The acting talent of the popularly beloved actress Nina Urgant is compared with the Stradivarius violin, her play is so subtle and piercing, blurring the boundaries between life's reality and acting on stage.
The actress with equal passion could play a provincial girl, a modest collective farmer and a lady of royal blood and never outplayed.
Childhood
Born in a small town in the Leningrad Region, Nina (04/04/1929) was the second child in a family where four children grew up - 2 girls and 2 boys. The city of Luga is located near the Estonian border, where in those years a large number of Estonians who became almost Russian lived. Among them was the girl’s father, Nikolai, who served in the NKVD. By the nature of the service of the head of the family, by the time the war was in the rank of major, the family often changed their place of residence.
So they appeared in Daugavpils where they were compelled to live in the territory occupied by fascists. An 11-year-old girl knew firsthand what war was. The family survived only thanks to the decency of the neighbors who did not betray the military family. A woman janitor saved her from raids - she hid the children in the basement so that they would not drive her to Germany, from starvation - her mother’s work in a bakery. Little Nina secretly went to the church and prayed for her relatives. The war did not take away anyone, but the feeling of grief from it remained for life.
In the postwar years, already in his native Meadow, training continued. "Nina-artist" was known to all at school. She took part in all school activities: she played the guitar, sang, read poetry and prose, took part in sketches.
A 20-year-old girl, having just completed a high school course, applied immediately to several educational institutions of Leningrad: to the Polytechnic, to the pedagogical institute, and, just in case, to a locksmith's school. On hands there was one more copy of the certificate. With her, she went to the theater. But, alas, the third round was already on. Something attracted the curator of the recruiting course in a naive girl who asked if the artists were doing here. Nina was listened to and accepted to college.
Theater
By distribution, after graduation, Nina Urgant got into the Yaroslavl Theater. Thanks to her abilities, she was briefly held on secondary roles, after several productions the young actress was already accustomed to the images of the main characters. But the soul strove to Leningrad, to the big stage. In less than a year, her dream came true - Nina becomes an artist of Lenkom, where her talent under the leadership of the famous director Tovstonogov is revealed with renewed vigor.
Huge temperament, skillful construction of images, vivid play bring her the title of Honored Artist seven years after the first appearance on the stage. It happened in the 60th year.
And two years later, the famous actress accepts the invitation and begins working in the academic drama theater (now Alexandriyka). She immediately falls into a whirlpool of events and roles: the main images of the performances, 4-5 premieres per year. Together with her, famous artists took to the stage: Tolubeyev, Cherkasov, Simonov. The whole repertoire of the theater was kept on it. The award for brilliant stage performance in the 74th year was the title of People's Artist.
Movie
The path to the cinema was not fast, but many happy moments happened. The first film role Urgant was the windy Olechka in Tamer of the Tigers (1954). Then there were seven years of inaction in the cinema.
In the 62nd actress, the first big role was played in the film "Introduction". She was able to add touching notes to the negative, in general, character. The work brought her a prize for the main female role at the Venice Film Festival.
On the set, the actress behaved very organically, easily improvised within the script written by the scriptwriter, had the ability to repeat episodes without losing inspiration.
For a long creative life, Nina Nikolaevna starred in more than fifty films. But the main film, which brought widespread fame and popular love, was "Belorussky Train Station" with a song that instantly hit millions of viewers. Now, probably, no one will remember that the heroine appeared on the screen only in the last frames, the role was so episodic.
