Mikhail Zhigalov was born in Kuibyshev in 1942, but this is not his hometown. His mother was there during the occupation. After the war, the family moved to Moscow.
School and Institute
After the war, the father of the future actor was sent to Czechoslovakia with his wife and little son. After the family returned to his homeland, Michael went to school, but there it was not easy for him to adapt after living abroad. In the postwar period, children were brought up more by the street than by the family.
After receiving secondary education, at the insistence of his father, Mikhail entered the Institute of Chemical Engineering. At the university, he met his first wife. After graduation, he worked at the research institute for several years. He had an extraordinary talent for chemistry, and after a while he became the head of the department.
Theatre
But Michael dreamed more of working in a theater. He decided to change his profession, already working in a research institute. Having completely changed his life, the future actor leaves the profession of a chemist and begins to study theatrical art in a children's theater. But, unfortunately, his wife does not share the love of creativity and leaves him.
For eight years, Mikhail Zhigalov plays in the children's theater. In 1978, the actor entered the "Contemporary". Michael had more than thirty successful roles in productions. The most successful were his roles in the performances of Three Sisters, Bolsheviks, Days of the Turbins and many others.
Mikhail Zhigalov: filmography
The actor received his first film role in 1972. His debut film was the tape "The Last Day". But filming a movie did not please him. Since playing in the theater is his calling. But it was necessary to act in films, because such activities were paid substantially more than playing in the theater. From the very beginning of his career, Michael was not serious about choosing scripts. As a result, viewers saw him only as a negative character: a thief in law, a drunkard. He became a hostage of his image for a long time. This was his mistake in a frivolous attitude to the choice of his roles. For example, in the film “Petrovka 38, ” the actor played a criminal named Sudar. And in the tape "The Abduction of Savoy, " Michael was a terrorist. The actor has many similar roles. As a result, many directors saw him as an exclusively negative character.
Mikhail Zhigalov managed to significantly change the role on the set of the film about Pushkin directed by Maren Khutsiev. The actor played the role of Vyazemsky. But, unfortunately, the shooting was stopped. Although after them, many directors and actors saw him as a good character. Since then, he began to receive interesting roles in the cinema.
"The border. Taiga novel "
Mikhail Zhigalov really likes to play the military. So, in the television series Border. Taiga novel ”he played Colonel Borisov. In this series, the role of Michael was insignificant, but bright. He plays an officer of the Soviet Army, who is very worried not only about the state of the garrison, but also many of his friends and subordinates. When the young military man Ivan Stolbov begins to take care of the wife of officer Goloshchekin, the colonel first verbally, and then by willful tricks, tries to set him on the right path and not decompose discipline in the garrison.
Mikhail Zhigalov: movies and TV shows
In the TV series “Don't Be Born Beautiful, ” the actor played the father of the main character. As you remember, also a former military man. In the series Jackpot for Cinderella, actor Mikhail Zhigalov plays Kirsanova, the developer of the latest program called the Golden Fish, which fulfills wishes. Kirsanov later realizes that this program is very dangerous and, falling into the wrong hands, can do a lot of trouble. Therefore, at the end of the film, with the help of the main character, he destroys her under the wheels of a bulldozer.
The actor received one of the best roles in the film "Dogs". This tape caused a big wave of criticism of the director. The film tells about stray dogs in an abandoned city and how a group of hunters went to clean the area from wild animals. According to the plot, the hunters thought that a flock of cannibals wandered in the area. But they were shocked to see how ferocious the dogs were when they were thrown. The film made a very strong impression on the audience. It was one of the films in the Soviet box office, combining genres such as thriller and horror.
In the film "The Afghan Break", Mikhail Zhigalov played the regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Leonid together with Michele Placido as Major Mikhail Bandura.
Now the actor is actively acting in films and plays in the theater. His roles are very multifaceted, from positive to the most negative.
Love for the theater never left Mikhail Zhigalov, he participates in a number of performances. The actor got the role of William Cecil in a production called “We Play Schiller”. The Sovremennik Theater became his hometown, but Mikhail often performs on the stage of other, equally outstanding theaters.
