Donatas Banionis

Donatas Banionis
Born	28 April 1924 Kaunas, Lithuania
Died	4 September 2014 (aged 90) Vilnius, Lithuania
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1941-2013

Donatas Banionis (28 April 1924 – 4 September 2014) was a Lithuanian actor. He is best known for his performance in the lead role of Tarkovsky's Solaris as Kris Kelvin. He was born in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Banionis began his career with some films in Lithuanian, but he would later play mainly in Russian language films. He has also worked outside the USSR like in the title role Francisco Goya of the USSR-GDR coproduction Goya or the Hard Way to Enlightenment (1971), directed by Konrad Wolf and in the title role as Ludwig van Beethoven in the 1976 DEFA-production Beethoven - Tage aus einem Leben. Aside from films, he was a popular stage actor in Panevėžys, where he acted since the age of 17, and which was frequented by Donatas' fans from all over the former Soviet Union. His first teacher was Juozas Miltinis. He acted in Vilnius, in the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre.

Vladimir Putin once stated that Banionis was the reason why he joined the KGB.^[1] Banionis died on 4 September 2014 from a stroke.^[2] He was 90 years old.

Selected filmography

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

• Marytė (1947) as Peter
• Nobody Wanted to Die (1966) as Vaitkus
• Beware of the Car (1966) as pastor
• Dead Season (1968) as Ladeinikov
• The Red Tent (1969) as Adalberto Mariano
• Goya or the Hard Way to Enlightenment (1971) as Goya
• King Lear (1971) as Duke of Albany
• Solaris (1972) as Kris Kelvin
• Mama, I'm Alive (1977) as Major Mauris
• Faktas (1981) as Colonel Titel
• Cry of the Dolphin (1987) as Bar-Mattai
• Anastasia (2006) as father
• Attack on Leningrad (2009) as Toivo
• Tadas Blinda. Start (2011) as Mikhail Muravyov
• "«Маленький принц» (1966)
• «Хроника одного дня» (Донатас, 1964)
• «Марш! Марш! Тра-та-та» (Майор Чертополох, 1965)
• «Операция „Трест“ (1967)
• „Командир счастливой “Щуки» (1972)
• «Открытие (рукопись академика Юрышева)» (1973)
• «Бегство мистера Мак-Кинли» (Мак-Кинли, 1975)
• «Жизнь и смерть Фердинанда Люса» (Фердинанд Люс, 1976)
• «Вооружен и очень опасен. Время и герои Брет Гарта» (1977)
• «Сумка инкассатора» (1977),
• «Кентавры» (Президент, 1978)
• «Цветение несеяной ржи» (Петрушонис, 1978)
• «Особых примет нет» (1978)
• «Территория» (Илья Чинков, 1979)
• «Клуб самоубийц, или приключения титулованной особы» (Председатель, 1979)
• «Андрюс» (Раупленас, 1980)
• «Факт» (1981)
• «Детский мир» (Распоркин, 1982)
• «Никколо Паганини» (1982)
• «Извините, пожалуйста» (1982)
• «Змеелов» (Митрич, 1985)
• «Грядущему веку» (1985)
• «Крик дельфина» (Бар-Матай, 1986)
• «Загон» (1987)
• «На исходе ночи» (1987)
• «13-й апостол» (1988)
• «Депрессия» (1991)
• «Пьющие кровь» (1991)
• «Семь дней после убийства» (1991)
• «Ятринская ведьма» (1991)
• «Шляхтич Завальня, или Беларусь в фантастических рассказах» (1994)
• «Где ты был, Одиссей?" (1978)

References

1. "How the Actor Donatas Banionis Inspired Vladimir Putin to Become a Spy". The Daily Beast.com. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
2. "Soviet-Era Actor Who Inspired Vladimir Putin Dies at 90". Hollywood Reporter.com. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.

External links

• Donatas Banionis at the Internet Movie Database