Outstanding Russian actor Mikhail Ulyanov was able to embody the ideal of a real Russian person in his roles. At the same time, he was not a hostage to his role, but was able to realize his tragic and comedic gift, creating a whole series of bright diverse characters on the stage and screen.
Childhood and origin
Mikhail Ulyanov was born on November 20, 1927 in the small village of Bergamak in Siberia. The Ulyanov clan came to those lands even before the reforms of P. Stolypin. His grandfather was a gold miner, but when he lost his leg, he became a clerk in Bergamak. The boy’s father headed a logging farm. Therefore, the future actor Mikhail Ulyanov and his family often moved from village to village. But most of the time they lived in the town of Tara.
Michael's mother was engaged in the house, he still had a sister Margarita. Life in Siberia tempered the character of the boy, he ran well on skis, could easily knock down a lump of cedar, was not afraid of difficulties. The guy needed this training when his father went to the front, and he remained the main man in the house. In the 10th grade, a summons to the draft board also came to Mikhail, but the government decided not to call on young men born in 1927
Study
At school, Mikhail Ulyanov studied mediocrely, he was more interested in performances at school evenings than sciences. He enjoyed reading poetry, participated in productions of performances, in particular, in Boris Godunov. I read a lot, and his acquaintance with the theater only happened when he was 15 years old, when a troupe from Omsk came on tour to Tara. Then Michael realized his destiny.
During the war, the National Ukrainian Academic Drama Theater was evacuated to the town. Once, Michael came to their studio, and he was already ill with the scene forever. The head of the studio Evgeny Prosvetov was able to discern undeniable talent in the teenager and advised him to continue his studies in Omsk, in addition, he even wrote a letter of recommendation to the director of the theater studio. Ulyanov called his years of study at a theater studio in Tara his first lap on the way to the stage.
Omsk
Future actor Mikhail Ulyanov enters the second round when he comes to Omsk to continue his studies at the theater studio at the Omsk Drama Theater (in 1944). The institution was led by the legendary Lina Semenovna Samborskaya. Bright, strong-willed, talented - she managed to consider great talent in an inconspicuous young man of short stature and accepted him into the studio. Here Ulyanov studies stage skills, speech, gets acquainted with the basics of mastery.
Individual lessons with Mikhail were conducted by Illovaysky. He was a man with vast experience and an interesting life, he bewitched his students with stories of great actors, performances, directors, and studio people it seemed that the world of the theater is a place for celestials. He was able to teach Ulyanov a lot, laid the foundation for his skill. Since the studio was at the theater, from the first days students were occupied in performances. So, Michael first appeared on the scene as Shmagi in the play Guilty Without Guilt. Sambirskaya laughed madly at the student’s apparent failure, he had already decided that his career had come to an end. But after the performance, Lina Semenovna talked with him for a long time, explaining that the actor’s life is full of doubts, self-doubt, reflection and searching, and motivated him to work even harder. After graduating from the studio, Mikhail already knew what he wanted to do, and on the advice of teachers went to Moscow.
Getting a profession
The third circle on the path to the profession, actor Mikhail Ulyanov began with failure in entrance exams at the Moscow Art Theater and at the Shchepkinsky School. He was so depressed that he was about to go back to Siberia, but a friend advised him to try his luck at the theater school. Schukin. Unexpectedly for himself, Ulyanov goes right into the second round and eventually enters the school. Mikhail attributed this to the fact that the Vakhtangov actors felt special gratitude to the Omsk residents, where they were evacuated. But, most likely, the commission was able to see the preparedness and talent of the future star. His teachers became a married couple - Vera Lvova and Leonid Shikhmatov. Ulyanov learned from them and from Vladimir Moskvin the real game, the love of the theater, and received a huge supply of knowledge and experience.
During his studies, Mikhail visits Moscow theaters, looks closely at the actors' play, absorbs the atmosphere, is imbued with respect and love for the work of his life. On the issue, Ulyanov played the Nile in the Philistines and Makeev in the Alien Shadow. The performances were traditionally attended by actors from the Vakhtangov Theater, theater directors, and representatives of the Ministry of Culture. The graduate brilliantly coped with the tasks and received a welcome invitation to the theater. E. Vakhtangova.
Theater of life
When Mikhail Ulyanov was in his final year at the school, the head of the Vakhtangov Theater invited him to rehearse the role of Sergei Kirov in the play “Fortress on the Volga”. The novice actor agreed with trepidation, he was very worried, worked hard, and the role was completely successful for him. This became his pass to his native theater. After graduating from college, he, along with three classmates, came to the Vakhtangov Theater to work there all his life. In 1950, he opened his first season and worked here for 50 years, having gone from an actor to an artistic director.
In the early years, Ulyanov played a lot in the theater, although the repertoire of that time did little to please the actors. Ideologically correct dramatic art did not bring joy to Mikhail, but helped to gain experience. In 1958, he was offered the role of Rogozhin in The Idiot, and this was a new stage in his theatrical career. Ulyanov was able to show the depth of his talent. From this moment, they began to offer him more diverse images. His last role - Coffin in Williams’Iguana Night - he played in the early 2000s. In total, the theater Ulyanov embodied several dozen images, but still glorified his cinema.
Best Roles
Mikhail Ulyanov, an actor of great talent, managed to reveal his talent in such roles: Sergey Seregin in the Irkutsk History by A. Arbuzov, Brigella in Princess Turandot, Mark Anthony in Anthony and Cleopatra, Tuberozov in Soboryany. He also worked quite a lot in a television theater, where he played such important roles for himself: the Grand Inquisitor in the play of the same name, Tevye in the production of Tevye the Milkman, Thomas Hudson in Islands in the Ocean, and Richard the Third.
Movie work
Nevertheless, the actor Mikhail Ulyanov, whose films were watched by millions of admiring spectators, was more fully realized in the cinema. Offers began to come to him in the mid-50s. But his first significant work was the film “Battle on the Road” (1961), the role of Bahirev turned out to be a happy ticket for him. After that, he had to play a lot of goodies: Chairman, V.I. Lenin (in several tapes), Marshal Zhukov … The role of a good man with whom he did not want to put up was fixed for him. So in his filmography appeared the picture "Running", "Last Escape", "Theme." The real benefit of Ulyanov was the film “Without Witnesses” by Nikita Mikhalkov, where the viewer saw a completely different side of the actor’s talent.
Filmography
The Russian actor Mikhail Ulyanov, whose filmography is more than 70 films, was remembered by the audience precisely for his roles in the cinema. He considered the battle on the road tape as his main work, but the Chairman brought him fame. His biography was adorned with the paintings “Liberation”, “The Brothers Karamazov”, “The Master and Margarita”, “Voroshilovsky Shooter”, “Private Life”, “Hunt for the Manchurian deer”.
Hudruk
In 1987, Evgeny Simonov refused to lead the Vakhtangov Theater, and Ulyanov was appointed to this position. Times were difficult, and he was faced with the task of preserving this temple of art. Workers of the theater. Vakhtangov was like the children of Mikhail Ulyanov, an actor in his main calling. He well understood the needs and problems of the troupe, knew their weaknesses and knew how to manage fairly, albeit sometimes toughly.
Ulyanov’s strategy consisted of inviting major directors and updating the repertoire. The very first work that the theater carried out under his leadership attracted the audience; it was the performance of R. Sturua “The Brest Peace” based on the play by M. Shatrov. Ulyanov did not require roles for himself, he tried to ensure that the theater was integral and successful. However, not everyone accepted his leadership style, he had many critics. But Ulyanov was able to keep the theater from decay, provided him with a decent existence. He was the artistic director until the last days of his life.
Directing
Actor Mikhail Ulyanov also tried his hand at directing. Although with his high employment, it was not easy to find time for productions. But he gladly made four performances for his theater, among them “I came to give you freedom” by V. Shukshin. He also worked as a television director, staging such television performances as “The Chair”, “Tevye the Milkman”, “The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor”. Ulyanov also realized himself in filmmaking by removing the tapes “The Brothers Karamazov” (co-director) and “The Last Day”.
Creative life
In addition to working in the cinema and theater, Mikhail Ulyanov worked quite a bit on the radio. The list of his audio works contains more than 15 items, including the radio performances “Call Me Far Into the Light”, “Fatal Eggs”, “Vasily Terkin”. During his life, Ulyanov wrote 5 books, among them: reflections on acting “My profession”, “Love potion” (an autobiographical book on the path to art, on the role of teachers in my life), “I work as an actor” - a book about the other side of the acting profession. In his creative luggage there is one scenario - the tape "The very last day."
Awards
Mikhail Ulyanov, an actor of the first magnitude, has repeatedly been awarded state and theater awards. He is a honored and people's artist of the RSFSR, twice a hero of social labor, a holder of the orders of Lenin, the October Revolution, "For Merit to the Fatherland", the owner of many theater awards, including the Golden Mask, Kinotrav and Crystal Turandot.
What is hidden from prying eyes
Actor Mikhail Ulyanov, whose personal life was always interested in the audience, was monogamous, although he was credited with numerous novels. His first chosen one was the actress of the Vakhtangov theater Nina Nekhlopchenko. They failed to unite fate, but for many years they continued to be friends and work in the same troupe. The wife of the actor was also the actress of this theater Alla Parfanyak, the first beauty, the former wife of Nikolai Kryuchkov. Together, Alla and Mikhail lived for almost 50 years. The family had two children: the adopted son of Mikhail Ulyanov - Nikolai Kryuchkov, and daughter Elena Ulyanova. Relations with the stepson did not work out, he did not want to communicate with either his stepfather or his father, tried several times to emigrate, and his traces were lost somewhere in the USA. Often, viewers think that the actor Dmitry Ulyanov is the son of Mikhail Ulyanov, but this is not so, they are just namesakes.
