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Interview with actress Irina Rakmanova

  • How did you get involved in acting?

I didn’t plan on becoming an actress. I just went along with my friends to audition, and got accepted. But never once in my life did I regret it.

  • How different is it to act in a movie and to act in a theater play? And which one d you prefer?

I do film, mainly. I worked in theater, but my life has always lead to me working mainly in film. Theater and film are totally different and they are impossible to compare. They have different tasks, levels of energy, what you put into it. They are completely different for me. I’d like to do work in the term because it is an incredible feeling when you go on stage, but the feeling I get when I’m shooting, for me, is the highest level of adrenaline.

  • What are your weak points when it comes to acting? How do you try to improve them?

My weaknesses are all the things that I don’t know how to do yet. There is a lot that I’d like to learn. What do I do for that? I try hard, and I probably should try even harder. That is my weakness – I’d like to be able to do more, and to have time to do more. For example, I’d like to know languages better. English, French. I’d like to ride horseback better than I know how to do now. I’d like to know how to do back flips, and so on.

  • What are your strong points as an actor?

My strengths are that I really  like to try new things. I  like it a lot. I’m happy to try a new role, to try even in an audition, and to get it, of course. To try what I’ve never done before, is what I think my strength is.

  • What have you learned from the directors that you have worked with throughout your career?

I get something new from each director that I’ve worked with. Each person is different, they all work in different ways. There are different circumstances on each set, different roles, conditions and every project is something new, and it is a step forward. I learn something new at every project that I work on.

  • What makes a good scene partner?

For me, a good partner is someone who sees you, hears you, that feels you. It’s not someone who follows a plan that he made up at home, but someone who can be flexible, who can be changed by the other partners. I try to work  like that. And I find it comfortable to work with people who can change the scene in the process.

  • What are some of the difficulties of the acting business?

The most difficult part of being an actor is without a doubt getting the role, because the best scenario is when you have a lot to choose from and you can choose your role. But that’s not always the case, for me right now. And of course, there is a dependency on the circumstances, on someone else’s perception of you, on how you feel, sometimes. So, first and foremost, the dependency on a big group of people.

  • What’s challenging about bringing a script to life?

That first contact when everyone working on the project get together and have to find that common language for the project.  And then speak that language, with the understanding of what we want to see as a result.  It all changes, of course. But to find that common language, that bird language, is for me the most complicated aspect, because without it one person will do what she sees fit, another person will do what he thinks is best, and it will all fall apart.

  • What do you do when you’re not doing theatre/film?

When I’m not working, I spend time with my family, my friends. There are two important parts of my life – my family and friends, and my work. There is nothing more important.

  • If someone is going to make your life into a movie, who would play you?

If my life were to be made into a movie? I’d like to see the casting, maybe cast it myself.

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