In 1981, a historical dilogy, shot based on the novel by Peter the Great by Alexei Tolstoy and directed by S. Gerasimov, was released in the Soviet Union. The main role was played by Dmitry Zolotukhin, a young and at that time unknown actor.
Theater dynasty
In 1958, the film "Captain's Daughter" was shot at the Mosfilm film studio, in which Lev Zolotukhin, an actor of the Moscow Art Theater , made his debut. In the same year, on August 7, his son Dmitry was born.
The boy grew up surrounded by creative people. But, despite this, he was not drawn to the stage at all. Zolotukhin Dmitry graduated from school with an English bias, and was seriously determined to enter the Institute of Asian and African countries, where he had already passed the documents. But one evening, his father said that he would like to listen to Victor Minyukov, who taught at the Moscow Art Theater School. It should be added that Dmitry’s parents worked in the same theater.
After two days of listening, he instead of oriental languages began to study the techniques of theatrical mastery. In 1979, after graduating from the Studio School, the newly-made actor Dmitry Zolotukhin was accepted into the troupe of the Moscow Art Theater, and the next year he was approved for the main role in the film "Youth of Peter".
Dilogy of the great autocrat
By Dmitry’s own admission, he liked acting in films more than performing on the stage. Probably, for this reason, in 1982, he switched to working for them. Gorky. Moreover, before that he had already starred in the cult Soviet films "Youth of Peter" and "At the Beginning of Glorious Deeds."
The dilogy was a huge success, more than 23 million viewers watched it, and Dmitry Zolotukhin, who embodied the image of the reformer king on the screen, was recognized as the best actor in 1981. After being approved for the main role, in addition to the novel by A. Tolstoy, which formed the basis of the script, he also read many historical documents drawn up at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries. Therefore, as Dmitry himself says in an interview, he is very erudite regarding the Petrine era.
He really succeeded in playing the tsar’s characteristic role, and he was again offered to play Peter the Great this time in the television series The Young Russia (1981). In 1985, Zolotukhin was awarded the Prize named after the Vasilyev brothers for his role in this picture.
Life after Peter
It would seem that after such a triumph of the young actor they would be vying to invite to star in the most promising films. However, everything turned out the other way around. The creative biography of Dmitry Zolotukhin is not as rich as one might expect. So, after "Young Russia", he starred in only 9 films in the period from 1982 to 2016.
The actor himself explains this by the fact that the successfully played role of Peter I limited him as well - after her the directors see him only in the image of the king. In addition, most producers and directors do not rehearse with actors before filming, as they are already busy. But in order to interpret a new image on the screen, you need to professionally work on the role. In a word, Zolotukhin both for the audience and for the directors remained Peter I.
Film fan
The role of the king was not just a success for the actor, she, according to him, influenced his character. Dmitry Zolotukhin was 22 years old when he starred in the famous dilogy. The powerful personality of Peter intensified his determination and will. Zolotukhin entered VGIK at the directing department, which he graduated in 1987. Moreover, he studied with Sergei Gerasimov, who shot The Youth of Peter.
On the account of Dmitry Zolotukhin there are only two directorial works: the criminal psychological drama "Christians" and "Zone Lube." To the last picture, he also wrote a script.
The actor is not married. It is known that while studying at the Moscow Art Theater School, he met with his classmate Marina Golub, who tragically died in 2012.
Recently, Zolotukhin has been producing programs for digital and mobile television. The honorary title of "Honored Artist of Russia" was awarded to him in 2000.
Dmitry himself calls himself a movie fan, because of all the visual arts, he always chose and chooses cinema. At the same time, it doesn’t matter whether he is shooting himself, whether he writes a script or just watches films in the evenings.