
Age: 45
male
Vasiliy Stepanov (born January 14, 1986) is a Russian actor who became an overnight sensation and a symbol of "the new Russian cinema" following his iconic debut in Fyodor Bondarchuk’s sci-fi epic The Inhabited Island (2008). A graduate of the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute, he was handpicked for the lead role of Maxim Kammerer due to his striking physical appearance and "alien" blue eyes, which made him one of the most recognizable faces in Russia during the late 2000s. Despite this meteoric rise, his career was subsequently marked by a long hiatus due to personal health challenges and the heavy psychological toll of sudden fame, though he made brief returns to the screen in projects like About Love (2017) and the film Who is Next, Dreamers? (2018).

Vasiliy Stepanov

Prince Ivan
for Prince Ivan in The Firebird
Suggested by devahutiraichaliha

The ballet centers on the journey of its hero, Prince Ivan. While hunting in the forest, he strays into the magical realm of the evil Koschei the Immortal, whose immortality is preserved by keeping his soul in a magic egg hidden in a casket. Ivan chases and captures the Firebird and is about to kill her; she begs for her life, and he spares her. As a token of thanks, she offers him an enchanted feather that he can use to summon her should he be in dire need. Prince Ivan then meets thirteen princesses who are under the spell of Koschei and falls in love with one of them, Tsarevna. The next day, Ivan confronts the magician and eventually they begin quarrelling. When Koschei sends his minions after Ivan, he summons the Firebird. She intervenes, bewitching the monsters and making them dance an elaborate, energetic dance (the "Infernal Dance"). Exhausted, the creatures and Koschei then fall into a deep sleep. While they sleep, the Firebird directs Ivan to a tree stump where the casket with the egg containing Koschei's soul is hidden. Ivan destroys the egg, and with the spell broken and Koschei dead, the magical creatures that Koschei held captive are freed and the palace disappears. All of the "real" beings, including the princesses, awaken and celebrate their victory. Ivan and Tsarevna marry.
