Leonid Mozgovoy

Leonid Mozgovoi was born in the city of Tula, but he is considered a quintessentially St. Petersburg actor. From 1961 to 1965 he studied theater, music and cinematography in the dramatic arts department at the Leningrad State Institute (under B. Zon). From 1965 to 1970, he was a soloist at the Leningrad Musical Comedy Theater. In 1970 he began to perform with the Leningrad Oblast (Province) Concert Philharmonic.

Starting in 1993, he has worked with the Classical Theater of St. Petersburg, where he has played the leading roles in works by Chekhov, Dostoevsky and Andreev. At present he performs with “Petersburg Concert,” the State Concert Symphony Organization. Under the auspices of this group he has written and performed 15 one-man shows based on many great works of world literature.

Mozgovoi first worked in film under Alexander Sokurov.

Leonid Mozgovoi is laureate of the Russian national prize, the Golden Ram. He is considered one of the most intriguing figures in the St. Petersburg theater world. He is well known for his one-man shows: Notes in Cuffs by Mikhail Bulgakov, Black Monk by Anton Chekhov, I am Hamlet – all of which were enormous hits with the public. Several years ago he astonished the film world by playing Hitler in Sokurov’s film Moloch. His talents are truly unique. He totally transforms himself in his roles, creating convincing portrayals of the most varied characters and in a huge spectrum of genres, from tragedy to parody.

Films

1992 Stone (directed by Alexander Sokurov)
1998 Moloch (directed by Alexander Sokurov)
2000 Taurus (directed by Alexander Sokurov)
2002 Russian Ark (directed by Alexander Sokurov)
Text, or the Apologia of the Commentary (directed by Ekaterina Kharlamova)

Nika film award for the role of Lenin (in Taurus)
Golden Ram for Moloch and Taurus
Prize of the festival “Window on Europe” for Taurus
Nominated for “best actor” at the Cannes Film Festival for Moloch and Taurus

One-man Performances

Dostoevsky’s Dream of a Funny Man
Nabokov’s Lolita
Chekhov’s Black Monk
Monolog about Okudzhava
Monolog about Alexander Galich