The biography of Oleg Strizhenov begins in the city of Blagoveshchensk on the Amur River, in a military family. When Oleg was still small, the family moved to the capital.
At the time of the
beginning of World War II Oleg was still a schoolboy. As his friends recall, he was very gifted: he studied well, drew well and expertly read prose, dreamed of becoming an artist.
The biography of Oleg Strizhenov could become the biography of the painter, but in 1949 his brother decided to become an actor and persuaded Oleg to follow his example. Strizhenov went to study at the Shchukin Theater School and graduated in 1953.
Further, Oleg by distribution falls into the Russian drama theater in Tallinn. There he becomes the star of the play "Guilty Without Guilt" by A. Ostrovsky, playing the main role of Neznamov. And yet, the biography of Oleg Strizhenov did not become only theatrical - an incident intervened in his life.
In 1952, film director Alexander Faynzimmer decided to shoot a film based on the novel "L. Gadfly" by E. L. Voynich. The main role required a young handsome actor, whom the director began to look for. His assistants traveled to theatrical universities of the country in search of a suitable candidate, and in Moscow at the "Schukin" performance of "Romeo and Juliet," the assistant director saw Strizhenov, who plays one of the main roles in the play. However, Faynzimmer himself, having seen a photo of the young actor, remained indifferent to him.
But fate gave the actor a second chance, the shooting of the film was postponed for a year, and already in the Tallinn Theater in the role of Neznamov Strizhenov noticed the second director of the "Gadfly" - Akimov, who was passing through Tallinn. Interested in such a coincidence of the opinions of his assistants, Faynzimmer immediately invited Strizhenov to audition for the main role of Arthur, where he was approved.
Actor Oleg Strizhenov, whose biography without the film "Gadfly" would have been completely different, became famous throughout the Soviet Union. On the set of this film, he meets his first wife - the performer of the role of Gemma - Marianne. Soon their daughter Natasha was born.
This was followed by the main role in the film adaptation of Jack London’s short story “Mexican” directed by Vladimir Kaplunovsky and the role of Govorukha-Otroka in the film “In the 41st” by Grigory Chukhrai . The film was a tremendous success and won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival. So the biography of Oleg Strizhenov became the life story of the idol of millions of viewers. He was the most filmed actor of his time.
Next were the work in the films:
- in 58 - with Nikolai Rozantsev in the film "Life is in your hands" (sapper Dudin);
- in the 60s - “Duel”, “Three Sisters”, an astronaut in “Roll Call”, Tchaikovsky in the film “Third Youth”, a robot and a scientist in the film “His Name was Robert”.
It is worth noting that Strizhenov could have had more roles in the movie if not for his character: he often clashed with directors, violated the regime and set high demands. So he refused the proposed role of Bolkonsky in War and Peace.
In 1967, the actor returned to the theater, joining the Moscow Art Theater. Oleg Strizhenov, whose biography was soon replenished with new data on his personal life, played the role of Mortimer in Schiller’s play "Maria Stuart", Trepleva in the play "The Seagull" and other roles. Here he met Love, who became his second wife and gave birth to his son Sasha.
In 1969, O. Strizhenov became People's Artist of the RSFSR, in 88 - People's Artist of the USSR.
In the 70s, the actor starred in several films:
- "Land, on demand" by Dorman (role of scout L. Manevich).
- Film V. Motyl "Star of captivating happiness" (in the role of Volkonsky);
- Tape P. Todorovsky "The Last Victim" (Dulchin). On the set, the actor meets his new love - actress Lionella Pyryeva.
The rise of Strizhenov’s creative activity continued until the mid-80s. Today, the great actor does not act in films, and devotes all his free time to painting. The last picture in which he starred is “Instead of Me” in 2000.