Viktor Kosykh: the very elusive Shchus

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

This actor became known to the audience after playing only two roles - Kostya Inochkin and Dani Shchusya. It was then that the boy literally "woke up famous." Despite the fact that during his life Viktor Kosykh played more than fifty characters, it was the image of Danka that became the main one in his acting biography.

Childhood and adoption

The future actor Vitya Kosykh (originally Volkov) was born on January 27, 1950. His mother taught physics at school. Papa Vitya died quite early. Mom got married a second time. The boy's stepfather was the famous actor Ivan Kosykh, who later adopted him. Being already an adult 18-year-old boy, Viktor Kosykh changed his middle name and surname. He did it consciously and of his own free will. From Vitya Volkov, he transformed into Vitya Kosykh.

First steps on set

When the boy was thirteen years old, cinema quickly burst into his life. Vitya was in no hurry to meet new impressions. It all happened quite by accident. Once the school, whose student was Viktor Kosykh, was visited by the assistant director Elema Klimova. Her goal was simple: the woman needed to find a boy who could swim well. After all, the director was preparing to shoot a new film about a children's summer camp. Vitya decided to keep up with his classmates and also came to audition.

Later he recalled with a smile how very loudly, with bulging eyes, but with expression, he read a poem to the director. Victor Kosykh, whose films are still watched with pleasure by millions of viewers, was then sure that he passed the test very badly, even worse than the rest of the guys. To his great surprise, it was he who was asked to stay. He played one episode.

From Marat to Kostya

At first, it was decided to approve the novice actor for the role of Marat - the very boy jumping naked into the thickets of nettles. In general, Vitya was satisfied with everything except one thing: he did not want to act naked. During his adolescence, this minute on the screen could have seemed like something to the guys: at school they would have ridiculed him, and his classmates would have despised him. That is why a little later, when the boy began to try for the role of Kostya Inochkin, who was also the main one in the film, Vitya tried to do everything in his power to make the director approve him.

He tried his best to not be forced to jump into the nettle bushes. Without panties. The boy succeeded. Victor Kosykh was indeed approved for the main role. But he still had to be naked in one frame: according to the script, after swimming in the water, Kostya stands with his back to the camera and squeezes out the laundry.

Elem Klimov managed in his film to combine what, in general, it was not possible to combine. On the one hand, the system of foundations of the life of the children's camp with a strange slogan above the entrance was very similar to detachment-camp life under the strict guidance of the state and its attentive eyes. On the other hand, to some extent, the children's perception of the surrounding world of the screenwriters and the subtle instinct of the director himself, who never shot such funny pictures after that, helped to save the tape from seriousness and pretentiousness. And yet, despite the apparent lightness of the film, after the first few screenings it was removed from the rental, calling it "anti-Khrushchev".

Elusive Danka

In the same year, Viktor Kosykh had another role in the drama "Soldier's Father", where he worked with his stepfather. A year later, he starred with Alexander Mitta in the film story "They call, open the door." By 1966, when he was invited by Edmond Keosayan to his new picture, the guy was already recognized. And director Keosayan decided to make a story about the adventures of young heroes of the Civil War. For Vitya Kosykh, the role of the brave boy Danka Shchus was prepared. Valya Kurdyukova played Ksanka, Vasya Vasiliev played the gypsy Yashka, and Misha Metelkin played the intelligent boy with glasses, Valera.

The shooting was already in full swing, and the name of the future masterpiece had not yet been thought of. Then the director invited the actors to reflect on how they would call this picture. Vitya and Misha came up with a name by which all viewers now know him - "The Elusive Avengers".

Picture,according to the plot of which four guys take revenge on the thugs of Burnash's father, was an extraordinary success. During the first year of its release, over fifty million people became its viewers. Of course, we decided to shoot a sequel: about the new adventures of teenagers, with the same actors. The 1968 film was an equally huge success. And here is another part of the trilogy - about saving museum valuables - turned out to be frankly weak. Perhaps because the main characters have grown up. What seemed interesting in the children's version now looked at least strange.

Adult movie roles

Viktor Kosykh, whose biography is not like the story of a man spoiled by cinematic fame, was a student at the Moscow Border School, and then at the acting department of VGIK. After receiving the diploma of the latter, he often acted in films, usually in minor roles. He never had such "star" characters as Danka or Kostya. Some of his most famous works are roles in the films “Cold Summer of 1953”, “Border Dog Scarlet”, “Jung of the Northern Fleet”…

After perestroika, the actor was very rarely invited to the set. His colleagues in "Welcome" and "The Avengers" got a job as janitors, plumbers, laborers … Only Vasya Vasiliev managed to get out - he became a businessman. Only the actor Viktor Kosykh and Mikhail Metelkin remained in the cinema, who later became an editing director. To survive in difficult times, Victor had to travel around the country with creative evenings and talk about his film roles.

In the personal life of the actor there were two wives. Victor lived with his first wife for eighteen years. But realizing that they were tired of each other, in a good way, quietly parted. For ten years he remained a bachelor, and then there was a meeting with Elena, who worked as an investigator. She was half his age, but this did not bother them. The couple got married, and in 2001 their daughter Katya was born.

The actor recalls with great warmth how much his life has changed with the advent of this baby, because he gained not only a second, but also a tenth wind. After a long period of time, he returned to the cinema, and one of his new reincarnations was the role of the theater party organizer in the "Star of the Epoch". And on December 22, 2011 at 12 noon, Viktor Kosykh passed away from heart failure - cardiomyopathy.