Actor Mikhail Kuznetsov is familiar to his contemporaries from the fairy tale film "Mary the Craftswoman", where he played a gallant soldier. But few people know that his filmography includes more than 50 works in cinema, including voice acting.
The doors to the world of art for the actor Mikhail Artemyevich were opened by Stanislavsky himself. Kuznetsov worked with such renowned directors as the great Soviet storyteller Row Alexander, the legendary Pyryev Ivan, the outstanding Alexander Zarkha and Raizman Julius. The actor's path to the world of cinema and theater was not easy from the very first step. He made unthinkable sacrifices to achieve his dreams.
Biography of Soviet actor Mikhail Kuznetsov
Mikhail Artemievich was born in Noginsk (Bogorodsk) near Moscow in 1918. Soon after his birth, his father died, his mother, in order to feed her son, had to move closer to her relatives who lived in the village of Tikhoretskaya on the Don. The childhood of the future actor Mikhail Kuznetsov passed there.
He grew up as an ordinary boy, loved to play the ball with friends, helped his mother a lot “with the housework”. He was distinguished from his friends only by his passionate love for the stage. Even then, Mikhail knew that sooner or later he would play in the theater. It is interesting that he did not dream of a career in cinema, most likely he knew very little about him.
At that time, art and the involvement of men in it was perceived as a game, was considered something frivolous, and in the circles where Mikhail grew up, even shameful. Under pressure from relatives, the young man entered a vocational school, mastered the profession of a turner, and got a job at a factory. By that time, he and his mother had already lived in the capital again. The theaters were within walking distance, which allowed the guy to visit them at the first opportunity. At the performances, he literally turned off, enthusiastically watched what was happening on the stage, often spoke the dialogues of the characters together with the actors.
Mikhail Kuznetsov entered the theatrical educational institution when he was already a worker-turner. The young man accidentally found out that Stanislavsky himself had opened a studio and was recruiting young talents to study there. But the audition time coincided with the work shift at the factory. Mikhail took a desperate step - he burned his hand with acid, and immediately after visiting the first-aid post, he went to the exams.
In 1941, Mikhail Kuznetsov graduated from the Stanislavsky State Studio - his dream came true, he became an actor and could go on stage.
Filmography of the actor Mikhail Kuznetsov
Mikhail Artemyevich began acting in films when he was studying at Stanislavsky's studio. He played the main character, high school student Ilya Korzun in the film "Friends". It was this role that made the young actor recognizable, they paid attention to him as a talented professional in his field, although he did not yet have a diploma of education at that time. His second film role was again the main one. Mikhail Kuznetsov brought to life the image of the taxi driver Solovyov in the film "Mashenka".
In total, the actor's filmography includes 59 works. Most of them are starring roles in films. Roles in films became the truly iconic works of Mikhail Artemyevich
- "Inseparable friends"
- "Commander of the ship"
- "Mary the Artisan",
- "Serving the Fatherland"
- "Young Russia"
- "Bagration" and others.
In addition, Mikhail Kuznetsov was engaged in the voice acting of cartoons, sometimes he read the text for other actors who, for some reason, could not do it themselves. There are almost 10 such works in his creative collection.
There was also a theatrical stage in his professional life, which he dreamed of from a young age. He was a member of the troupe of the Moscow State Theater of Film Actors. It was an unusual theater. On its basis, a kind of preliminary run of future films took place, beginning actors could watch what was happening on the stage. Many consider this theater to be their school, a preparatory base, which later allowed them to enter a prestigious specialized acting university.
Many legendary Soviet actors have passed through the troupe of the theater. In addition to Mikhail Kuznetsov, such talents of the Soviet era as Bondarchuk, Luzhina, Strizhenov, Pashkov, Fateeva, Samoilova, Semina and others were "noted" there.
Personal life of actor Mikhail Kuznetsov
Mikhail Artemyevich was married twice, and each time he chose his colleagues in the shop - actresses. The first wife of Kuznetsov was Lyudmila Vasilievna Shabalina, familiar to moviegoers from the films "Teacher", "Air Carrier", "In the Name of Life" and others. When Lyudmila Vasilievna met Mikhail, she already had a daughter, and she did not want to have children yet, did not strive. Later, Kuznetsov said that it was this aspect of their life together that became the reason for the divorce.
The marriage with Shabalina did not last long. On the set of the film "Our Heart" Mikhail met his second wife - actress Germanova Victoria. The man at that time was at the stage of divorce from his first wife. Having become officially free, he almost immediately married a second time, and a year later the couple had a joint daughter. Valentina Mikhailovna Kuznetsova (after Tezhik's marriage) also, like her parents, became an actress.
In 1985, the second wife of Mikhail Kuznetsov died. He survived her for a year. The death of the legendary actor was easy. His heart simply stopped when he was resting on a bench in one of the Moscow squares. Mikhail Artemyevich was buried next to his beloved wife Victoria Germanovna at the Vvedenskoye cemetery of the capital. They remained together even after their death.
