And in the theater, in the cinema, and in transferring the experience to young actors, Konstantin Stepankov had some kind of frantic desire to do everything as best as possible, cleaner and sincere. Perhaps this happens when a person has experienced a lot in his life and no longer accepts falsehood in anything.
It was much later that Konstantin Petrovich became the People's Artist of the USSR and a teacher, and at the very beginning of his life he had to endure many hardships.
Biography
Probably, the complex life story of Bones was predetermined before his birth. His father was a priest, after the revolution he was repressed and shot, and the family was forced to change the name of Voloshchuk to the Stepankovs.
When Konstantin was born in 1926, he grew up with this surname. The Stepankovs lived in Ukraine, and fully drank the hardships of the German occupation during the war. After their liberation from the Germans, their mother decided to move to Central Asia. Konstantin was then 18 years old, and he decided that he would live on his own - he was left alone at home.
He served on a fishing vessel until he decided that he needed to get an education. He had an agricultural institute in his plans, he entered there and studied for two years, and then decided to go to the theater university. The reason was the play, which was staged by Kiev actors on tour in his city.
Konstantin went to the capital and entered the Kiev Institute of Theater Arts. At the entrance exam, he read poetry wonderfully. Perhaps this helped the kid get into the ranks of the student body without any preparation.
It is very significant that immediately after graduating from the institute Konstantin was left to teach at the department of directing. However, an affair with a student served as the reason for dismissal. He will return here again later, and again as a teacher.
Since 1955, Stepankov entered the service of the Kiev Drama Theater, where he spent almost fourteen years. As a theater actor, he had a dream - to play Iago in Othello, but it did not work out. In Shakespeare's plays, he was able to play the role of Edgar in King Lear.
Movie career
In the late sixties, Stepankov was invited to the Kiev film studio - he needed a characteristic actor for the role of secretary of the province committee in the film "Pavel Korchagin". And although the role was small, the actor was noticed and began to be invited to other paintings.
Another significant role is Pan Kmet in the film "Anyochka" (1968). The theme of the picture is the German occupation of Ukraine.
The actor’s portfolio contains more than one hundred theatrical and film works, and each of his characters is a very characteristic and strong-willed person.
Stepankov brought great popularity to the role of Zhukhrai in the film How Steel Was Tempered (1974). This work was highly appreciated not only by the audience - Konstantin received the Lenin Komsomol Prize for it.
The final status of a celebrity was assigned to Stepankov after the film "The Duma of Kovpak." For this role he received the Gold Medal.
Among other awards of the actor are very high: State Prize and the Order of Merit for the Fatherland.
