Sergey Lavygin: “They told me: “If you lose weight, Senya will disappear”

Sergei Lavygin: biography

Lavygin was born in July 1980 in Moscow. His parents had nothing to do with art, but the future artist dreamed of a stage career since childhood - and he managed to make his dream come true.

Family

Sergei’s parents are both physicists and mathematicians; they have nothing to do with cinema. The actor also has a brother who first made a sports career and then founded his own business.

Childhood and youth

As a child, the guy was often sent to a pioneer camp for the summer to relax outside the city. It was then that Sergei became interested in theater. First, he began attending a drama club, and then, in a pioneer camp, he made his debut on stage. Then he began to attend the theater club on a regular basis. But Sergei made the final decision about his acting career only in 11th grade. He was preparing for admission - he even reviewed all the world's film classics, prepared a poem and a fable, but this was not enough. So at first the young man was accepted into the Shchepkinsky School only as a free student, but then he managed to become a full-fledged student.

In “Sliver” the actor studied in the workshop of Vladimir Safronov. Even as a student, he loved to watch passersby on the streets, predict their mood, adopt manners; this technique still helps him today.

Biography[ | ]

Sergey Valerievich Lavygin was born on July 27, 1980 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR. In 2001 he graduated from the Higher Theater School named after M. S. Shchepkin (workshop of V. A. Safronov). Since 2001 he has been working at the Moscow Theater for Young Spectators[1].

He is best known for his role as chef Arseny Chuganin in the Russian television comedy series “Kitchen,” which aired on the STS channel from 2012 to 2020. Sergei took part in the series from the very first season until the last sixth season. After the series ended, it was announced that Sergei Lavygin would play the role of Arseny Chuganin in a spin-off of the series, called “Hotel Eleon”[2].

I was once taught at a theater institute that if you want to learn more about your character, listen to what others say about him. And in the first episode, the chef describes Senya like this: “He’s a real fool, but a master of his craft!” This is true. When he pours 100 grams of vinegar at his home, it is impossible to be offended by him. And, of course, the chef knows very well that Senya sometimes steals, but he will never fire him, because he loves all his workers. This kitchen can only work with this composition, and if you replace one mechanism, everything starts to fall apart.

Sergei Lavygin appeared in the productions of “Two Maples”, “Tin Rings”, “Romantics”, “Witness for the Prosecution”, “Incredible Adventures”, “Peter Pan” and others. Sergei Lavygin took part in the “Big Difference” program and hosted the television project “Seriality” on the Man-TV channel. His film debut took place in the film “Hello, Capital” in 2003. Then he appeared in several domestic films. The “Kitchen” project taught Sergei Lavygin to take a creative approach to the cooking process - previously he could only cook dumplings, but after filming he began to buy new products and spices and experiment in the kitchen. He also starred in other TV series on the STS channel and in a special film project on the Disney channel “Happiness is...”.

Sergei’s filmography includes many comedic roles, but in 2013 he starred in the drama “Thirst.” This role has been noted as one of the best in the actor's work.[3] In addition, he played the role of Major Egorov in the series “Hidden Camera,” which was broadcast on the O2TV channel. The series was produced by the film company Camera.

Career

In 2001, the future sitcom star graduated from “Sliver” and joined the troupe of the Moscow Youth Theater. He currently serves in this theater. However, Lavygin also collaborates with other theatrical associations, including the Vsevolod Meyerhold Center.

Theater

The artist had many interesting roles on the theater stage. For example, in such performances as “Peter Pan”, “The Phantom Cavalier”, “Two Maples”. True, he is currently more busy on television, so fans should look for news about the release of TV series or films.

Film and television

Lavygin made his film debut in 2003. It was the film “Hello, Capital!” - melodrama dedicated to the Khrushchev Thaw. But the film did not bring much popularity to the actor. News about his work began to appear in the press only after he appeared in the comedy sitcom “Kitchen.” Although for ten years Sergei starred in a variety of projects - for example, “Lawyer-2”, “Trace” and others.

Actor career

The young graduate of the Higher Theater School did not manage to make his film debut for a long time. He also failed to get into the Youth Theater, where he appeared 4 times. But on the fifth attempt he was still accepted into the troupe.

Now Sergei Lavygin has lost a lot of weight

Lavygin’s first theatrical work was the role of the dog Sharik in “Two Maples” based on the fairy tale play by Evgeniy Schwartz. Then he was busy in such plays as “Tin Rings” (about extraordinary adventures in a fairy-tale kingdom), “Romantics” (about friends and neighbors who decided to marry their children), “Peter Pan” (about the famous forever young boy who can fly). ), the production of “Witness for the Prosecution” with elements of the finest English humor and others. The actor served in the theater for 12 years and left it, by his own admission, “for the sake of new discoveries,” but is still quite often busy in enterprises.

Sergei Lavygin, made up as a woman

The actor’s film debut took place in 2003, in the retro drama “Hello, Capital!”, which tells about the times of the Khrushchev Thaw. In 2004, he starred in the film “Uncontrollable Skid” based on Elena Sazanovich’s book “I’m listening, Lina...”.

Sergey Lavygin in the film “Uncontrollable Skid”

In subsequent years, he was part of the cast of many domestic television series: “Lawyer” (about a successful and honest defense lawyer in court), “Trace” (about the work of the Federal Expert Service), “Zone” (about prisoners and employees of pre-trial detention centers), “Lapushki” (about three girlfriends who turned to a marriage agency), “Notes of a forwarder of the Secret Chancellery” (a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Oleg Ryaskov).

“Notes of the Forwarder of the Secret Chancellery”: Lavygin as a Freemason

From 2012 to 2020, the actor starred as chef Senya in the television series “Kitchen,” which told about a lot of unexpected situations in the team of workers at an elite restaurant owned by the famous actor and showman Dmitry Nagiyev. To realistically bring his character to life, Sergei attended real chef courses and learned to professionally chop vegetables. Subsequently, in an interview, he admitted that at that time he became infected with a love for food, but not for preparing it.

“Kitchen”: Sergei Lavygin as the eccentric cook Arseny

After the successful premiere of “Kitchen,” Lavygin’s face began to appear in the highest-grossing films of domestic film distribution: he played a doctor in the comedy “To Russia for Love!” (2012), Pavel in the drama “Thirst” (2013), Uncle Tolya from Tuapse in the comedy film “Bitter!” by Zhora Kryzhovnikov. (and its sequel “Bitter! 2”), which film critics called truly popular and one of the best film comedies of recent years. Then Lavygin played the best friend of the main character in the film of the innovative “karaoke-comedy” genre from Kryzhovnikov - “The Best Day”.

For the film “Bitter!” Sergei Lavygin grew a mustache

In 2014, the premiere of the full-length continuation of the comedy “Kitchen”, so beloved by viewers, took place - the film “Kitchen in Paris”, which was watched by more than 2 million viewers. The actor again appeared in the image of Chuganin.

In 2020, the artist appeared in the sitcom “Mommies,” which tells the story of the lives of best friends - an unmarried girl Victoria (Alexandra Bulycheva), a young mother Anna (Elena Nikolaeva) and a heroine with many children, Yulia (Svetlana Kolpakova). Lavygin played Roman, Yulia’s husband and father of her three children.

TV series “Mommies”: Sergei Lavygin and his “wife” Svetlana Kolpakova

In addition, Lavygin could be seen in the film almanac “Happiness is ...”, in one of seven stories (the seventh short story “Two Together”), asserting that every person is worthy of happiness and that there is enough of it for everyone. Sergey Lavygin in the film “Happiness is...” (Story No. 7) In 2020, filming of the full-length film “Kitchen. The Last Battle,” the intrigue of which revolved around an international chef tournament. Sergei, the permanent performer of the role of Senya, called this new project a “grand” completion of the franchise. During the same year, the artist was involved in the comedy series “Hotel Eleon”, a spin-off of “Kitchen”, where his hero Arseny had already become a chef. Sergei Lavygin in the series “Hotel Eleon” In the same year, Lavygin played an alien in the New Year’s comedy “Wonderland” (project of “Quartet I”), consisting of five independent storylines with a common ending - the New Year.

Still from the film “Wonderland”

The actor was also busy filming the third season of Mommies, which was released in 2020.

On the set of the series "Mommies"

Interesting Facts

• Sergei Lavygin is a personality about whom secular news often writes; many publications interview him, so the performer voices interesting facts about himself:
• If Sergei had not entered the theater university, he would have tried to make a career in the medical field. Now he considers medicine his hobby.
• Despite filming a series about haute cuisine, the actor never learned to cook like a professional, but he knows how to quickly chop onions. In everyday life he prefers simple food.
• The actor hardly eats flour or sweets to keep himself in shape.

Childhood and youth

The actor was born and raised in Moscow in a family that had nothing to do with theater or cinema. Both parents are involved in science: both the actor’s mother and father are physicists and mathematicians. Sergei has a brother who was a professional athlete and then began running his own business. Sergei’s birthday – July 27 – fell on the zodiac sign Leo.

According to the actor, from early childhood he dreamed of “getting on TV,” but until the age of 14 this desire was chaotic and vague. As a teenager, the boy became interested in school theater, attended an acting club, where he began to play in children's productions. The final decision to become an artist came after the success of one sketch sketch at a summer camp, in which Sergei played a pilot who lost consciousness in the cockpit.

In fact, thanks to the talent of young Lavygin, the tragic situation turned into an incendiary comedy and was very popular among the audience, so Sergei repeated the production several times at school concerts.

After graduating from school, Sergei Lavygin entered the prestigious Shchepkin Higher Theater School the first time and studied there in the acting department with Vladimir Alekseevich Safronov. During his student years, the future actor loved most of all to watch passers-by on the street and not only adopt the gait and behavior of those around him, but also predict the characters and mood of strangers. This hobby later helped me better get used to the characters.

After graduating from a theater university in 2001, Lavygin joined the troupe of the Moscow Theater for Young Spectators, where he still works. During this time, Sergei played more than a dozen roles on the theater stage, the most memorable of which are Mr. Smith in “Peter Pan,” Sharik in “Two Maples,” and Castagno in the production of “The Phantom Cavalier.” The actor also collaborated with Theater.doc and the Vsevolod Meyerhold Center.

Sergei Lavygin gained experience as a TV presenter after hosting the “Seriality” program on the Man-TV channel, in which he told viewers about new movies coming out on DVD. He also participated in the popular entertainment show “Big Difference,” in which he began filming from the 63rd episode.

Actor roles

Every film or series with the participation of an actor becomes a real gift for viewers. Although many still see him as the chef Senya - the TV series “Kitchen” influenced his career so much.

Movies

After the artist played in the acclaimed comedy “Bitter!” Zhory Kryzhovnikova, almost every year the news writes about a new project by the director, in which the public’s favorite takes part. But his filmography includes not only comedies. The artist starred in the following films:

"Bitterly!" - a famous film by Zhora Kryzhovnikov, its character is the colorful Uncle Tolya, a relative from the groom’s side. In the film “Gorko 2” the artist returned to this role,

“The Best Day” is another comedy film by Kryzhovnikov, played by Valentin.

“Wonderland” is an unusual film consisting of several short stories, in one of which Sergei plays an alien.

“Well, hello, Oksana Sokolova!” - a comedy that won the Golden Phoenix festival prize.

Series

The artist often stars in multi-episode productions. And almost every year, cultural news reports about the release of a new sitcom in which Sergei Lavygin takes part. Some of the most famous projects include:

“Kitchen” is a sitcom about the everyday life of a gourmet restaurant, starring the chef Senya Chuganin.

“Hotel Eleon” is a series that is a spin-off, that is, a kind of continuation of “Kitchen”. The actor plays the role of Senya Chuganin, who has already become a chef.

“Mommies” is a comedy series about the difficulties of family life, the role of Roma Melnikov, Yulia’s husband.

“The Big Game” is a series in the genre of sports comedy, the role of an assistant coach of the national team.

“Call DiCaprio!” - drama series, role - actor Sergei Motyl.

Also, the “Kitchen” franchise had many other branches, in which the artist again returned to the role of Senya Chuganin. For example, multi-part projects “SenyaFedya”, “Grand” and others.

Creative activity[ | ]

Filmography[ | ]

Actor today

Reading the news, you might think that the artist plans to continue devoting himself to the comedy genre and the role of Senya Chuganin. But in 2020, his new work is coming out - the film “Ice-2”, a kind of sports drama (or fairy tale), directed by the same Zhora Kryzhovnikov. It is still unknown which character the public’s favorite got in this film; you need to follow the news to find out the details and the premiere date.

Also in 2020, the project “Operation Valkyrie” will be released. It is unclear whether this will be a full-length film or a TV version with several episodes. News from the set did not bring any clarity. The film is billed as a spy action movie – a genre with which Sergei Lavygin is working for the first time in his career.

Maria Lugovaya: “It’s strange that Lavygin and I got married at all”

Sergey Lavygin and Maria Lugovaya

On January 25, the star of the TV series “Kitchen” announced good news - he married actress Maria Lugova. The actors modestly signed their names at the registry office. “Our motto was “But not like in the movie Gorko!” Seryozha doesn’t like everything associated with a classic Russian wedding - towels, loaves, etc. We decided to avoid all these cliches,” Maria shared.

But the lovers did not refuse to celebrate with friends. Guests were treated to a homely feast and even a live orchestra... True, there was a first family conflict. It turned out that at first Lavygin was against the musicians at the celebration. “Isn’t that how it usually is? Some people whom no one knows come out and start singing loudly, preventing everyone from talking. This is strange for me,” the actor was indignant in a conversation with reporters. “It’s strange that we got married at all. This is impossible! You interrupt me all the time,” Lugovaya answered her husband.

The actors admit: they have completely different characters. According to Maria, she loves when everything is laid out and goes according to plan. But this completely contradicts her husband’s lifestyle. “I am, of course, irritated by Serezha’s spontaneity and laxity, but, probably, if next to me there was a pedant like me, it would irritate me even more,” she noted.

The actors who played spouses in the series “Kitchen” became parents

By the way, the stars have known each other since the end of 2013. Lavygin was fascinated by Maria’s beauty and wrote to her on social networks. From virtual flirting, the couple quickly moved on to real dates, but the relationship faded away before it even began.

Star father communicates with his son

“In fact, everything is very simple,” Lugovaya confessed. — Serezha had a relationship that was interrupted. And five of our dates occurred during this break. Then his girlfriend appeared again, and Seryozha is a very principled person. I love him for this, we are similar here. I'm just as principled. And then Seryozha called me and said: “Masha, you are a wonderful girl, I enjoyed spending time with you, but so and so...”. And he said that he wanted to continue that relationship, not wanting to lead me by the nose.”

That girl was actress Anna Begunova, who gave the “Kitchen” star a son. The lovers lived together for three years and separated, remaining friends for the sake of the boy. “During those five meetings, it became clear that we speak the same language. And when the story of my personal life collapsed, something made me write to Masha again,” admitted Sergei.

Based on materials from OK!

Photo: Legion-Media, Instagram