Actor. Rugged yet sensitive character star of Soviet Russian films. Born in Niznij Tagil, he worked as a mechanic while moonlighting as an unpaid performer in regional theatre. In 1964 he was plucked from obscurity by director Andrei Tarkovsky and cast in the title role of his epic historical film "Andrei Rublev", which took a grueling two years to complete. It proved highly controversial in the USSR and abroad and would not receive wide release until 1971, though Solonitsyn's performance was uniformly praised. He went on to play key roles in Tarkovsky's "Solaris" (1972), "The Mirror" (1975), and "Stalker" (1979). His 30 other credits include "Checkpoint" (1971), "The Prince and the Pauper" (1972), "The Bodyguard" (1974), "At Home Among Strangers" (1974), and "Agony" (1981). He shared the Best Actor award at the Berlin Film Festival for "Twenty-Six Days from the Life of Dostoyevsky" (1980). In his book "Sculpting in Time", Tarkovsky called Solonitsyn his favorite actor and said that he wanted to star him in his features "Nostalghia" (1983) and "The Sacrifice" (1986). His plans were sadly thwarted by Solonitsyn's death from cancer at 47.
Actor. Rugged yet sensitive character star of Soviet Russian films. Born in Niznij Tagil, he worked as a mechanic while moonlighting as an unpaid performer in regional theatre. In 1964 he was plucked from obscurity by director Andrei Tarkovsky and cast in the title role of his epic historical film "Andrei Rublev", which took a grueling two years to complete. It proved highly controversial in the USSR and abroad and would not receive wide release until 1971, though Solonitsyn's performance was uniformly praised. He went on to play key roles in Tarkovsky's "Solaris" (1972), "The Mirror" (1975), and "Stalker" (1979). His 30 other credits include "Checkpoint" (1971), "The Prince and the Pauper" (1972), "The Bodyguard" (1974), "At Home Among Strangers" (1974), and "Agony" (1981). He shared the Best Actor award at the Berlin Film Festival for "Twenty-Six Days from the Life of Dostoyevsky" (1980). In his book "Sculpting in Time", Tarkovsky called Solonitsyn his favorite actor and said that he wanted to star him in his features "Nostalghia" (1983) and "The Sacrifice" (1986). His plans were sadly thwarted by Solonitsyn's death from cancer at 47.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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