Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy
Acting · Directing · Writing
Born July 23, 1946, Rostov-na-Donu, Rostovskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR
Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy (23 July 1946 — 2 December 1995) was a Soviet actor and film director. His best known roles are in films such as Stalker, At Home Among Strangers, and The Bodyguard. Prior to pursuing an acting career, Kaydanovskiy attended technical college where he trained to become a welder. In 1965 he started studying acting at The Rostov Theatre School and the Shchukin theatrical school in Moscow. Before completing the course he took his first part in the film The Mysterious Wall and upon graduation in 1969, he worked as stage actor, making his debut at the Vakhtangov Theatre in 1969. In 1971, he was invited to join the prestigious Moscow Arts Theatre, a rare privilege for a 25-year-old graduate. He made his major film debut in At Home Among Strangers, and over the next few years appeared in some two dozen films, including the satirical comedy Diamonds for Dictatorship of the Proletariat and The Life of Beethoven. At his peak in the '70s Kaidanovsky was among the USSR’s most popular actors, and it was at this point that famed Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky, impressed by the looks and the acting technique of Kaidanovsky in Diamonds, invited him to play the title role in his new film, Stalker. The role earned Kaydanovskiy international acclaim. In 1985 he directed A Simple Death, which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. In 1993 he directed Just Death, which was about the death of Leo Tolstoy.
Filmography
- 1996Secrets Shared with a Stranger — Kriouchoff
- 1996The Arrival of a Train
- 1994Magic Hunter — Maxim
- 1993Tear of the Prince of Darkness
- 1993The Devil's Breath — Damian
- 1992Parajanov: The Last Spring — Himself, Tarkovsky's actor
- 1992The Dream of a Ridiculous Man — Narrator (voice)
- 1989Kerosene Salesman's Wife — Writer, Director
- 1988New Adventures of a Yankee in King Arthur's Court — Sir Lancelot
- 1988The Pass — Narrator (voice)
- 1987Khareba and Gogia — Vokhovski
- 1987Ten Little Indians — Philip Lombard
- 1987The Guest — Director, Writer
- 1987The Theater Is My House — А. Н. Островский
- 1985A Simple Death — Director, Writer
- 1985Contract
- 1985Two Tickets to India
- 1984Jonah, or the Artist at Work — Director, Writer
- 1983The Garden — Director
- 1982I'm Sorry — Pranas
- 1982Kafedra — Valentin Orlov
- 1981And I'm With You Again...
- 1981Fact — Stanislav
- 1980Rafferty — Эймс
- 1980Story of an Unknown Man
- 1980The Rescuer — Николай Вараксин
- 1980The Return
- 1979Pilot Pirx's Inquest — Nowak
- 1979Stalker — Stalker
- 1979The Bodyguard — Mirzo
- 1978The Life of Beethoven
- 1978The Turning Point — doctor
- 1978Who Will go to Truskavets?
- 1977Forward March, Time! — Reading poem (voice)
- 1977Golden River — бывший царский офицер Кирилл Зимин
- 1977That Was in Kokand — поручик Зайченко
- 1976Diamonds for the Dictatorship of the Proletariat — Vorontsov
- 1976Fiery Bridge
- 1976My Calling
- 1976The Importance of Being Earnest — Джон Уортинг
- 1975Going My Way
- 1975The Lost Expedition — Кирилл Петрович Зимин (бывший царский офицер)
- 1975Under the Roofs of Montmartre
- 1974At Home Among Strangers, a Stranger Among His Own — Lemke
- 1974Vanyushin's Kids — Костя
- 1973Failure of Engineer Garin — Вольф
- Failure of Engineer Garin — Wolf
- Past and Thoughts — Виссарион Белинский
- 1972The Fourth
- 1972The Gambler
- 1972The Mathematician and the Devil — Черт
- 1971And There Was Evening, And There Was Morning
- 1971Hound of the Baskervilles — Джэк Стэплтон
- Hound of the Baskervilles — Jack Stapleton
- Investigation Held by ZnaToKi — Борис Миркин - скупщик золота
- 1971The Fifteenth Spring — Messenger
- 1970A Quiet Day at the End of the War — Sergeant
- 1970Drama on the Hunt — Граф Карнеев
- 1969A Nest of Gentry
- 1969First Love
- 1967Anna Karenina — Jules Landeau
- 1967The Mysterious Wall
Appearances as themselves (1)
- To Remember — Himself - archiveFootage