The famous Soviet and Russian theater and cinema actor Lyakh Igor Vladimirovich lived a rich creative life and forever remained in the hearts of moviegoers. Unfortunately, due to a weak heart, the life of a wonderful Soviet artist ended quite early - at the age of 55.
Actor Biography
Igor Lyakh was born on August 16, 1962 in the city of Zagorsk, which is now called Sergiev Posad. A cheerful and creative child quickly won the sympathy of classmates and teachers of school No. 9. For the summer, the boy, along with his brother Yuri, went to the Fakel camp named after Vali Kotik. Igor's acting abilities showed up already at school age, and after receiving a certificate the young man decided to become an actor. He submitted an application to the Higher Theater School named after M.S.Schepkin. Igor successfully overcame the entrance tests and was enrolled in the course of N. Afonin. Photos of Igor Lyakh can be seen in this article.
The beginning of an acting career
In 1983, the young actor received a diploma. In the same period, Lyakh passed a casting that radically changed his entire career. Director Vladimir Menshov was looking for a characteristic artist for the role of Leni Kuzyakin in the film “Love and Pigeons”. Alexander Ozerov was already approved for this role, but the actor had difficulties with the schedule, and he refused the role. Work on the film had begun by that time, the film crew had already arrived in Medvezhyegorsk. The director urgently watched the video recordings from the film screening and ordered the young actor Igor Lyakh to be called to the site. The young man arrived in Karelia, was ready to act in film, but Ozerov suddenly changed his mind and refused to leave. The situation was resolved by the opinion of the group - everyone considered it fair to leave Lyakh and release Ozerov. Interestingly, all the scenes with his character were shot surprisingly quickly, the group went into one shooting shift. So, at the age of 21, Lyakh played his first role and received the first “portion” of popular fame. The debut turned out to be unusually successful, because the film became a cult film.
Theater work
After graduation, a young talented artist joined the Maly Theater and worked there for four years. Also, Igor Vladimirovich took part in the productions of the Central Academic Theater of the Russian Army, and since 1989 he performed at the Yermolova Moscow Drama Theater. From there, the artist left after 10 years of work, in 1999. In addition, Igor Lyakh participated in the entreprise of the Meyerhold Creative Center and played in the performances of the Central House of Artists. Among the theatrical works of Lyakh, it is worth highlighting the play “Number in a Hotel in the City of NN” based on Gogol's “Dead Souls”. This production was awarded the Golden Mask Prize and the State Prize of the Russian Federation. In total, the artist played more than 25 roles on the stage.
Merits of the actor
In 1997, Igor Vladimirovich received the title of Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, and 10 years later he received the title of Honored Artist of the Republic of Kalmykia. A few years later, in 2000, he returned to Alma Mater and began to teach students acting, and in 2009 Lyakh became the artistic director of the course. Then Igor Vladimirovich became the owner of the medal "For Services to the Fatherland" for his contribution to the development of culture and his teaching activities.
Actor in the cinema
The filmography of the artist has no more than 13 films. One of them can be called a successful motion picture "Undergrowth" in 1987, where Igor Lyakh played Mitrofanushka. The year 1987 brought Lyakh a major role in Vladimir Motyl’s television film “Once Upon a Time Shishlov” based on Salynsky’s play. The difficult 90s reflected on the acting of Igor Vladimirovich, this period did not bring the actor noticeable roles. For almost a decade, he stopped acting in films. In 2008, Lyakh took part in the filming of Yevgeny Bedarev’s comedy “New Year’s Rate”, playing an anonymous but charismatic policeman. The next film work was a multi-part military drama directed by Sergei Ursulyak “Life and Fate”. The role of Colonel Nikolai Batyuk, entrusted to Igor Vladimirovich, was not key in the project, but the actor played it with patience and sincerity.
Further movie career
In 2013, Dmitry Tyurin's picture “Thirst” was released, which was very positively received by viewers. Igor Lyakh in this project again received the episodic role of the school principal. In the same period, the actor was invited to shoot in the family Christmas comedy "Fir-3". In this part of the popular franchise, Lyakh appeared in front of moviegoers in the image of a charming and memorable Santa Claus sitting in a pre-trial detention center. The latest film work of this remarkable artist was the four-part melodrama directed by Olga Land “At the time of trouble”, which was released in 2014. In addition, Igor Vladimirovich appeared in Maxim Volodin’s documentary “Secrets of Our Cinema” and played himself.
The personal life of the actor
Very little is known about the artist’s personal life. Igor Vladimirovich was married, but avoided publicity. Many believe that it was the isolation and modesty of Lyakh that prevented him from achieving well-deserved roles and popularity. The ability to present himself might be useful to an actor in his career, but the roles that he played remained forever in the hearts of the audience. It is known that the artist lived with his wife and stepdaughter Daria and had no health problems.
Igor Lyakh: cause of death
June 8, 2018, at the 56th year of his life, Igor Vladimirovich died in a dream. The news about this was posted by Larisa Bravitskaya, who was a classmate of Igor Vladimirovich. Doctors call the cause of death of Igor Lyakh a heart attack.