Oleg Gaas: “You need to go where it’s scary. I love challenges”

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Oleg, was the preparation before filming serious? After all, rugby is not a sport for the weak.

Yes, we had a full immersion in rugby. For this sport you need to be seriously prepared. I went to the pool and the hall, swung to become like a rugby player, because the truth is needed in the frame. We had two or three rugby practices a week. We were engaged in the street until ten in the evening, and it doesn’t matter if it’s raining or hot. But, in general, it is better to practice rugby from childhood in order to be able to fall and push correctly. At first I was afraid, but then I got involved. I like rugby because it’s a real male Viking sport.

Also, did you spend time in the ring?

Yes, I did MMA and self-defense with a coach, since Max came to rugby from mixed martial arts and boxing.

Was it difficult for you, a person with a charming smile, to keep Max’s aggression in you all the time?

At the beginning of filming, I wanted to add some kind of lightness, but director Anya Mirokhina hacked this desire in the bud, so I had to control myself. (Smiling.) And then a serious expression on my face, a frown and some kind of heaviness remained with me after work. In general, the project is a test. But it’s good: you need to go where it’s scary. I love challenges.

What was extreme in life?

Once on the set I was crossing a bridge and saw guys jumping from this bridge on a homemade bungee rope. I quickly changed and, while my partner was being prepared for the stage, agreed with the guys and jumped. It was beautiful at sunset… At the same time, when I was putting on my equipment, I heard that different things happen, maybe some kind of loop will come off… But I was in a hurry to get back to the shooting and at the moment I didn’t immediately understand all the danger of what was happening, I didn’t even have time to get scared. (Smiling.)

Are you surrounded by the same extreme people?

There are different people around me. There are those who are friends with the head. Balance is important here: I am without a head, friends with a head. I’m Gaas, I need a brake. (Laughs.)

Where do you charge your battery?

In Altai. We went there with my father. And in general, this is a place of power: mountains, lakes, clean air. As soon as you get off the plane, you immediately start breathing eagerly, swallowing this air. I love nature. My sister lives in the suburbs of St. Petersburg – and I like to visit her. Barbecue, forest, sauna, beauty! Moscow gives a lot, but it also takes away.

And if you dream, where would you like to live?

Near the sea, where it is summer and sun all year round, because half of my life I lived in the north in the snow.

After graduating from the theater, were you immediately taken to the legendary Chekhov Moscow Art Theater? Or did they hang around the thresholds of theaters for a long time?

Not right away. I tried, but they didn’t take me anywhere. And during breaks, he even handed out leaflets dressed as a watermelon. I thought that maybe I don’t need a theater. And then he imagined that if you go to the theater, then only to the Moscow Art Theater or the Theater of Nations. There was a chance, and, fortunately, I took it. (Smiling.)