Post in memory of Anatoly Rudakov: Why the actor gave up teaching and did not act in films for 5 years

2023 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-24 13:10

On August 1, 2021, Anatoly Rudakov, a legendary actor who played more than 100 roles in films and TV shows, passed away, he succeeded in both character roles and comic ones. Misha, Vali's husband in "Young Wife", Gosha Ovsov in "State Border", Albinet in the film "In Search of Captain Grant" - these are only a small part of the vivid roles played by Anatoly Rudakov. But there was a five-year period in his life when he did not act in films at all. And then he turned down the offer to teach acting, although he had something to share with his students.

At the call of the heart

Anatoly Rudakov was born in the Vitebsk region in 1950, and soon after his birth, the family moved to the city of Chulym in Siberia. True, ten years later they had to return to their homeland.

He was in seventh grade when a classmate invited him to participate in amateur art activities. He was given the role of some guy with a mustache, and after the very first performance on the school stage, Anatoly felt a passionate desire to be creative.

A little later, the same friend introduced the future actor to the head of the People's Theater in Polotsk. Anatoly Rudakov remembered his first role as a cadet Balaban in the production of "Needle and Bayonet" for the rest of his life, because it was after his debut appearance on the stage that he began to think about his profession. And I decided to enter the theater in Minsk, prepared a program, took art lessons, but failed on the very first round.

But Anatoly's mother, seeing how much her son was worried, invited him to go to Leningrad and enter there. Unfortunately, by the time of his arrival, admission to theatrical institutes had already been completed, and he did not see himself in another profession. Therefore, he stayed in Leningrad, determined to become a student in a year.

To get a place in a hostel and a residence permit, he entered a shipbuilding school, but immediately found a theater group, where he began to study, while preparing for admission. The National Theater of the Teacher's House was directed by Viktor Remezov, and the classes were conducted by teachers from LGITMiK. But even a year later, Anatoly Rudakov did not enter the institute, and was drafted into the army. Demobilized, he immediately began to prepare for auditions at LGITMiK, and this time he was among the first in the competition, became one of the students of the People's Artist Igor Gorbachev, who was recruiting a course that year.

Already in his student years, he made his debut in Naum Birman's film "I Serve on the Border", and after graduation he became an actor at the Lenfilm studio. For 20 years, he was very active in films, several films with the participation of the actor were released a year. The most striking were the works in the pictures "Young Wife", "Mercedes Leaving the Pursuit", "Find and Disarm", "State Border. Peaceful Summer of 1921”,“In Search of Captain Grant”. And then came the difficult 1990s.

Successful businessman

Filming almost ceased, a difficult period of lack of money began. Anatoly Rudakov then had to think not only about himself, but also about his wife and little son. Friends helped him change the field of activity. He came to the firm "Zircon", which was engaged in the supply of metal to the enterprises of St. Petersburg. The director immediately realized that an actor as a manager could be useful to him, and took Anatoly Rudakov to work. As a result, Anatoly Rodionovich rose to the position of vice president and brought the company huge profits.

Despite financial well-being and serious success in this field, Anatoly Rudakov yearned for the acting profession. When, in the late 1990s, Lenfilm began filming again, he went to the director of the film studio and asked him, in case of a call from the direct head of the company, to confirm that Anatoly Rudakov had already been approved for the lead role in some film. And that he was leaving again to act in films, he told his boss. He managed to resign of his own free will almost painlessly. True, the director of the company persuaded Anatoly Rodionovich to return for a long time, but the actor knew for sure that his calling was cinema.

Loyalty to the profession

The first role after returning to the profession was Mityai in the "National Security Agent", and after the proposals of the directors fell on the actor, as if from a cornucopia. He again did what he loved most in the world, played in "Street of Broken Lanterns", "Sea Devils", "Crime and Punishment", "Sherlock Holmes", and many other films. In addition, in 2006, Anatoly Rodionovich decided to take up production activities, founded and headed his own company "Kinocenter".

He had tremendous experience and had something to share with young actors. But he categorically refused the offer to teach acting at the theater institute. As the actor admitted in one of his extremely rare interviews, he was afraid of responsibility for the fate of his students.

The acting profession is too dependent and unpredictable. He could convey to students his passion for the profession, teach them the subtleties and secrets of craftsmanship. But he could not protect them from lack of demand and guarantee the success of each of them in the theater or cinema and was afraid to break their fates. In general, he was a very responsible, fair and kind person. Colleagues have always talked about Anatoly Rodionovich with great warmth and respect.

He was full of energy, ideas and creative plans. But on August 1, 2021, he was gone. Shortly before that, Anatoly Rudakov was hospitalized with COVID-19, and the reason for his departure was, as the actor's son Alexei said, cardiac arrest caused by a complication of the disease. The legend of Soviet cinema has gone, leaving a kind, bright memory of himself …

One of the most memorable roles of Anatoly Rudakov was Olbinet in the film "In Search of Captain Grant", which was released in 1985. It is worth saying that the filmmakers quite freely interpreted the plot of the novel and the biography of Jules Verne. However, this did not affect the popularity of the film, which the audience loved.