Actor Boris Smolkin, left, and a volunteer at St. Petersburg’s Choral Synagogue, Nov. 30, 2014. (Cnaan Liphshiz)
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (JTA) — In the basement of one of Europe’s largest synagogues, 100 Jews are waiting to meet local film star Boris Smolkin.
The crowd applauds enthusiastically as the 66-year-old funnyman, who gave his voice to Master Yoda in the Russian-language version of the “Star Wars” trilogy, sucks daintily on an electronic cigarette during a public interview about growing up Jewish and chasing stardom in communist Leningrad, as this city was called in Soviet times.
“As far as career moves go, advertising one’s Jewishness …read more
Source: JTA
