Kirill Lavrov

Born Sept. 15, 1925, in Kiev. Soviet Russian actor; People’s Artist of the USSR (1972). Member of the CPSU since 1946. Son of the actor Iu. S. Lavrov.

Lavrov joined the troupe of the Lesia Ukrainka Russian Drama Theater in Kiev in 1950 and in 1955 moved to the Gorky Bolshoi Drama Theater in Leningrad. Lavrov’s first roles were primarily lyrical portraits of young contemporaries in the plays of V. S. Rozov, A. M. Volodin, and A. N. Arbuzov. The heroes were spontaneous and youthfully candid and straightforward.

In the 1960’s, Lavrov turned to complex philosophical portrayals, revealing his own humanistic moral make-up while developing his well-rounded characterizations. He played Platonov (The Ocean by Shtein), Molchalin (Woe From Wit by Griboedov), Solenyi (Three Sisters by Chekhov), Davydov (Virgin Soil Upturned, based on the Sholokhov novel), The Narrator (The Truth!! Nothing but the Truth!! by Al’), Nil (The Philistines by Gorky), and the Mayor (The Inspector-General by Gogol). Lavrov played V. I. Lenin in Counsel for the Defense Ul’ianov by Vinogradova and Eremina.

Lavrov made his motion-picture debut in 1956. His best roles were Lapshin (Believe Me, People, 1965), Sintsov (The Quick and the Dead, 1964, and Retribution, 1969; based on the Simonov novels The Quick and the Dead and Soldiers Are Not Born), Ivan Karamazov (Brothers Karamazov, based on the Dostoevsky novel, 1969), and Bashkirtsev (The Taming of Fire, 1972).