Profile of Aleksei Batalov on Famous Like Me

Aleksey Vladimirovich Batalov is a Russian actor who has been acclaimed for his portrayal of noble and positive characters. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1976 and the Hero of Socialist Labour in 1989.

Batalov was born in Moscow on November 20, 1928 into a theatrical family. His uncle Nikolay Batalov starred in Vsevolod Pudovkin's classic Mother (1926). Anna Akhmatova was a family friend, and he painted a well-known portrait of her in 1952. Batalov joined the Moscow Art Theatre in 1953 but left three years later to concentrate on his career in film. During the Khrushchev Thaw he was one of the most recognizable actors in the Soviet Union. The Cranes Are Flying (1957) is his best regarded film of the period, and the one which won Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Batalov became known for his fastidious approach towards choosing roles for himself. He appeared mostly in film adaptations of Russian classics, including Chekhov's Lady with a Lapdog (1960) and Bulgakov's Flight (1970). He also directed screen versions of Gogol's The Overcoat (1960) and Yuri Olesha's Three Fat Men (1966). In the 1970s he concentrated on professorship at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography.

In 1979 Batalov was invited to play a plumber in the melodrama Moscow Does Not Believe In Tears. After many hesitations, Batalov brilliantly played his part in the movie, which won him the USSR State Prize. After that, he effectively retired from acting and devoted his time to coaching new generations of film actors. Boris Yeltsin presented the Lifetime Achievement Nike Award to him in 2002.

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