Greatest Russian actor Yevgeny Mironov. His charm is phenomenal, extraordinarily versatile he is capable of any role – responsible officer and deep psychopath, maniac philosopher and notable writer, carefree Casanova and tycoon. For me, Yevgeny Mironov is the greatest Russian actor of all time, the ‘Jack Nicholson’ of Russian cinema (whom I also consider the greatest US movie actor). 47-year-old Yevgeny Mironov looks much younger, but judging by the list of movies and awards he is not less than 75. The most talented film and stage actor, Meritorious Artist of Russian Federation, People’s Artist of Russia, State Prize of the Russian Federation laureate, head of the Theatre of Nations Yevgeny Mironov continues to explore the boundaries of his human role.

Yevgeny Mironov was born November 29, 1966 in a provincial town of Tatischevo, Saratov region. His father Vitaly Mironov worked as a driver, his mother Tamara worked as a saleswoman and a worker. The ordinary family of Mironovs supported artistic talents of their children – son Yevgeny and daughter Oksana. As a child, Yevgeny took acting and dancing classes, studied accordion playing at music school. Together with his younger sister Oksana Yevgeny performed in front of relatives, with puppet theater made by their hands. As a schoolboy, Yevgeny acted in plays and musicals, which were often staged on his own scripts.

Yevgeny Mironov’s younger sister Oksana Mironova graduated from the Saratov School of Choreography and the St. Petersburg Ballet Academy. Oksana worked at the State Academic Theater of Classical Ballet for 10 years. At the moment she is teaching ballet in her own studio at the Russian State Social University.

In 1986 Yevgeny Mironov graduated from the Saratov Drama School, and was offered a job at the Saratov Children’s Theater. But he decided to continue studying at the Moscow Art Theater Studio School under actor and director Oleg Tabakov, also native of Saratov. After graduating in 1990, he became a resident actor at the Oleg Tabakov Theater.

Yevgeny Mironov’s first role in films was in 1988, it was Aleksandr Kaydanovsky’s film “The Kerosene Seller’s Wife”. After several roles in low-budget films, Yevgeny gained national fame and recognition, he received national and international awards and was voted Best Actor of 1992 by Russian film critics. The list of film awards of superstar of the Russian cinema Yevgeny Mironov is really impressive (the list at the end of the post).

Brilliant theater actor Yevgeny Mironov starred in a legendary international project of a German director Peter Stein’s The Oresteia and Hamlet, Declan Donnellan’s Boris Godunov, Valery Fokin’s The Last Night of the Last Czar and The Karamazovs and Hell. In 2003 he appeared as Lopakhin in Eimuntas Nekrošius’ celebrated production of The Cherry Orchard. Yevgeny actively collaborates with the Moscow Art Theater, where he has appeared as Treplev (The Seagull, 2001-2006), George Pigden (№13 (Out of Order), 2001), and Porfiry Golovlyov (The Golovlyovs, 2005). In 2006 he founded The Yevgeny Mironov Theater Company and produced Figaro. The Events of One Day, directed by the controversial Kirill Serebrennikov with Yevgeny as the lead.

In December 2006, he was appointed Artistic Director of the State Theater of Nations in Moscow, and received the honor of being made a People’s Artist of the Russian Federation in 2005. In the 2009-10 season, the Theater of Nations’ hit show Shukshin’s Stories was honored with both of Russia’s major theater awards, the Crystal Turandot and the Golden Mask, in a variety of categories including Best Production and Best Actor for Yevgeny. Eimuntas Nekrošius’ staging of Albert Camus’ Caligula for the Theater of Nations with Yevgeny in the title role premiered in Moscow and Rome in 2011. This season he stars in the Theater of Nation’s new production of Miss Julie, directed by Germany’s Thomas Ostermeier.

Yevgeny Mironov is an animal lover, his recent status on Facebook page “Time spent with a cat is never spent in vain”. According to Yevgeny Mironov, the only party he belongs to – Party of animal protection. In this case before the presidential election in 2012, he starred in the promotional video in support of the candidate Vladimir Putin.

Yevgeny Mironov is active in public service and charity work. Since 2004 he has served on the Presidential Council on Arts and Culture, established to advise the head of the Russian Federation on cultural matters. On Yevgeny’s initiative and with the support of the Presidential Administration, the annual Action in Support of Theatrical Initiatives, a monetary prize, was introduced in 2003. Yevgeny is among the organizers of the TERRITORIЯ International School-Festival of Contemporary Arts and the founder of The Artist Fund to benefit retired actors and the Not-for-Profit National Theatrical Incentives Fund. He actively participates in a number of other charitable and fundraising projects.

Yevgeny Mironov as captain Alyokhin in 2001 ‘In August, the 44th …’ – a film by Mikhail Ptashuk based on the novel of Vladimir Bogomolov, ‘The Moment of Truth (August 44th)’

Awards

1. Best Actor Award, Kinotaur National Film Festival (Love, 1992)
2. Sozvezdie International Film Festival, Best Actor Award (Love, 1992)
3. Best Actor Film Critics’ Award (Love, 1992)
4. Grand Prix and Special Film Critics’ Award “Stars of Tomorrow”, Geneva International Film Festival (Love, 1992)
5. Best Actor Film Critics’ Award (Encore Again!, 1994)
6. National Film Award Best Actor Nika (Limita (The Provincials), 1995)
7. Best Supporting Actor Award, Sozvezdie International Film Festival (Burnt by the Sun, 1995)
8. Best Actor Film Critics’ Award (Moslem, 1995)
9. Order of the Spiritual Administration of the Russian Moslems (Moslem, 1995)
10. State Prize of the Russian Federation ( The Karamazovs and Hell, 1996)
11. Idol, a Business Circle Award (The Inspector General, The Karamazovs and Hell, The Last Night of the Last Czar, 1997)
12. Best Actor of the Season International Stanislavsky Award (The Last Night of the Last Czar, 1997)
13. The Seagull Theatrical Award (Boris Godunov, 2000)
14. Best Supporting Actor Award, Baltic Pearl International Film Actor Festival (His Wife’s Diary, 2000)
15. Special Prize of The Gorky Literary Institute Scholarly Council and Terra Holdings, The National Literature and Film
16. Festival (His Wife’s Diary, August of ’44, 2001)
17. The Triumph Award “for cultural contribution” (2001)
18. Best Comedy Performance of the Season Seagull Theatrical Award (№13 (Out of Order), 2001)
19. Best Actor Crystal Turandot Award (№13 (Out of Order), 2002)
20. Man of the Year Award (2003)
21. Best Actor Award, The National Literature and Film Festival (The Metamorphosis, 2003)
22. National Television Award, Best Actor TEFI (The Idiot, 2003)
23. Best Actor on Television Golden Eagle National Film Award (The Idiot, 2004)
24. The Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Literary Award (The Idiot, 2004)
25. Outstanding Actor of the Year Golden Nymph Award in the “Television Drama” category, the Monte Carlo Film
26. Festival (The Idiot, 2004)
27. The Argumenty & fakty Newspaper’s National Pride of Russia Award “for personal contribution to cultural development” (2004)
28. Idol, a Business Circle Award, “for highest service to the acting profession” (2005)
29. The Andrei Tarkovsky Award, Window to Europe National Film Festival (On Upper Maslovka, 2005)
30. Best Actor Nika National Film Award (Dreaming of Space, 2006)
31. Best Actor Award, Golden Ram National Film Critics’ Festival (Dreaming of Space, 2006)
32. Russian of the Year Award (2006)
33. Best Actor Crystal Turandot Award (The Golovlyovs, 2006)
34. The Federal Security Service’s Work by an Actor Award (August of ’44, 2006)
35. Best Villain in Film MTV Russian Movie Award (The Hunt for Piranha, 2007)
36. Best Actor National Golden Mask Award (The Golovlyovs, 2007)
37. Special Golden Minbar Prize of the Moslem Film Festival in Kazan (Moslem, 2007)
38. Best Actor Crystal Turandot Award (Shukshin’s Stories, 2009)
39. The Snyato! Awards Special Prize (Phonogram of Passion, producer, 2010)
40. Best Actor National Golden Mask Award (Shukshin’s Stories, 2010)
41. The Moskovskii komsomoletz Newspaper’s Theater Award in the “Maître” category as new artistic director of a theater (2010)
42. Best Supporting Actor White Elephant National Film Critics’ Award (Burnt by the Sun 2. Exodus, 2010)
43. The first annual national Figaro Award “For brilliant stage performances” (2011)
44. Best Supporting Actor Nika National Film Award (Burnt by the Sun 2. Exodus, 2011)
45. State Prize of the Russian Federation “for contribution to national theater and film in 2010” (awarded 2011)
46. The Moskovskii komsomoletz Newspaper’s Man of the Year Theater Award (2011)
47. Best Actor, Star of The Teatral Audience Award (Caligula, 2011)
48. Federal Medal of Honor “for contribution to the development of Russian theater and cinema” (2011)
49. Best Actor on Television Golden Eagle National Film Award (Dostoyevsky, 2011)