Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy (23 July 1946 — 2 December 1995) was a Soviet actor and film director. His best known roles are in films such as Stalker, At Home Among Strangers, and The Bodyguard.

Prior to pursuing an acting career, Kaydanovskiy attended technical college where he trained to become a welder. In 1965 he started studying acting at The Rostov Theatre School and the Shchukin theatrical school in Moscow. Before completing the course he took his first part in the film The Mysterious Wall and upon graduation in 1969, he worked as stage actor, making his debut at the Vakhtangov Theatre in 1969. In 1971, he was invited to join the prestigious Moscow Arts Theatre, a rare privilege for a 25-year-old graduate.

He made his major film debut in At Home Among Strangers, and over the next few years appeared in some two dozen films, including the satirical comedy Diamonds for Dictatorship of the Proletariat and The Life of Beethoven. At his peak in the '70s Kaidanovsky was among the USSR’s most popular actors, and it was at this point that famed Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky, impressed by the looks and the acting technique of Kaidanovsky in Diamonds, invited him to play the title role in his new film, Stalker. The role earned Kaydanovskiy international acclaim.

In 1985 he directed A Simple Death, which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. In 1993 he directed Just Death, which was about the death of Leo Tolstoy.

Актёр театра и кино, режиссёр, сценарист, педагог. В 1960-1961 годах учился в Днепропетровском сварочном техникуме имени Евгения Патона. В 1965 году окончил Ростовское училище искусств (курс Михаила Бушнова). Учился в школе-студии при МХАТ, но через месяц ушёл оттуда. В 1967 году сыграл Гамлета в "Экспериментальном театре" Аксёновой-Арди. Критики настороженно отнеслись к трактовке роли, но отмечали и несомненный талант, и интеллектуальность исполнения. В 1969 году окончил театральное училище имени Б.В. Щукина, курс Бориса Захавы. В 1969-1971 годах — актёр театра имени Евгения Вахтангова, МХАТа, театра на Бронной. В 1984 году окончил Высшие курсы сценаристов и режиссёров (мастерская Сергея Соловьёва). В 1989 году преподавал режиссуру в Театральном училище имени Б.В. Щукина. В 1995 году вёл сценарную мастерскую на ВКСР.