Zotov Vasiliy

Honored Artist of Russia

Vasily Glebovich Zotov, an actor of drama, was born on December 16, 1974 in Moscow. In 1997 he graduated with honors from Mikhail Semyonovich Shchepkin Higher Theatre School (course of V.A. Safronov) and joined the company of the Maly State Academic Theatre of Russia.Zotov made his stage debut as a second-year student.

Vasiliy is an accomplished actor, endowed by nature with handsome exterior, fine voice and genuine talent. Zotov has grown up to become one of today's leading actors of the classical romantic repertoire. His first major work was Count Henri d'Albret, the devoted knight of Margaret of Navarre in «Secrets of the Madrid Court» by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Leguvé. His second big role - Ferdinand, «Love and Intrigue » by Friedrich Schiller - brought him a well deserved success. The audience and theatre critics fell in love with his hero - impulsive, impetuous, noble, who places «honor» and «love» above his own life.

In Alexander Ostrovsky's «Hard-earned Bread» Vasily landed the role of Georges Koprov, a cynic and a lavish spender, who easily victimizes the girl who is in love with him. Koprov is a true pleasure-seeker, who doesn’t understand that money to be earned requires a lot of effort and work. The image that he created turned out to be reliable, convincing and ... terrible, as Zotov endowed Koprov with his outstanding charisma.

In 2002 the Maly Theatre turned to Shakespeare's «Love’s Labour’s Lost...». The production was executed in the form of the musical and allowed young artists demonstrate their vocality and balance of the body. Vasily Zotov, who played the main character - the King - brilliantly coped with his task, enriching his character as well as the scenes in which he appeared with vibrant comic strokes.

After England's Shakespeare Vasiliy gets back to Russia's Shakespeare, as Ostrovsky used to be called. He plays Glumov in «Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man» - perhaps the most interesting and complex of the male characters , created by the great playwright. A highly gifted young man very quickly realizes that none of his talents will help him succeed in life and therefore he decides to search for devious paths. Having studied human weaknesses, he elbows his way into society and gradually becomes irreplaceable. Glumov skillfully manipulates people, but after his exposure in the denouement it seems that he feels relieved.

Zotov played leading characters in many productions. Over the years he has grown into a mature, skilled and knowledgeable performer.

Vasiliy made his big screen debut in the popular miniseries «Young Russia» as little Vayatka, the son of Boris Nevzorov. He also appeared in a number of top Russian movies - «The Horseman named Death» by Karen Shakhnazarov, «Elena» by Andrey Zvyagintsev, «The End of the Great Era» by Stansilav Govorukhin, and starred in TV shows: «Return of Mukhtar-1», «Rails of Happiness», «One Family», «The Invisibles», «The Bullet is a Mad Thing» (all seasons), «Zemsky Doctor. Return» and others.

Vasily Zotov also joined the world of voice acting, having provided the voice for Martin Freeman as Doctor John Watson in the popular British TV series Sherlock.

Roles in the Maly Theatre:

1997 – Strelets, «Tsar Boris» by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, directed by Vladimir Beylis

1997 - (premiere) Count Henri d'Albret, «Secrets of the Madrid Court» by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Leguvé, directed by Vladimir Beylis

1998 - (premiere) Ferdinand, «Love and Intrigue » by Friedrich Schiller, directed by Yuri Solomin

1999 - (replacement) A townsman, «Money to Burn» by Alexander Ostrovsky, directed by Vitaliy Ivanov

1999 - (replacement) Oprichnik, «Prince Serebrenni» by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, directed by Vitaliy Ivanov

1999 - (replacement) Second guard, «The Little Humpbacked Horse» by Pyotr Yershov, directed by Roman Sokolov

1999 - (replacement) A guest, «The Cherry Orchard» by Anton Chekhov, directed by Igor Ilyinskiy

1999 - (premiere) Reginald, «King Gustav Vasa» by August Strindberg, directed by Alexander Nordström (Sweden)

1999 - (replacement) Prince Cherkassky, «Tsar Boris» by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, directed by Vladimir Beylis

1999 - (premiere) Prince Gvidon, «The Tale of Tsar Saltan» by Alexander Pushkin, directed by Vitaliy Ivanov

2000 - (replacement) Milon, «The Minor» by Denis Fonvizin, directed by Vitaliy Ivanov

2001 - (replacement) Koprov, «Hard-earned Bread» by Alexander Ostrovsky, directed by Alexander Korshunov

2001 - (replacement) Kirill, «Prince Serebrenni» by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, directed by Vitaliy Ivanov

2002 - (premiere) The King, «Love’s Labour’s Lost...» by William Shakespeare, directed by Vitaliy Ivanov

2002 - (replacement) Glumov, «Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man» by Alexander Ostrovsky, directed by Vladimir Beylis

2002 - (premiere) Saint-Marc, «The Cloak of the Cardinal» by Pavel Gusev, directed by Vladimir Dragunov

2005 - (replacement) Kurchaev, «Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man» by Alexander Ostrovsky, directed by Vladimir Beylis

2006 - (premiere) Mortimer, «Maria Stuart» by Friedrich Schiller, directed by Vitaliy Ivanov

2007 - (premiere) Edward Luton, «Love Circle» by Somerset Maugham, directed by Andrey Zhitinkin

2008 - (premiere) Prince Belsky, «Kasatka» (Darling) by Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, directed by Vitaliy Ivanov

2012 - (premiere) Prince Narumov, «The Queen of Spades» by Alexander Pushkin, directed by Andrey Zhitinkin

2012 - (premiere) Le Bret, «Cyrano de Bergerac» by Edmond Rostand, directed by Georges Lavaudant

2014 - (premiere) Bankomyot, the doctor, «The Masquerade» by Mikhail Lermontov, directed by Andrey Zhitinkin

2015 - (premiere) Erast, «The Heart is Not a Stone» by Alexander Ostrovsky, directed by Vladimir Dragunov

2017 - (premiere) Duke of Cornwall, «King Lear» by William Shakespeare, directed by Anton Yakovlev

2017 - (premiere) Velikatov, «Talents and Admirers» of Alexander Ostrovsky, directed by Vladimir Dragunov

2018 - (premiere) Cléante, , «Tartuffe» by Molière, directed by Vladimir Dragunov

2018 - (premiere) Tsar Nicholai II before the abdication of the throne, «Tsar. Coup d’Etat» by Svyatoslav Rybas, directed by Elena Olenina

2019 - Hanefeldt, «Before Sunset» by Gerhart Hauptmann, directed by Vladimir Beylis

Vasily Glebovich Zotov, an actor of drama, was born on December 16, 1974 in Moscow. In 1997 he graduated with honors from Mikhail Semyonovich Shchepkin Higher Theatre School (course of V.A. Safronov) and joined the company of the Maly State Academic Theatre of Russia.Zotov made his stage debut as a second-year student.

Vasiliy is an accomplished actor, endowed by nature with handsome exterior, fine voice and genuine talent. Zotov has grown up to become one of today's leading actors of the classical romantic repertoire. His first major work was Count Henri d'Albret, the devoted knight of Margaret of Navarre in «Secrets of the Madrid Court» by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Leguvé. His second big role - Ferdinand, «Love and Intrigue » by Friedrich Schiller - brought him a well deserved success. The audience and theatre critics fell in love with his hero - impulsive, impetuous, noble, who places «honor» and «love» above his own life.

In Alexander Ostrovsky's «Hard-earned Bread» Vasily landed the role of Georges Koprov, a cynic and a lavish spender, who easily victimizes the girl who is in love with him. Koprov is a true pleasure-seeker, who doesn’t understand that money to be earned requires a lot of effort and work. The image that he created turned out to be reliable, convincing and ... terrible, as Zotov endowed Koprov with his outstanding charisma.

In 2002 the Maly Theatre turned to Shakespeare's «Love’s Labour’s Lost...». The production was executed in the form of the musical and allowed young artists demonstrate their vocality and balance of the body. Vasily Zotov, who played the main character - the King - brilliantly coped with his task, enriching his character as well as the scenes in which he appeared with vibrant comic strokes.

After England's Shakespeare Vasiliy gets back to Russia's Shakespeare, as Ostrovsky used to be called. He plays Glumov in «Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man» - perhaps the most interesting and complex of the male characters , created by the great playwright. A highly gifted young man very quickly realizes that none of his talents will help him succeed in life and therefore he decides to search for devious paths. Having studied human weaknesses, he elbows his way into society and gradually becomes irreplaceable. Glumov skillfully manipulates people, but after his exposure in the denouement it seems that he feels relieved.

Zotov played leading characters in many productions. Over the years he has grown into a mature, skilled and knowledgeable performer.

Vasiliy made his big screen debut in the popular miniseries «Young Russia» as little Vayatka, the son of Boris Nevzorov. He also appeared in a number of top Russian movies - «The Horseman named Death» by Karen Shakhnazarov, «Elena» by Andrey Zvyagintsev, «The End of the Great Era» by Stansilav Govorukhin, and starred in TV shows: «Return of Mukhtar-1», «Rails of Happiness», «One Family», «The Invisibles», «The Bullet is a Mad Thing» (all seasons), «Zemsky Doctor. Return» and others.

Vasily Zotov also joined the world of voice acting, having provided the voice for Martin Freeman as Doctor John Watson in the popular British TV series Sherlock.

Roles in the Maly Theatre:

1997 – Strelets, «Tsar Boris» by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, directed by Vladimir Beylis

1997 - (premiere) Count Henri d'Albret, «Secrets of the Madrid Court» by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Leguvé, directed by Vladimir Beylis

1998 - (premiere) Ferdinand, «Love and Intrigue » by Friedrich Schiller, directed by Yuri Solomin

1999 - (replacement) A townsman, «Money to Burn» by Alexander Ostrovsky, directed by Vitaliy Ivanov

1999 - (replacement) Oprichnik, «Prince Serebrenni» by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, directed by Vitaliy Ivanov

1999 - (replacement) Second guard, «The Little Humpbacked Horse» by Pyotr Yershov, directed by Roman Sokolov

1999 - (replacement) A guest, «The Cherry Orchard» by Anton Chekhov, directed by Igor Ilyinskiy

1999 - (premiere) Reginald, «King Gustav Vasa» by August Strindberg, directed by Alexander Nordström (Sweden)

1999 - (replacement) Prince Cherkassky, «Tsar Boris» by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, directed by Vladimir Beylis

1999 - (premiere) Prince Gvidon, «The Tale of Tsar Saltan» by Alexander Pushkin, directed by Vitaliy Ivanov

2000 - (replacement) Milon, «The Minor» by Denis Fonvizin, directed by Vitaliy Ivanov

2001 - (replacement) Koprov, «Hard-earned Bread» by Alexander Ostrovsky, directed by Alexander Korshunov

2001 - (replacement) Kirill, «Prince Serebrenni» by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, directed by Vitaliy Ivanov

2002 - (premiere) The King, «Love’s Labour’s Lost...» by William Shakespeare, directed by Vitaliy Ivanov

2002 - (replacement) Glumov, «Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man» by Alexander Ostrovsky, directed by Vladimir Beylis

2002 - (premiere) Saint-Marc, «The Cloak of the Cardinal» by Pavel Gusev, directed by Vladimir Dragunov

2005 - (replacement) Kurchaev, «Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man» by Alexander Ostrovsky, directed by Vladimir Beylis

2006 - (premiere) Mortimer, «Maria Stuart» by Friedrich Schiller, directed by Vitaliy Ivanov

2007 - (premiere) Edward Luton, «Love Circle» by Somerset Maugham, directed by Andrey Zhitinkin

2008 - (premiere) Prince Belsky, «Kasatka» (Darling) by Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, directed by Vitaliy Ivanov

2012 - (premiere) Prince Narumov, «The Queen of Spades» by Alexander Pushkin, directed by Andrey Zhitinkin

2012 - (premiere) Le Bret, «Cyrano de Bergerac» by Edmond Rostand, directed by Georges Lavaudant

2014 - (premiere) Bankomyot, the doctor, «The Masquerade» by Mikhail Lermontov, directed by Andrey Zhitinkin

2015 - (premiere) Erast, «The Heart is Not a Stone» by Alexander Ostrovsky, directed by Vladimir Dragunov

2017 - (premiere) Duke of Cornwall, «King Lear» by William Shakespeare, directed by Anton Yakovlev

2017 - (premiere) Velikatov, «Talents and Admirers» of Alexander Ostrovsky, directed by Vladimir Dragunov

2018 - (premiere) Cléante, , «Tartuffe» by Molière, directed by Vladimir Dragunov

2018 - (premiere) Tsar Nicholai II before the abdication of the throne, «Tsar. Coup d’Etat» by Svyatoslav Rybas, directed by Elena Olenina

2019 - Hanefeldt, «Before Sunset» by Gerhart Hauptmann, directed by Vladimir Beylis

Publications