Many actors of Soviet cinema came from workers and peasants. Nikolai Makeev could not boast of a noble origin. However, the audience remembered the vivid images on the screen.
Starting conditions
Over a certain period of time, cultural values traveled by rail. At the dawn of Soviet power, cinema was one of the most important arts for the people. Nikolai Konstantinovich Makeev was born on December 19, 1920 in the family of a lineman. The boy was the fourth child in the house. Parents lived in the vicinity of the famous city of Voronezh. Father worked on the railway. Mother was engaged in housework and raising children. Not to say that the Makeevs lived poorly, but everyone had to work, from small to large.
Nikolai grew up an energetic and inquisitive child. At four years old, he was trusted to drive geese to the nearest lawn. In those years, special propaganda trains with a movie project apparatus ran on the railway. At large stations, the train stopped and the local population was "playing movies." Once upon a time, little Nikolasha came to such a session. After watching another "silent" film, Makeev was impressed by what he saw for several days. Someone from the adults told him that the actors act in films. That's it - after that the boy decided that he would definitely become an actor.
Acting Odyssey
When the years came, Nikolai was enrolled in school. He studied well. Distinguished by exemplary behavior. His favorite subjects were literature and geography. After graduating from seven classes, Makeev went to Moscow to study as an artist. Father "straightened out" a train ticket for him and gave some money. The capital of the future actor did not wait, and did not notice his appearance. Nikolai overcame all obstacles and obstacles to enter the Shchepkin Theater School, and get an acting education. In 1942 he completed his studies and entered the service at the front branch of the Maly Theater.
For more than a year, Makeev wandered along the front lines and spoke to the soldiers of the Red Army. Then he was drafted into the armed forces and sent to the Polar Front. After the victory, he remained in the troupe of the Drama Theater of the Northern Fleet. For three years he played leading roles in repertoire performances. After which he worked for more than ten years at the Russian Drama Theater of the Karelian-Finnish SSR. In 1959, Nikolai Konstantinovich was invited to the Moscow Drama Theater named after Ermolova, in which he served until his very old age.
