Donatas Banionis (28 April 1924 – 4 September 2014) was a Soviet and Lithuanian stage and film actor and theatre director. He has more than 80 credited roles in cinema and is best known for his performance in the lead role of

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. His films explore spiritual and metap ...

's ''

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 ...

'' as Kris Kelvin. He was born in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. Banionis began his career with some films in

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

, but he would later play mainly in

Russian language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...

films (although his voice was dubbed by Russian actors). He has also worked outside the USSR like in the title role

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Hi ...

of the USSR-GDR coproduction ''

Goya or the Hard Way to Enlightenment ''Goya or the Hard Way to Enlightenment'' () is a 1971 East German drama film directed by Konrad Wolf. It was entered into the 7th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Special Prize. It is based on a novel with the same title by Lio ...

'' (1971), directed by

Konrad Wolf Konrad Wolf (20 October 1925 – 7 March 1982) was an East Germany, East German film director. He was the son of writer, doctor and diplomat Friedrich Wolf (writer), Friedrich Wolf, and the younger brother of Stasi spymaster Markus Wolf. "Koni" ...

and in the title role as

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

in the 1976

DEFA DEFA (''Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft'') was the state-owned film studio of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) throughout the country's existence. Since 2019, DEFA's film heritage has been made accessible and licensable on the PR ...

-production ''Beethoven - Tage aus einem Leben''. Aside from films, he was a popular stage actor in

Panevėžys Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...

, where he acted since the age of 17, and which was frequented by Donatas' fans from all over the former Soviet Union. His first teacher was

Juozas Miltinis Juozas Miltinis (September 3, 1907 in Akmenė, Lithuania – July 13, 1994 in Panevėžys, Lithuania) was a Lithuanian theatre director, actor and founder of the Juozas Miltinis Drama Theatre in Panevėžys. Miltinis has brought up a number of ac ...

. He acted in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, in the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre. One of the best-known works of the actor was the role of Kris Kelvin in the film

(1972) of Andrei Tarkovsky.

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

once stated that Banionis' part in the 1968 Soviet spy film ''

Dead Season ''Dead Season'' (, translit. Myortvyy sezon) is a 1968 Soviet spy film directed by Savva Kulish based on a screenplay by Aleksandr Shlepyanov and Vladimir Vajnshtok and featuring Donatas Banionis and Rolan Bykov. Plot A connection between D ...

'' was the reason why he joined the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

Early life and education

Donatas Banionis was born on 28 April 1924 in

, to a family of labourers. His father was Juozas Banionis and his mother Ona Blažaitytė Banionienė. He graduated from the First Kaunas Handicraft School, specialising in ceramics. During his studies he participated in a drama club. In 1940 in Kaunas, based on the amateur collective that existed at the House of Labor, a professional theatre was created, which was headed by the young director Juozas Miltinis, and soon the theatre moved to

. In 1941 Donatas Banionis was admitted to the troupe. In 1944, Banionis graduated from the studio at the Panevėžys Theater, becoming a professional actor. In 1984 he graduated from the State Conservatory of the Lithuanian SSR (now the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater).

Career

Theatre

On the stage, Banionis played over 100 characters. He acted in many plays, including "The Inspector General" by

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the Grotesque#In literature, grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works "The Nose (Gogol short story), ...

(1945); ''Liar'' by

Carlo Goldoni Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni (, also , ; 25 February 1707 – 6 February 1793) was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays ...

(1952); ''How the Steel Was Tempered'', based on the novel by

Nikolai Ostrovsky Nikolai Alekseyevich Ostrovsky (; ; 29 September 1904 – 22 December 1936) was a Soviet socialist realist writer. He is best known for his novel '' How the Steel Was Tempered''. Life Ostrovsky was born in the village of ''Viliya'' (today a v ...

(1952); ''

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage.Meyer, Michael Lever ...

'' by

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

(1957), ''There, Behind the Door'', based on the work of

Wolfgang Borchert Wolfgang Borchert (; 20 May 1921 – 20 November 1947) was a German author and playwright whose work was strongly influenced by his experience of dictatorship and his service in the ''Wehrmacht'' during the Second World War. His work is among t ...

(1966); and ''The Chair'', by

Valery Vrublevskaya Valery () is a male given name and occasional surname. It is derived from the Latin name ''Valerius''. The Slavic given name Valeriy or Valeri is prevalent in Russia and derives directly from the Latin. Given name * Valery Afanassiev, Russian pia ...

(1980). In the early 1980s, after the retirement of Juozas Miltinis, Banionis was appointed the chief director of the Panevėžys Theater, assuming, in addition to problems of a creative nature, the entire burden of purely economic problems: preparation for tours, replenishment of the troupe. Banionis led the theatre until the year 1988. The performances staged during this time included "Amadeus", "Three sacks of weeds" and "Evening". In the 1990s, the actor performed in the plays "Mindaugas" by Justinas Marcinkevičius (1994), "On the Golden Lake" by Ernest Thompson (1996), "The Circle" by

Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

(1996), "Love Letters" by Albert Garni (1997)

Film

In 1947, Banionis appeared in the film ''Marytė''. However, his cinematic debut is considered to be the film ''Adam wants to be a Man'' (1959) by director Vytautas Žalakevičius, then Banionis starred in his picture ''The Chronicle of One Day'' (1964). Banionis' fame came after the film by Žalakevičius ''

Nobody Wanted to Die ''Nobody Wanted to Die'' (, ) is a 1965 Lithuanian film made in Soviet Lithuania and directed by Vytautas Žalakevičius. Žalakevičius, actor Donatas Banionis, and cinematographer Jonas Gricius were awarded USSR State Prize for the film in 1967 ...

'' (1965). The actor's work in the film by Savva Kulish ''

'' (1968) earned him great popularity. Banionis starred in the films ''

'' (1965), ''The Little Prince'' (1966), ''Operation Trust'' (1967), ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'' (1970), ''

'' (1971), ''The Life and Death of Ferdinand Luce'' (1976), ''Beethoven — Days of a Life'' (1976), '' Armed and Dangerous'' (1976), ''

Commander of the Lucky "Pike" ''Commander of the Lucky 'Pike () is a 1972 Soviet action war film directed by Boris Volchek. The film's title is a pun in Russian, the submarine 'Щ-721' is nicknamed as pike (). Plot In 1942, when the German troops are preparing to seize Murman ...

'' (1972), ''

The Flight of Mr. McKinley ''The Flight of Mr. McKinley'' () is a 1975 Soviet two-part science fiction film directed by Mikhail Schweitzer. Plot A scientist invents the colloid gas — a creation that allows a person to hibernate for a hundred and more years, and wake up in ...

'' (1975), ''

Centaurs A centaur ( ; ; ), occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae (), is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse that was said to live in the mountains of Thessaly. In one version o ...

'' (1978), ''Niccolo Paganini'' (1982), ''Zmielov'' (1985), ''Living Target'' (1990), ''Without Evidence'' (1992), ''Anna'' (1996) ''Yard'' (1999), ''Tadas Blinda'', ''The Beginning'' (2011), etc. One of the best-known works of the actor was the role of Kris Kelvin in the film of Andrei Tarkovsky ''

'' (1972).

Other activities

Banionis was a member of the Jurgis Baltrušaitis Foundation, whose goal is to promote cultural ties and expand humanitarian cooperation between Lithuania and Russia. Member of the

CPSU The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

since 1960. Member of the

Communist Party of Lithuania The Communist Party of Lithuania (; ) is a banned communist party in Lithuania. The party was established in early October 1918 and operated clandestinely until it was legalized in 1940 after the Soviet invasion and occupation. The party was ...

. Member of the

Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (SSUSSR) was the highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Based on the principle of unified power, it was the only branch of government in the So ...

of the 9th convocation (1974-1979). He is the author of memoir prose "I've wanted to Act since My Childhood" (2006).

Later life and death

In his later years, the actor suffered from heart problems. He was stitched with a heart stimulant, then he underwent a long rehabilitation course. Banionis died on 4 September 2014 from a stroke. He was 90 years old.

Honors and awards

Banionis is a

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

(1974), winner of the

All-Union Film Festival The All-Union Film Festival (; tr.:''Vsesoyuznyy kinofestival'', also known as ВКФ; ''VKF'') was one of the most important film festivals of the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1958 and held regularly from 1964 to 1988. It was held annually fr ...

in the category "Best Actor Award" (1966), laureate of the State Prizes of the USSR (1967, 1977, for participation in the films ''

'' and ''

''). His awards include the Order of Gediminas III degree (1994), the medal. Khanzhonkov in the nomination "For outstanding contribution to the cinema" (1999), the Russian Friendship Orders (1999) and Honor (2009), the Grand Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit for Lithuania (2004), the National Award of Lithuania in the field of culture and art (2013). He won several prizes at international film festivals. At the film festival of the CIS and Baltic countries

Kinoshok "Kinoshock" Open Film Festival of CIS and Baltic countries, also spelt Kinoshok, is a film festival staged in the Black Sea resort of Anapa, Russia, each September. "CIS" refers to the Commonwealth of Independent States, comprising nine member s ...

in 1999 he was awarded with a special prize "Lady luck" named after Pavel Luspekaev, "for courage and outstanding merits in creativity." In 1999 he became an Honorary Citizen of the city of

Personal life

His wife was actress Ona Banionis (1924-2008). They had two sons - Egidijus (1948-1993), a historian, posthumously awarded the State Prize in the field of science, and Raimundas (born in 1957), director.

Selected filmography

* ''Marytė'' (1947) as Peter * ''Adam Wants To Be a Man'' (1959) as Mr. Dausa * ''A Day's Chronicle'' (1963) as Donatas * ''Mars, mars! Tra-ta-ta!'' (1964) as major Varnalesa * ''

'' (1966) as Pirmininkas * ''

Beware of the Car ''Beware of the Car'' (, translit. ''Beregis Avtomobilya'', English titles ''Uncommon Thief'', or ''Watch out for the Automobile'') is a 1966 Soviet crime comedy drama film directed by Eldar Ryazanov, based on a screenplay by Emil Braginsky ...

'' (1966) as pastor * ''

The Little Prince ''The Little Prince'' (, ) is a novella written and illustrated by French writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It was first published in English and French in the United States by Reynal & Hitchcock in April 1943 and was published po ...

'' (1966) as Adult * ''

'' (1968) as Ladeinikov * '' The Red Tent'' (1969) as Adalberto Mariano * ''

'' (1971) as

Duke of Albany Duke of Albany is a peerage title that has occasionally been bestowed on younger sons in the Scotland, Scottish and later the British royal family, particularly in the Houses of House of Stuart, Stuart and House of Hanover, Hanover. History ...

* ''

'' (1971) as

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, an ...

* ''

'' (1972) as Kris Kelvin * ''Kapteinis Dzeks'' (1972) as Mitya * ''

'' (1973) as Viktor Sherknis * ''

'' (1975) as Mr. McKinley * ''Beethoven, Tage aus einem Leben'' (1976) as

* ''

Mama, I'm Alive ''Mama, I'm Alive'' () is a 1977 East German and Soviet film directed by Konrad Wolf. It was chosen as East Germany's official submission to the 50th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, but did not manage to receive a nomination.Marg ...

'' (1977) as Major Mauris * '' Armed and Dangerous'' (1977) as Gabriel Conroy * '' Where were you, Odysseus?'' (1978, TV Mini-Series) as Soviet intelligence officer Odyssey * ''

'' (1978) as Salvador Allende, chilský prezident * '' Bag of the Collector'' (1979) as Alexei Tulyakov * ''Nesėtų rugių žydėjimas'' (1979) as Antanas Petrusonis * ''

Territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

'' (1979) as Ilya Chinkov * ''

The Suicide Club, or the Adventures of a Titled Person ''The Suicide Club, or the Adventures of a Titled Person'' () is a 1981 Soviet three-part television adventure film directed by Yevgeny Tatarsky. It is based on two series of novels by Robert Louis Stevenson's — '' The Suicide Club'' and '' The ...

'' (1981, TV Movie) as Nick Nichols, The Chairman * ''Andrius'' (1980) as Rauplenas * ''

Faktas ''Faktas'' (English: "Fact", , "Blood Group Zero") is a 1981 Soviet Lithuanian-language war film directed by . It was entered into the 1981 Cannes Film Festival, where Yelena Solovey won the award for Best Supporting Actress. The film is based ...

'' (1981) as Colonel Titel * ''Medaus menuo Amerikoje'' (1981) as Alan * ''Atsiprasau'' (1982) as Guest from Vilnius * '' Snake Catcher'' (1985) as Boris * '' The Dolphin's Cry'' (1986) as Submarine Chaplain * '' The 13th Apostle'' (1988) as Otets * ''

Entrance to the Labyrinth ''Entrance to the Labyrinth'' () is a 1989 Soviet five-episode television crime film directed by Valeriy Kremnev based on the Vayner Brothers novel ''Medicine against Fear''. Plot The film consists of several storylines. Main one occurs in the US ...

'' (1990, TV Mini-Series) as Mazardi * ''Kiemas'' (1999) as the old man * ''Anastasia'' (2006, TV Movie) as father * ''

Attack on Leningrad ''Attack on Leningrad'', or just ''Leningrad'', is a 2009 war film written and directed by Aleksandr Buravsky, set during the Siege of Leningrad. Plot In 1941 Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union and their troops besieged the city of Leningr ...

'' (2009) as Toyvo (uncredited) * ''Tadas Blinda. Start'' (2011) as Mikhail Muravyov (final film role)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Banionis, Donatas 1924 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Lithuanian male actors Actors from Kaunas Communist Party of Lithuania politicians People of the KGB Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic Ninth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union People's Artists of the USSR Commander's Crosses of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas Commander's Grand Crosses of the Order for Merits to Lithuania Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the USSR State Prize Lithuanian male film actors Lithuanian male stage actors Lithuanian theatre directors Soviet male film actors Soviet male stage actors Soviet theatre directors Burials at Antakalnis Cemetery