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 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 title role in Andrei Rublev (1966). In his book Sculpting in Time, Tarkovsky calls him his favorite actor, and writes that Solonitsyn was intended to play the lead roles in each of 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 do the plastic surgery to look more like the great Russian writer. In the former Soviet Union he is 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. 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 References External links 1934 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Russian male actors People from Bogorodsky District, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Honored Artists of the RSFSR Silver Bear for Best Actor winners Russian male film actors Russian male stage actors Russian male television actors Soviet male film actors Soviet male stage actors Soviet male television actors Deaths from lung cancer in Russia Deaths from lung cancer in the Soviet Union Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery