An Interview with Alexander Nevsky
The towering Alexander Nevsky was a force to be reckoned with in the world of competitive bodybuilding. A former Mr. Universe, Nevsky was a superstar bodybuilder in his native Russia. And like Arnold Schwarzenegger before him, Nevsky parlayed his bodybuilding notoriety into a film career.
Nevsky is looking to make a splash in the North American market with his film Black Rose. And when I say his film, I mean HIS FILM. Nevsky stars in the movie, he directed the movie and even has writing and producing credits. This “jack of all trades” mentality was inspired by another iconic action star, one of the topics Alexander Nevsky will discuss in this exclusive interview…
CTB: You were both the star and the director of Black Rose. Those are arguably the two most important pieces of any movie. How difficult was it to juggle both of those roles?
AN: Black Rose was a dream project for me. Of course, it was difficult but I really enjoyed every moment of it. I was always fascinated by the great Sylvester Stallone and his ability to write, produce, direct and act. On Black Rose I did it all too: I was a producer, writer (I got “story by” credit), director and actor. I thank my co-stars for supporting me on set and also thank my executive producers Brian Gores and Sheldon Lettich – they’re both very experienced directors and they helped me a lot. I think the only real problem I had during pre-production and production is I had almost no time for working out and that’s why I didn’t show my muscles much in this film. 😉
CTB: When I saw the trailer for Black Rose, I couldn’t help but think back to Arnold Schwarzenegger in Red Heat. I will say that your partner in Black Rose is much more attractive than Arnold’s in Red Heat (Sorry Jim). What was it like working with Kristanna Loken?
AN: I’m a big fan of Kristanna. She’s a great actress and a great person. We met first time in 2003, she was doing interviews for T3 and I was already representing Russia at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (I vote for the Golden Globe Awards). 10 years later we met again and discussed Black Rose. Kristanna liked the script and agreed to do this film. We shot in Moscow and LA and it was a joy to work with her. You mentioned Red Heat and I really like this film (Walter Hill is one of my favorite directors, I worked with him in Undisputed) but my partner is for sure much better than Arnold’s, I agree with you completely!
CTB: Why should action fans be pumped for Black Rose?
AN: I think many people miss good old fashioned action movies. I’m one of those people. Black Rose has several different genres in it – it has mystery, action and even some horror. But also it has an idea of international cooperation, that Russians and Americans can be friends and partners. Also, I think many of Bulletproof Action readers miss seeing Kristanna Loken, Adrian Paul, Matthias Hues and Robert Davi and would love to see them back in action. Black Rose was a theatrical success in Russia/CIS and film’s rights were sold to many countries. I hope the North American audience will like it too.
CTB: You make it a point in your movies, like Showdown in Manila and Black Rose, to work with action stars of the past. Is there anybody out there in the action movie universe that you haven’t had a chance to work with yet that you’d like to in the future?
AN: Of course! I’d like to work with my idol, Sylvester Stallone. I know Sly personally and he gave me many great pieces of advice. I also would like to work with my bodybuilding heroes Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ralf Moeller. Ralf is my friend and actually, he was supposed to co-star in Black Rose but couldn’t because of a schedule conflict. And, to be honest with you, I’ll be happy to make another movie with any action icon I worked with – from Don “The Dragon” Wilson and Olivier Gruner to Adrian Paul and Billy Zane. By the way, the script for my next film is finished already and the new project will be announced soon.
CTB: Another of your upcoming projects I’m looking forward to is Maximum Impact. What can you tell us about this action comedy?
AN: Maximum Impact was written by Ross LaManna (he created the Rush Hour franchise) and directed by great Andrzej Bartkowiak (Romeo Must Die, Cradle 2 The Grave, DOOM). The film is on the final stage of post-production and the first trailer will be out in May. I produced it and starred in with Kelly Hu, Tom Arnold, Denny Trejo, my friends Matthias Hues and Mark Dacascos and Russian actresses Polina Butorina and Maria Bravikova among many others. Maximum Impact is a big budget international action movie and it will be released in 2018.
CTB: Any final words for our readers?
AN: I’d like to thank the Bulletproof Action team and your readers for all the interest and support!
Visit the official Black Rose site, BlackRoseMovie.com and don’t miss Black Rose in theaters on April 28th and on DVD on May 2nd.
Also be sure to follow Alexander Nevsky on Twitter (@NevskyAlexandr) and Instagram (@RealAlexNevsky for updates on all his upcoming projects.
Stay tuned to Bulletproof Action this Saturday when we interview Nevsky’s lovely co-star in Black Rose, Kristanna Loken.
