Andrei Rublev
Solonitsyn was born in Bogorodsk. His debut in cinema was in the Sverdlovsk Film Studio's short film "The Case of Kurt Clausewitz" (1963), directed by Gleb Panfilov. Solonitsyn is best known in the west for his roles in several of Andrei Tarkovsky's films, including Dr. Sartorius in "Solaris" (1972), the Writer in "Stalker" (1979), the physician in "Mirror" (1975), and the title role in "Andrei Rublev" (1966). Indeed, it was Tarkovsky who "discovered" him in the casting process for Andrei Rublev. Solonitsyn was an unknown provincial theater actor from Sverdlovsk at the time, but he took the opportunity to go to Moscow and try himself in the casting for the Andrei Rublev role. Historical consultant of the movie saw the photos of actors from the casting, pointed to a photo of Solonitsyn and said to Tarkovsky: "This one is Rublev".