# Oleg Menshikov

Oleg Evgenyevich Menshikov, PAR (Russian: Оле́г Евге́ньевич Ме́ньшиков; born 8 November 1960) is a Russian actor, theatre director and occasional singer. He is the current artistic director of the Yermolova Theatre in Moscow.
Internationally, Menshikov is the best known for his roles in the films by Nikita Mikhalkov Burnt by the Sun (1994), The Barber of Siberia (1998), Burnt by the Sun 2: Exodus (2010) and Burnt by the Sun 3: The Citadel (2011), as well as for his performance in Régis Wargnier's East/West (1999).
Menshikov is the winner of a Laurence Olivier Award, a Nika Award and three State Prizes of the Russian Federation, and the recipient of the Order of Honour of the Russian Federation.

## Early life

Menshikov was born in Serpukhov, Moscow Oblast, to father Evgeny (born 1934), a military engineer, and mother Yelena (born 1933), a doctor.
In addition to regular school, Menshikov also attended music school, where he played the piano and the violin. In 1977, he enrolled the Mikhail Shchepkin Higher Theatre School, where he studied acting under Vladimir Monakhov.

## Career

Menshikov had his debut role in the 1980 television film Zhdu i nadeyus (Russian: Жду и надеюсь; English: I'm Waiting and Hoping) by Suren Shazbazyan. The next year he made his film debut in Family Relations, which was his first collaboration with Nikita Mikhalkov. Menshikov then went on to star a series of successful films that made him a star in the Soviet Union, including supporting roles in Flights in Dreams and Reality (1983), Through Main Street with an Orchestra (1986) and lead roles in My Favorite Clown (1986) Moonzund (1988) and The Stairway (1989). He garnered further critical acclaim for his performance in Dyuba-Dyuba (1992), for which he was nominated for a Nika Award.
Menshikov first attracted international media attention in the Globe Theatre production When She Danced, for which he won the 1992 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He gained further success with Nikita Mikhalkov's Burnt by the Sun, in which he portrayed a manipulative and suicidal NKVD agent during Joseph Stalin's Great Purge. Burnt by the Sun won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Menshikov reprised his role in the Burnt by the Sun sequels Burnt by the Sun 2: Exodus (2010) and Burnt by the Sun 2: Citadel (2011).
In 1996, Menshikov starred in Sergei Bodrov's Prisoner of the Mountains, for which he won a Nika Award for Best Actor. He went on to star in Mikhalkov's The Barber of Siberia (1998) opposite Julia Ormond, and in Régis Wargnier's East/West (1999) opposite Sandrine Bonnaire and Catherine Deneuve. His most recent credits include performances in the television series Prime Suspect 6 (2003), films The State Counsellor (2005) as Erast Fandorin and Legend № 17 (2013) as Anatoly Tarasov, and the miniseries Doctor Zhivago (2006).
In 1997, Menshikov was the president of the jury at the 20th Moscow International Film Festival. Since 2012, he has served as the artistic director of the Yermolova Theatre in Moscow.
Menshikov is a three-time winner of the annual State Prize of the Russian Federation for his outstanding contribution to film art. In 2003, he was named a People's Artist of Russia. Menshikov was presented with the Order of Honour in 2010.

## Personal life

In 2005, Menshikov married fellow actress Anastasia Chernova. He resides in Moscow.

## Filmography

| Title in English | Original title | Year | Role | Notes |
| I Wait and Hope | Жду и надеюсь | 1980 | Shurka Domok | Television film |
| Family Relations | Родня | 1981 | Kirill | |
| The Pokrovsky Gate | Покровские ворота | 1982 | Konstantin Romin | |
| Flights in Dreams and Reality | Полёты во сне и наяву | 1982 | Alisa's friend | |
| The Kiss | Поцелуй | 1983 | Merzlyakov | Television film |
| Stripe of Obstacles | Полоса препятствий | 1982 | Vladimir Mezhirov | |
| Captain Fracasse | Капитан Фракасс | 1984 | Baron de Sigognac | Television miniseries |
| Volodya the Big and Volodya the Little | Володя большой, Володя маленький | 1985 | Vladimir Salimovich | Television film |
| Mikhailo Lomonosov | Михайло Ломоносов | 1986 | Dmitry Vinogradov | Television series |
| Moonzund | Моонзунд | 1987 | Sergei Artenyev | |
| My Favorite Clown | Мой любимый клоун | 1986 | Sergei Sinicyn | |
| Through Main Street with an Orchestra | По главной улице с оркестром | 1987 | Korolykov | |
| Splashes of Champagne | Брызги шампанского | 1988 | Sergei | |
| Life by Limit | Жизнь по лимиту | 1988 | Misha | |
| The Stairway | Лестница | 1989 | Vladimir Piroshnikov | |
| The Pit | Яма | 1990 | Vasiliy Likhonin | |
| Dyuba-Dyuba | Дюба-дюба | 1992 | Andrei Pletnyov | |
| Burnt by the Sun | Утомлённые солнцем | 1994 | Dmitry Arsentyev | |
| Prisoner of the Mountains | Кавказский пленник | 1996 | Sanya "Slai" | |
| The Barber of Siberia | Сибирский цирюльник | 1998 | Andrei Tolstoi / Andrew McCracken | |
| Mama | Мама | 1999 | Lyonchik | |
| East/West | Est – Ouest | 1999 | Aleksei Golovin | |
| Prime Suspect 6 | — | 2003 | Milan Lukic | Television series, 2 episodes |
| The State Counsellor | Статский советник | 2005 | Erast Fandorin | |
| The Little Golden Calf | Золотой телёнок | 2006 | Ostap Bender | Television miniseries |
| Doctor Zhivago | Доктор Живаго | 2006 | Yuri Zhivago | Television miniseries |
| Burnt by the Sun 2: Exodus | Утомлённые солнцем 2: Предстояние | 2010 | Dmitry Arsentyev | |
| What Men Talk About | О чём говорят мужчины | 2010 | himself | Cameo appearance |
| Burnt by the Sun 2 | Утомлённые солнцем 2: Предстояние' | 2011 | Dmitry Arsentyev | |
| Burnt by the Sun 2: The Citadel | Утомлённые солнцем 2: Цитадель | 2011 | Dmitry Arsentyev | Television series |
| Legend № 17 | Легенда №17 | 2013 | Anatoly Tarasov | |
| Attraction | Притяжение | 2017 | Valentin Lebedev, colonel | |
| Gogol. The Beginning | Гоголь. Начало | 2017 | Yakov Guro | |
| Gogol. Terrible Revenge | Гоголь. Страшная месть | 2018 | Yakov Guro |
| Invasion | Вторжение | 2020 | general-major Valentin Lebedev |
| Psycho | Псих | 2020 | Igor | |

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| Alexander Dovzhenko Award | 1987 | Silver Medal for Acting | Moonzund | Won |
| Golden Aries Award | 1996 | Outstanding Contribution to Film | — | Won |
| Golden Eagle Award | 2014 | Best Supporting Actor | Legend № 17 | Nominated |
| Golden Eagle Award | 2023 | Best Actor in an Online Series | Your Honor | Nominated |
| Kinotavr Film Festival Award | 1996 | Grand Prix | Prisoner of the Mountains | Won |
| Laurence Olivier Award | 1992 | Best Performance in a Supporting Role | When She Danced | Won |
| Moscow Seasons Theatre Festival | 1990 | Prize in Acting | Caligula | Won |
| Nika Award | 1993 | Best Actor | Dyuba-Dyuba | Nominated |
| Nika Award | 1997 | Best Actor | Prisoner of the Mountains | Won |
| Russian Film Critics' Award | 1994 | Actor of the Year | Burnt by the Sun | Won |
| Russian Guild of Film Critics Award | 2014 | Best Supporting Actor | Legend № 17 | Nominated |
| State Prize of the Russian Federation | 1995 | Outstanding Contribution to Film Art | Burnt by the Sun | Won |
| State Prize of the Russian Federation | 1997 | Outstanding Contribution to Film Art | Prisoner of the Mountains | Won |
| State Prize of the Russian Federation | 1999 | Outstanding Contribution to Film Art | The Barber of Siberia | Won |
| Triumph Independent Film Award | 1996 | Outstanding Contribution to Culture | — | Won |
| Victor Rozov Theatre Award | 1993 | Contribution to Theatre | N | Won |

## Honours

* France: Ordre des Palmes Académiques (2003)
* Russia: People's Artist of Russia (2003)
* Russia: Order of Honour (2010)
* Russia: Lev Nikolaev Medal for Achievement in Art