Masha Shukshina is one of those people you cannot help but notice. She's slim, blonde, attractive, glowing with good health and a cheerful smile, but at the same time she has a simplicity and naturalness about her that all serve to make her a magnet for the camera and the audience. One of Russia's most in-demand actresses, Shukshina has all the elements to create a lasting career: She's ambitious, she's got looks and she's talented, intelligent and fiercely tough on herself - without letting insecurity dominate. And she has courage. In conversation, she is warm, direct and unfailingly polite. She never lived life in the fast lane, never sought quick fame and has always strived to remain above all a good, intelligent and optimistic human being. Shukshina has had a chameleon-like career; a professional translator/interpreter, speaking two foreign languages, she even worked at the Moscow Stock Exchange. In addition to her regular gig, hosting the "Wait for Me" TV program, Shukshina recently took a leading role as the charming sorceress Katerina in Yury Kuzmenko's series "The Magician's Adventures," broadcast on TVS.


People see you as extremely beautiful, but how do you see yourself?
I never thought of myself as this exquisite thing. Like any human being, I see the flaws in myself. But I learned early on that the less you try, the more your better qualities will come through.


You worked at the stock exchange for almost two years. It's not exactly the most sexy and glamorous job for a woman. How did you survive there?

I wasn't a stockbroker; I worked as a translator/interpreter/secretary. Although I didn't get a professional film education, I'm an actress, even if I just inherited the acting gene from my parents. That's why I had no problem putting myself into the head of, let's say, a strong independent businesswoman who has to handle herself in crisis situations and overcome difficulties. The thing with that job was that, after a couple of years, I knew the area like the back of my hand. I got bored and needed a change in my professional career. So, acting proved to be life-altering for me.


You brought an extraordinary depth to your TV work that people picked up on when you first appeared on "Wait for Me." Where does that sensitivity come from?

I think I'm just a gifted observer of people, and I can study people's behavior and figure out who they are or where they get their energy or pain from. I don't have any special techniques; I simply try to be myself both in life and on the screen. Sometimes I get recognized in the street, and people come up and talk to me about the characters I've played. That helps me study human psychology. Most of the people are really sweet and complimentary. Sometimes I have interesting conversations about my work, but most of the time I just get a lot of stares and whispers. Most women focus on what I look like, narrowing in on my makeup, hair and clothes.


What got you interested in acting?

I'm not particularly interested in being a movie star per se - I love the actual filming. What makes acting so exciting is that you can throw yourself into characters that you might have fantasized about being like. That's the escapist side of acting, which is part of the thrill of the work. I love to go deep into the process of discovering a character, defining the chemistry between her personality and yours. It's like being a plastic surgeon who sculpts each gesture and each line. I prefer to take on roles that reflect deeper things about my own personality, or at least allow me to pour darker and more difficult moods into my characters. Acting is not a superficial profession - it can be very deep and challenging.


When you're reading a new script, what grabs your attention?

Picking movies is not an exact science. I've never been obsessed with my career or the money I could make from the film business. By nature, I try to challenge myself by taking parts no one would expect me to choose and see how I measure up. I leave the money decisions to others; I need inspiration to do the material. It's also about working with people I get along with, because it takes a long time to make a movie. I've made a lot of good friends through my work. There's this great closeness that you feel working on a film set. I don't look for hit films to boost my star power. As an actress, I think I've done only a tenth of what I'm capable of doing.


In Kuzmenko's eight-part series with a whodunit plot, you're playing a weird sorceress. How did you research your role?

Actually, I play a sorceress who is bad at conjuring! My character, Katerina, is a woman who is trying to save the world from evil and expose the criminals she encounters. To make her naive mission come true, Katerina uses not only her natural magical talents but, let's say, more traditional methods. Thus, she casts her prudence to the winds...

Personally, I see the series as more of a comedy or a fairy tale than a detective story. I made up my mind to act in it because I liked the plot, the genre and the cast. The main characters are played by stars who give brilliant, ironic performances. Vladislav Galkin plays a policeman who takes no bribes (which is unbelievable in Moscow!). The magnificent Olga Aroseva plays my grandmother who knows magical devices and understands human weak points - and is also into computer games and has a thing for ketchup! Last but not least, the series has both high-quality sound and hi-fi picture, thanks to the latest [technology].


You've stated in previous interviews that you were shy as a child. Did acting help you overcome that?

I don't show my emotions that easily, especially with people I don't know. I have to feel very comfortable with friends to let my defenses down and open up. There's an entire process of psychic excavation that takes place during shooting that is very liberating in some ways. I think that, at the core of acting, it's the focus. I love the process of filming - there's something magical about it. When you get rid of all the trappings and distractions of moviemaking and just focus on a scene and forget about everything else, it's truly a wonderful feeling.


Did you ever doubt your chances of having an A-list film career? Are you afraid of sitting on the sidelines one day?

I think we all have to find a way of killing our demons and freeing ourselves from all the accumulated rubbish that piles up in our heads. Maybe you'll never get rid of all your fears and insecurities, but if you can face up to the big ones, the rest become pretty insignificant and life feels a whole lot simpler. Over the years, I've learned to become a very self-reliant individual. Fears are useless; they don't lead you to anything positive or productive. Believe me, fears bear no fruit. Whenever I feel I'm starting to get depressed, I have these little talks with myself that I call "pep talks." I've spent a lifetime questioning myself - about who I am and what I want to do with myself. Now I've learned to be less rigid and dogmatic and simply take things as they come without constantly trying to organize, categorize and structure everything.