Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy

Biography

Innokentiy Smotkunovkiy (born 28 March 1925 – 3 August 1994) was a Soviet film and stage actor. Served during World War II. An acclaimed performer, his portrayal of Hamlet in a 1964 film won him praise overseas, including a BAFTA nomination.

One of Smotkunovkiy's best known roles among wider audiences was in a popular Soviet crime comedy Beware of the Car, a satire where he portrayed a thief who stole cars from criminals to donate the money from car sales to orphanages. Other notable roles include dramatizations of Dostoyevsky's The Idiot in Bolshoi Drama Theater (1957) and Tolstoy's Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich in Maly Theatre (1973).

Awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1974.