Alla Klyuka: how the star of the TV series 'Evlampiya Romanova' conquered Hollywood and why she returned
'03.02.2021'
Source: Culturology
Russians remember the charismatic Alla Kluka for her role in the popular TV series Evlampia Romanova. The investigation is conducted by a dilettante ”, based on the detective novels by Daria Dontsova. But not everyone knows that the actress has been looking for herself in the USA for many years. She talks about her creative path Culturology.
The creative path of this actress began in the 1990s, she made her debut in the films "Body", "Cloud Paradise" and "Made in the USSR". However, the majority of viewers remembered her in the image of the main character of several seasons of the series “Evlampia Romanova. The investigation is being conducted by an amateur ”in the early 2000s.
There were long pauses in Alla Kluka's film career. As it turned out, at this time she starred in Hollywood in the cult TV series The Sopranos and Law & Order. Unlike most of her colleagues, she managed to realize herself in the profession in the United States, but nevertheless she decided to return to her homeland, because here the actress found what was more important than success abroad.
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Alla Kluka was born and raised in Minsk. She dreamed of an acting future since her youth, and after graduating from school she went to storm the capital's theater universities. On the first attempt, she managed to enter the Schepkinskoe School for the course of Yuri Solomin. In 1990, Alla Klyuka, together with her fellow students, underwent an internship at a New York theater school, which came in handy in the future. At the same time, the actress began acting in films.
In the debut film "A Lady's Visit", her role was episodic, and her surname was not even mentioned in the credits, but a year later Alla Klyuka received several leading roles. In the films "Body", "Cloud Paradise" and "Made in the USSR" she starred while still studying. Then the first popularity came to her.
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Thanks to her internship in the United States, the actress in 1992 got the main role in the joint project of Russia and the United States "Chopin's Nocturne", a year later she played the main character in the film "Hammer and Sickle", and after that she disappeared from the screens for a long time. For some time nothing was heard about her. As it turned out later, Alla Kluka met an American with Russian roots, Kenny Shaffer, who was working in Moscow to create a joint Russian-American film company, married him and moved to America. He was 20 years older than her, but this did not become an obstacle in communication. The first years of family life were very happy, the couple had a son, Kibo.
The experience of internship and filming in the United States, as well as knowledge of the language, was very useful to her after moving. Alla Kluka-Shaffer was admitted to the Screen Actors Guild. She was lucky enough to take part in the filming of the series that were popular all over the world - "The Sopranos" (1999-2007, Alla Kluka starred in 2 seasons of 6) and "Law and Order" (2001-2011, the actress appeared in the first season).
The organization of the filming process abroad seemed to her completely different than at home.
“From the first minute there was a feeling that I was involved in the work of a huge well-oiled mechanism. Each of the people knows his place and his functions. There is a different system of organization of production. By the time of shooting, everything has been absolutely decided and is calmly implemented. There, the make-up artist, for example, will never discuss the details of the makeup with the director on the set, and the artist will never discuss the landscape outside the window. Everything has been agreed with the shops, and the shops have followed all the instructions. It remains to shoot ... ”, - says the actress.
“When I first entered the pavilion, I saw three tables at the door with excellent food, coffee, tea, mineral water, etc. When the actor is free, he can walk up, eat, refresh himself and return to the set with renewed vigor. There is a place where the actor rests during a short break. I was pleased with the very thought that they were taking care of me. I think, like any other colleague of mine. Comfort means a lot in our business, it is not a whim, but a necessity, ”says Alla Kluka.
But her work with the director rather disappointed her - she met him only on the set, and before that, during the audition, her character was described to her in a nutshell - and was released into free swimming. On the set, the actors were told only about where they should stand and where to go, otherwise the work on the role was independent. However, the actress enjoyed it. In addition, participation in these series gave her the right to join the Screen Actors Guild - for this it was enough to star in two different films or TV series. This gave Alla significant privileges, because the actors who are in the Guild are more willing to be invited to shoot.
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At the same time, they did not forget about the actress at home and periodically invited her to shoot Russian projects. In 1998, director Alla Surikova offered Alla Kluka the role of a wealthy foreigner in her comedy I Want to Jail. After 3 years, the actress got the main role in the series of the same director "The Perfect Couple". But real popularity, recognition and recognition at home came to her after she played the main character in a detective series based on the works of Daria Dontsova “Evlampy Romanov. The dilettante leads the investigation. "
According to the script, her heroine, who in the past was a rich and unadapted married lady, is forced to take care of herself after the betrayal of her husband. She changes the field of activity, turns into a private detective, and then meets a new love. It so happened that in some ways the actress repeated the fate of her heroine. Thanks to the filming of this series, fundamental changes have occurred in both her professional and personal life.
She agreed to shoot in Russia with great pleasure, not only because she was glad to visit her homeland, but also because serious disagreements began in her family. As it turned out, she and her husband had little in common. He spent all his time at the computer, because he specialized in computer technology and technical innovations, from which his wife was far. She lived in cinema and theater, to which her husband was indifferent. They did not have joint hobbies and interests, and the spouses began to move away from each other. And on the set in Russia, the actress met a person who turned out to be very close to her in spirit and was just as creative.
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The director of the TV series "Evlampiya Romanova" Vladimir Morozov later admitted that he was captivated at first sight, as soon as Alla Klyuka appeared on the set. And when he chose her for the main role from among other applicants, this choice was prompted not only by professional instinct, but also by his heart. Together they worked for a long time and carefully on the role, because the actress faced a difficult task - to "get" into the image that had already formed in the minds of readers familiar with the works of Daria Dontsova. This task was complicated by the fact that the actress herself had not read them before, because no one knew this popular author of detective stories in America at that time in America. The joint work brought Alla and Vladimir closer together, and soon it became not at all difficult for her to portray love in the frame.
When both realized that their feelings were mutual and serious, Alla went to the United States between filming and confessed this to her husband. He was already ready to part, because in fact their marriage had long cracked, and they parted peacefully, without mutual claims and grievances. The actress returned to Russia with her son. After some time, Vladimir Morozov proposed to her, and they got married. Alla's ex-husband was among the guests at the wedding - they managed to maintain warm friendly relations.
In 2003, when the first season of the series "Evlampiya Romanova" was released, Alla Kluka and Vladimir Morozov had a son, Ivan. The actress starred in two more seasons of this series, and also played roles in several more films. And after 2008 she disappeared from the screens again. Since then, Alla Klyuka has not acted in Russian cinema, but in the United States there was a job for her: in 2015 she was offered a cameo role in the TV series "The Secrets of Laura", in 2017 the series "Americans" with her participation was released.
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At the age of 50, the actress is quite happy with the way her creative destiny has developed. Although she did not become a star of the first magnitude either in the United States or in Russia, there are a lot of bright and memorable works in her filmography, among which there are many main roles. These days, Alla Kluka rarely appears in public and refuses to be interviewed. She still lives in Moscow, and, if necessary, flies off to shoot in the United States.
The actress admits that she feels happy thanks to her natural optimism and light character: she always believes in the best, and even if something from her plans does not work out, something else comes instead. Returning to Russia, she met her destiny, and this is much more valuable to her than a successful film career abroad - Alla Kluka says that work for her remains rather a hobby than the meaning of life. In addition, she always called herself a Russian actress, despite all the roles she played in the United States.
