Denis Vlasenko will play Paul I in the series: the choice of actor was unexpected

Filming of the historical series began in St. Petersburg

Actor Denis Vlasenko is dressed in a camisole and cocked hat, and under his headdress the actor has a fluffy blond wig. In the new historical project, Denis plays Emperor Paul I – and this is a very unexpected turn in the actor’s biography.

The choice of an artist to play the role of a royal person is truly strange, primarily because the public does not at all associate Vlasenko with historical projects. They started talking about Denis in 2018 after the release of the film “Misfits,” where he played the main role. Then there were the very resonant series “Happy End”, “The Germans”, “Close Gestalt” and other projects where the actor successfully fit into both dramatic and comedic plots.

In such settings, the role of Paul I can become in some sense a test for Vlasenko, while the actor will certainly enliven the very predictable castings of historical series. Together with Denis, Natalya Surkova, Kirill Kyaro, Alexey Barabash, Vladimir Steklov and others are involved in the project.

Paul I as a character has already appeared in various TV series, but has never been the main character. At the same time, it seems like it was created for cinema. The son of Catherine II and Peter III was admitted to power at an already mature age and managed to carry out many reforms, including quite humane ones for those times. A bunch of nervous disorders, fits of rage, a lot of enemies in the immediate environment and a very ambiguous assessment by historians. Paul I was called both a mad tyrant and “Don Quixote on the throne,” and also “Russian Hamlet” and “martyr king.” In general, the writers had plenty of room to roam.

Details of the plot have not yet been disclosed, but series director Alexander Kott says that the creators of the project have set themselves a difficult task. “We had to literally rummage through all possible historical documents and look up his correspondence with his mother and wives. Based on this material, we wrote a story not about the emperor, but primarily about a person. A man who was forgotten by his mother and despised by her circle, who waited in the wings for many years and ascended the throne already in adulthood. A man who was going to make serious reforms in the Russian Empire, but was killed by conspirators who did not want change,” says the director.

Filming of the series will take place in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Rostov.