September 25: The birthday of actress Natalia Danilova, aka Varya Sinichkina from "The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed"
Actress Natalya Danilova was born on September 25, 1955, in Leningrad. A theater, film, and dubbing actress, she spent a quarter of a century performing on the Bolshoi Drama Theater stage, but for millions of viewers, she will forever remain Varya Sinichkina from the film "The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed."
Soon there will be no crime, and the police will no longer be needed.
Childhood and first roles
My father is an archaeologist and a doctor of historical sciences. My mother is a philologist.
At 13, she made her film debut in the children's comedy "Tomorrow, the Third of April," playing sixth-grader Masha Gavrikova. This film also marked the debut of the first-year student at the Shchukin Theatre Institute. Konstantin Raikin.
After school, thanks to her experience in filming, she entered the second year of the Leningrad Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinematography.
25 years on the stage of the Bolshoi Drama Theatre
In her graduation performance based on Emile Zola's play "The Heirs of Rabourdin", she was noticed by the director of the Bolshoi Drama Theater Georgy TovstonogovFor the next 25 years, Danilova performed on his stage.
In total, she performed more than 70 theatrical and film roles.
Actress Natalya Danilova and the role of Varya Sinichkina
She was often called a one-role actress due to the incredible popularity of one of her characters, junior police sergeant Varvara Sinichkina from "The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed."
Filming took place in 1978 - she was 23. People auditioned for this role Larisa Udovichenko, Irina Alferova, Svetlana Kryuchkova, Olga Ostroumova, Natalia Gundareva.
Everyone was trying on police uniforms. Sometimes they wore modern ones, sometimes 1940s ones—the ones the script called for. They brought me a modern uniform, and I tried it on. Govorukhin [the director] winced: “It’s completely unsuitable. It’s bad. And the hat on his head looks awkward.” And then he suddenly said to his assistant: “Let him wear a 40s uniform. We’ll see.” I put it on, and when I came out, Govorukhin jumped up from his chair: “That’s a completely different matter.” And I was approved for the role.
Millions of Soviet viewers fell in love with her heroine, a charming police officer who took in an abandoned baby.
Sinichkina was voiced by a different actress. According to one version, Danilova didn't have time to voice her character due to a busy theatrical schedule. According to another, Govorukhin decided that her voice was too low for the gentle Varya.
The ending that was rewritten
The film was shot based on a script by the brothers. Vainer "The Era of Mercy," and in the original, Sinichkina died on duty at the hands of a random bandit. But this ending did not satisfy the client—the USSR State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company and its chairman personally. Sergei LapinHe believed that a dark ending could spoil the mood of viewers on the eve of the new work week: seven episodes were originally planned, and the last one would have been shown on Sunday.
Despite the scriptwriters' protests, the film's ending looked like this:
Varya stands by the window, with a snow-covered landscape beyond, holding a baby in her arms. She looks at Sharapov with anticipation and tenderness. There are tears in Varya's eyes.
Scenes with a child were extremely difficult for Danilova: late in her pregnancy, she lost her child due to a medical error (she was treated with strong hormonal drugs) and was unable to have any more children.
Shortly before filming, I had an illegal abortion. Vysotsky calmed me down and consoled me—I opened my heart to him.
Other roles
Other film roles include Anna Odintsova in the film adaptation of the novel Fathers and Sons, Princess Volskaya in the television film Little Tragedies, and Lyutsiana in The Comedy of Errors.
She also starred in the films and TV series "The Tale of the Unquenched Moon", "The Invisible Man", "The Secret of the Blackbirds", "The Plague", "Wings of the Empire", and "Tatiana's Day".
Leaving the BDT and years of poverty
In the early 1990s, after Tovstonogov’s death, she left the Bolshoi Drama Theatre.
Everyone looked at me with bewilderment: how could I leave such a theater on my own?! As a result, I was left without a job. All this coincided with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
She lived in poverty for a time, even selling her belongings to a thrift store. Poverty compounded a series of personal losses. She suffered the death of her husbands twice.
Stage, dubbing and the last years
She never abandoned the theater stage. She played the lead role in the play "Medea" at the Comedians' Shelter. In the 2000s, she joined the Komissarzhevskaya Theater.
She has done voice-over work for films, including "Brother 2" (Dasha (Marilyn) is voiced by her), "The Grand Budapest Hotel" (Madame D), and the Russian cartoon "Three Bogatyrs" (Lyubava's grandmother).
In recent years she led a reclusive life.
She died on September 8, 2026, in a hospice in St. Petersburg from cancer. She was 70.