Gennady Korolkov, Honored Artist of the Three Soviet Republics, was called the “Russian Belmondo” - and not only because of the external similarity, but also because of his mastery of the acting profession
Gennady Korolkov was born in 1941 in Roslavl near Smolensk, when the war with the Nazis began. Therefore, his childhood was not easy. In the first year of his life, his mother died - a fighter of a partisan detachment. He will never know what happened to the young partisan who went on reconnaissance in the village where the Germans were. Father at that time already fought at the front.
After the Victory, Gennady's father returned, and they moved to Lviv. There, the future artist studied at school, and from primary school participated in the amateur theater. Gene easily remembered large texts, so he was assigned the main roles. He played the very first at ten years old - it was the role of a funny Negro.
Gene liked to play, rehearse, liked all this pre-concert turmoil, and he dreamed of doing acting all his life. However, it was necessary to earn a living, and right after school Korolkov went to work at the factory. There, everything also went well with him: he was appreciated, awarded with diplomas, he had the opportunity to make a career in production.
However, the youthful dream was stronger: Gennady became a student at the Lviv Theater studio and successfully completed the course. However, he had one so-called flaw: he did not perfectly master the Ukrainian speech, and therefore could not play in the Lviv Theater. He realized that his road lay in Moscow.
First roles
Korolkov had to wait for the first roles for a long time, because he entered the Moscow Art Theater School only the third time. He studied well, after studying he entered the troupe of the Central Children's Theater, played fairy-tale characters. And of course, he dreamed of other roles - more significant.
Korolkova’s potential was first noticed by the famous film director Mark Osepyan - he invited Gennady to the film “Three Days of Viktor Chernyshev” (1967). The plot of the film was not easy, the role of a working guy who lived at the junction of two eras was also difficult, but Korolkov did it brilliantly - the debut was a success. Moreover - the film became iconic in Soviet cinema.
Korolkov began a new life: he received bags of letters from fans and signed autographs on the street.
At the same time there were changes in the theatrical career: he was accepted into the troupe of the Theater. Mayakovsky. Five years in the theater were very successful, but then there was a scandal. Korolkov’s friend Evgeny Leonov left the theater, and he left with solidarity with him, succumbing to emotions.
After that, Gennady Anatolyevich worked for two years in the Lenkom Theater, from which he also left, and also with scandal. After that, a black streak began in his life. He joined the troupe of the Theater of the Film Actor, but he closed in the difficult 90s.
Then Korolkov went to work as a cloakroom worker, without telling his relatives about it. He was going through this period heavily.
This story can be seen in the film by Galina Dolmatovskaya “Where did I see him?”, Which she shot in the mid-90s. This film prompted the public to create funds to help film and theater actors.
Movie career
Before the onset of the black strip in life, Korolkov starred in almost sixty films of various genres: detective stories, adventure films, action films. One of the most impressive militants is the film "Inn on Pyatnitskaya." Basically, Korolkov was given the roles of real men: investigators, criminal investigators, security officers. His last name in the credits in advance guaranteed the success of the film.
Moreover, he chose roles, and one of the most successful can be considered his work in the series "State Border", the melodrama "Alyosha", the adventure film "Because I Love".
