The old adage that nature, as a rule, rests on the children of talented parents, is completely inapplicable to the protagonist of our article. Ivan Shakhnazarov, the son of director Karen Shakhnazarov, the most famous director in the vast expanses of the former USSR, inherited the best genes from his parents. Despite his very young age, this young man is already known as a screenwriter, actor, dubbing director. Like his talented father, he has experience in directing.
Ivan Shakhnazarov: biography
This guy was born in Moscow in 1993 (today he is only 23 years old). His mother is Daria Mayorova, a fairly recognizable actress who had experience in shooting full-length films, and she also worked as a TV presenter. His father, the legendary Soviet and Russian director - Karen Shakhnazarov. From this marriage, two sons were born to the parents: Ivan and his brother, Vasily. It is clear that the family was creative. It is unlikely that Ivan Shakhnazarov, whose photo is presented in our article, could choose for himself a path that is far from cinema.
After graduation, the future actor and director entered the corresponding department at VGIK. Being a fairly sincere and open young man, Ivan Shakhnazarov, with some degree of self-irony, says that his choice could not be different, since he studied at school not very well and, except as an actor and director, did not imagine who else he could to become.
Despite the fact that Karen and Daria divorced, the boy never felt abandoned. Ivan Shakhnazarov says that his father greatly influenced his personal formation. In childhood, the famous director made his son read a lot and play sports, for which the grown offspring is very grateful to him.
Famous surname and legendary dad
Many children of famous parents often complain about the wide recognition, popularity and close attention of the press to their personal lives. Ivan Shakhnazarov, unlike other star children, is not cunning and says that his father’s surname helps him a lot in life. Everyone immediately understands whose son Vanya is, and this helps the actor solve many technical problems. Of course, the requirements for the son of the famous director are much higher than for his peers. But the young man agrees that the benefits of such a famous relationship are much greater than any inconvenience.
Ivan perceives his father as the most authoritative teacher and mentor. The son always shows Karen Georgievich all his ideas, scenarios and preliminary drafts of the works and hears all his remarks. Working on the same set with his father, he can calmly and without prejudice call him dad. Moreover, the son says that he mainly discusses working issues with Shakhnazarov Sr. Vanya never addresses him with everyday problems, because he does not want to disturb the master of directing with such trifles.
First roles played
Ivan Shakhnazarov, whose filmography so far has only a few films, has already managed to acquire his staff of devoted fans. Vanya played his first two episodic roles in his father’s films. In 2008, he took part in the filming of the film “The Vanished Empire”. Further, after 4 years, in 2012, he starred in the film “Love in the USSR”.
Serious movie debut
In 2015, Ivan already had a full-fledged role in the Russian youth film “The Elusive”. The young man says that when he received an offer to star in this tape, he doubted a little, because Shakhnazarov Jr. himself determined his acting abilities very self-critically as mediocre. But still, he decided to take part in the filming on the recommendation of his father, who said that if such proposals are received by a person at the age of 21, then they should not be refused.
Anastasia Hakobyan, producer of the Elusive movie, recalls that 250 applicants tried to pass casting for this role before Ivan. And only Shakhnazarov was able to work out all the tests to the end, moreover, he did it completely independently, without any kind of blat. According to the script, he got the image of modern Ostap Bender - a kind of jester-swindler. After the release of this tape on a wide screen in 2015, many really started talking about Shakhnazarov Jr. as a very talented and very promising actor. Ivan himself in the future does not rely on the acting profession, and tries to devote all his strength to directing.
Writing and directing experience
While studying at VGIK, the young man had the opportunity to film his first directorial short films as a student. In the period from 2010 to 2012, he shot four short films, including the films “The Author's Method”, “Without Words”, “Players” and “Rock”.
The last film was shot as a thesis and had some success. Shakhnazarov Jr. during the preparation of the film acted not only as a director, but also as a screenwriter. At the annual international festival held by VGIK, this film received prizes for the best cinematography and script.
After that, in 2014, the work was exhibited at the annual prestigious Kinotavr Film Festival. Further, Ivan had the opportunity to present a picture in Cannes at the annual film festival as part of the Short Film Corner program. After that, the young man received a very favorable offer to shoot an already full-length film based on his "Rock". Filming plans to begin this summer.
