Outstanding Russian actor Ulyanov Mikhail Aleksandrovich 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 number of bright diverse characters on stage and screen.
Childhood and origins
Mikhail Ulyanov was born on November 20, 1927 in the small village of Bergamak in Siberia. The Ulyanov family came to those parts 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 led a logging artel. 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.
Mikhail's mother took care of the house, he also had a sister, Margarita. Life in Siberia hardened the character of the boy, he ran skiing well, could easily knock a cone off a cedar, and was not afraid of difficulties. The guy needed this hardening when his father went to the front, and he remained the main man in the house. In the 10th grade, the agenda forThe draft office also came to Mikhail, but the government decided not to recruit young men born in 1927
Study
At school, Mikhail Ulyanov studied mediocre, he was more than science, fascinated by performances at school parties. He read poetry with pleasure, participated in productions of performances, in particular, in Boris Godunov. He read a lot, and his acquaintance with the theater happened only at the age of 15, when a troupe from Omsk came to Tara on tour. Then Mikhail realized his destiny.
During the war, the National Ukrainian Academic Drama Theater was evacuated to the town. Once Mikhail came to their studio, and he fell ill with the stage forever. The head of the studio, Yevgeny Prosvetov, was able to discern an undoubted talent in the teenager and advised him to continue his studies in Omsk, in addition, he even wrote a letter of recommendation to the head of the theater studio. Ulyanov called his years of study at the theater studio in Tara his first circle on the way to the stage.
Omsk
The future actor Mikhail Ulyanov enters the second round when he arrives in Omsk to continue his studies at the theater studio at the Omsk Drama Theater (in 1944). The legendary Lina Semyonovna Samborskaya led this institution. Bright, strong-willed, talented - she managed to see a great talent in an inconspicuous young man of short stature and accepted him into the studio. Here Ulyanov learns stage skills, speech, gets acquainted with the basics of skill.
Individual lessons with Mikhail ledIllovaisky. He was a man with great experience and an interesting life, he bewitched his students with stories about great actors, performances, directors, and it seemed to the studio students that the theater world was a place for celestials. He was able to teach Ulyanov a lot, laid the foundation for his skills. Since the studio was located at the theater, the students were engaged in performances from the very first days. So, Mikhail first appeared on stage as Shmagi in the play Guilty Without Guilt. Samborskaya laughed madly at the apparent failure of the student, he had already decided that his career had come to an end. But after the performance, Lina Semyonovna talked to him for a long time, explaining that the life of an actor is full of doubts, self-doubt, reflections and searches, and motivated him to work even harder. After graduating from the studio, Mikhail already knew exactly what he wanted to do, and on the advice of his teachers, he went to Moscow.
Getting a profession
The third circle on the way to the profession, actor Ulyanov Mikhail began with a failure in the entrance exams to the Moscow Art Theater Studio and to the Shchepkinskoe 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 straight to the second round and eventually enters the school. Mikhail attributed this to the fact that the Vakhtangov actors felt special gratitude to the Omsk people, where they were evacuated. But, most likely, the commission was able to see the preparedness and talent of the future star. His teachers were a married couple - Vera Lvova and LeonidShikhmatov. From them and from Vladimir Moskvin, Ulyanov learned a real game, love for the theater, received a huge store of knowledge and experience.
During his studies, Mikhail visits Moscow theaters, looks closely at the acting, absorbs the atmosphere, imbued with respect and love for his life's work. At the release, Ulyanov played Nil in "Petty Bourgeois" and Makeev in "Alien Shadow". Traditionally, the performances were attended by actors from the Vakhtangov Theatre, theater directors, representatives of the Ministry of Culture. The graduate brilliantly coped with the tasks and received a coveted invitation to the theater. E. Vakhtangov.
Theatre of Life
When Mikhail Ulyanov was in his last year of school, the director 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 quite successful for him. This became his pass to his native theater. After graduating from the school, 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, going from actor to artistic director.
In the early years, Ulyanov played a lot in the theater, although the repertoire of that time did not please the actors much. Ideologically correct dramaturgy 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 became a new stage in his theatrical career. Ulyanov was able to show the depth of his talent. From now onhe began to offer more diverse images. He played his last role as Coffin in Williams' Night of the Iguana in the early 2000s. In total, Ulyanov embodied several dozen images in the theater, but nevertheless glorified his cinema.
Best roles
Ulyanov Mikhail, an actor of great talent, managed to reveal his talent in such roles: Sergei Seregin in A. Arbuzov's "Irkutsk Story", Brighella in "Princess Turandot", Mark Antony in "Antony and Cleopatra", Tuberozov in " Cathedrals". He also worked quite a lot in 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, Richard the Third.
Working in movies
And yet the actor Mikhail Ulyanov, whose films were watched by millions of admiring viewers, was mostly realized in 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 Bakhirev turned out to be a happy ticket for him. After that, he had to play a lot of positive characters: Chairman, V. I. Lenin (in several tapes), Marshal Zhukov … He was assigned the role of a good man, with whom he did not want to put up with. So in his filmography appeared the pictures "Running", "Last Escape", "Theme". Ulyanov's real benefit was the film "Without Witnesses" by Nikita Mikhalkov, where the viewer saw a completely different side of the actor's talent.
Filmography
Russian actor Mikhail Ulyanov, whose filmography includes more than 70 films, was remembered by the audience precisely for his roles in films. He himself considered the film “Battle on the Road” to be his main work, but “The Chairman” brought him fame. The paintings "Liberation", "The Brothers Karamazov", "Master and Margarita", "Voroshilovsky shooter", "Private life", "Hunting for deer" became the decoration of his biography.
Artistic director
In 1987, Yevgeny Simonov refuses to direct the Vakhtangov Theater, and Ulyanov is appointed to this position. Times were hard, and he was faced with the task of preserving this temple of art. Theater workers. Vakhtangov were like the children of Mikhail Ulyanov, an actor by his main vocation. He well understood the needs and problems of the troupe, knew their weaknesses and knew how to manage fairly, although sometimes harshly.
Ulyanov's strategy was to invite major directors and update the repertoire. The very first work that the theater carried out under his leadership attracted the audience, it was the performance of R. Sturua "Brest Peace" based on the play by M. Shatrov. Ulyanov did not demand roles for himself, he tried to make the theater whole and successful. However, not everyone accepted his leadership style, he had many critics. But Ulyanov was able to keep the theater from disintegration, provided him with a decent existence. He was artistic director until the last days of his life.
Direction
Actor Ulyanov Mikhail also tried his hand at directing. Although, with his high employment, it was not easy to find time for productions. But he withhe made four performances for his theater with pleasure, among them “I came to give you freedom” by V. Shukshin. He also worked as a television director, staging such teleplays: "Department", "Tevye the Milkman", "The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor". Ulyanov also realized himself in film directing, filming The Brothers Karamazov (co-director) and The Very Last Day.
Creative life
In addition to working in film and theater, Mikhail Ulyanov worked quite a lot on the radio. There are more than 15 titles in the list of his audio works, among which are the radio performances “Call me into the bright distance”, “Fatal Eggs”, “Vasily Terkin”. During his life, Ulyanov wrote 5 books, among them: reflections on acting "My profession", "Love potion" (an autobiographical book about the path to art, about the role of teachers in my life), "I work as an actor" - a book about the other side of acting. In his creative baggage there is one scenario - the tape "The Very Last Day".
Awards
Ulyanov Mikhail, an actor of the first magnitude, was repeatedly awarded state and theater prizes. He is an Honored and People's Artist of the RSFSR, twice a Hero of Socialist 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", Kinotravra and "Crystal Turandot".
What is hidden from prying eyes
Actor Mikhail Ulyanov, whose personal life has always interested 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 destinies, 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, ex-wife of Nikolai Kryuchkov. Alla and Mikhail lived together 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 own father, he tried to emigrate several times, 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.
Care and memory
The last years of his life, Ulyanov struggled with illnesses. First, he began to develop Parkinson's disease, then cancer was discovered. March 26, 2007 actor Mikhail Ulyanov, whose biography has become a model of decency, died in the hospital. He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. A year later, a monument was erected on his grave, which depicts a great actor who gave 50 years to one theater.
Two months after his departure, Ulyanov's wife Alla fell into a coma and died for a while without recovering. The adopted son of actor Mikhail Ulyanov did not appear at his funeral. Now only the actor's daughter and granddaughter are the successors of the famous family. Elena Ulyanova still heads the foundation named after her father, which helps actors. The memory of the actor is preserved today. In his honor, a museum was opened in the city of Tara, several memorial plaques were installed, and a documentary film “Mikhail Ulyanov. About time and about myself.”
