Anatoly (Otto) Alekseyevich Solonitsyn (; 30 August 1934 – 11 June 1982) was a Soviet actor known for his roles in Andrei Tarkovsky's films. He won the

Silver Bear for Best Actor The Silver Bear for Best Actor () was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chosen by the International Jury from the films i ...

at the 31st Berlin International Film Festival.

Film career

Solonitsyn was born in Bogorodsk. At birth, he was named Otto, after polar explorer Otto Schmidt. His debut in cinema was in the Sverdlovsk Film Studio's

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

''The Case of Kurt Clausewitz'' (1963), directed by

Gleb Panfilov Gleb Anatolyevich Panfilov (; 21 May 1934 – 26 August 2023) was a Russian film director noted for a string of mostly historical films starring his wife, Inna Churikova. Biography In the 1980s Panfilov, a chemist by profession, moved to thea ...

. Solonitsyn is best known in the west for his roles in several of

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (, ; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Russian origin. He is widely considered one of the greatest directors in cinema history. Works by Andrei Tarkovsky, His films e ...

's films, including Dr. Sartorius in ''

Solaris Solaris is the Latin word for sun. It may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Sol ...

'' (1972), the Writer in '' Stalker'' (1979), the physician in ''

Mirror A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...

'' (1975), and the titular role in ''

Andrei Rublev Andrei Rublev (, ; ) was a Russian artist considered to be one of the greatest medieval Russian painters of Orthodox Christian icons and frescoes. He is revered as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and his feast day is 29 January. Ear ...

'' (1966). In his book '' Sculpting in Time'', Tarkovsky calls Solonitsyn his favorite actor, and writes that Solonitsyn was intended to play the lead roles in his films '' Nostalghia'' (1983) and '' The Sacrifice'' (1986), but the actor died before their production. Tarkovsky admired Solonitsyn's ability to fully embody the ideas of the director. When Tarkovsky was considering making a film adaptation of Dostoevsky's famous novel ''

The Idiot ''The Idiot'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform ) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal ''The Russian Messenger'' in 1868–1869. The titl ...

'', Solonitsyn was even ready to undergo plastic surgery to look more like the great Russian writer. In the former

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

he is also well known for his roles in ''

At Home Among Strangers ''A Friend to Foes, a Foe to Friends'' (; ''Svoy sredi chuzhikh, chuzhoy sredi svoikh'') is a 1974 Soviet Red Western film starring Yuri Bogatyryov and Anatoly Solonitsyn and directed by Nikita Mikhalkov. It is Mikhalkov's directorial debut. P ...

'' (1974), '' The Train Has Stopped'' (1982), and many others.

Awards

In 1981, he won the

at the 31st Berlin International Film Festival for his role in Aleksandr Zarkhi's film ''

Twenty Six Days from the Life of Dostoyevsky ''Twenty Six Days from the Life of Dostoyevsky'' () is a 1981 Soviet biographical film about writer Fyodor Dostoevsky directed by Aleksandr Zarkhi. It was entered into the 31st Berlin International Film Festival where Anatoly Solonitsyn won t ...

''. The same year, he was given the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.

Death

Solonitsyn died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

in 1982, at the age of 47. Allegedly, according to Viktor Sharun, the sound editor on '' Stalker'', Solonitsyn, Tarkovsky and Larisa Tarkovskaya became ill due to exposure to toxic chemicals during filming on the location of the movie.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1934 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Russian male actors People from Bogorodsky District, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Honored Artists of the RSFSR Silver Bear for Best Actor winners Russian male film actors Russian male stage actors {{USSR-actor-stub Russian male television actors Soviet male film actors Soviet male stage actors Soviet male television actors Deaths from lung cancer in Russia Deaths from lung cancer in the Soviet Union Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery