Actor Maksim Blinov joins us on Close-up Culture for a quick chat about his role in Jessica Oreck’s latest film, One Man Dies A Million Times.
To learn more about One Man Dies A Million Times, read our interviews with director Jessica Oreck and actress Alyssa Lozovskaya.
Q: You come from an impressive and extensive theatre background. What led you to this role in ‘One Man Dies A Million Times’?
A: I’ve been dabbling in the film world from time to time and just decided to audition for One Man when I heard about it.
Q: What was your understanding of/relationship to the Siege of Leningrad heading into this project? And, what interested you about seeing it brought into a new context?
A: My generation knows a lot about the Siege because most of our grandparents lived through it and we grew up hearing those first hand accounts.
Jessica wrote her film cut off from a specific time but based on a real story and real people. This is a story about the vivacity and strength of the human spirit at all times, in peace as well as war.
I loved this idea and happily took part in film.
Q: What was Jessica Oreck like to work with as a director? How did she interact with you as actors?
A: I respect Jessica’s intention to speak about themes like this through making film. I tried to listen to her in everything and honestly embody her vision.
Q: What is your standout memory of working on this film?
I was so glad to meet and collaborate with all the participants and creators of the film. There were so many talented and interesting people. Everyone did their best to implement Jessica’s vision.
The whole cast and crew formed a united team and I have wonderful memories of the time we spent together.