Sharikov's "Brand": How the role in "Heart of a Dog" changed the fate of Vladimir Tolokonnikov

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

He played more than 60 movie roles, but the audience remembered him in one role - Sharikova from "Heart of a Dog". This work became a landmark in his life - it was she who brought the 45-year-old actor not only all-Union, but also worldwide popularity, opening the way to big cinema. But this glory also had a downside - Vladimir Tolokonnikov became a hostage of Polygraph Sharikov, and this had fatal consequences …

Viewers might never see Tolokonnikov on the screens, because no one believed that he could become an actor. He was born and raised in Alma-Ata, where he often performed at school events, studied in the drama club, but this did not help him in any way when he entered the theatrical universities of the capital. Tolokonnikov was not accepted into any of them - the members of the selection committee unanimously told him that with such a specific appearance he might not even dream of an acting career.

His dream came true only thanks to incredible perseverance and dedication - he himself did not doubt that he had chosen the right path. Vladimir took part in the productions of the youth studio of Yu. Pomerantsev, worked on television, acted in the crowd of the Almaty drama theater, until he was drafted into the army. After serving 2 years in the missile forces in Germany, Tolokonnikov again went to Moscow. Even after the fourth unsuccessful attempt at admission, he did not give up on his dream. After working for a year at the Theater for Young Spectators in Samara, he still managed to achieve his goal by graduating from the Yaroslavl Theater School. After graduation, Tolokonnikov was accepted into the troupe of the Youth Theater of Alma-Ata, and then he moved to the Academic Theater of Russian Drama. M. Lermontov. There he served until the last years of his life, having given this theater for more than 40 years.

If the theatrical fate of Vladimir Tolokonnikov was quite successful, then his film career did not develop for a long time. For the first time on the screens, he appeared only at 38 years old, and at first he got only small episodes. Vladimir Bortko opened the way to big cinema for an unknown 45-year-old actor from Kazakhstan, offering him the role of Polygraph Poligrafovich Sharikov in his film adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's story "Heart of a Dog".

The fact that this role went to Tolokonnikov can be called a happy occasion. The director gave his assistants a difficult task: to find an actor with a low, flattened forehead, a large mouth, protruding ears - in a word, such that the viewer would immediately believe that this hero had really just turned from an animal into a human. There were not many such "handsome men" among the actors, only about 10 people. When Bortko saw a photograph of an unknown actor from Alma-Ata, he immediately asked to call him for audition. At the first meeting, he realized that this was exactly the one he was looking for. The director could not contain his emotions: ""

However, the artistic council was categorically against Tolokonnikov's candidacy - in the role of Sharikov, they saw the public's favorite Nikolai Karachentsov. But the director did not agree with this: "". Then Bortko delivered an ultimatum: either they approve the actor he has chosen, or he will not shoot the film!

During the rehearsal, he realized that he was not mistaken in his choice. Tolokonnikov's son Innokenty said: "". The director himself recalled: "".

This period became Tolokonnikov's finest hour. Thanks to Heart of a Dog, everyone was convinced that, in addition to his specific appearance, the actor has an extraordinary talent. In 1989, the film was awarded the Golden Screen Prize at the International Film Festival in Warsaw (Poland) and the Grand Prix at the International Television Film Festivals in Dushanbe (USSR) and Perugia (Italy). For this role, Tolokonnikov received the State Prize of the RSFSR.

In the image of Sharikov, the actor was so convincing that they began to identify him with a narrow-minded, rude, rude character. At the same time, he himself in life was the complete opposite of his hero. His son Innocent said: "". Vladimir Bortko said the same thing: ""

Polygraph Sharikov played a cruel joke with him. The brilliantly played role not only became his hallmark, but also made him hostage to this image - both the directors and the audience refused to see anyone else in Tolokonnikov. They often approached him on the streets for an autograph, but they addressed him exclusively as Sharikov, without even knowing his real name. Journalists in interviews asked him questions only about this role. The actor himself called this role a "stigma", although he was very grateful to her for having determined his fate.

In the 1990s, when interest in this film subsided, the actor disappeared from sight for a while. Continuing to associate him with Sharikov, some journalists wrote that he was drunk and dragging out a miserable existence. In fact, Tolokonnikov returned to Alma-Ata, where he continued to perform on the stage of the Russian drama theater, hosted an author's program on local television, acted in films in Kazakhstan and Russia, and raised two sons. After "Heart of a Dog" Vladimir Tolokonnikov played in more than 50 films and TV series, he was in demand and continued to act until the last days of his life, but the role of Sharikov remained his most famous work. On July 15, 2017, a few hours before leaving for the next shooting shift, the actor died of cardiac arrest. At that time he was 74 years old.

Vladimir Tolokonnikov often said in an interview: “” Today we can confidently assert that for thousands of viewers he will live in memory for many years to come! This film became iconic for another actor: How "Heart of a Dog" saved Evgeny Evstigneev.