Biography
Nikolai Lavrov, although he was a director by training, turned out to be more in demand as an actor. According to his colleague Vladimir Menshov, Nikolai Grigorievich’s appearance was remarkable; with such male faces they become stars of the level of Belmondo or Depardieu, because in France, not only Alain Delon is popular.
Marriages: career or family?
The actor had only two marriages, which is not so much for a popular favorite with a substantial dowry. Fyodor's first wife was a girl named Sophia , whom he met at school. The couple eventually had a daughter, who, by the way, today continues the tradition of her grandfather and father - she plays in the theater.
After the collapse of the first family union, Elena, a lawyer by training, becomes Lavrov Jr.’s wife. The girl is 6 years younger than the actor, but this does not prevent them from staying together until now, raising a daughter together.
Childhood and youth
The future star of the series “Deadly Force” was born in April 1944 in Leningrad. After graduating from school, Nikolai tried to enter the Leningrad State Institute of Theater, Music and Cinematography, but was unsuccessful.
Nikolai Lavrov in his youth
Then the young man went to work, at the same time played in the theater studio of the Palace of Culture, then served in the ranks of the Soviet army. In 1967, Lavrov was accepted into the studio at the city theater for young spectators. While working at the Youth Theater, Nikolai studied at the LGITMiK directing course, after which he was accepted into the troupe of the Maly Drama Theater.
On the theater stage, Lavrov played a wide range of roles. This is how fans remember the Professor from “The Robber” by Karel Čapek, the naive Alvaro from “The Rose Tattoo” by Tennessee Williams, and the deeply negative Glumov from Alexander Ostrovsky’s comedy “Simplicity is Enough for Every Wise Man.”
Nikolai Lavrov in the play “The Robber”
Nikolai got the main role in the legendary production of Lev Dodin's "Home", for which he was awarded the State Prize.
Lavrov managed to realize his potential as a director, staging the comedies “Black Box” and “It’s not all Maslenitsa”, and also taught acting skills to young colleagues at his native university.
Theatrical career of Fyodor Lavrov
Climbing the Olympus of fame turned out to be not so easy.
At the age of 20, Fedor was short and, unfortunately, could not boast of a “star appearance”. Despite this, the guy dreamed of a big stage, so he didn’t even consider the option of getting a job in a small theater. After several months of searching, luck smiled at him and he got a job at the Baltic House. Thanks to his skills, Lavrov landed his first supporting role. Then there were other works, but the guy felt out of place, so after the Bolshoi Drama Theater offered him a role in its play, he agreed without thinking twice.
Fyodor Lavrov on the stage of the theater
Subsequently, Fedya became a full member of the troupe. In an interview, the actor admitted: “Because of my plain appearance, I had to try hard to attract the attention of the audience with my unsurpassed performance. Several years later, many of my friends did not manage to become famous, although they differed from me in their spectacular appearance.”
From 2007 to 2011, the young man performed exclusively on the BDT stage. He could be seen in a wide variety of plays, among which the most memorable were: “The Night Before Christmas,” “The Jolly Soldier” and “The Ideal Thief.” The guy managed to transform into his characters with such ease that already at the end of 2011 he performed for the first time on the big stage of the Moscow Theater. Chekhov.
Movies
The same Menshov’s assertion that Lavrov’s cinematic biography did not work out will be argued by the artist’s army of fans and his impressive filmography. Nikolai came to cinema from the theater stage, where he had already gained popularity and gained a wealth of experience.
Nikolai Lavrov in the film “The Princess and the Pea”
He made his screen debut in 1972, in the detective story “Cases of Bygone Days” about the investigation by Soviet state security agencies of a crime that occurred half a century ago. The film stars movie stars Mikhail Kokshenov, Vladimir Etush, Mikhail Gluzsky.
In the fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea,” based on the works of Hans Christian Andersen, Lavrov played the role of the Artist.
Nikolai Lavrov in the film “Diary of a School Principal”
In “The Diary of a School Principal,” played by Oleg Borisov, the artist got the role of one of the teachers, along with Lyudmila Gurchenko and Elena Solovey. Young Yuri Vizbor appeared in the role of a classmate of the director's son.
The vivid image of the Nightingale the Robber was created by Nikolai Grigorievich in another fairy tale - “Ivan and Marya”. In the film, the artist was accompanied by Ivan Bortnik and Liya Akhedzhakova, Valentin Gaft and Nikolai Burlyaev.
Nikolai Lavrov in the film “Ivan da Marya”
In 1979, Lavrov’s filmography was supplemented by Nikolai Koshelev’s drama “Starshina” about the hard everyday life of a former squadron commander in the field of teaching, and in 1980 he played an investigator in the detective story “A Sharp Turn”.
Nikolai embodied tough, characteristic characters in Yevgeny Tatarsky’s detective story “Without Apparent Reasons” and the melodrama “Three Times About Love” with the participation of Marina Levtova and Sergei Prokhanov. Success awaited another film with the participation of Nikolai Lavrov - the fantastic film “The Testament of Professor Dowell” about the problem of immortality, based on the famous novel by Alexander Belyaev.
Nikolai Lavrov in the film “Solo Voyage”
In 1986, Lavrov played the main role of an American army sergeant in the Soviet action film Solo Voyage about the confrontation between the intelligence services of two world powers. The actor played an agent for particularly important cases in the musical film “The Island of Lost Ships.” The image of Jim Simpkins turned out to be bright, combining tough calculation and sentimentality.
Nikolai Lavrov in the film “Island of Lost Ships”
In the early troubled 90s, when cinema in new Russia was in last place, Nikolai Lavrov acted little. However, viewers remembered the biographical drama about the Russian Empress “Young Catherine” with the participation of Hollywood celebrities Vanessa Redgrave, Julia Ormond and Franco Nero. The film, directed by English director Michael Joseph Anderson, received two Emmy nominations. The Russian actor played the role of a court doctor.
Nikolai Lavrov in the film “Happy Days”
In 1991, Lavrov, with Viktor Sukhorukov and Anzhelika Nevolina, participated in the filming of the drama “Happy Days,” which became the feature-length directorial debut for Alexei Balabanov. The film was awarded two prizes at the Liki and Debut film festivals.
A year later, the artist tried on the shoulder straps of a general for a role in the crime series “Racket,” the prototype of which was the popular journalist Alexander Nevzorov. The director's ideas on the set were realized by Dmitry Nagiyev and Viktor Merezhko, Anna Samokhina and Irina Klimova, Alexander Demyanenko and Andrey Urgant.
Nikolai Lavrov in the film “Ghoul”
In the action-packed mystical action film “Ghoul,” Nikolai acted as a vampire hunter. The film, shot by the author of “Gangster Petersburg” Sergei Vinokurov in just two weeks, was called by critics a successful example of Russian horror. And at the cinematographers’ congress, the film caused a lot of noise and provoked angry criticism from its chairman, Sergei Mikhalkov.
At the turn of two centuries, Lavrov starred in almost all popular TV series - “Kamenskaya”, “National Security Agent”, “Turkish March”. But the artist’s performance is especially colorful in the crime boss Arkady Bogolepov from the first season of “Streets of Broken Lanterns.”
Personal life
Nikolai Grigorievich’s family is entirely people of art. His wife, actress Natalya Borovkova, served at the St. Petersburg Theater for Young Spectators and participated in productions of “The Comedian’s Shelter.” The children - two sons - also chose a creative path.
Nikolai Lavrov and his wife Natalya Borovkova
Son Fedor works for two cities - he performs and stages plays on the stages of the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Drama Theater and the Moscow Chekhov Art Theater.
Viewers are familiar with the role of German Titov in Alexei German Jr.’s drama “The Paper Soldier,” which was awarded the “Silver Lion” at the Venice Film Festival, and as the husband of the landowner Saltychikha in the series “Bloody Lady.”
Fyodor Lavrov, son of Nikolai Lavrov
Son Gregory chose television. Until 2020, he held the post of senior director of television channels, responsible for the promotion of Discovery Networks in Russia and Eastern Europe. Then he took the position of General Director of Media Alliance. The joint venture distributes TLC, Eurosport and Animal Planet, Cartoon Network and CNN.
Death
Honored Artist of Russia Nikolai Lavrov died early, at the age of 56. The cause of death of the actor and director in August 2000 was a heart attack.
Nikolai Lavrov's grave
Lavrov is buried at the Volkovsky cemetery, in a plot called “Literary Bridges,” where the ashes of residents of the Northern capital who contributed to culture, science, and politics rest.
Paris
In August 1991, Fedor took part in street protests against the coup, helping to erect improvised barricades near the Legislative Assembly. In 1993, after the shooting of the Russian Parliament, Fedor finally decided to leave Russia. In 1994, during a tour of the Mariinsky Theater, he remained to live and work in Paris. He performs as a vocalist with the group Jenkins, performing classic rock covers. Participates in the mass movement of musicians of the Paris metro, performs in the carriages of RER commuter trains. In 1996, unable to take his family out of Russia, at the request of his wife he returned to his homeland.
