Anatoly (Otto) Alekseyevich Solonitsyn (; 30 August 1934 – 11 June 1982) was a Soviet actor known for his roles in Andrei Tarkovsky's films. He won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 31st Berlin International Film Festival.
Film career Solonitsyn was born in Bogorodsk. At birth, he was named Otto, after the polar explorer Otto Schmidt.
His debut in cinema was in the Sverdlovsk Film Studio's short film The Case of Kurt Clausewitz (1963), directed by Gleb Panfilov. 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 Mirror (1975), and the titular role in Andrei Rublev (1966).
In his book Sculpting in Time, Tarkovsky calls Solonitsyn his favorite actor, and writes that Solonitsyn was intended to play the lead roles in his films Nostalghia (1983) and The Sacrifice (1986), but the actor died before their production. Tarkovsky admired Solonitsyn's ability to fully embody the ideas of the director. When Tarkovsky was considering making a film adaptation of Dostoevsky's famous novel The Idiot, Solonitsyn was even ready to undergo plastic surgery to look more like the great Russian writer.
In the former Soviet Union he was also well known for his roles in At Home Among Strangers (1974), The Train Has Stopped (1982), and many others.
Awards 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 (1981). The same year, he was given the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
Death Solonitsyn died from lung cancer in 1982, at the age of 47. Allegedly, according to Viktor 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.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1966 Andrei Rublev Andrei Rublev1968 No Path Through Fire Ivan Yevstryukov 1971 Trial on the Road Major Igor Leonidovich Petushkov1972 Grandmaster Sergey's father1972 The Love of Mankind Dmitry Andreyevich Kalmykov 1972 The Prince and the Pauper Lord Saint John 1972 Solaris Dr. Sartorius, astrobiologist 1974 Agony Baroness' husband, colonel Released in 19811974 At Home Among Strangers Vasily Antonovich Sarychev 1974 Under en steinhimmel Hofmeyer, German colonel1975 Mirror Forensic doctor, the passerby 1975TrustAlexander Shotman1976 The Ascent Pavel Gavrilovich Portnov, the Nazi interrogator 1977 Bag of the Collector Ivan Timofeyevich 1978The Turning PointKonstantin Korolyov1979 The Bodyguard Sultan-Nazar 1979 Stalker Writer 1980Life on HolidaysTolik Chikin1980 Twenty Six Days from the Life of Dostoyevsky Fyodor Dostoevsky1981 Muzhiki! Pyotr the painter, Pavlik's father 1982 The Train Has Stopped Igor Malinin, journalist Final film role
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