– In the Soviet Union you were such an example of a cultural phenomenon that rises above nationality. The best film studios and even theaters dreamed of working with actors of such stature. But you worked your entire life in the modest provincial Panev
– And you started working at the theater from the first day that it was formed?
– At that time I studied in Kaunas at a technical college. When the Panev
– Right now Lithuanian directors are very popular in Russia. Why do think this is?
– It’s a mystery to me. The directors who are working in Russia are really not my directors. Miltinisis had different principles. He was certain that theater should be like life. And some were critical of this: “Theater should have poses and intonations.” Miltinisis studied in France, but nonetheless he strove for naturalness. “You don’t know how to act,” we were told. But we didn’t want to act. We wanted to be alive. But modern Lithuanian directors are theatrical. The emphasis is placed on theatrical persona and intonations rather than real people on stage. I watch modern interpretations of classics and I don’t recognize them. Of course, this doesn’t mean that I am always right. It’s just not my thing. I can’t insist that everything be the way I would like it to be or how I am accustom to.
– But in Soviet films you couldn’t speak Lithuanian. You had roles in many films that were not only made by Lithuanian studios. How difficult was it for you to speak Russian.
– At the beginning it was rather difficult, but then I accumulated a lot of practice. I got used to acting in Russian. But they overdubbed me, because nonetheless I had an accent. But I acted in Russian. That’s how the scripts were written. Only the Lithuanian films were completely overdubbed, such as No One Wanted to Die or the German – Goya – oder der arge Weg der Erkenntnis.
I was often overdubbed by Alexander Demyanchenko. Did my voice for the film No One Wanted to Die. The film itself is completely in Lithuanian and was overdubbed. Demyanchenko did an excellent job. When I watched it, I was very happy that in certain aspects he even acted better than me…
– Did you try to get rid of your accent?
– No. The most important aspect was the acting. It is lose an accent. If someone from childhood speaks a different language, it is very difficult to get rid an accent.
– Were there any instances in which your voice is heard on screen?
– Yes, one. In the film Beware of the Car. According to the scenario, there was a person that was not from Russia but from the Baltic. A pastor. There are no pastors in Russia. So they brought me down to Odessa, to the Black Sea, and I wasn’t supposed to speak in Russian. I counted banknotes in Lithuanian.
– Was Tarkovsky difficult to understand? Was it difficult to work with such a renowned filmmaking genius?
– It was difficult. I often thought, “What does he want?” And he didn’t explain anything. He would only say, “No, no, no… that’s not it…” And it was clear what was. It was difficult because I didn’t know how it would turn out. Many people didn’t like the film. At first. I even received a letter in which a woman wrote me: “On behalf of ALL viewers we ask that you not participate in such hackwork as Solaris. Yes, I got such a letter from Russia. But, on the other hand, it was very pleasant at the Cannes Film Festival in 1972.
It was a very complex film. Not the standard sort. Even the author wasn’t very pleased with it. But Tarkovsky wanted to say: look, researchers, you are striving to understand the cosmos, but look at what is happening on earth with the family of this man. That is what needs to be studied, and not the cosmos. That was his idea.
I didn’t always understand what Tarkovsky wanted. Of course, I always did what he said. Prior to shooting the film, I hadn’t seen any of his works. When I was invited to try out for the film, I asked to see Andrei Rublev. The film at that time was banned. They gave me a key and told me to lock myself in the editing room, where I could watch it. I was amazed. I have never seen such great film in my entire life. It has a profound message: there is filth every, horrible things are taking place, and Rublev paints the Trinity. Beauty is the most important thing for the artist. This is what he wanted to say: the Soviet authorities are such filth, but individual rises is above everything. That’s why the film was banned.
– Did you like your role in Solaris?
– Yes. It was difficult, but I understood that it was not a simple, typical role. Either externally or internally. And I thank God and fate for allowing me to be involved in that film. It was included in the book 1001 Films Must-See Films, and my picture is there. This brings me great joy.
– But the Soviet Union got to know you in the role of the village chairman in the film No One Wanted to Die. Has your perception of that film changed following the reassessment of events that took place in it – the Soviet authorities, repression, etc.?
– My perception of the film and the role have not changed. I personally know people who disappeared into the forest not because they had some kind of conviction. They believed that the Americans would soon come and the Soviet Union would cease to exist. The only thing left to do was wait it out a couple of months in the forest. Many thought that was the case. And I think that the film was about that. The role turned out to be a very good one. I received an award at a festival in Kiev and then in Karlovy Vary in 1966. And there were a lot of stars in Karlovy Vary. World-renowned actors. And when one of the members of the jury told me that they would be giving me an award the next day, I didn’t believe it. I thought it was a joke. But on the next day the chairman of the jury announced my name…
There in Karlovy Vary no one considered the politics. The art was what was important. Political views were irrelevant. And I got the prize not because of my political convictions but because it was a good artistic film. A film about someone who happened to live in those times. And he was killed. Why was he killed? What for? Because two sides were fighting. And he didn’t want to be with one side or the other. He wanted to be a person. That’s why he was killed. I really liked working on that film, which is why I really put my heart into it. There you didn’t need to play the role, you needed to be it. I knew such people, and I brought them to life.
– The film depicts the 1940-50s. Was that a difficult time?
– The film itself was shot in 1965. Then everything had already changed. Stalin was gone. He did awful things to people… A third of Lithuanian was sent off to Siberia! With little children. They were just born and had to go to Siberia! What for? I cannot reconcile myself with that. I didn’t say anything, of course, otherwise I would have also been sent to Siberia.
One thing I don’t understand is why everyone says that the Russians are to blame. Russians themselves were victims. Take Tarkovsky, for example. Today relations between Russia and Lithuania are not very good. I think this is result of those times: the exiles, Siberia, prison, executions… But I have a different perception. I don’t blame Russia. There was a certain order during those times, created on the ideas of Marx and Engels. I don’t want to get involved in the politics. For me, Russians are those wonderful people with whom I worked, conversed and created films.
