MZ

Mikhail Zharov

Actor, Director
Born October 27, 1899Died December 15, 1981 (82 years)
Mikhail Ivanovich Zharov is a Soviet theater and film actor. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1944) and People's Artist of the USSR (October 26, 1949). In 1920, he graduated from the studio at the theater of the Artistic and Educational Union of Workers' Organization. He acted in theaters No. 1 of the Revolutionary Military Union of the Republic, the Safonov Theater, the Baku Workers' Theater, the Realistic Theater, and the Moscow Chamber Theater. From 1938, he was an actor and director at the Maly Theater. He made his film debut in 1915 with a tiny, practically unnoticeable role as an oprichnik in the film "Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible." He played his first major role, that of Red Army soldier Yegor, in 1925 in the film "The Road to Happiness." In those years, Zharov was considered an unrivaled master of the episodic genre (Don Diego and Pelageya, The Man from the Restaurant, The White Eagle, The Living Corpse, Outskirts, and Puppets). He found expressive, distinctive details and rich, vibrant colors for his characters, imbuing them all—both villains and heroes—with a common quality: they are all great lovers of life, charming, confident, and in control of life. His heroes know how to enjoy everything: food, billiards, wine, women, the simple songs they often hum, a sunny day, or an unexpected win. Zharov combined absolute authenticity and vivid psychological characterization with a sometimes grotesque portrayal of the role, enlivening any plot, even the most serious, with his presence. In the 1930s, thanks to cinema, Zharov achieved national popularity. The artist was in great demand. He was invited by the most famous directors. With Nikolai Ekk he played one of his most famous roles - the bandit Zhigan (A Start in Life), with Grigory Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg - the smug clerk Dymba (The Return of Maxim and The Vyborg Side), with Vladimir Petrov - the cheerful prankster Kudryash (The Storm) and the good-natured, cheerful courtier Menshikov (Peter the Great), with Isidor Annensky - the loud, healthy landowner Smirnov (The Bear), the cheerful teacher Kovalenko (The Man in the Case) and the carefree landowner Artynov (Anna on the Neck), with the Vasiliev brothers - the daring Cossack Perchikhin (The Defense of Tsaritsyn), with Sergei Eisenstein - Malyuta Skuratov, a cunning, cruel, "smart" peasant, who managed to become the Tsar's right hand ("Ivan the Terrible"). In 1944, he was awarded "For successful work in the field of Soviet cinematography during the Patriotic War and the release of highly artistic films." In total, M.I. Zharov starred in more than 60 films. Over the years, the courage of his characters diminished; they became calmer, wiser, and more grounded. His last film character was the rural policeman Aniskina ("The Village Detective," "Anikina and Fantomas," "And Again Aniskina"). The role was a signature one for the actor: his Aniskina is a village philosopher, a sage, insightful, unfussy, and attentive to all matters. A hero who affirms the belief that our lives depend on our own decision to live correctly and wisely. As a film director, Zharov made three films: “Troublesome Economy”, “Aniskine and Fantomas” (together with V.A. Rappoport), “And Again Aniskine” (together with V.I. Ivanov).

Known For

  • Ivan the Terrible, Part I
  • Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot
  • Chess Fever
  • Derevenskiy detektiv
  • Outskirts
  • Aniskin i Fantomas
  • I snova Aniskin
  • Peter the First
  • A Noisy Household
  • Medved
  • Oshibka inzhenera Kochina
  • New Horizons
  • Chekhov comes at nights
  • Life in Bloom
  • Conquest of Peter the Great
  • The Return of Maxim
  • Cain the XVIII-th
  • Bogdan Khmelnitskiy
  • For Those Who Are at Sea
  • Aktrisa

Filmography

2017
Chekhov comes at nights · as Grigori Stepanovich Smirnov
1978
I snova Aniskin · as Aniskin
1974
Aniskin i Fantomas · as Фёдор Анискин
1969
Derevenskiy detektiv · as Fyodor Ivanovich Aniskin
1967
Starshaya sestra · as Ukhov
1963
Cain the XVIII-th · as Minister Of War
1959
1958
Krasnye listya · as (as M. Zharov)
1958
Devushka s gitaroy · as Sviristinsky
1954
The Anna Cross · as Artynov
1953
1949
The Car 22-12 · as Шофер Зачесов
1949
Life in Bloom · as Khrenov
1948
1946
Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot · as Czar's Guard Malyuta Skuratov
1946
A Noisy Household · as Semibab
1945
Twins · as Vadim Spiridonovich Yeropkin
1944
Ivan the Terrible, Part I · as Czar's Guard Malyuta Skuratov
1943
Vozdushnyy izvozchik · as Baranov
1943
1943
Aktrisa · as Reciter In Hospital
1942
We Will Come Back · as Gavril Fedorovich Rusov
1942
Fortress on the Volga · as Perchikhin
1941
Bogdan Khmelnitskiy · as Cantor Havrylo
1940
Nashe kino · as (archive Footage)
1939
1939
Stepan Razin · as Lazunka, Boyarin's Son
1939
Man in a Shell · as Михаил Александрович Коваленко (учитель Истории И Географии)
1939
Conquest of Peter the Great · as Alexander Danilovich Menshikov
1939
New Horizons · as Platon Vassilievich Dymba
1938
Medved · as Grigori Stepanovich Smirnov
1937
Peter the First · as Alexander Danilovich Menshikov
1937
The Return of Maxim · as Platon Dymba
1934
Thunderstorm · as Koudryash
1934
Marionettes · as Border Checkpoint Commander
1933
Outskirts · as Krayevitch, A Student
1932
Twenty-Six Commissars · as Menshevik
1932
House of Death · as Officer
1931
Road to Life · as Фомка «жиган»
1930
Two-Buldi-Two · as Chairman Of The Revolution Committee
1929
The Living Corpse · as Hired Witness (uncredited)
1928
The White Eagle · as Official
1928
Yellow Pass · as Visitor In The Brothel
1927
1926
1925
Chess Fever · as House Painter
1924
The Cigarette Girl of Mosselprom · as Sluzhashchiy I Nosil'shchik
1924
Aelita, the Queen of Mars · as Actor In Play
1915

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