Lesya Samayeva
Lesya Vasylivna Samayeva
Date of birth – June 28, 1975
City – Kyiv (Ukraine)
Language – Ukrainian
Activity – theater and film actress, TV presenter
Becoming an artist
Lesya Samayeva is a Ukrainian theater and film actress, TV presenter, Honored Artist of Ukraine. The hometown of the star of Ukrainian TV series and the prima of the Left Bank Theater is Kyiv. Lesya's parents are journalists. As a child, the girl was fond of dancing, rhythmic gymnastics and dreamed of ballet. She didn't even think about the acting profession then. It seemed like something unattainable, almost heavenly.
Everything changed when Lesya's brother Yevgeny Kurman, now a famous theater director, enrolled in an acting course. Since then, the world of culture and the film industry no longer seemed incomprehensible. Lesya began to treat the theater differently. The stage became closer and acquired real features.
At that time, the girl had long blond hair. Her brother always emphasized: in acting, a beautiful braid is a great value. But to dispel doubts, Lesya cut her hair and decided to choose a different direction. She began to prepare documents for the specialty "Psychology". But everything changed by chance. Seeing on TV how the actress reads the monologue of Antigone, Lesya was sincerely impressed. At that moment she decided to apply to the theater school herself. During the entrance exams, she even read the same monologue.
Creative path
In 1996, Lesya Samayeva completed her studies at the Ivan Karpenko-Kary Kyiv State Institute of Theater Arts. The actress's mentor was Honored Artist of Ukraine Leonid Artemovich Oliynyk. In the same year, Lesya Samayeva began a confident movement towards popularity and recognition among a wide audience of stage art fans. The graduate of the institute became part of the acting team of the Kyiv Academic Drama and Comedy Theater on the Left Bank of the Dnieper. The theater's performances have repeatedly participated in prestigious art festivals.
The beginning of Samayeva's stage career was mainly about ambition. Then, for Lesya, the impression she made on the creative team and management was more important. Empathy and the emotional response of the audience were not yet a priority. Now everything has changed. The stage has become a real space for exchanging feelings. Working on a role, the actress strives for each story to touch the viewer, evoke sympathy, joy, sadness.
The performer of bright roles now finds particular pleasure in collaborating with other colleagues. Living a deep plot idea together and sincerely sharing it with the audience is true happiness for an actress. It is this relationship with the audience and the team that is the most valuable thing in the profession for Lesya Samaeva today.
In the modern repertoire of the talented actress with powerful charisma - performances:
- “Closeness” (Anna);
- “A Call from the Past” (Rita);
- “37 Postcards” (Evelyn Sutton);
- “Give Up Your Body” (Nadya);
- “Bad Roads” (Lyudmila);
- “The Perfect Couple” (Jacqueline).
Works in Cinema
In collaboration with directors and film producers, Lesya Samaeva has created many bright images. The actress notes that the filming process is an unusual creative journey. Working on a film unites a team that creates a new story together, lives it, and then lets it go. At the same time, the result is always a mystery. Editing can completely change perception. And the final version sometimes turns out to be a surprise even for the participants in the filming process. The premiere becomes a moment of discovery – for both the viewer and the actors.
Cinema fans could see Lesya Samaeva in TV series and films of various genres:
- “Ordinary Business”;
- “Haytarma”;
- “Crazy Wedding”;
- “Hell Banner, or Cossack Christmas”;
- “Crazy Wedding 2”;
- “A Village for a Million”;
- “Secrets”;
- “Yurchyshyns”;
- “Train on December 31”;
- “Moloda” and many others.
Style and Creative Development of the Actress
For Lesya Samaeva, each new role is a step forward. It is an opportunity for creative growth and discovery of something new in herself. The leading actress of the Left Bank Theater admits: in each work she leaves a piece of herself - her emotions, her state, her outlook on life. In particular, it is the theater that allows you to feel how not only the performance, but also the actor himself matures over time. The perception changes, the sound of the meanings that were once embedded in the text. One of Samaeva's most favorite performances is "Closeness". The actress says that at first the same meanings were put into the performance. But over the years, both they and the characters have become different.
Today, the actress does not dream of a specific image on stage. Lesya Samaeva is ready for a variety of challenges. However, she admits: she would like to play a deeply dramatic character. To deploy the entire acting arsenal, show emotional strength and use the accumulated experience.
Awards and distinctions:
- award of the Student Film Festival "Open Night" ("Best Actress", film "Gunka"), 2004;
- theatrical award "Kyiv"Kyiv Pectoral Award" (2007) ("Best Performance by an Actress", the play "The Queue");
- Vira Levitska Award (2009).
In addition, the actress was nominated six times for the "Kyiv Pectoral Award". Lesya Samayeva is also a member of the National Union of Theater Workers of Ukraine and the National Union of Cinematographers of Ukraine.
