Four years have passed since Disney stopped working with Russian dubbing studios and began searching for new contractors to produce Russian-language versions of its films. Ultimately, Disney signed a contract with Almaty-based studio MovieDalen. Kursiv LifeStyle spoke with voice actors Tatyana Kostyuchenko and Ivan Savoskin, who collaborate with the studio.
Secrets of Russian-language dubbing
Unlike Romance and Germanic languages such as Italian, Spanish, English and German, Russian is quite flexible when it comes to word order. As a result, Russian dubbing has reached a high level of sophistication. For example, when you watch an American movie dubbed into Italian, you may notice that an actor’s mouth has already closed onscreen while the Italian line continues. You rarely see this in movies dubbed into Russian because specialists ensure that Russian lines match the actors’ lip movements onscreen.
Films are most often dubbed by theater and film actors, as it can be difficult for a non-professional to convey the required emotions. In addition, many American studios, especially Marvel, take data protection very seriously to prevent leaks before movie premieres. A dubbing actor may stand in front of a gray screen showing only the character’s moving lips. They may not even fully understand the plot. Voice actors often arrive at the studio and see only the few lines they need to record that day.
What’s the most challenging thing for dubbing actors?
Both actors began dubbing four years ago. However, dubbing is not their primary occupation. Kostyuchenko is an actress and director at the Natalia Sats Russian Theater for Children and Youth. She also works as a speech teacher at the Temirbek Zhurgenov Kazakh National Academy of Arts.
Savoskin also voices video game characters. His credits include PC game characters such as BJ Blazkowicz from «Wolfenstein: The New Order» and «Wolfenstein: The Old Blood,» Darth Vader from «Star Wars: The Force Unleashed» and Garcia Hotspur from «Shadows of the Damned.»
Dubbing films comes with its own unique challenges. According to Kostyuchenko, short lines are the hardest for her. In the 2025 film «The Roses,» starring Benedict Cumberbatch, she voiced a supporting character who often said short lines such as «yes» and «no.»
«We rerecorded those lines 15 to 20 times to get them right,» the actress said.
Savoskin agrees, noting that the film was also one of his most challenging projects, as he voiced the lead character.
«Cumberbatch always carries himself with a very aristocratic demeanor. It was very difficult to nail that. He can slow down his lines significantly or, conversely, speak too quickly. At the same time, his mood, intonation and timbre can change several times in a single line. For him, every line is a whole world, and you only have a few moments to process it all in your head,» he emphasized.
Another challenging role for Ivan was the chimpanzee Noa in the 2024 film «Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.» The challenges were largely technical, as the actor had to avoid losing his voice while producing a beast-like roar and breathing loudly like an animal.
As for emotions, Kostyuchenko doesn’t recall having any problems portraying them.
«A good actor should truly believe in the circumstances they find themselves in. The necessary emotions arise naturally when you respond to a given situation. You don’t control how it happens. If you need a little help, you can use a psychological trick. For example, if I need to get angry, I can hit my leg and continue delivering the monologue, and that emotion will come through,» she said.
For Savoskin, the most difficult emotion to portray is love. He believes that dubbing should be done by an experienced actor who has spent at least five years studying at university and training daily to convey human emotions. In particularly dramatic scenes, he either imagines his loved one or focuses on the colleague voicing the female character.
«Sacrifices» in the name of voice acting
At the dubbing studio, there’s no typical office routine where people come in, drink coffee and take their time before starting an eight-hour workday. For Kazakhstani actors, dubbing films is a side job, as they already work in theater or the film industry. They arrive at strictly designated times and must complete their entire workload within that time. After all, they have to remember that other artists have recording sessions scheduled after them.
In short, they don’t have time to «warm up» or be distracted by personal problems.
Voice actors also follow a specific diet to protect their voices. Interestingly, smoking and coffee don’t affect their voices. However, seeds, nuts, dairy and fermented milk products can put them out of action for up to two days.
Is it hard to work with big studios?
Disney, whose portfolio includes Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, Walt Disney Pictures and other studios, has no unusual or highly specific quality requirements. In many cases, edits coming from the U.S. would go unnoticed by the average viewer.
«While we’re dubbing a film, it’s still being filmed and edited, so some additional text may be added before the final cut. Sometimes, they want us to breathe to fill the gap between words or pronounce something more slowly,» Kostyuchenko explained.
Savoskin emphasized that Disney has only one key quality requirement: professionalism. A team of specialists selects dubbing actors. Moreover, even actors who had become established voices for various Hollywood stars had to go through the casting process every time until 2022.
«If someone wasn’t cast, it likely means their voice wasn’t right for the role, or they found someone who could better capture the character’s facial expressions. Like any other studio, Disney strives to make a high-quality product, and that’s their top priority,» Savoskin said.
