Biography
Maxim Emmanuilovich Vitorgan is the son of star parents Emmanuil Vitorgan and Alla Balter, two of the most famous actors of Soviet cinema. It is not surprising that he, who grew up behind the scenes of theaters and in the pavilions of film studios, followed in the footsteps of his parents.
Actor Maxim Vitorgan
Maxim Vitorgan became a famous actor after the release of the best-selling film books “Radio Day”, “Election Day” and “What Men Talk About”. A new surge of interest in the personality of Vitorgan Jr. is associated with his marital status - he is the husband of Ksenia Sobchak.
Childhood and youth
Maxim Vitorgan was born in September 1972 in the capital. His patronizing zodiac sign is Virgo; Maxim’s nationality is Jewish. From childhood he knew that the acting profession was destined for him. The boy grew up in a family where all conversations and events were related to theater and cinema.
Max himself visited the theater, where his parents appeared on the stage, watched with interest the filming process in the film pavilion, where a new film with his father’s participation was being produced, and caught himself thinking that he, too, was irresistibly drawn to try his hand as an artist.
Maxim Vitorgan as a child with his parents
At school, young Maxim Vitorgan did not shine with diligence and did not please his parents with grades, but his interest in acting turned out to be enormous. Therefore, no one was surprised when the guy, after receiving his matriculation certificate, went to enroll in GITIS. He passed the exams and was enrolled in the course of Irina Sudakova, who gave a start in life to actors Anatoly Vasiliev, Dmitry Pevtsov and Nikolai Dobrynin.
At the theater university, Maxim Vitorgan became one of the best students. He greedily attacked his studies, making up for lost time. Vitorgan read voraciously and did not miss a single performance that was staged on the stage of Moscow theaters.
Theater
In the 90s, difficult times came for Russian cinema. According to Vitorgan, nothing worthwhile was filmed, so in his youth the artist devoted more attention to the theater.
In 1993, Maxim Vitorgan graduated from GITIS and joined the Moscow Theater for Young Spectators. Fans saw the actor in the productions “The Thunderstorm” and “The Execution of the Decembrists.”
Maxim Vitorgan in the theater
In the same 1993, a collaboration began that brought Vitorgan all-Russian popularity and popular love: meeting the participants of the Quartet I theater changed the artist’s fate. When the famous comedy play “Radio Day” was staged in 1999, the role of DJ Max was written for Maxim.
In 1999, the young actor moved to Lenkom, where he played in the plays Cruel Intentions and The Sage. But he did not stay long on this stage either and migrated to Oleg Tabakov’s theater. Here Vitorgan played in the production “Sex, Lies and Video.”
Maxim Vitorgan on stage
In 2002, Maxim Vitorgan changed the stage again: he was accepted into the troupe of the famous Moscow Art Theater named after A.P. Chekhov. With his participation the performances “Quantity”, “Antigone”, “Yu” and “Crime and Punishment” were released.
Biography[edit | edit code]
Born on September 10, 1972 in the family of actors Emmanuil Vitorgan and Alla Balter.
In 1993 he graduated from GITIS (course of I. I. Sudakova) and was accepted into the Moscow Youth Theater, where he played in classical productions: “The Thunderstorm” and “The Execution of the Decembrists.”
In 1999 he moved to the Lenkom Theater, where he played in the plays: “Cruel Intentions”, “The Sage”, “Sex, Lies and Video”. Two years later he was accepted into the Moscow Art Theater troupe. Chekhov. He played in the plays “Antigone”, “Yu”, “A Light Taste of Treason”, “Quantity”, “Crime and Punishment”.
In 2004, he acted as a director of television programs - “Blue Light” on the REN TV channel and “First Night with Oleg Menshikov” on the NTV channel; and one of the organizers of the “Invasion” festival. Since 1994 he has acted in films. He became very famous for his role as DJ Max in the films “Election Day”, “Radio Day” and “What Else Men Talk About”.
Since 2007, he has taken part as a director and actor in the television sketch show on the REN TV channel “Distant Relatives”. In 2008, he directed a television sketch show on the TNT channel “Women’s League.” In 2009, director of the play “Who” at the “Other Theater”.
In 2011, for the play “Who” at the “Another Theater” he was awarded the “Live Theater” audience award in the category “Director of the Year: New Wave”[1]. From April 27, 2013 to December 27, 2014, he was the host of the program “Through the Mouth of a Baby” on the Disney Channel[2]. Since March 16, 2018, he has been the host of the detective show “Sherlock” on the TV-3 channel[3].
Movies
A cinematic biography of Maxim Vitorgan started during his student years. His acting debut took place in the film “Svetik”. True, the hero Vitorgan was voiced by another actor. This was followed by several episodic roles, working on which, the aspiring artist gained experience and “trained his hand.”
Vitorgan’s collaboration with the Quartet I theater, which successfully began in the 90s, continued in the cinema in the 2000s. In 2007, based on previously staged performances, the films “Radio Day” and “Election Day” were made. Maxim Vitorgan again played the role of DJ Max. These comedy films were received extremely warmly by audiences and critics. The actor was noticed and remembered.
Maxim Vitorgan and Quartet I
Since 2004, Vitorgan has appeared on screen as a director and TV presenter. For REN-TV, Maxim Emmanuilovich became the director of “Blue Light”. In the same year, he acted as director of the rock festival “Invasion”. In 2007, he worked on the creation of the show “Distant Relatives.” In 2008, Maxim Vitorgan already participated in the production of the show “Women’s League” on TNT.
Maxim Vitorgan acts in films a lot. With his participation, the films “Mobius”, “An Ideal Marriage”, “Runaways” were released. But the artist himself continues to consider himself more of a theater than a film actor, and regularly appears on stage.
Maxim Vitorgan in the film “Ideal Marriage”
In 2009, at the Other Theater, the artist first tried his hand as a director and staged the play “Who.” The debut turned out to be successful: Maxim Vitorgan was nominated for “Director of the Year: New Wave”.
In 2010, another creative project of Vitorgan and “Quartet I” turned out to be a real hit: the film “What Men Talk About” instantly turned into a modern comedy classic, and viewers stole lines from it for quotes.
Maxim Vitorgan on the set of the film “Election Day”
The sparkling film became a box office leader, and all its participants became movie stars. Maxim Vitorgan in this film played, although not the main, but vivid role of Romeo. As in previous projects with Quartet I, he appeared in the frame with Leonid Barats, Kamil Larin, Alexander Demidov and Rostislav Khait.
The success of the film was so great that a year later a sequel was released, but it did not reach the level of popularity and humor of the first film.
After bright comedic roles, the actor was showered with invitations to other films. Vitorgan’s filmography was supplemented by films and TV series “Masha Kosova’s Herbarium”, “Santa Claus Always Calls Three Times”, “The Diary of Doctor Zaitseva - 2”.
Maxim Vitorgan in the film “What Else Men Talk About”
From time to time Maxim Vitorgan participates in television projects. As he himself claims, it “gives him new sensations.” So, he was seen in “The Great Race” and “Cruel Intentions”. In April 2013, the actor began hosting the program “Through the Mouth of a Baby” on the Disney children's television channel.
In 2014-2015, Maxim Vitorgan often appears on the screen. He starred in the leading roles of the films “Happy Eighth of March, Men!”, “Champions”, “Loves Not Loves”. In these projects, the actor received diverse images, both comedic (Lev Kaspersky in the film “Happy March Eighth, Men!”) and dramatic (a coach in the sports film “Champions”).
Maxim Vitorgan in the film “Happy Eighth of March, men!”
Increasingly, the artist began to be seen in the leading roles of various projects. Maxim’s favorite genre is light comedy or lyrical melodrama. In 2020, he made a name for himself with his work in the melodrama “Spring Exacerbation,” where he played opposite Alexander Oleshko, in the comedy “Election Day 2,” and in the film adaptation of “The Diary of Louise Lozhkina.”
Vitorgan made his contribution to the creation of the highly rated series “The Far Side of the Moon - 2”, “Mommies” and “Londongrad. Know ours! A year later, the actor starred in the youth comedy “Crisis of a Tender Age,” which was broadcast on the TNT channel.
Maxim Vitorgan in the film almanac “Petersburg. Only for love"
The artist appeared in the image of Dovlatov in the film anthology “Petersburg. Only for love". The comedy “Chasing a Masterpiece” surprised viewers with its original plot, in which Maxim embodied the image of a state security major on the screen.
Fans of the artist are interested in his political views. Maxim Vitorgan has repeatedly participated in actions against the current government. In 2013, he spoke out against the “anti-gay law,” calling it an attempt by the power elite to divide society and divert its attention from the miscalculations of power.
Maxim Vitorgan and Alexey Navalny
In the fall of 2013, Maxim Vitorgan supported Alexei Navalny at a pre-election rally. Messages on political topics repeatedly appeared on Vitorgan’s personal Facebook profile.
Filmography[edit | edit code]
- 1989 - Svetik - Valera
- 1992 - Crazy Love
- 1994 - Prokhindiada 2 - Gesha
- 1998 - Essay for Victory Day - bandit
- 2002 - Special report, or the Superman of this day - Vadim
- 2003 - Dasha Vasilyeva. Private investigation lover - Sanka
- 2004 - Against the Current - Martin
- 2005 - Large - Veniamin Makarov
- 2006 - Nine months - deputy
- 2006 - Cat Waltz - Lion
- 2006 - Make God Laugh - Gleb Perfilov
- 2007 - Masha and the Sea - Sasha
- 2007 - Election Day - DJ Max
- 2008 - Radio Day - DJ Max
- 2010 - Herbarium of Masha Kolosova - Igor, businessman
- 2010 - What men talk about - Romeo
- 2010 - Manipulator - Isaac
- 2011 - Santa Claus always calls three times - Alexey, friend of Konstantin
- 2011 - Cupid - Cupid
- 2011 - What else do men talk about - DJ Max
- 2011 - 2012 - Mistress of my destiny - Vasily
- 2012 - Both fathers and sons - David Ziselson
- 2012 - Klushi - Vadim, Daria’s husband
- 2012 — Happy New Year, moms! — Sasha, Masha’s husband
- 2012 - The Diary of Doctor Zaitseva - Lev Rubtsov
- 2013 - Mobius - Sobchak, FSB agent
- 2013 - Ideal marriage - Valera
- 2013 - 12 months - boyfriend
- 2013 - Make ends meet
- 2013 - New old house - Ilya Shirko
- 2014 — Happy Eighth of March, men! — Lev Kaspersky
- 2014 - Champions - coach
- 2014 - Diary of Louise Lozhkina - Arthur
- 2014 - Corporate event - driver Roma
- 2014 - Loves or loves - editor Maxim
[11] - 2014 - I Believe It, I Don’t Believe it
- 2015 - Londongrad - Sergey Sergeevich Oleynikov, second cultural attaché at the Russian Embassy in the UK (from episode 4)
- 2015 — Spring exacerbation
- 2015 - Mommies - Yuri Anatolyevich
- 2016 - St. Petersburg. Only for love
- 2016 - Runaways - Major
- 2016 - Crisis of a tender age - Valera
- 2016 - Election Day 2 - Maxim, TV presenter from Moscow
- 2016 - Dream Fish / Riba-mechta
-
Mark - 2016 - Optimists - Pokrovsky
- 2016 - Garden Ring - Boris
- 2017 - Life ahead - Vladimir, Alla’s husband
- 2017 - Yana + Yanko - Igor
- 2017 - Kilimanjara - captain Mamedov
- 2017 - Chasing a masterpiece - Max
- 2017 - Maximum Impact - Dobrynin
- 2018 - Alien - Pyotr Novikov, communications operator of the MCC
- 2018 - Dangerous dancing - Gennady Tverdokhleb
- 2018 — Tosses
- 2018 - Diary of a new Russian - Boba
- 2018 - New man - Vitya, perfectionist accountant
- 2018 — Sketches about freedom — Eduard
- 2018 - The man who surprised everyone - professor
- 2018 — Russian demon
Personal life
Maxim Emmanuilovich married three times. The first time he was married to Youth Theater actress Victoria Verberg. From this marriage two children appeared - daughter Polina and son Daniel. Polina Vitorgan continued the family business and became an actress.
Maxim Vitorgan and Victoria Verberg
For the second time, the actor tied the knot with marketer Natalya, but this union lasted only a year.
Already in 2013, Maxim Vitorgan excited show business with his wedding to TV presenter and journalist Ksenia Sobchak. The two stars met at “swamp rallies,” but at that time Ksenia was having an affair with Ilya Yashin.
Maxim Vitorgan with his daughter Polina
The first rumors about Maxim Vitorgan’s affair with Ksenia Sobchak appeared in December 2012: the couple was photographed at the birthday party of the head of the Echo of Moscow radio, Alexei Venediktov. In the photo, the lovers were holding hands.
Maxim Vitorgan and Ksenia Sobchak
The wedding was prepared for a month, but was held secretly. The newlyweds announced their new status at the Fitil cinema, where they arrived in wedding dresses for the premiere of Maxim Vitorgan's film. Lyudmila Narusova called the wedding ceremony at the registry office “anti-glamorous,” because only close relatives of the two stars were present.
The celebration took place in a restaurant. The entertainment program featured Alexey Kortnev and Glucose. After the wedding, the couple did not go on their honeymoon and stayed in Moscow.
Wedding of Ksenia Sobchak and Maxim Vitorgan
In the spring of 2020, rumors appeared that Maxim and Ksenia were expecting a child. The artist announced the happy event on his Instagram page, posting a photo of his pregnant wife swimming and captioning it “Mother of a son. Have a happy voyage!” And in November 2016, Vitorgan and Sobchak became parents. The couple named their son Plato. For the third time Maxim Vitorgan became a father at the age of 44.
New responsibilities did not prevent Ksenia from entering the election race for the post of head of state. Sobchak's candidacy was negatively perceived by some members of the public. Evgeny Chichvarkin’s appeal to the TV presenter even appeared on Facebook. The entrepreneur spoke negatively, using profanity, to Ksenia. Vitorgan could not help but respond to such a message. On the social network, Maxim posted a video that he recorded in a similar style.
Maxim Vitorgan and Ksenia Sobchak with their son
For 2 years after the birth of the first child, mutual understanding and love reigned in the family. Motherhood had a positive impact on Ksenia’s character, and Maxim found family happiness in the person of his third wife. But at the end of 2018, fans of the couple noticed the absence of a wedding ring on his wife’s ring finger. Rumors arose that she was interested in another man; according to press speculation, he was director Konstantin Bogomolov, Daria Moroz’s ex-husband.
It soon became known that Maxim himself had taken off his wedding ring, which he had previously happily shown off. Fans of the couple hope that things will not come to a divorce and that Vitorgan and Sobchak will soon clarify the situation.
Konstantin Bogomolov and Ksenia Sobchak
In January 2020, Maxim hit Bogomolov after meeting him in a cafe. The angry man called his alleged opponent outside, where he struck him several times. Later, Vitorgan made it clear to his subscribers not to pester him with “leaks” about the dates of his wife and director. According to the actor, “he closed this gestalt.”
Recently, the actor has changed for the better in appearance. Maxim Vitorgan managed to lose 15 kg of weight and now looks 10 years younger. There are different reasons for losing weight. Some refer to Vitorgan’s words about his busy work schedule - he films a lot and plays in the theater. Others claim that the artist’s slimness was the result of a dispute with a friend, and an amount was at stake that Max did not want to lose.
Losing weight, as Vitorgan Jr. says, did him good. Now his weight is 95 kg with a height of 1.94 m. The actor managed to lose weight thanks to a diet: he adheres to separate meals, consumes a minimum of carbohydrates and refused late dinners.
Maxim Vitorgan before and after weight loss
Fans of the artist’s work note Vitorgan’s external resemblance to his colleague Mikhail Politsemako, but the actors are not related.
Maxim Vitorgan now
Maxim Vitorgan today is a sought-after actor on the theater stage and in cinema. The actor is invited to high-rated projects, where he successfully realizes his talent. In 2020 alone, more than 7 projects were released with Vitorgan’s participation. These are the films “Runaways” and “Kilimanjara”, where the artist showed extraordinary comedic abilities. He appeared in the social drama “Tosses,” tried his hand at the science fiction genre by starring in the film “Alien,” and surprised with a new look in the thriller “Russian Demon.”
Maxim Vitorgan and Tatyana Arntgolts in the 2020 film “New Man”
The main premiere of the year in Maxim’s repertoire was the comedy series “New Man”. In the film, which started showing in the summer on the STS channel, the actor played accountant Vitya, Ira’s (Tatyana Arntgolts) fiancé. The relationship between the young people is overshadowed by the sudden appearance of the girl’s ex-husband, the irresponsible Alexander (Vladimir Epifantsev).
In November 2020, Maxim became a guest on YouTube blogger Irina Shikhman’s “Should I Talk?” program. In his interview, he spoke about the times of his youth, about his participation in the protest movement, and touched upon issues of his personal life.
Maxim Vitorgan in the program “Let's talk?”
In 2020, Maxim Vitorgan will appear on screen in the project “Diary of a New Russian” directed by Fluza Farkhshatova. In the film, the actor will appear in a supporting role. Work on the film is now being completed.
Personal life of Maxim Vitorgan
Maxim has two children from his union with his Moscow Youth Theater colleague Victoria Verberg: daughter Polina and son Daniil. Like her parents, Polina chose an acting profession for herself. She graduated from RATI-GITIS and completed an internship at the New York Film Academy. Now the girl is acting in domestic films and television series. Daniel also appeared on the silver screen in the sequel to the film “What Men Talk About.”
In February 2013, Maxim Vitorgan and Ksenia Sobchak got married. In 2020, the couple had a son, Plato.
