Yevgeny Leonov
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Yevgeny Pavlovich Leonov (Russian: Евгений Павлович Леонов; 2 September 1926 – 29 January 1994) was a famous Russian/Soviet actor who played main parts in several of the most famous Soviet films. He also provided the voice for many Soviet cartoon characters, including Winnie the Pooh.
While growing up in a typical Moscow family, he dreamed of becoming a war-plane pilot, which was a very common desire of many boys of the World War II period. This is also often attributed to the fact that his father worked in an airplane factory. During the Great Patriotic War he and his whole family worked in a weapon manufacturing factory. After the war, he joined the Moscow Art Theatre school, where he studied under Mikhail Yanshin.
In his first film, Leonov was cast as an extra and did not receive any recognition. He later became a Georgi Daneliya regular, appearing in all of his features, including Gentlemen of Fortune, Autumn Marathon, Mimino, Afonya and Kin-dza-dza!. According to the All Movie Guide, "his short, round stature, expressive eyes, broad and open face, slow movements, and slightly slurred speech made him ideal for the comic roles in which he specialized". But he also attracted critical notice for his tragic parts and the invariable naturalness of his acting. Many notable actors were said to avoid appearing in the same films with Leonov, for his natural manner of acting made them seem strained. His brief appearance in Danelia's Autumn Marathon (1979) won him the Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival.
