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Roman Filippov was a Soviet and Russian theater and film actor as well as a teacher. He was honored as a People's Artist of the Russian SFSR and an Honored Artist of the Belarusian SSR. In his youth, Roman was passionate about chess, achieving the rank of candidate for master of sports, enjoyed extensive reading, and had a deep appreciation for Russian literature. He possessed a naturally rare, deep, and resonant bass voice — a profundo bass.
His introduction to theater came through Malyy Theater actress Vera Pashennaya. When Pashennaya and the theater troupe visited Gorkiy, the school administration where Roman studied arranged auditions to discover students' stage potential. As a tenth-grader with a rich operatic bass voice, Roman attended the screening. Pashennaya immediately recognized his talent and insisted he pursue theater.
In 1953, Roman graduated from high school and enrolled at the Shchepkin Theater School, where Vera Pashennaya was his instructor. After graduating in 1957, he joined the Malyy Theater troupe. Between 1960 and 1961, he performed at the Moscow Drama Theater named after Aleksandr Pushkin. From 1961 to 1962, he worked at Mosconcert and concurrently held a part-time position at the All-Russian Touring and Concert Association in 1962. From 1962 to 1969, he was an actor with the National Academic Theater named after Janka Kupala in Minsk.
Besides Belarusian, Filippov was fluent in Polish and German, performed in English in the play Peter the Great, and appeared in Ukrainian in Warsaw Melody at the Kiev Academic Theater. From 1969 until his passing, he was a member of the Malyy Theater in Moscow.
Filippov began his film career in 1954, debuting with a minor role in Chempion mira (1955). His first significant role came in Zelyonyy furgon (1960), portraying Fed'ka the Bull. Known for his distinctive appearance, physique, and voice, he often played small character roles featuring large, imposing men, infusing these characters with subtle humor and irony. He gained recognition for his portrayal of lumberjack Vasya Zaytsev in the comedy The Girls (1962). His role as Evgeniy Ladyzhinskiy in the comedy The Diamond Arm (1969) was especially memorable. In the classic comedy Gentlemen of Fortune (1971), Filippov took on the colorful role of prisoner Nikola Piterskiy.
