while still a student and his first notable project was the fantasy series 'While the Fern Flowers' in 2012. "I don't dwell on my mistakes and don't dissect them into atoms. It is already shot and released and I can't replay it," admits Petrov.
Alexander continued his career playing in romantic comedies and action thrillers and his breakthrough came with the TV show 'The Method', in which he played the lead heroine's boyfriend.
The rights to distribute 'The Method' worldwide were bought by Netflix. Thus, the psychological detective thriller ended up becoming the actor's first international project.
The actor regards Fyodor Bondarchuk's 'Attraction' (2017) as the turning point in his career. The movie about an extraterrestrial spaceship crash landing in the Chertanovo district of Moscow grossed over one billion rubles (approx. $17 million) at the box office. And Alexander, who played the lead role, also met his love on the set, actress Irina Starshenbaum. They began dating and, three years later, got engaged, however the relationship never reached marriage.
Alexander has been lucky finding roles as historical personalities and parts in biopics. For example, he transformed himself into a neurotic and angst-ridden Nikolai Gogol in the eponymous franchise (for which he won an award from America's Accolade Global Film Competition) and he also played footballer Eduard Streltsov. "I think all the heroes I play are in tune with my own personality. How can you play a character that is not close to you in any way?" says Petrov.
Petrov also has found the time to pursue an International acting career: He has already featured in Luc Besson's spy thriller 'Anna' (2019) alongside Helen Mirren, Luc Evans and Cillian Murphy. Alexander has a minor, but colorful, role as a thuggish character from the 1990s, whose actions have an impact on the lead heroine's life.
The same watershed period doesn't seem to loosen its grip on Alexander - in 'The Palace' by Roman Polanski, the action takes place at the turn of 1999 and 2000. His protagonist (a Russian skinhead named Anton), along with Mickey Rourke, Fanny Ardant and Oliver Masucci’s characters, find themselves drawn into a kaleidoscope of bizarre incidents.
Alexander Petrov with his girlfriend Stasia Miloslavsky
"The fact that I ended up in Roman Polanski's project is a real gift. We have turned out to be 'kindred spirits', because he treats cinema as a miracle. Polanski does not just make movies with incredible professionalism, he not only has a God-given talent, but he brings into every detail something that seems to me to be the most important thing in cinema - an element of the miraculous. After all, if there is no miracle, there is no cinema," says Petrov.
In addition to starring in blockbusters ('Ice', 2018; 'Text', 2019), Petrov finds time to write poetry and perform in his one-man shows ('To Be Born Again', 'Planet Maximus'), as well as appearing on the stage of the Moscow Yermolova Theater. Many actors dream of playing Hamlet and he managed to do it at the age of 24. "Cinema is more my element. But I can't live without the theater, either. After playing Hamlet, I feel completely cleansed and recharged," he says.
We don't know yet what Russian or foreign project Petrov will appear in next, but one thing can be said for certain - Alexander has no intention of stopping or squandering his potential. Especially since, in many of his interviews, Petrov likes to repeat that his ultimate ambition in cinema is winning an Oscar.