Daria Panchenko is a Ukrainian actress and ballerina with an unusual hobby - boxing. However, when you get to know Darya better, you find out that the combination of fragility and strength is the basis of her personality. She attracts people like a magnet. And so does everything Daria says about her recently written movie script.

Text: Karina Evans
 Have you been dreaming of becoming an actress since you were a child or did this desire come later?
I wanted to be the center of attention as a child, being in the shadows for me was intolerable, I always needed to be in the epicenter of events. I also loved impersonating celebrities, acting out scenes. I felt such happiness and adrenaline rush that I realized that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
What prompted you to choose acting as a profession?
I was a very shy kid with tons of complexes and insecurities, and acting gives you the opportunity to show and prove your superiority to everyone. When you play a character, your insecurity fades into the background, and this role allows you to be someone who you really aren't with no restraint, it liberates you, all the barriers fall. I've had a lot of brokenness in my life, but when you redirect the pain into contemplation, into fuel for creativity, it heals you.
Do you remember your first time on stage or shooting a movie?
Everyone's first attempts in acting tend to fail. It's so embarassing, your hands are in the way, you don't know what to do with them, you're bright red with shame in front of the audience. It passes only with time, when the quantity of roles transforms into quality.

What achievements acting profession do you consider the most significant at the moment?
The fact that I stopped playing and showing something, but learned to live and bring the truth of life to the stage. I stopped controlling and evaluating myself from the outside while I was acting, giving myself entirely to the process and living in the moment of my role. It is impossible to act out the same situation in the same way, and when actors try to repeat during rehearsal the past exact hit in the image, it is a dead-end. The same performance will always be played differently, in a new way, and to understand this and to live everything in the moment is the main achievement of an actor.
What role does ballet play in your life?
It has taught me not to feel sorry for myself, be rigidly disciplined and stop at nothing, no matter what happens.

You have recently written a script. What is it about and why did you become interested in writing?
It is about the emptiness of the soul, about how it eats away at people, about the fact that it is much easier to feel pain and fight against the obstacles of life than to feel an emptiness which makes you think that life has stopped and there is nowhere to strive. This is the problem of millions of people, but cinematography tends to portray action, intricate circumstances, forgetting about the depth of the routine of life. And it is much more painful to look at than wars and debauches. In this respect, I really appreciate the work of director Andrey Zvyagintsev and the way he reveals the "creeping" of our time.
Writing attracts me because in my works I can bring the truth to people and debunk many common stereotypes. I want representatives of all walks of life, regardless of social level, to find themselves in my lines, so that the emotions and subtle shades of feelings would make them to feel that everything was "written off" from their lives.
What is your most cherished creative dream?
Writing my script. It's my life now. I bare my life completely in it, describing the most fragile details of my existence. There's a lot of naked truth in it. When people see this project, it will probably cause condemnation, rejection, but not indifference. And now all my energy is focused on the realization of this project &mdash; the way I conceived it.

What are your favorite fashion brands and designers?
I am a victim of fashion and marketing, I like the best, most sensational and most expensive things. (Smiling.) Subconsciously people perceive you as a much more successful and fulfilled person when they see you wearing luxury brands, people dress for success - you can't take that away. Herm&egrave;s is my favorite handbag brand, I don't wear others, once you get used to these bags, you can't go back. In clothes I prefer Chanel. My favorite jewelry brand is Bvlgari, I adore this jewelry and admire its design.
What nutritional system do you follow in order to stay in such great shape?
As someone who has a history of bulimia, an eating disorder, one thing I can say is that body acceptance gives you the ability to stay in good shape. I tried all the diets, injected all the new-fangled dangerous drugs and took diet pills, but it didn't bear the results I needed for a long period of time, because everything is in my head. When you count every calorie and blame yourself for every extra piece you eat, you are on the way to compulsive overeating. You can't limit yourself, you need to listen to your body, rigid diets always lead to breakdowns. Only proper nutrition and love for your body harmonizes the diet and normalizes weight. It is necessary to work with a psychologist to work out the right eating habits, to understand why you have to snack and what you want to compensate with food.

How would you like to see your life in 10 years professionally and personally?
I would like to see myself filled and delighted with life. It is very important not to lose that light ahead that moves you and makes you live. The worst thing for me is to feel emptiness and to lose interest in life, which is akin to death. I also want very much to keep naivety in a good sense of the word in all spheres of life and to keep dreaming.

Model: @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/vadimovna_darya_p" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vadimovna_darya_p </a>
Photo: Natalia Lysiakova @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/natalysyakova" target="_blank" rel="noopener">natalysyakova </a>
PR: @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/multi_publications" target="_blank" rel="noopener">multi_publications</a>

Darya Panchenko: "I completely bared my soul in my script"

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