Artashes Aleksanyan, the beloved Armenian actor whose career spanned four decades across theatre, film and television, has died at the age of 64. He passed away early Monday, June 6, after being hospitalised for three days, just weeks before his 65th birthday on July 17.
Hospitalisation and Cause of Death
His death was confirmed by friend Harutyun Bogaryan, who told Armenpress: "He was in the hospital for three days. This morning at 3:55, his heart stopped." Aleksanyan was born in Yerevan in 1961.
Career Highlights
Aleksanyan began his acting journey at the Gabriel Sundukyan National Academic Theatre's studio under the guidance of renowned actor Khoren Abrahamyan. He later continued his education at VGIK in Moscow, where he trained under iconic Russian actor Armen Dzhigarkhanyan. He made his film debut in the 1980s and won the Best Actor of the Year award for his role in The Princess of the Fallen Fortress.
Tributes from Fans and Colleagues
The news of his death sent shockwaves across social media. One fan wrote: "What a pity. My condolences to family and friends, and to all the Armenian people." A heartbroken co-star added: "HE IS REALLY A LEGEND. I am happy that I got to touch his great talent, starred with him in leading roles in a play, in his own production, REST IN PEACE." Another fan said: "What a pity. He was a great and loved actor. Rest in peace." One admirer likened him to a national hero: "The news is from a reliable source, but I can't believe it, my God why? To the good, the important, the talents, the loved ones, it is unfair, unfair, may you deserve an eternal paradise, our Garegin Nzhdeh." A fifth tribute read: "May he rest in peace. 64 is far too young. Thank you for your contributions, legend."
Military Service and Later Career
Aleksanyan briefly left his career during the war. From 1991 to 1992, he fought as a volunteer, serving as an honorary member of the Mahapart, the Death-Defiers detachment, joining the generation of Armenians who took up the defence of Artsakh. After the war, he returned to the theatre, acting at the Mher Mkrtchyan Artistic Theatre in Yerevan from 1992 to 1994, then working with the Lenfilm studio and several Armenian television companies through the mid-1990s. From 1998 to 2001, he served as a director at the Mother Theatre in the Czech Republic, where he staged five productions, including Shakespeare's Macbeth and Gogol's The Government Inspector, broadening his artistic range across Europe.
