Alexander Kaidonovsky

Who was Alexander Kaidonovsky?

Alexander Leonidovich Kaidanovsky was a Soviet and Russian actor and film director.

His best known roles are in films such as At Home Among Strangers, Telokhranitel/The Bodyguard and Stalker.

Prior to pursuing an acting career, Kaidanovsky attended technical college where he was training to become a welder. Apparently a prospect of becoming a worker did not appeal to him and in 1965 he started studying acting at The Rostov Theatre School and the Schukin Institute in Moscow. Before completing the course he took his first part in the film Tainstvennaya stena, and upon graduation in 1969, he worked as stage actor.

In 1985 he directed A Simple Death, which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.

Kaidanovsky made his theatre debut at the Eugene Vakhtangov Theatre in 1969. In 1971 he was invited to join MKHAT, the Moscow Arts Theatre, the best classical theatre in Russia, a rare privilege for a 25-year-old graduate.