Nina Nikolaevna Usatova Actress of Tovstonogov Academic Bolshoi

Nina Nikolaevna Usatova Actress of Tovstonogov Academic Bolshoi Drama Theatre and People’s National Actress of Russia

Nina Usatova was born on October 1, 1951, at Malinovoye Ozero, a halt in Altai Region. In 1979 she graduated from B. V. Shchukin Theatre College of and worked for Leningrad Youth Theatre. In 1989 Nina Usatova joined the group of the Big Academic Drama Theatre of G. A. Tovstonogov (St. Petersburg), where she performs roles in such plays as "Craftiness and Love", "Marriage of Balzaminov", "Quadrille", "Family Portrait in the Interior" with a great success. The actress had her debut in the cinema in 1981, playing the role of a dressmaker in "Where Has Fomenko Gone? ", a TV serial.

Besides Nina Usatova performed in the following movies: "Voice" (1982), "Fantastic Story" (1983), "My friend Ivan Lapshin" (1984), "Olga and Konstantin" (1984), "Here Is My Country…" (1985), "Offence" (1986), "With The Doors Open" (1986), "Fable" (1987), "Farewell, the Moscovite Boys…" (1987), "Gardener" (1987), "The Cold Summer of 53…" (1987), "Grey Mouse" (1988), "Fountain" (1988), "Breeches " (1988), "Under the Blue Sky…" (1989), "Sofya Petrovna" (1989), "Anecdotes" (1990), "Demon" (1991), "Oi, You Geese…" (1991), "A Chekist" (1991), "Parting Tour" (1992), "To See Paris And Die" (1992), "Chicha" (1992), "The Window To Paris" (1993), "A Fire-Marksman" (1994), "A Moslem" (1995), "Fateful Eggs" (1995), "Exercise № 5" (1995, and as a part of "The Arrival of A Train", cinema-almanac), "The American" (1997), "Waiting Room" (1998), "Three women and a man", serial (1998), "Barrack" (1999), "The Woman Property"(1999), "Quadrille(A Dance with Partner Exchange)" (1999), "The Follower" (1999), "The Strastnoi Avenue" (1999).

VOLKODAV

Nina performed in some plays, they are "Washington Street, 36, 2 nd floor, apt. 8", "Columbine", "Wait A Minute, man!", "Quadrille". Critics consider that the role of Mother in the film of Victor Khotinenko "Moslem" (1995) is a real achievement of Nina Usatova. For it Nina was awarded Russian national prize "Nika-95". Her second Nika the actress got for her part in the film of Valeriy Ogorodnikov "Barrack".

When she was a pupil of the 8 th form of the secondary school Nina Usatova knew she would be an actress. Nina took part in school plays, and did not miss a film that was on every weekend. "I was shy but I under-stood everyone could express their feelings on the screen “, actress stated in one of her interviews. For five years Nina was trying to enter Shchukin College which was a part of Vakhtangov Theatre. She was sure everything was going right, and that sup-ported her. At last she was admitted to the college, but to the Department of Cinema Production. Her professional carrier started in the town of Kotlas in Arkhangelsk Region. There she played twelve roles in the local theatre. When the Youth Theatre was open in Leningrad the actress went there.

In the cinema Nina Usatova started to work at a rather mature age, at 28. Nina got known in the cinema after the film "The Cold Summer of 53…", though she had taken part in eight movies before. After "The Cold Summer…" the actress was invited to film casts rather often, to act both big and small roles. Since 1989 Nina Usatova has been working in the Big Academic Drama Theatre of G. A. Tovstonogov. Nina got married; her husband is a teacher of French and German languages. Their son, Nikolai, is a school boy; he studies at the musical college-school, where he learns to play the clarinet.

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