Valentin Nikulin: biography, films, personal life

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In our article I would like to talk about the life and work of the famous Soviet artist Valentin Nikulin. What famous films did the actor star in? How did his career develop? We will talk about all this further.

Early years

Valentin Nikulin was born on July 7, 1932 in Moscow. A boy was born in the family of a theater playwright and pianist. The uncle of our hero was a fairly well-known publicist. It is not surprising that from early childhood, little Valentine dreamed of repeating the fate of his parents and achieving success in the field of high art.

However, at the end of school, the guy, to the surprise of others, went against family traditions. The young man applied for admission to the Moscow State Institute and was soon assigned to the Faculty of Law. Despite the successful graduation from the university in the speci alty presented, Valentin Nikulin never began to work as a human rights activist. The fact is that by that time our hero felt a hidden artistic potential in himself, which needed immediate realization. Therefore, soon the young man went to comprehend stage skills in the studio of Nemirovich-Danchenko.

Later, novice actor Valentin Nikulin joined the acting troupe of the Sovremennik Theater. On this creative platform, the artist has played many outstanding roles. Participation in such famous productions as: "The Naked King", "At the Bottom", "Provincial Jokes", "Three Sisters" brought particular success to our hero.

Movie debut

Valentin Nikulin began acting in big films in 1961. During this period, the artist was invited to play the role of a guy named Andrei in the feature film Leap Year. Despite the rather fleeting appearance on the screen, the actor managed to attract attention. Subsequently, Valentin began to receive more prominent roles and earned the status of a significant figure in Soviet cinema.

Career development

The main part of the artist's work was occupied by the roles of eccentric characters, among which there were often all kinds of wizards and fairy-tale heroes. The reason for this is the non-standard appearance of Valentin Nikulin with his asymmetrical features and extremely penetrating gaze. All this helped the actor create memorable, original images on the screen. However, there was also a downside. After all, the directors rarely trusted Valentin Nikulin with the main roles. For this reason, the actor was not too happy with the pace of development of his own career.

One of the most successful roles of the artist is the image of Dr. Gaspar from the film "Three Fat Men". For many years, this character remained a real hallmark of Nikulin. At the same time, the actor repeatedly noted that it was thisthe painting is one of his most disliked works.

In an effort to move away from the standard role, Valentin Nikulin, whose films were quite popular, tried to diversify the images of his characters. However, he once again had to take on the roles of wizards, weird nerds and ordinary jesters. It was these characters that Nikulin played in the films "Merry Dream", "Blue Balls Pharmacy" and "The Ballad of Bering and His Friends". However, there were some serious works in the career of an artist, for example, roles in the films “The Investigation is Conducted by Connoisseurs”, as well as “Visit to the Minotaur”.

Private life

All his life the actor lived with the only woman - actress Marina Ganulina. In the early 90s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the couple moved to permanent residence in Israel. Here the couple performed on the stage of the local theater. However, life in an alien soul country did not work out. Soon the actor decided to return to Russia. This desire led to disagreements in the family. In the end, the trip to his homeland turned into a divorce for Valentin. The actor spent his last years in Moscow, regularly appearing on the stage of the Sovremennik Theater.