Ukrainian film and theater actress Olena Olar, whose name is familiar to audiences from modern series, comedies, and melodramas, spoke candidly in an interview with Wave RBC-Ukraine about her creative journey, the realities of the profession during wartime, and personal losses. During the conversation, she recalled her childhood in the rural areas of Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, explained how a coincidence led her from volleyball to the stage, and openly discussed her husband's service in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the painful loss of her father, who she says heroically defended Ukraine. “This is an abbreviated version of the conversation,” editors note, directing readers to the full video interview on the Wave RBC-Ukraine YouTube channel.
Childhood Between Odesa and Mykolaiv: “I Saw Myself in Incredible Images”
Olena Olar was born in the Odesa region into an ordinary rural family and grew up in the Mykolaiv region after her family moved when she was very young. When she was six, her mother divorced her biological father, who later ended up in prison. By the time she was seven or eight, her mother met Oleksandr Velychko, and a stepfather entered Olena's life. The actress recalls that since childhood she was a child who “always performed and sang,” and even in the conditions of large-scale farming — with pigs and cows — she already envisioned herself in “some incredible images.” “I had a completely different vision of myself since childhood. Even in the circumstances in which I lived,” she says.
From Volleyball to the Stage: A Life-Changing Coincidence
In her youth, Olar was a serious athlete — a candidate master of sports in volleyball. In Mykolaiv, she planned to enter the Faculty of Physical Education at the pedagogical institute. She ranked sixth overall, but could only enroll on a state-funded budget since her family could not afford tuition fees. However, a female applicant from a privileged category passed ahead of her, and Olar’s spot was gone. “When you’ve already been told that you’re on a contract basis, but there’s no money — what half-year are we talking about?” the actress recalls. According to her, this unsuccessful episode became a turning point: fate “carried” her further — through Kharkiv and ultimately to Kyiv, where she built her career in theater and cinema.
War, Husband in the Armed Forces, and the Loss of a Hero Father
A separate, most emotional part of the interview is dedicated to the war. Olena Olar speaks openly about the fact that her husband serves in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and how this affects their daily lives and her own perception of reality. “You can’t run from reality,” she formulates as the main principle guiding her work and life. The actress associates special pain with the loss of her father, who, she says, heroically defended Ukraine. She does not hide that this loss became one of the most difficult trials, and it is through the prism of personal experience that she builds her creative and life priorities today.
Therapy, Boundaries, and Relationship with Her Mother
In the interview, Olar talks in detail about her teenage rebellion, conflicts with her mother, and the “teacher's pet syndrome” that formed against the backdrop of her more rebellious older sister. “I am a closed person, cold, and I won't respond with some warmth,” the actress admits, adding that she always envied the warm relationship between her sister and mother. The psychotherapy she underwent helped her realize that the distance was caused not only by her mother, but also by her own “failure to allow her mother to be closer than she would have liked.” “Now I apologize. Now I tell my mom more often that I love her,” Olar summarizes, emphasizing that her relationship with her mother is kept “at arm's length,” but she is actively working to change it.
Sources of Inspiration and Looking Forward
Concluding the conversation, Olena Olar says that it is precisely in the conditions of war and personal losses that she finds genuine sources of inspiration for her work on stage and on screen. Her creative journey — from rural Odesa through Mykolaiv and Kharkiv to capital projects — has been, in her own description, not so much the result of a conscious choice, but of a chain of coincidences in which she learned to see opportunity. The full video interview is available on the Wave RBC-Ukraine YouTube channel, where the actress reveals these topics in even greater detail.
