The fatal role of the Soviet Aladdin: What prevented Boris Bystrov's film career

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

His film career began in 1966, but at the moment there are only about 30 roles in the filmography of Boris Bystrov. There could have been much more of them, but his debut role was both his loudest success and the cause of future failures in the profession. For 10 years Boris Bystrov has not appeared on the screens, and even the most devoted fans today are unlikely to recognize him as the protagonist of the movie "Aladdin's Magic Lamp" …

Boris Bystrov was born in 1945, and 10 years later his parents divorced, and he had to make the first difficult decision in his life - with whom to stay. Since the mother already had a new family at that time, the boy decided to live with his father. For a long time, Boris did not communicate with his mother, their relationship improved only years later, but only at her funeral he was able to forgive her completely. The next time Boris had to make an important choice after leaving school. Even then, he decided to become an artist and for admission he chose the Moscow Art Theater School, where he was accepted from the very first attempt. And after receiving his diploma, he was accepted into the troupe of the Lenkom theater and received an offer to play a role that forever changed his life - Aladdin in Boris Rytsarev's movie fairy tale.

The first role became triumphant for the 21-year-old debutant: after the release of the film, there was no end to the fans, the girls cut out his portraits from magazines and newspapers and hung them on the walls. He was credited with an affair with his partner on the set Dodo Chogovadze, who played the role of Princess Budur. But at that time she was only 14 years old, and the most "daring" of their joint scene was the one where he took her hand. "", - said the actor later.

The audience recognized the young handsome actor on the streets and often offered to drink together. The test of fame turned out to be fatal for him: star fever almost turned Bystrov into an alcoholic. As he admitted years later, at first he drank because of his popularity, and then - because they stopped recognizing him.

This lifestyle could not but affect his appearance - Boris Bystrov became very stout, his facial features became rougher, and he could no longer play the role of romantic heroes. He continued to act in films, but, mainly, these were supporting roles and episodes. He did not manage to repeat the success of his debut film.

Realizing that he would no longer be able to achieve significant success in cinema, Boris Bystrov decided to change his occupation and began dubbing foreign films and dubbing cartoons. He voiced his first character back in the early 1970s, and since then he has taken part in almost 500 works! Almost all the characters of Marlon Brando speak in his voice, he worked on the films "Eastwick Witches", "Schindler's List", "Men in Black" and many others. Boris Bystrov gave his voice to Homer Simpson, Scooby-Doo, Alastor Moody from Harry Potter. Years later, the actor again faced the heroes of his debut film: he voiced the parrot Iago in the Disney cartoon "Aladdin". This work has become one of his favorites. "" - says the actor.

There were also many sharp turns in his personal life. The actor was married three times. His first wife was the continuer of the acting dynasty, Inna Kmit, the daughter of the performer of the role of Petka in the film "Chapaev" by Leonid Kmit. In this marriage, a daughter, Catherine, was born, who, after the divorce of her parents, took her mother's surname and also became an actress.

The first marriage broke up 10 years later, and Boris Bystrov married a second time - to the famous dancer Tatyana Leibel. This union was destroyed by the actor's alcohol addiction and the wife's decision to emigrate to Canada. She left, and the actor chose to stay in the USSR. His third wife was the actress Irina Savina, with whom Bystrov performed for many years on the stage of the M. Ermolova Theater. The couple had a son, Nikolai, and he followed in his father's footsteps by dubbing films. The third wife helped the actor to overcome the bad habit and give up alcohol. In this marriage, Boris Bystrov is still happy.

In the theater, his creative destiny was more successful than in the cinema. The actor says: ""

Boris Bystrov's partner in filming in "Aladdin's Magic Lamp" also failed to build a successful film career: Princess Budur in and behind the scenes.