Alexander Nevsky Interview

Alexander Nevsky is an actor and producer. He also won three Mr. Universe competitions. We interview him about producing the horror film "The Night Of The Caregiver", and also ask him about building muscle.

What did you most like about producing The Night of the Caregiver?

The people who I worked with, The Night of the Caregiver was a great experience because of director Joe Cornet, director of photography, Stan Wilkerson, great cast, which included Joe and Natalie Denise Sperl and Eileen Dietz and the great Eric Roberts. So, the team and the experience, that was my best, best, you know, memory of The Night the Caregiver. And I hope your readers will enjoy the movie. Because again, it's on TV. It's on video and video on demand, The Night of the Caregiver.

What about the movie will motivate people to watch it?

It's different genres. It's a horror film, but also it's a thriller that has a little bit of action in it. It's a great homage to those classic horror films, which everyone loves, including The Exorcist.

You have now produced several movies involving Joe Cornet. What do you like about working with him?

He obviously is a very talented director, but also because he is an actor as well. He understands how to work with actors. And he will be always on your side. He will be always helping you, you know, to be prepared. And he's a very, very positive guy. With all that negativity around and then all the difficulties you can experience, he will always support you, and he will always, you know, push you into the right direction.

Do you plan to do more work in the horror genre?

Yes, right now, Joe and me, we're discussing our next horror film, believe it or not. And hopefully, we'll make it soon.

Which screen production that you've done are you most proud of?

You know, to be honest with you, I like all of my films. It just, I think the very first one Moscow Heat, which is also available right now. The very first one I'm proud of, because it was the first one, and it really helped me to break through. So, Moscow Heat and Gunfight at Rio Bravo, because it was my first ever Western. I mean, come on. Look at me. I mean, Mr. Universe in the wild west. Yes. But it worked. Because of again, great team and Joe Cornet, who was a captain on that one as well. So, Moscow Heat and Gunfight at Rio Bravo.

Why did you enter a Mr. Universe competition?

You know, it was always a dream of mine to do it, because I trained for a long time. I was very skinny kid when I started it, and you know, it was also interesting to push myself even further. I told you before, that, basically, that's my philosophy. You shouldn't be afraid to fight for your dreams. You shouldn't be. That was one of the reasons, and again, it was huge fun to compete. Yes, I was nervous, and whatever, but it was huge fun. Exactly as with filmmaking. Yes, sometimes you get nervous and there are some difficulties, whatever, but it's huge fun. That's the most important thing, fun.

How much time per week did you spend on workouts before the competitions?

Back then, my last competition was in 2012. Back then about three hours a day, including cardio. Right now, it's much easier, because it's just one hour of weightlifting and about 30 minutes of cardio. So, twice less right now.

How has winning Mr. Universe competitions affected your life?

It was another piece of the puzzle, which I got. And I always knew that I shouldn't stop. It's not like it's a peak or something. No, it was just another step and another step, which would lead me to get more movies, to get bigger muscles, to get more publicity and my message out, because my message is, again, it was the same in Europe, and it's the same message here. You have to understand that it's just you, and you can achieve whatever you want to achieve. And you should just, you shouldn't be afraid to fight for your dream. And it doesn't matter what you're doing, bodybuilding or journalism or filmmaking, whatever, you should just continue to push for your dream.

What are the best way for people to build muscle without the use of steroids?

To pay attention to the food. So, for example, if you want to get a little bit bigger, you definitely should eat more protein. And even if you don't have money to buy yourself, like those expensive protein shakes, or whatever, I mean, if you can have like four eggs for breakfast, a couple of chicken breasts for lunch, another chicken breast, for first dinner, you know, a little bit of fish or whatever for second dinner, you still be able to get your muscles bigger. Of course, you should sleep well, at least like seven or eight hours. And you should train at least three or four times a week. And you should use some basic exercises, which you can find in any Arnold Schwarzenegger book. There's so much of the information right now everywhere about building muscles and supplements and whatever. But nothing changed for the last hundreds of years. If you check those athletes from Greece from many years ago, they look like bodybuilders, like natural bodybuilders, and they did exactly what I just said. They ate more protein and they trained. They trained with weights. I'm sure they didn't have dumbbells and barbells at their time, but they had like stones and something like that. So, just don't make it complicated. Just watch your food, watch your sleep time and train at least three or four times a week using basic exercises.

How can people stop themselves from falling for scams and the more shady side of the fitness industry?

Unfortunately, we cannot stop people from anything. What we can do, I think we just remind them that it's all about them. No one can train for them instead of them. Right? We cannot train for them, and their muscles will be bigger, it still should be them. So, they should really choose those information they’re getting. It's the same like with food, or supplements or whatever. They should choose what they’re getting. And, again, the easiest thing, in my opinion, just to again, get yourself a book of Arnold Schwarzenegger, because it's the best one. Get yourself Arnold's Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding. It's all you should know about bodybuilding and everything is there. And all the things on the internet. Sometimes it's entertaining or whatever, but, in my opinion, most of the time, you should spend your time on something which will push you forward, you know, not somebody else.