Anatoly Solonitsyn

Anatoly Alekseyevich Solonitsyn (also 'Anatoli' or 'Anatoliy'; Russian: Анатолий (Отто) Алексеевич Солоницын; 30 August 1934 in Bogorodsk – 11 June 1982 in Moscow) was a Soviet actor.

Work

Solonitsyn is best known in the west for his roles in several of Andrei Tarkovsky's films, including Dr. Sartorius in Solaris (1972), the Writer in Stalker (1979), the physician in The Mirror (1975), and the title role in Andrei Rublev (1966). Indeed, it was Tarkovsky who "discovered" him. In his book Sculpting In Time, Tarkovsky calls him his "favorite" actor, and writes that Solonitsyn was intended to play the lead roles in each of his films Nostalghia (1983) and The Sacrifice (1986), but died before their production.

In the former Soviet Union he is also well known for his roles in Telokhranitel/The Bodyguard (1979), At Home among Strangers (1974) and many others.

In 1981, he won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 31st Berlin International Film Festival for his role in Aleksandr Zarkhi's film Twenty Six Days from the Life of Dostoyevsky.

Solonitsyn died from cancer in 1982, at the age of 47 (allegedly, according to Victor 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).

Selected filmography

• Andrei Rublev (1966)
• No Path Through Fire (1968)
• Solaris (1972)
• Agony (1974)
• At Home Among Strangers (1974)
• The Mirror (1975)
• The Ascent (1977)
• Stalker (1979)
• Twenty Six Days from the Life of Dostoyevsky (1981)
• Rasputin (1981)
• Muzhiki! (1982)
• Telokhranitel (1982)

External links

• Anatoly Solonitsyn at the Internet Movie Database