Oleg Borisov
Encyclopedia
Oleg Ivanovich Borisov was a Russia
n film
and theatre
actor
whose honors included the title of People's Artist of the USSR
(1978), two USSR State Prize
s (1978, 1991) as well as the Volpi Cup
(1990).
, Ivanovo Oblast
, Russia, Soviet Union
. His given name was Albert, which was chosen by his mother in honor of the Belgian prince Albert, who visited Moscow in 1929. His parents were agricultural professionals. His mother, Nadezhda Andreevna, was an agricultural engineer, and also played as an amateur actress at a local drama. His father, Ivan Borisov, was a wounded WWII veteran, who worked as director of Privolzhsk Agricultural Technical School.
and theatre
, he was known as a good impersonator and comedian among his classmates at school. However, during the Second World War young Oleg Borisov was a tractor driver at a collective farm near Moscow. At the same time he was involved in amateur acting at his school drama class.
After WWII Borisov graduated from a secondary school and applied to study at the Moscow Art Theatre
(MKhAT). He passed a series of professional tests and was admitted to the Moscow Art Theatre School of Acting in 1947. While a student Borisov was regarded for his talent as a comedian. In 1951, Borisov graduated from the MKhAT School of Acting, and joined the troupe of the
Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Theater of Russian Drama
in Kiev
. In 1954 he married Alla Romanovna (née Latynskaya), the daughter of director of the Lesya Ukrainka Theatre. Their son, Yuri Borisov, was born in 1956.
, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Innokenti Smoktunovsky, Yefim Kopelyan
, Oleg Basilashvili
, Yevgeni Lebedev, Pavel Luspekayev
, Sergei Yursky
, Vsevolod Kuznetsov, Nikolai Trofimov, and other notable Russian actors. Borisov played memorable
roles in several productions, such as, Grigori Melekhov in And Quiet Flows the Don
by Mikhail Sholokhov, Prince Harry in King Henry IV
(1969 adaptation) by Shakespeare, and Siply in Optimistic Tragedy by Vsevolod Vishnevskiy
. At that time he was also invited by director Lev Dodin
to perform the leading role in 'Krotkaya' (aka.. "A Gentle Creature") an adaptation of the eponymous short story
by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
, Ukraine
; he played a cameo role in film Mother
(1955) by director Mark Donskoy. Eventually Oleg Borisov ascended to fame in the Soviet and Russin cinema, as he continued his film career in collaboration with such directors as Eldar Ryazanov
, Andrei Tarkovsky
, Aleksandr Muratov, Aleksei German
, Viktor Tregubovich, Vladimir Bortko
, Aleksandr Gordon, Vladimir Vengerov, and Vadim Abdrashitov, among other film directors. His best known roles in film were such works as Gudionov in Sluga
by Vadim Abdrashitov, and Naoum Kheifitz in Luna Park by Pavel Lungin
.
Oleg Borisov was a stellar example of a rare, beautiful, and disobedient talent. He had to be untamed and free of any control in order to play his best roles. Borisov was at the peak of his stage and film career by the end of the 1970s, when suddenly he was dismissed by a film director for his disagreement about the movements of his character. In the Soviet reality that caused an impact on his work in film and on stage. He had no support from Communist Party, because he
never wanted to be a member. Borisov chose his individual freedom at a high cost. He never was a slave of the Soviet system, and the system never let him have his freedom.
called Borisov in 1982, and invited him to work
with the Moscow Art Theatre. From 1983-1990 Borisov was a member of the troupe with the Moscow Art Theatre
. There his stage partners were Anastasiya Vertinskaya
, Yevgeniy Yevstigneyev
, Andrey Myagkov
, and other notable Russian actors. At the same time Borisov made stage works at the Moscow Central Theatre of the Soviet Army, such as, his acclaimed portrayal of the Emperor Pavel I in the eponymous play by Dmitri Merezhkovsky. During the course of his acting career Borisov shared the views of Konstantin Stanislavski
and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko
who believed that stage acting is a superior form of art. Borisov confessed that he had greater satisfaction from his stage works, than from any film.
(1978) and received the USSR State Prize
(1978) for his stage works. In 1990 Borisov won Volpi Cup
at the Venice Film Festival
. He played over 70 roles in film and television. He also directed stage productions and led several popular radio shows. In 1992 Oleg Borisov made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem together with his wife. He died of complications from a blood disorder on April 28, 1994, in Moscow, Russia.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
whose honors included the title of People's Artist of the USSR
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 citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...
(1978), two USSR State Prize
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
s (1978, 1991) as well as the Volpi Cup
Volpi Cup
The Volpi Cups are the principal awards given to actors at the Venice Film Festival. Formal acting awards were introduced in the second festival . Initially they were called Great Gold Medals of the National Fascist Association for Entertainment. The name Volpi Cup was introduced the following year...
(1990).
Childhood and Youth
Oleg Borisov was born Albert Ivanovich Borisov on November 8, 1929, in PrivolzhskPrivolzhsk
Privolzhsk is a town and the administrative center of Privolzhsky District of Ivanovo Oblast, Russia, located on the Shacha River northeast of Ivanovo. Population:...
, Ivanovo Oblast
Ivanovo Oblast
Ivanovo Oblast is a federal subject of Russia .Its three largest cities are Ivanovo , Kineshma, and Shuya.The principal center of tourism is Plyos. The Volga River flows through the northern part of the oblast....
, Russia, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. His given name was Albert, which was chosen by his mother in honor of the Belgian prince Albert, who visited Moscow in 1929. His parents were agricultural professionals. His mother, Nadezhda Andreevna, was an agricultural engineer, and also played as an amateur actress at a local drama. His father, Ivan Borisov, was a wounded WWII veteran, who worked as director of Privolzhsk Agricultural Technical School.
Becoming an Actor
Young Oleg Borisov was fond of actingActing
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
and theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, he was known as a good impersonator and comedian among his classmates at school. However, during the Second World War young Oleg Borisov was a tractor driver at a collective farm near Moscow. At the same time he was involved in amateur acting at his school drama class.
After WWII Borisov graduated from a secondary school and applied to study at the Moscow Art Theatre
Moscow Art Theatre
The Moscow Art Theatre is a theatre company in Moscow that the seminal Russian theatre practitioner Constantin Stanislavski, together with the playwright and director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, founded in 1898. It was conceived as a venue for naturalistic theatre, in contrast to the melodramas...
(MKhAT). He passed a series of professional tests and was admitted to the Moscow Art Theatre School of Acting in 1947. While a student Borisov was regarded for his talent as a comedian. In 1951, Borisov graduated from the MKhAT School of Acting, and joined the troupe of the
Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Theater of Russian Drama
Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Theater of Russian Drama
Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Theater of Russian Drama is a theater in Kiev, Ukraine.Founded in 1926, the theater produces many important plays of Russian and Ukrainian dramatic art. Its repertoire consists of plays by famous playwrights such as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Mikhail Bulgakov and others...
in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. In 1954 he married Alla Romanovna (née Latynskaya), the daughter of director of the Lesya Ukrainka Theatre. Their son, Yuri Borisov, was born in 1956.
Leningrad
In 1964, director Georgi Tovstonogov invited Oleg Borisov to join the troupe of the Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT). From 1964–1983 Borisov was a permanent member of the troupe at BDT in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). There his stage partners were Tatyana Doronina, Lyudmila Makarova, Kirill LavrovKirill Lavrov
Kirill Yuryevich Lavrov was a well-known Soviet and Russian film and theatre actor and director.-Childhood:Kirill Yuryevich Lavrov was born on September 15, 1925, in Leningrad, USSR . He was baptized by the Russian Orthodox Church of St. John the Divine in Lavrushinskoe Podvorie Monastery in...
, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Innokenti Smoktunovsky, Yefim Kopelyan
Yefim Kopelyan
Yefim Zakharovich Kopelyan was a Soviet actor of theater and cinema, one of the legendary masters of the Bolshoi Theatre of Drama . He performed the bright characteristic roles in the films The Elusive Avengers, Intervention, Eternal call, Straw cap, read author's text in the television series...
, Oleg Basilashvili
Oleg Basilashvili
Oleg Valerianovich Basilashvili is a well-known Soviet/Russian film and theatre actor of Georgian and Polish origin, as well as political figure in the former Soviet Union and in the new Russia.-Childhood:...
, Yevgeni Lebedev, Pavel Luspekayev
Pavel Luspekayev
Pavel Borisovich Luspekayev was a Ukrainian-Russian-Armenian actor who is best known for his role of Vereschagin in the classic Russian movie White Sun of the Desert....
, Sergei Yursky
Sergei Yursky
Sergei Yurievich Yursky is a Soviet/Russian stage and film actor, theatre director and screenwriter. His most notable role in the cinema is Ostap Bender in The Little Golden Calf.-Biography:...
, Vsevolod Kuznetsov, Nikolai Trofimov, and other notable Russian actors. Borisov played memorable
roles in several productions, such as, Grigori Melekhov in And Quiet Flows the Don
And Quiet Flows the Don
And Quiet Flows the Don or Quietly Flows the Don is the first part of the great Don epic Tikhiy Don , written by Michail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov. It originally appeared in serialized form between 1928 and 1940...
by Mikhail Sholokhov, Prince Harry in King Henry IV
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written no later than 1597. It is the second play in Shakespeare's tetralogy dealing with the successive reigns of Richard II, Henry IV , and Henry V...
(1969 adaptation) by Shakespeare, and Siply in Optimistic Tragedy by Vsevolod Vishnevskiy
Vsevolod Vishnevskiy
Vsevolod Vitalievich Vishnevsky was a Soviet dramatist and prose writer.He was born in 1900 in Saint Petersburg and educated at a Petersburg gymnasium. During World War I he enrolled in Baltic Fleet as sea cadet...
. At that time he was also invited by director Lev Dodin
Lev Dodin
Lev Abramovich Dodin is a modern Russian theater director, the leader of Saint Petersburg Maly Drama Theater.-Biography:Lev Dodin was born in Siberia in 1944. He first experienced theatrical production as a child at the Leningrad Young Viewers’ Theatre directed by Matvey Grigorievich Dubrovin...
to perform the leading role in 'Krotkaya' (aka.. "A Gentle Creature") an adaptation of the eponymous short story
A Gentle Creature
"A Gentle Creature" , sometimes also translated as "The Meek One", is a short story written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky in 1876. The piece comes with the subtitle of "A Fantastic Story", and it chronicles the relationship between a pawnbroker and a girl that frequents his shop. The story was inspired by...
by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Film career
In 1955, Borisov made his film debut at the Dovzhenko Film Studio in KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
; he played a cameo role in film Mother
Mother (1955 film)
Mother is a 1955 Soviet drama film directed by Mark Donskoy and based on the eponimous novel by Maxim Gorky. It was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Vera Maretskaya - Pelagea Nilovna Vlassovna, the mother...
(1955) by director Mark Donskoy. Eventually Oleg Borisov ascended to fame in the Soviet and Russin cinema, as he continued his film career in collaboration with such directors as Eldar Ryazanov
Eldar Ryazanov
Eldar Aleksandrovich Ryazanov is a Soviet/Russian film director whose comedies, satirizing the daily life of the country, are very famous throughout the former Soviet Union....
, Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
, Aleksandr Muratov, Aleksei German
Aleksei German
Aleksei Yuryevich German is a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, most active as a director and screenwriter. His last name is pronounced with a hard "g" and in English is frequently spelled Guerman or Gherman to avoid confusion.Almost all of German's films have been set during the Stalin era and have...
, Viktor Tregubovich, Vladimir Bortko
Vladimir Bortko
Vladimir Vladimirovich Bortko , born on May 7, 1946 in Moscow, is a Russian film director, screenwriter and producer.-Biography:...
, Aleksandr Gordon, Vladimir Vengerov, and Vadim Abdrashitov, among other film directors. His best known roles in film were such works as Gudionov in Sluga
The Servant (1989 film)
The Servant is a 1989 Soviet drama film directed by Vadim Abdrashitov. It was entered into the 39th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Alfred-Bauer Prize.-Cast:* Oleg Borisov as Andrei Andreyevich Gudionov...
by Vadim Abdrashitov, and Naoum Kheifitz in Luna Park by Pavel Lungin
Pavel Lungin
Pavel Semyonovich Lungin is a Russian film director. He is sometimes credited as Pavel Loungine .Born July 12, 1949 in Moscow, Lungin is the son of a scriptwriter and philologist. He later attended Moscow State University from which he graduated in 1971...
.
Personality
For several years Borisov was suffering from restrictions in the Soviet film industry, because he did not comply with the ridiculous rules of political obedience. The main reason was that Borisov never wanted to be a member of the Soviet Communist party. His personal revolt against the system resulted in several years of his underemployment: the system allowed him to play only little roles, making him almost invisible for a few years, a humiliation which he endured with dignity. Only director Vadim Abdrashitov was brave enough to brake the Soviet censorship rules. He cast Borisov for the leading roles in his films Ostanovilsya poyezd (1982) and Parade of Planets (1984).Oleg Borisov was a stellar example of a rare, beautiful, and disobedient talent. He had to be untamed and free of any control in order to play his best roles. Borisov was at the peak of his stage and film career by the end of the 1970s, when suddenly he was dismissed by a film director for his disagreement about the movements of his character. In the Soviet reality that caused an impact on his work in film and on stage. He had no support from Communist Party, because he
never wanted to be a member. Borisov chose his individual freedom at a high cost. He never was a slave of the Soviet system, and the system never let him have his freedom.
Moscow
Borisov suffered from professional restrictions, that were imposed on him, which caused him a serious stress with medical complications. Only a few of his colleagues were capable to understand his case. At that critical time Oleg YefremovOleg Yefremov
Oleg Nikolayevich Yefremov was a Soviet/Russian actor and Moscow Art Theatre producer. People's Artist of the USSR , Hero of Socialist Labour ....
called Borisov in 1982, and invited him to work
with the Moscow Art Theatre. From 1983-1990 Borisov was a member of the troupe with the Moscow Art Theatre
Moscow Art Theatre
The Moscow Art Theatre is a theatre company in Moscow that the seminal Russian theatre practitioner Constantin Stanislavski, together with the playwright and director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, founded in 1898. It was conceived as a venue for naturalistic theatre, in contrast to the melodramas...
. There his stage partners were Anastasiya Vertinskaya
Anastasiya Vertinskaya
Anastasiya Alexandrovna Vertinskaya , a Soviet and Russian actress whose mass popularity and high critical acclaim made her one of the most distinguished figures in the history of the 20th century Soviet cinema...
, Yevgeniy Yevstigneyev
Yevgeniy Yevstigneyev
Yevgeniy Aleksandrovich Yevstigneyev was a prominent Soviet movie and theater actor and one of the founders of Moscow's Sovremennik Theatre. People's Artist of the USSR ....
, Andrey Myagkov
Andrey Myagkov
Andrey Vasilyevich Myagkov is a Soviet/Russian film and theater actor. He is best known for his roles in famous films directed by Eldar Ryazanov, such as The Irony of Fate , Office Romance , The Garage and A Cruel Romance .-Biography:Andrey Myagkov was born on July 8, 1938 in Leningrad, USSR...
, and other notable Russian actors. At the same time Borisov made stage works at the Moscow Central Theatre of the Soviet Army, such as, his acclaimed portrayal of the Emperor Pavel I in the eponymous play by Dmitri Merezhkovsky. During the course of his acting career Borisov shared the views of Konstantin Stanislavski
Konstantin Stanislavski
Constantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski , was a Russian actor and theatre director. Building on the directorially-unified aesthetic and ensemble playing of the Meiningen company and the naturalistic staging of Antoine and the independent theatre movement, Stanislavski organized his realistic...
and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko
Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko
Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko was a Georgian-born Russian theatre director, writer, pedagogue, playwright, producer and theatre organizer, who founded the Moscow Art Theatre with his colleague, Konstantin Stanislavsky, in 1898.-Biography:Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko was born...
who believed that stage acting is a superior form of art. Borisov confessed that he had greater satisfaction from his stage works, than from any film.
Recognition
During many years Oleg Borisov suffered from a severe stress caused by political pressures on his acting career. He opposed the official system and contracted a stress-related blood disorder, a rare form of leukemia, which was misdiagnosed by the Soviet medical system. Borisov knew that his disease was incurable. However, his private conversations with actors-friends were sparkled with his wit and wisdom, and someone told him to write a book, which he did. He was writing notes for almost 20 years, which were published posthumously by his son, director Yuri Borisov. Oleg Borisov was designated People's Artist of the USSRPeople'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 citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...
(1978) and received the USSR State Prize
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
(1978) for his stage works. In 1990 Borisov won Volpi Cup
Volpi Cup
The Volpi Cups are the principal awards given to actors at the Venice Film Festival. Formal acting awards were introduced in the second festival . Initially they were called Great Gold Medals of the National Fascist Association for Entertainment. The name Volpi Cup was introduced the following year...
at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
. He played over 70 roles in film and television. He also directed stage productions and led several popular radio shows. In 1992 Oleg Borisov made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem together with his wife. He died of complications from a blood disorder on April 28, 1994, in Moscow, Russia.
Selected filmography
- There Will Be No Leave TodayThere Will Be No Leave TodayThere Will be No Leave Today is a 1959 student film by the Russian film directors Andrei Tarkovsky and Aleksandr Gordon. Based on a real postwar incident the film is about an army unit trying to dispose unexploded bombs to save a small town. It was Tarkovsky's and Gordon's second film, produced...
(1959) - Failure of Engineer GarinFailure of Engineer GarinFailure of Engineer Garin is a 1973 Soviet television film in four parts loosely based on a novel Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin by Alexei Tolstoy. Directed by Leonid Kvinikhidze, script written by Sergei Potepalov. Produced by Lenfilm by the order of Gosteleradio of USSR. Total runtime - 247 min...
(1973) - Treasure IslandTreasure Island (1982 film)Treasure Island is Russian movie based on British novel with same name. It was released in 1982 directed by Vladimir Vorobyov and acted by Fyodor Stukov, Oleg Borisov....
(1982) - The ServantThe Servant (1989 film)The Servant is a 1989 Soviet drama film directed by Vadim Abdrashitov. It was entered into the 39th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Alfred-Bauer Prize.-Cast:* Oleg Borisov as Andrei Andreyevich Gudionov...
(1989) - The Only Witness (1990)
- Luna ParkLuna Park (film)Luna Park is a Franco-Russian film. It competed in the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, was shown at the Toronto Film Festival on , and was released in New York in January 1994. The composer Isaak Schwarz won a Nika Award from the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences for the film's music...
(1992)