Childhood and youth
One of the leading actors of the Taganka Theater, and the king of the episode, Ivan Sergeevich Bortnik was born on April 16, 1939. His family consisted of very educated parents who were directly related to literature. His mother worked at the Institute of World Literature, and his father was deputy editor-in-chief of the State Literary Publishing House.
Thanks to his parents, philologists, the boy did well in humanities subjects from childhood. Vanya was also sent to a music school, where he learned to play the cello.
Ivan Bortnik in the film “Confession”, 1962. Source: kino-teatr.ru
The only fact from the biography of Ivan Sergeevich that does not represent him as an exemplary child is the case of a connection with the yard punks. An intelligent young man stood “on the lookout” while his friends robbed the stall.
However, despite such an episode and friendship with the yard boys, Vanya realized early on that he wanted to become an artist. And for this he should not get involved with crime. Therefore, the guy devoted most of his time to his spiritual education. He read books, wrote poetry, and studied in the film studio at the House of Pioneers.
Actor
However, Bortnik left his passion for dangerous games in the past by the time he was in high school. He wanted to be an actor so much that he began to prepare for admission, and at the same time went to an amateur club at the film studio. Having trained there, he easily entered GITIS. But the restless nature of the future actor was still eager to experience something new, better, different... after a couple of courses, Ivan transferred from GITIS to Shchuka, to the course of Vladimir Etush.
The situation with my professional career was similar. After graduation, Bortnik began working at the theater. Gogol. And in an interview he will tell you that he outplayed “all the degenerates” there. Bortnik was not delighted with the theater's repertoire. He said that he did not have a clear repertoire, he called it “theater for business travelers.”
Because of his glib statements, he came into conflict with the artistic director of the theater and was forced to leave. However, the actor did not remain without work for long: the Taganka Theater became his second home.
Theater and cinema
The beekeeper easily entered the Shchukin School, where his mentor was the famous Vladimir Etush.
Not immediately, but still Ivan Sergeevich ended up in the theater, to which he later devoted his whole life. The famous Taganka directed by Yuri Lyubimov has produced more than one generation of talented artists.
Here a legendary friendship took place with Vladimir Vysotsky, to which Ivan Sergeevich remained faithful until his death.
Friends Vladimir Vysotsky and Ivan Bortnik. Source: yandex.ru
In cinema, Ivan Bortnik made his debut as an artist in the film “Confession”. The picture turned out to be very dramatic, and the actor doubted his talent.
Later there was a very long break in filming and only eight years later Ivan Sergeevich was again invited to play the role. These were mainly supporting works, war dramas or village sketches. Soldier from “Ivan and Marya” and “Declaration of Love.” Restaurant storekeeper from A Sentimental Novel.
Ivan Bortnik in the film “Ivan da Marya”, 1974. Source: kino-teatr.ru
What did actor Ivan Bortnik die from?
This was reported by the actor’s wife Tatyana Borzykh. She also named the probable cause of Ivan Bortnik’s death - a blood clot broke loose. “I don’t know yet when the farewell will take place.” Ivan Sergeevich died at night. “Everything happened in a moment,” Tatyana Nikolaevna told us. - He just lay down and died. Before this I was weak and didn’t feel well. Not long ago he broke his hip. They performed an operation, but he could not walk much. In addition, he lost his sight. The actors are almost all blind. They do not hide their eyes from the light - in the movies it is very bright. Ivan saw almost nothing. Mostly I was at home. The theater helped us. And now the theater director Irina Apeksimova immediately called.
Curse of the Blotter
Of course, fame and love from the audience was brought to Ivan Sergeevich by the role of the thief Blotter from the legendary film by Stanislav Govorukhin “The meeting place cannot be changed.”
It is widely known that Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky proposed his friend for the role of Sharapov, but Govorukhin had a completely different vision of this image. Then he offered Bortnik a small, wordless role as a bandit. Ivan Sergeevich did not refuse, he composed lines for his hero and carefully thought out the image.
Ivan Bortnik and Vladimir Vysotsky, screen test for the film “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed,” 1978. Source: echo.msk.ru
From one single phrase from the novel by the Weiner brothers, “a guy in a six-bladed sword comes in,” Ivan Botnik wrote out for himself a complete image of that yard bandit whom he observed in childhood, communicating with friends who had reclined from the “zone.”
During filming, he advised Govorukhin on what bandits should look like and how to speak. The police were indignant later - the film is so saturated with thieves' romance that every yard will have its own Blotter.
Ivan Bortnik and Vladimir Konkin, still from the film “The meeting place cannot be changed,” 1978. Source: secure.diary.ru
And in Bortnik, this external resemblance to punks and internal education miraculously coexisted. He quoted poets of the Silver Age and became engrossed in classical prose.
However, the role of Blotter played a cruel joke on Bortnik. Most of us know him only by this character, which greatly upset Ivan Sergeevich. In the end, he practically hated such a glorified image and even refused to watch the film.
Iconic roles
But the artist Ivan Bortnik starred in many films, some of which were the main roles.
He has many military images to his credit in films such as “Sergeant Major” and “Greetings from the Front.” The actor’s true comedic talent manifested itself in his work on the films “Kinfolk,” “Mom, Don’t Cry!” and “We’ll Wait and See.”
Images. Ivan Sergeevich managed to embody the main characters in “Mirror for the Hero”, “I am the leader of the outpost”, “The World in Another Dimension”, “Death in the Movies”. The actor also tried on the images of an investigator (“Murder on Zhdanovskaya”) and a criminal authority (“Antikiller”, “Sonka the Golden Hand”, “Beyond the Wolves”).
Ivan Bortnik in the film “Sonka the Golden Hand”, 2006. Source: kino-teatr.ru
Bortnik himself, in rare interviews, explained his frequent episodes in films by his quarrelsome and prickly character.
“I’m Goryachkin on my mother’s side. And my great-great-grandfather is Lyuty. So I am Goryachkin and Lyuty. My mother told me that I have no enemies, because I am my own enemy.”
And colleagues said that Bortnik’s genius could outshine any artist, so they were afraid to give him the main roles, so as not to overshadow the others with his talent.
The artist did not get lost with the advent of new times. He was still invited to act. Since the beginning of the two thousandth, Ivan Bortnik had the title of People's Artist.
Movies
Ivan made his film debut in 1962, it was the role of the artist Vasily in the drama “Confession”. Bortnik's hero is a theological seminary student who became disillusioned with religion and left the church. The actor did not like himself in this role, because on the screen he looked like a sufferer. After this, there was an 8-year break in his film career. Ivan Bortnik’s next work was filming in the drama “The Day Ahead.”
Ivan Bortnik in the film “The meeting place cannot be changed”
Then the artist appeared on screen in the fairy tale “Ivan da Marya,” filmed in 1974. The actor played the soldier Ivan. After this role, directors began to invite Bortnik to films more often, offering mainly supporting roles. Ivan Bortnik played Shura Begunkov in the film "Other People's Letters", a restaurant storekeeper in the film novel "Sentimental Romance", Boris Krokhin in the drama "The Second Attempt of Viktor Krokhin", Private Kroikov in the melodrama "Declaration of Love". The actor's partners were Elena Proklova, Elena Koreneva, Stanislav Lyubshin, Lyudmila Gurchenko, Nikolai Rybnikov, Yuri Bogatyrev.
National fame came after the release of the serial film “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed,” in which the artist brilliantly played a bandit named Blotter. Vladimir Vysotsky, with whom Bortnik was friends, wanted him to play Sharapov, but director Stanislav Govorukhin offered the actor Blotter. In the script it was a small role without words - Ivan Bortnik came up with the text himself. He was called “Blotter” for a long time. Ivan Bortnik admits that he has not watched this film for a long time - he is tired of comparisons with the television hero.
Ivan Bortnik in the film “Wait and see”
This was followed by a number of memorable roles - disabled war veteran Ivan Nikanorych in the military drama "Starshina", Vovchik - the ex-husband of Maria (Nonna Mordyukova) - in the tragicomedy "Kinfolk", a hospital patient in the military drama "Greetings from the Front", brigadier Ivan Kuzmich in the comedy " Wait and see".
The actor received his first leading role only in 1986 in the film adaptation of “I am the Outpost Leader.” The plot of the film was based on the memories of the youth of retired teacher Nikolai Gudkov. The role of the teacher in his youth was played by Vasily Mishchenko, and in adulthood by Pavel Kadochnikov. Ivan Bortnik got the role of a principled party worker.
Ivan Bortnik in the film "Recluse"
A year later the next significant work followed. Bornik played mining engineer Andrei in the film “Mirror for the Hero” directed by Vladimir Khotinenko. In 1990, with the participation of the actor, the social drama “The World in Another Dimension” about children living in boarding schools and the detective story “Death in Cinema” were released. In both films, the artist appeared in the leading roles.
This was followed by filming in the title role in the detective story “Murder on Zhdanovskaya”, where Ivan Bortnik tried on the image of an investigator. In the second half of the 90s, Bortnik rarely appeared on screen, but the actor’s work, often episodic, did not go unnoticed. This is the role of the godfather in the drama “Muslim”, the role of Hitler in the comedy “Mother, Don’t Cry!”, the image of Doctor Kozhin in the drama “Recluse”.
Ivan Bortnik in the TV series “Sonka the Golden Hand”
In 2000, Ivan Bortnik was awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia.
Among the works of the early 2000s, the artist himself highlights the filming of “Antikiller” and “Beyond the Wolves.” The actor also contributed to the series “Demon of the Afternoon,” dedicated to the theme of fatal love. In addition to Ivan Bortnik, Larisa Malevannaya, Elizaveta Boyarskaya, and Sergei Chonishvili played in the film. Having starred in three projects in 2006, including the series “Sonka the Golden Hand,” Ivan Bornik completed his filmography with work in the historical films “An Eye for an Eye” and “Once Upon a Time There Was a Woman.”
Personal life
Ivan Sergeevich had an affair with actress Inna Gulaya. It was not just love, but almost dependence on each other. The temperamental young people could not get along together, but it was hard for them to be apart either.
Inna Gulaya. Source: yandex.ru
After the separation, Inna began drinking alcohol with her new husband Gennady Shpalikov. In the end, she decided to take her own life. The beekeeper, who until recently responded to every call from the actress, very much regretted her death and said that it was all to blame for the creative lack of demand.
But the actor’s true love and only marriage happened with the artist Tatyana. It was with her that Ivan Sergeevich lived his whole life. A son, Fyodor, appeared in this family.
Ivan Bortnik with his wife Tatyana. Source: yandex.ru
Bortnik Ivan Sergeevich: personal life
Bortnik's first love was Inna Gulaya, who also served Melpomene. His beloved did not become his wife. It was a crazy young adult novel.
As a result, Gulaya married the brilliant writer Gennady Shpalikov.
After his death, she committed suicide just like her husband.
And in the late 60s he met a new love. The actor’s wife graduated from one of the theater schools, and within these walls she heads the department, teaching sound engineering. She became the person who could tolerate her husband’s intolerable character. She knew how to forgive his binges and insults.
A long time ago, Vladimir Vysotsky told him that it was high time for Bortnik’s wife to erect a monument for the fact that she lives with him. They are still together today.
In 1969, the Bortnikov family had a son, Fedor. He became an engineer and worked as a lighting designer.
