Dasha Tregubova shares her views on harassment in the film industry, extreme hobbies, and her boyfriend—exclusively for Focus.

Interview with Dasha Tregubova — about the "Dasha Reads" project, extreme hobbies, and who she dreams of working with

Dasha Tregubova — actress, TV host, director. How do you position and feel about yourself today?

From the very beginning of my career, I worked in multiple jobs and engaged in various activities. I studied directing but immediately started working as a TV host from my first year. For a long time, my work was closely tied to television. However, I always aspired to be part of the film industry, as it's my favorite field and passion. After serving as both an editor and chief editor of a channel, and working in advertising and network ad agencies, I finally made my way into film as an actress. Initially, I had small roles, which later grew into bigger ones. Yet, I always managed to juggle many things at once, making it difficult to identify myself. Let’s say, I’m a film person. I have a strong love for both film and television, as well as for advertising. I also enjoy writing scripts for video games.

In 2024, I completed my first directing project, set to be released in spring 2025. It’s a four-part drama, a real drama, not a melodrama, about the work of transplant surgeons during wartime. It took me quite a while to bring my first directing project to life. Initially, it was supposed to be a different project that I planned to shoot next year—a feature-length thriller that we are currently preparing for filming. So, by 2024, I had established myself as a director. As far as I understand, everyone is satisfied with the project. I got a chance to work from that perspective, which helped me understand even more about myself.

Every new endeavor we undertake is a significant step forward for us as individuals. It’s not just about me as an actress or director; I feel like I’ve become a more interesting person overall. Now, on set as an actress, I look deeper and can offer something to the director from a director's perspective. It’s turning out to be quite exciting. Therefore, in 2024, alongside my titles as actress, screenwriter, and producer, I have produced 6 or 7 projects, and now my first directing project has emerged. Honestly, it’s incredibly rewarding. I must say, though, that it was so exhausting that it’s one of those cases where I, a person full of energy, needed to recuperate.

Tell us about the "Dasha Reads" project. What principle do you use to choose poems? Can your readers suggest them?

I actually came up with the "Dasha Reads" project a long time ago. I have loved poetry since childhood. I distinctly remember reading it since I was about 11-12 years old. Before that, I even wrote poems myself as a little girl. In short, poetry has always fascinated me. For many years in adulthood, I planned to create a project where I would invite everyone to read poetry. Then, apparently, the time came, and I found a wonderful team with whom we recorded the first set of poems—there were four or five, I think. It was such a spectacular experience. If I’m not mistaken, it was either 2016 or 2017.

I immediately chose contemporary poetry for myself. I think this is a hallmark of "Dasha Reads," that it features modern Ukrainian poetry from Ukrainian poets. There were a couple of poems from non-Ukrainian poets, just good ones. But before 2022, I was reading poetry from Ukrainian poets who write in both Russian and Ukrainian, and since then, I exclusively read Ukrainian poets who write in Ukrainian. I really hope that our amazing Ukrainian poets, who have written in Russian their whole lives, will also be able to reformat their work.

I must say that over the past two years, a remarkable new wave of poets has emerged, and an incredible number of amazing poems have surfaced. I’m very pleased that the voices of contemporary poets have become more noticeable now. Perhaps, to some extent, it’s thanks to me, and that warms my heart. Now they are filling large venues and gathering many fans. Many of them, judging by the comments on YouTube, if you read them, I have about 140 poems by now, even very well-known poets are still being discovered by people. Even those who we are sure everyone knows, like Babkin, are not known for their poetry by everyone. Someone previously thought that Zhadan was a singer. And many new names are emerging.

Regarding whether readers suggest poems to me, many poets send me their work. Readers sometimes suggest theirs, often proposing new names I hadn’t heard of before. I have practiced reading such poetry, more amateur poetry, if you will. Or poetry that was proposed to me and which I hadn’t heard of before during the "Dasha Reads Quarantine" project when we had a lockdown. I held live broadcasts where people gathered. Before that, they would send me which poems they wanted me to read. I would read not only what I prepared but also what viewers sent me. Sometimes, there were real gems among them. Typically, I come across a poem on social media, in a group, or in an online publication, or it randomly appears in front of me. I realize that... or even among the poets themselves, since we all connect on social media in their public pages. If I feel strongly touched by a poem, I collect it into my own online folder of poems, which probably has millions by now. On some days, I read them. Sometimes a poem sits with me for several years before it gets its moment, while at other times, I fall in love with it so much that I read it in the next shoot. It’s all completely unpredictable. It all comes from emotions because for a poem to resonate emotionally and evoke a multitude of feelings in the audience, it must touch me at that moment.

Was there a moment in your career when you doubted your choice of profession? How do you choose the roles you want to play? What matters more to you: an interesting plot or a character you can relate to?

I have never doubted my career choice, precisely because I chose a very broad field of activity for myself. When I felt restricted in acting, I engaged in screenwriting, producing, and television work. I always have something to do, and sometimes it even overwhelms me because it’s tough to refuse something when it’s all so interesting. I genuinely enjoy being in such a whirlwind, as it gives me a sense of fullness in life.

Roles don’t choose me; I choose them. It’s very rare for me to decline auditions because even if I initially feel unsure about a character or how I’ll portray them, I still give it a try. I go out there, and it might turn out to be very interesting. Of course, every actor dreams of seeing and wants to see good scripts. We all dream of good scripts. And good scripts are usually apparent right away. Sometimes a script that initially seems decent suddenly becomes extraordinary. That’s the magic of cinema, where a brilliant director, a fantastic team, and exceptional actors come together, and suddenly what seemed unremarkable transforms into a gem.

You already have a wealth of experience behind you. What has been the most important moment in Dasha Tregubova's career?

Interestingly, perhaps the most significant thing was not giving up, particularly in my acting career. There was a long period when I either wasn’t cast or only received tiny roles. I figuratively sat in the car, banging my head against the wheel, saying, “God, what a disgrace, how terrible I did.” Now, I understand why that was. I genuinely lacked self-confidence at that time. I had imposter syndrome. I thought that, yes, I was a well-established host who had been working in television for a long time, but I still didn’t feel like an actress in film. Now, I don’t have such problems.

As soon as I started wanting a little less, I think that this experience, combined with a newfound confidence that came over time, plus a shift in my expectations, led me to stop wanting something so desperately. I realized at that moment that I had plenty of different work I could engage in. I could genuinely write scripts, which I did, produce, and now even direct. So, when that pressure is absent... I feel you’re not forcing the universe or compressing it with your intense energy. Because I have strong energy, when I want something, it feels like an accident could happen. So, I started to approach everything a bit more calmly, and then everything began to unfold as it was meant to.

Are there directors you dream of working with? Why them?

I have a great, truly impressive track record. I think I’ve participated in around 100 projects by now. Of course, among them, there are both minor and significant roles. I’ve probably worked with most of the directors in our country. It’s amusing that so far, I haven’t had the chance to work with the directors with whom I’m genuinely on good terms, and we can almost call ourselves friends. I would love to work with Denis Tarasov. He’s a very old friend of mine, yet I’ve never acted in his projects. Although this year he invited me, I already had a project, so I couldn’t even try. And of