Not just Alferova's husband: How Sergei Martynov became "Soviet Alain Delon" and why he disappeared from the screens

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

Recently, Sergei Martynov has been mentioned exclusively as the husband of Irina Alferova, and the younger generation of viewers does not even know that he is also an actor. For about 20 years, he very rarely acts in films, does not give interviews and leads a non-public lifestyle. And in the 1970s - 1980s. Martynov was called one of the most beautiful Soviet actors and even gave him the nickname "Soviet Alain Delon", because he really looked like a star of European cinema. Why a bright appearance prevented Martynov from building a successful film career and what he is doing now - further in the review.

The path of a Soviet actor with a non-Soviet appearance

He can be called not only one of the most beautiful, but also one of the most closed Soviet actors. He never liked to give interviews and talk about his life, so what is known about his youth is that Sergei Martynov was born and raised in the village of Aleksandrovka, Rostov Region, participated in school performances, and after receiving a certificate, he decided to leave for Moscow and enter a theater university. … He managed from the very first attempt to become a student at VGIK.

His creative path began not from the theater stage or from the set, but from the scoring of domestic and foreign films, and his voice became familiar to the audience before they saw the actor himself. But he also appeared on the screens early enough - at the age of 20, while still in his 4th year at the institute, Sergei Martynov played his debut role in the cinema, and a year later he gained his first popularity after his role in the film "Applicant".

The peak of popularity of Sergei Martynov came in the mid-1970s - early 1980s, when the actor played the main roles in the musical film "Tsarevich Prosha", the crime drama "Rico's Brothers" and starred in the detective film "Casket of Maria Medici". His talent was appreciated not only in the USSR, but also abroad: during this period he was invited to shoot in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia.

He starred a lot, but at the same time rarely got the main roles, although he had the appearance of a romantic hero. With such data in European cinema or in Hollywood, he would certainly have become incredibly popular, but in the USSR his type was not very popular with directors, because with such a “non-Soviet” appearance he could not play ordinary people “from the people”. He also did not fit into the image of an antihero - the roles of insidious villains and brutal handsome traitors contradicted his human and acting nature.

Fateful meeting

The Soviet Alain Delon always had many fans, but he was not proud of his incredible success with the opposite sex, did not start office romances and did not communicate with fans. His first wife was the cousin of the famous TV presenter Kira Proshutinskaya Ksenia, the couple had two children - a son Sergei and a daughter Anastasia. The actor never spoke about his first marriage and did not comment on the reasons why their relationship once reached an impasse. It is only known that during perestroika, the couple separated, Ksenia took the children and went with them to London, where she was offered a job.

They first met with one of the most beautiful Soviet actresses Irina Alferova back in 1978, when both participated in the auditions for the movie "The Rico Brothers". Even then, she made a strong impression on him, and he tried to convince the director to approve her for the role, but as a result they took another actress instead. Irina Alferova at that time was the wife of Alexander Abdulov, and there could be no question of continuing their communication with Martynov. The second time they met after 7 years at the scoring of a foreign film, but this time they limited themselves only to a friendly conversation, because both were still married.

The next time fate brought them together in 1991 on the set of the film "Sheriff's Star", where they played the main roles. Martynov's wife had already left for London by that time, and Alferova's marriage with Abdulov was on the verge of collapse. And in life, the same story was repeated, which they embodied on the screens: according to the script, Martynov's hero was a psychoanalyst and helped the heroine Alferova to get out of a difficult morale.

The same thing happened behind the scenes: the actress often appeared on the set in a depressed state, with tear-stained eyes, her partner noticed, listened, supported, surrounded with care and attention and became for her a real salvation and a reliable support in a difficult life situation. In 1995, the actors got married and have not parted since then. Alferova does not get tired of talking about how she considers meeting Martynov a gift of fate, incredible luck and great happiness.

The decline of the film career of the Soviet Alain Delon

After filming in 1991, Sergei Martynov disappeared from the screens for 10 years. This was primarily due to the crisis in cinematography and the lack of worthy proposals from directors. In addition, it was during this period that his family demanded special attention: the actor's ex-wife died prematurely, and he took the children to him, and two years later, Alferova's sister was gone, and they took care of their nephew. It was not easy to build relationships with teenagers who suddenly found themselves in the same house, but the actress accepted all of them as her own children.

In 2001, the actor returned to the screens, playing the main role in the film "Fox Alice". Since then, he has starred in several more films, but these were cameo roles. His last film work was a small role in the series "Sure Remedy", and after 2015 he did not appear on the screens. Martynov himself never commented on the situation, but his wife, when asked why her talented husband stopped acting in films, replies: "" At the same time, Martynov in the 2000s. tried his hand as a director and screenwriter, having released several animated films. According to Irina Alferova, this new field of activity was also the reason that her husband felt cramped within the framework of the acting profession: "".

Sergei Martynov's acting career can hardly be called very successful, but he does not complain about fate and believes that his life was very happy. Today he has everything one could dream of - a beloved woman and a strong family. He tries to spend all his free time with his wife and children and prefers quiet family evenings and home comfort to any social events. And if he is once again presented as “the husband of Irina Alferova,” he only smiles in response, because for him this title has long been the most important and valuable.

Although the creative destiny of his wife was more successful, she also had many unrealized chances and missed opportunities: Why Irina Alferova played so few roles in cinema and theater.