Alexandr Kajdanovsky was a renowned Russian actor, director, and screenwriter, best recognized for his collaborations with the iconic filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky.
Initially, Kajdanovsky left Junior High School to pursue a technical education, with the intention of becoming a welder. However, this prospect did not resonate with him, and he instead enrolled in the prestigious Shchukhin Theatre School in Moscow in 1965 to study acting.
Before completing his studies, Kajdanovsky made his film debut in the 1968 production "Tainstvennaya stena" (AMysterious Wall). Upon graduating in 1969, he began working as a stage actor, but his dissatisfaction with his work led him to join the army in 1973, where he spent several years serving in the cavalry.
It was during his military service that Kajdanovsky was discovered by the renowned film director Nikita Mikhalkov, who cast him in the lead role of his civil war drama "At Home Among Strangers, a Stranger Among His Own" (1974).
By the late 1970s, Kajdanovsky had already appeared in several notable films, including the adventure stories "Propavshaya ekspeditsiya" (1975) (The Lost Expedition),"Zolotaya rechka" (1977) (Golden River),and the fantasy film "Pilot Pirx's Inquest" (1979) (Pilot Pirks Tested).
However, it was his collaboration with Andrei Tarkovsky on the film "Stalker" (1979) that marked a significant turning point in his career. Kajdanovsky attended Tarkovsky's writing seminar and was heavily influenced by his teacher, going on to write and direct the film "Prostaya smert" (1985) (An Ordinary Death),an adaptation of a Leo Tolstoy story, which won an honor at the Malaga film festival.
Kajdanovsky's starring roles in the Spanish film "El aliento del diablo" (1993) (The Devil's Breath) and the Hungarian film "Büvös vadász" (1994) (Magic Hunter) catapulted him to international fame, earning him an invitation to serve as a jury member at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.
Tragically, Kajdanovsky's life was marred by his struggles with alcoholism, which ultimately led to his untimely death on December 3, 1995, just three months shy of his 50th birthday.
