Actor Dirk Bogard: biography, filmography, photo

In the post-war period, the cinema continued its active development. Of course, on the horizon appeared more and more new actors, which amazed spectators with talent. One of them is the famous Englishman Dirk Bogard. His first works were forgotten, but beginning in 1963, the career of a talented man began to develop at a rapid pace.

Childhood and the youthful years of the famous actor

Dirk Bogard was born on March 28, 1921. By the way, the real name of the actor is Derek Jules Gaspar Ulrik Nivan van der Bogard. His father was an artist of Belgian-Dutch origin. He worked as an art editor of the famous London Times. The future actor's mother is a Scottish actress.

It is worth saying that the young man received a good education. In particular, he graduated from the Polytechnic Academy of Arts, and then the Royal Academy. In the period of student life, the future famous actor has already adapted to the world of art, playing in small theaters on the outskirts of the city. For some time he worked as an artist.

The Second World War brought its corrections to the plans of the entire population of Europe. Dirk went to the army and in the period from 1941 to 1946 took part in hostilities in the territory of European countries, as well as in the Far East.

It was difficult to return to his former life after returning to London after the war. Friends of youth, who had already become famous, did not try to help. And the work in the theater was difficult to find. For some time the young man practically begged, but then received a vacancy in the corporation "Rank". He started with a small job on the radio, after which he moved to the film studio.

The first works in the cinema

Small episodes are what started Bogard Dirk. The main roles in the films were still ahead, and while he was actively working, appearing in such films as "Dancing with a crime", "See you at the fair," "There was a cheerful vagabond", etc. Now these pictures are forgotten, And in those days they were not very popular.

Nevertheless, the actor had time to sharpen his acting skills - with each picture he demonstrated more and more sides of inexhaustible talent.

The work that made the actor popular

A real success for the novice actor was a meeting with the famous director Joseph Losey. It was thanks to this collaboration that a brilliant, talented actor Bogard Dirk appeared on the big screen. The main roles in such films as "Sleeping Tiger", "Servant" and "Accident", made the young man famous and in demand.

By the way, the film "Servant" was recognized by the public, but, alas, the critics' reviews were ambiguous. This picture illustrates a classic for the time story in which a rough, primitive and even slightly untidy servant subordinates himself to a noble, educated but weak-willed master.

It is worth saying that almost all the characters of Bogard are people, exhausted by their unfulfilled desires, complexes, bifurcations. Such roles were an excellent canvas in order to fully demonstrate their acting abilities.

Dirk Bogard: Filmography

The actor considered the greatest success to be the opportunity to work with Lukino Visconti. It was thanks to him that Bogard played Friedrich Brookman in the tape "Damned" (1970) - an ambitious man coming to power, stepping over the mountains of corpses.

The next result of cooperation is the picture "Death in Venice", released in 1971. Here actor Bogard Dirk played a lone composer who at the resort of Lido met a Polish boy, fascinated by his beauty and incomprehensibility. By the way, this work was given to Bogard quite hard, for a while he even stopped acting.

That's why Liliana Cavani had to persuade a famous actor to play in one of her films. Thanks to her efforts in 1974, a scandalous film appeared on the screens. The noise around the picture "Night porter" even led to the appearance of a lawsuit. In Italy, it was banned from rolling. The plot told a story about the extraordinary love of the former SS man and concentration camp prisoner, played by Charlotte Rampling.

Dirk Bogard: personal life

Naturally, personal life is just the moment that interests many fans of talent. So who was Dirk Bogard? Films are not the only legacy of this incredibly bright actor.

Unfortunately, the love stories of such an attractive man remained a mystery. As you know, he repeatedly had to play on the screen of representatives of non-traditional orientation. Moreover, even his own father often spoke about the fact that his son is a representative of homosexuals.

It is known that Dirk Bogard in the mid-1960s, along with his companion and manager Tony Forwood, moved to the south of France, where he lived for several years in Provence. When Tony fell ill in 1983, the actor with him moved back to England, where he stayed until his death in 1988. They were friends or like-minded people - this moment remains a mystery.

The only thing that is known - Dirk was never married. In his memoirs, he often described relationships with different women, but they were all more friendly than romantic. Bogard and to this day remains a mysterious person, the personification of pure creativity and freedom.

last years of life

The last two decades Dirk Bogard lived in seclusion, in his home in the south of France. Here he grew olives and grapes, and also mastered, and quite well, the profession of the writer. Nevertheless, in 1977, the actor agreed to play in the famous painting "Providence" by Alain Renee, where he once again demonstrated his bright, primordial talent, embodying in his character, at first glance, incompatible things.

The list of the latest and most famous works of the actor can be attributed to the role in the film "Despair", based on the novel by V. Nabokov and released in 1978. Here Bogard appeared in the role of Russian emigrant in Germany.

After a heart attack, he moved to England, trying to restore health. It was here that Bertrand Tavernier found him, persuading him to play in the new film "Daddy's Nostalgia". In this film, released in 1990, actor Bogard Dirk appeared before the audience for the last time.

In the last years of his life, the man actively fought for the right of mortally ill people to voluntarily die (the right to euthanasia). The great actor died on May 8, 1999 in London. The cause of death was another infarction. By the way, the last three years of Dirk's life was half paralyzed.

Interesting facts from the biography of the actor

Despite the fact that the actor managed to create a remarkable reputation for his life, he gained recognition from the public, he was not awarded cinematographic awards. Many connoisseurs of art say that his work was simply ahead of his time. By the way, in 1992 the actor was knighted.

As already mentioned, in the second half of his life Bogard began to actively develop the art of writing. His works were very popular. He published about 16 books, six of them were stories, the rest were memoirs and autobiographical stories, having familiarized with which, you can learn a lot about the mysterious life of the actor. Unfortunately, many of his works have never been translated into Russian.