“I'm interested in the truth, even when it's uncomfortable”: Actress Aleksandra Rusanova on her artistic transformation
- incandenza
- 11 ore fa
- Tempo di lettura: 2 min
From Moscow to Berlin, Aleksandra Rusanova on Survival and Emotional Truth in Acting: “You can always tell in the eyes whether it’s real, or not.”
For actress Aleksandra Rusanova, the connection between personal experience and acting is not theoretical. The Russian actress, currently preparing to expand her career between Moscow and Berlin, says that overcoming major personal challenges profoundly changed the way she understands emotional truth and screen presence.
“Before that, I believed anything could be built through craft,” Rusanova says. “Technique, precision, repetition. I thought a strong actor could construct any emotional state. Then something happened that made imitation impossible.”
After a serious incident that left a lasting impact on Rusanova's life, she began to notice how people carry fear, vulnerability, and strength within themselves. "I started paying attention to how a person can hide their emotions, yet they still manifest," she explains. "Later, I realized that the psyche reveals itself very clearly when a person goes through difficult experiences."
This experience had a profound impact on how Rusanova perceives emotions and vulnerability. But instead of focusing on fear, she describes that period as a time of rebuilding and developing sharper emotional awareness. "At some point, everything becomes very clear," she says. "Not about the future. Not about hope. Only about the next step."
Also, according to Rusanova, the challenges she endured changed her perception of people and performances. "It wasn't the incident itself that changed me the most as an actress. It was what happened afterward."
She noticed that people began sharing deeply personal experiences with her without explanation or hesitation. “Dark, unprocessed parts of their lives,” she observes. “As if something in me signaled that this would not be rejected.” She describes an immediate understanding between people who have experienced extreme situations, including survivors of accidents, violence, or high-risk professions. “We didn’t need to explain ourselves. It was understood through the eyes.”
That idea now shapes her artistic approach. “After that experience, it became impossible not to notice falseness. Not in the sense of bad acting, but in the absence of lived connection. And equally, it became very clear when something inside a scene was real.”
Trained at the Studio of Psychological Theatre under Ilya Slobodchikov (director, VGIK), Rusanova began acting at the age of eleven before temporarily leaving the profession to study psychology and work in emergency support services.
She later returned to performing full time. “For me, acting is entering another person’s emotional structure. Pain, contradiction, vulnerability. All of it.” Her work includes theatre, independent films, television projects, and international collaborations. Recent credits include the comedy series Workdays, directed by Roman Amsler, as well as dramatic short films currently distributed on the Russian market.
She has also participated in charity initiatives and theatre projects involving children with autism, while continuing her collaboration with stage productions connected to the Theatre of Mossoviet. Now preparing to relocate to Berlin, Rusanova states her focus is on independent European cinema, particularly dark comedy and psychologically driven drama. “I take stronger risks with material now. Less obvious choices. More precision.”
Rather than building a public image around glamour or visibility, Rusanova says she is interested in work grounded in emotional authenticity: “I’m interested in the truth. Even when it’s uncomfortable.”
Contact alexandrarusanovainquiry@gmail.com | Instagram @alex_rusanova
Commenti