- May 21, 2019
- TV and Radio
- Ivan Olenberg
Semyon Mikhailovich Morozov is an actor and director. He has played more than fifty roles. He starred in such wonderful films as “High Rank”, “Truck Drivers”, “Exceptions Without Rules”, “Three Days in Moscow”, “If I Were a Boss”, “Night on the Road”, etc. More detailed information about You can learn the biography of actor Semyon Morozov from this publication.
First role
Semyon Morozov got into cinema by luck. This happened back in 1957, when assistant director Tatyana Lyzhina was looking for a boy to star in the film “On the Count’s Ruins.” One day a group of people playing knife games came into the woman’s field of vision. Young Sema was also there. The woman approached the boys and told them about her intentions. Everyone, except eleven-year-old Semyon, surrounded Tatyana Lyzhina, trying to please her.
As the actor himself later recalled, the assistant, coming up to him and stroking his head, asked the question: “Does this boy want to act in films?” To which the woman received a very harsh answer. Young Semyon, in a commanding tone, told her to immediately remove her hands from his head. It was then that the woman realized that she had found the very boy who would play the role of Valk in the film “On the Count's Ruins.” This is how Morozov first came to the set.
The film “On the Count's Ruins” (directed by Vladimir Skuibin) tells the story of three boys who heroically fight crime. In this film, Semyon Morozov was lucky enough to star with real stars of Russian cinema, such as Boris Novikov, Georgy Gumilevsky, Vladimir Troshin, Vadim Gusev, Antonina Bogdanova and others.
Take your hands off grandma!
The woman approached a group of guys and explained who she was. Everyone stopped what they were doing and ran to her, vying with each other, talking about themselves and wanting to star in a movie. Only Semyon stubbornly continued to point his knife at the circle on the ground. She came up and stroked the child on the head: “Take your hands away, grandma!” the teenager soared. That's how she realized that the artist had been found.
When they asked their son to leave for filming with his mother, she agreed without any problems, only admonishing the filmmakers with the phrase that Semyon could set fire to the film studio. But everything went smoothly. At the age of 11, Morozov became a real actor and now he couldn’t imagine life without this profession.
New offers
Three years after the release of the film “On the Count's Ruins,” our hero was again invited to film. His second film work was the film “Bread and Roses” (dir. Fedor Filippov), where he played the son of Samoilo Petelkin.
The year 1962 was very fruitful for Semyon Morozov. During this period, he starred in as many as four films: “Last Summer”, “I Bought a Dad”, “Flood”, “Seven Nannies”. As for the last film, it is very significant for the artist. After all, it was thanks to him that stunning fame came to Morozov.
In the film “Seven Nurses” our hero played Polosukhin, the main character of the film. However, Morozov did not get into this role without difficulties. Nikita Mikhalkov and Valery Ryzhakov also applied for it. At some point, the director of the film “Seven Nurses” Rolan Bykov even refused our hero. However, the artistic council stood up for Morozov. The director had no choice but to obey.
At the center of the plot of the film “Seven Nannies” is the difficult teenager Afanasy Polosukhin. Workers at one of the Soviet factories take a young hooligan under their wing and try to rehabilitate him. However, they could not even imagine what it would cost them. In addition to Semyon Morozov, the film starred the well-known Zinovy Gerdt, Rina Zelenaya, Maria Sapozhnikova, Vladimir Ivashov, Viktor Khokhryakov and others.
Gave Bykov in the forehead
Five years later, the artistic council will select actors for the film “Seven Nannies.” Having decisively rejected the candidacies of Nikita Mikhalkov and Valery Ryzhakov, they remembered young Sema from “Ruins”. The young man was called for an audition and was immediately approved.
All the time before his new film job, he lived his school life and practiced boxing. When the young man shamelessly failed one of the scenes with anger, take after take, the director of the film, Rolan Bykov, took him aside and began to insult him. Getting excited, the boxer hit him in the forehead with his fist so that Bykov flew into the wall: “Amazing! Amazing! Can you play like that? — the director admired, shaking off the dust. This film was watched by 26 million viewers in the year of its release.
Continuing a film career
In 1970, a few months after receiving a diploma of higher education, Semyon Morozov again received an offer to act. And again this was the main role. The actor was invited to play the role of Kostya in the film “The Seven Brides of Corporal Zbruev.”
In 1971, Semyon Morozov managed to work on the same set with Anatoly Papanov himself. It was the filming of the film “Allow Takeoff!”, where young Morozov played the role of a pilot. It is worth noting other actors who took part in this film, among them were Viktor Perevalov, Valentin Gaft, Nikolai Kuzmin, etc.
KisTv
Born 06/27/1946, Moscow
Stand up for oneself…
Semyon Morozov was born and raised in Moscow. His childhood occurred in the post-war years. Old Moscow courtyards, where guys strong in spirit and in the power of their fists usually became recognized leaders. Semyon Morozov was not known for his strong fists, which is why he often got screwed. One day he got tired of it, and the boy enrolled in the boxing section. This bore fruit: after a couple of months, Semyon was able to give back to his offender. And a few months later Morozov became a champion at youth boxing competitions...
Debut
The cinema, as they say, came for Semyon Morozov itself. One fine day, a ten-year-old boy was playing “knives” with his friends in the yard. When the game was in full swing, a woman appeared in the yard. This was Tatyana Lyzhina, an acting assistant who worked on the film “On the Count's Ruins” by director Vladimir Skuibin. Semyon Morozov recalls: “Tatyana Lyzhina was looking on the streets of Moscow for a boy to play one of the roles. She walked into our yard and shouted: “Who wants to act in a movie?” Everyone ran to her except me. And she came up to me and stroked my head. I didn’t like this very much, shook off her hand and said: “Grandma, get away from me.” And she asked to take her to my mother. I brought her to the desired floor, and I myself remained standing in the elevator door so that if something happened, I would fight. After a while they came out, and, wiping away her tears with her apron, my mother said: “He’s going to burn down your film studio!” That's where it all started." The auditions were successful, and Semyon Morozov was approved for the role of Valka. The film, based on the works of Arkady Gaidar, told about the adventures of a boy during the Civil War. The film was a great success, especially among children. Therefore, immediately after its release, Semyon Morozov became very popular in his yard.
"Seven Nurses"
Despite the success of the film “On the Count's Ruins,” the directors were in no hurry to invite Semyon Morozov to filming. In the next five years, he only starred in the short film “Last Summer” (role – Grisha) and played a small role as the son of Samoilo Petelkin in the film “Bread and Roses” directed by Fyodor Filippov. Perhaps his name would have sunk into oblivion if not for the comedy “Seven Nurses”... In the early 60s, Soviet filmmakers, responding to the party’s call to make more good comedies, produced such masterpieces as: “Dog Barbos and the Unusual Cross” , “Girls”, “Hussar Ballad”. Rolan Bykov also started filming the comedy. The plot of his film “The Canopy of the Nannies” was based on the story of a youth group’s re-education of a difficult teenager. The director quickly found actors for the roles of “nannies,” but for a long time he could not decide on the candidacy of the difficult-to-educate Afoni Bykov. About 30 people auditioned for this role, among them: Sergey Nikonenko, Victor Nosik, Alexander Lebedev and others. But all of them, for some reason, did not satisfy Bykov. It got to the point that Bykov even submitted his own sample to the artistic council (and he was already 31 years old at that time!). In the end, three candidates remained - Nikita Mikhalkov, Valery Ryzhakov and Semyon Morozov. All of them at that time had minimal experience working in cinema. Bykov, after looking at the samples, decided to abandon Semyon Morozov. “Senya, I’m sorry, but Nikita and Valera are still stronger than you, more professional,” he told the young man. However, unexpectedly, the artistic council sided with Semyon Morozov - they found this test the most convincing. Bykov only had to obey... The filming was very difficult, Bykov showed his dislike for Morozov with all his appearance. Every day the atmosphere became tense and finally resulted in a scandal. Semyon Morozov recalls: “I couldn’t do a very difficult scene when Afanasy yells at his best at his teachers. A scene of Shakespearean intensity. This is quite a serious test for an adult actor. Bykov led me out of the scenery. There, behind the scenery, he pushed me, insulted me: “You’re a creature, you’ve ruined my whole life, I’m ready to go to jail because of you, and I would have, I just feel sorry for getting my hands dirty about you!” After these terrible words, he was careless and pushed me. And before that, I had been boxing for seven years: such things caused an automatic reaction in me... I dodged and hit him in the forehead. He fell. Next to me was a shield with fire-fighting tools. I pulled out the pick, swung it and screamed... And then Bykov jumped up, grabbed my hand, like in American films, and said: “Amazing! Can you play like this? Play like this!” He was a genius! Even in his “death hour”, he suddenly saw the possibility of pedagogical influence on the child...” After this incident, further filming took place without incidents, Semyon Morozov “felt” his role, and Bykov no longer had any complaints against him. The film was released on cinema screens on September 3, 1962. The success was deafening. By the end of the year, the film attracted 26.3 million viewers at its screenings, entering the top ten highest-grossing films. For Semyon Morozov, the role of Afanasy became a star ticket to big cinema. In 1965, he entered the acting department of the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography (workshop of B. Bibikov and O. Pyzhova).
Corporal Zbruev
In 1969, Semyon Morozov graduated from VGIK and became an actor at the Film Actor Studio Theatre. A year later he was cast in the lead role in the comedy “The Seven Brides of Corporal Zbruev.” According to the plot, Semyon Morozov’s hero Kostya Zbruev ends up on the cover of the “Skillful Warrior” magazine. Female persons throughout the Union bombarded him with letters, and Kostya, having been demobilized, travels across the expanses of our vast Motherland to choose a bride for himself... A fascinating plot, funny dialogues, and excellent actors ensured the film an all-Union success. At the 1971 box office, “Seven Brides...” took 11th place, attracting 31.2 million viewers. And the role of Zbruev has since become the actor’s calling card. After filming the film “The Seven Brides of Corporal Zbruev,” Semyon Morozov was drafted into the army. And since actors are often associated with their on-screen heroes, the surprise of the soldiers knew no bounds: “Zbruev, why are you joining the army again? Looks like you’ve already served!” When, finally, everyone “saw the light” that Morozov was actually serving, and as a private, and not as a corporal, then he really got it... He also had a chance to clean his toilet glasses with a toothbrush and experience other “delights” of hazing for himself. But Semyon had neither character nor physical strength. He organized a boxing club and successfully competed in other sports, which very soon earned him the respect of his colleagues...
Actor and director
The role of Corporal Zbruev left its mark on the future acting career of Semyon Morozov. The directors preferred to exploit the successfully found image of a simple, ingenuous, charming guy, rather than risk using the actor in a different role. So, practically, the images of Ivan Fedotov in the comedy “Three Days in Moscow” and Anatoly Zyukin in the comedy “Between Heaven and Earth” became a complete copy of Zbruev. Among other notable works: Captain Seregin in the military film “Front without Flanks”, Mikhailo Govorov in the historical comedy “The Tale of How Tsar Peter Married a Blackamoor”, Mishka Solomin in the drama “Walking Through the Torments”. Among the directors with whom Semyon Morozov had the opportunity to work were such masters as, for example, Alexander Mitta. However, more often he had to act with mid-level directors, who, sometimes, themselves did not know what they wanted from the actor. This led Morozov to the idea of trying his hand at directing. In 1976, Semyon Mikhailovich graduated from the directing workshop of Georgy Danelia. His first work in a new field was participation in the film almanac “Hot Streak,” and in 1988 he shot his first full-length film, the comedy “Incident in Utinoozersk.” Then Morozov turned his gaze to Yeralash. Semyon Mikhailovich recalls: “I was filming a full-length feature film “The Incident in Utinoozersk.” Walking along the studio corridor, I looked into the Yeralash group. He came in for a minute, but stayed for nine years...” Over the years, he produced more than 40 stories for the film magazine, which were included in the “Jumble” gold fund...
Personal life
Semyon Morozov got married for the first time while still a student. His chosen one was a beautiful classmate from Mariupol, Marina Lyubysheva. Marina Georgievna recalls: “Senya and I got married in our third year and lived for seven years, until ’76. At first I didn't take him seriously. He gave the impression of a buffoon and seemed too frivolous. And then work brought us together - we played in plays together. It was then that he revealed a completely different side to me. It turned out that Semyon is thoughtful and reasonable. And when he read me poems of his own composition, I completely fell in love with him.” The couple lived amicably and happily. True, they often had to separate when leaving for filming, but such is the acting profession. Marina's success in cinema was more modest than that of her husband, and Semyon Morozov, entering the directing department, promised her that he would definitely film her in his film. Ironically, by the time the couple completed their studies, the couple separated, but Semyon Mikhailovich kept his word and cast his ex-wife in his first film, “The Incident in Utinoozersk.” The second marriage was less successful. They lived with make-up artist Svetlana Vladimirovna for several years, gave birth to a son, Mikhail, but then separated. Semyon Morozov met his future third wife, by the way, also Svetlana, on the set. Her father Dmitry Rodichev worked as a director at a popular science studio and placed his daughter in the crowd of the film, where Morozov played the main role. The girl immediately fell in love with the famous actor, but there was no serious relationship then. Semyon Mikhailovich recalls: “Sveta was 16 years old, I didn’t try to look after her, I was married (for the second time), my son had just been born. After filming we became friends. And they started dating seven years later, as soon as I divorced my second wife. But I had no intention of getting married again. And Svetlana once said: “You know, I’m getting old (at 24 years old!), and I thought if we had a child, he would have little pink nails...”. And she cried. The next day we submitted an application to the registry office...” Some time later, the couple had a daughter, Nadya.
Last years
In the new century, with the development of Russian cinema, Semyon Morozov returned to the silver screen after a long break. One of his most famous works in recent years was the role of Alexander Semenovich Murzin in the TV series “Plot” (2003) and “Enchanted Plot” (2006). In parallel with this, Semyon Mikhailovich continued to actively work as a director in the film magazine “Yeralash”, with which he had many interesting ideas. Semyon Mikhailovich’s plans also included producing a new film and writing a book. But unexpectedly, trouble came: doctors gave the actor a terrible diagnosis - throat cancer. Morozov is currently undergoing treatment. During this difficult period, his wife Svetlana Dmitrievna became a real support for Semyon Mikhailovich.
Debt to the Motherland
Almost immediately after the end of filming the film “Allow Takeoff,” Semyon Morozov was drafted into the army. During his service, the young actor received an order from the commander: to take a gift to Anatoly Papanov, who was celebrating his anniversary.
With an important task, Morozov went straight to the satire theater - the place where the hero of the day worked. There, the actor had another interesting meeting. While searching for Papanov, the young artist came across director Valentin Pluchek, who invited him to work in the satire theater. Later, Semyon Morozov would more than once regret that he refused the offer.
Life after the army
Having repaid his debt to his homeland, our hero continued his acting career. The first films after demobilization were: “High Rank”, “Seeking My Destiny”, “Three Days in Moscow”, “Between Heaven and Earth”, etc.
In 1974, our hero was invited to star in the multi-part film “Walking Through Torment” (dir. Vasily Ordynsky). In the biography of actor Semyon Morozov, this is one of the most worthy proposals. In this film, the twenty-eight-year-old artist played Misha Solomin.
The film “Walking Through Torment” is the pride of Russian cinema. And of course, the best Soviet actors were involved in it: Yuri Solomin, Georgy Burkov, Alexander Pashutin, Sergei Nikonenko, Nikolai Eremenko Jr., Lev Durov, Boris Klyuev, Victor Filippov, Nikolai Gorlov, Mikhail Sharautin and others.
Vasily Ordynsky’s painting “Walking Through Torment” tells about the life of two sisters and their lovers living in difficult times.
Second education
In the late 70s, Semyon Morozov received a diploma from the directing department. The actor studied with the legendary Georgy Nikolaevich Danelia.
Morozov’s debut directorial work was the project “Hot Streak,” on which he began working in 1981. And already in 1988, our hero filmed the full-length comedy “Incident in Utinoozersk.”
In the early 90s, Semyon Morozov began working on creating episodes of the popular humor magazine “Yeralash”. During the entire time he worked on this project, he released about fifty stories.
To date, these are all directorial works of Semyon Morozov.
Acting career in the 21st century
Since the beginning of the 2000s, films with Semyon Morozov began to appear less and less often. And yet, over the past nineteen years, the actor has managed to star in fifteen films. The most significant work for this period is the series “Plot”. In this film, Morozov played the role of Murzin. In addition to our hero, other well-known actors took part in the series “Plot”, such as Sergei Bezrukov, Alexey Buldakov, Vladimir Menshov, etc.
Interesting Facts
Some interesting facts for fans from the biography of actor Semyon Morozov:
- Several years ago, a beloved actor overcame a terrible cancer disease.
- During his school years, the artist repeatedly became the winner of youth boxing competitions.
- Here’s another interesting fact from the biography of actor Semyon Morozov. It turns out that he was not the only child in the family. In addition to him, his parents raised four more children.
- The Russian and Soviet artist is the winner of the Russian Federation Government Prize in the field of culture. Semyon Morozov received this award in 2010.
Personal life of Semyon Morozov
his first wife, Marina Lobysheva , while studying at the acting department of VGIK, where she was his classmate. We lived for 13 years. Once Semyon cheated on her. Marina immediately felt this, her husband confessed everything, but she could not forgive him. They had no children.
Second wife – Svetlana , make-up artist. They had a son. The actor often left for filming. Taking advantage of his absences, Svetlana cheated on him. Having learned about this, Morozov filed for divorce. When exchanging their shared apartment, Semyon moved to a small, but still separate apartment, while his ex-wife and son only got a room in a communal apartment. In turn, his ex-wife prevented him from communicating with his son.
After which the actor married for the third time. Her name was also Svetlana , they met several years earlier on the set. A daughter was born into the family.
With his third wife, Svetlana
