Konstantin Khabensky, theater and film actor, People's Artist of Russia. Biography

Early years

Konstantin Khabensky was born on January 11, 1972 in Leningrad. His father was a hydrological engineer, and his mother worked as a math teacher at school.

After the eighth grade, the future artist entered the College of Aviation instrument Engineering, where he studied for three years. Then he dropped out of school, completed evening school as an external student and got a job — at the same time he worked as a watchman, polisher and janitor. Later, Khabensky became a set designer at the Saturday Studio Theater. Over time, he began to be attracted to participate in mass scenes, after which he decided to enroll in a theater college.

In 1996, Khabensky graduated from the St. Petersburg State Academy of Theater Arts, where he studied at the Veniamin Filshtinsky course. Already during his studies, he began acting in the Theater on the Kryukov Canal in St. Petersburg.

Roles in the theater

In 1995-1996, Khabensky worked at the Perekrestok Experimental Theater. In parallel, he hosted music and information programs on regional television. In 1996, the actor joined the Moscow Satyricon Theater. There he participated in productions of The Threepenny Opera and Cyrano de Bergerac.

Later, Khabensky recalled that his roles in these productions were small and he appeared on stage infrequently, so he gladly returned to St. Petersburg - to the Lensovet Theater directed by Yuri Butusov.

At the Leningrad Soviet Theater, the actor played leading roles in Butusov's productions of "Waiting for Godot" based on the play by Samuel Beckett, "Wojciech" by Georg Buchner and "Caligula" by Albert Camus. He was also involved in the plays "The King, the Queen, the Jack" based on the work of Vladimir Nabokov, "Brother Rabbit in the Wild West" by Eduard Gaidai and "Let's Wait and See" by Bernard Shaw.

In addition, Khabensky played Varravin in the theatrical production "The Death of Tarelkin" based on the play by Alexander Sukhovo-Kobylin, which was also directed by Butusov.

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In 2002, the actor first appeared on the stage of the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater, playing the role of Zilov in the play "Duck Hunt" based on the play by Alexander Vampilov. A year later, in 2003, Khabensky was accepted into the Moscow Art Theater troupe. In the theater, he played in a number of famous productions, including "The White Guard" based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov (the role of Alexei Turbin), "Hamlet" based on the tragedy by William Shakespeare (Claudius), "The Threepenny Opera" by Bertolt Brecht (Mackie) and "Contrabass" based on the work by Patrick Suskind, where Acte played the role of a double bass player.

In 2011, Khabensky began playing Trigorin in the play "The Seagull" based on the play by Anton Chekhov under the direction of Oleg Tabakov. In the same year, he took part in the creation of a musical and literary program together with the Moscow Soloists chamber ensemble under the direction of Yuri Bashmet. The project was based on the play "Caligula" by Albert Camus and the quartet "Death and the Girl" by Franz Schubert, as well as music by Gustav Mahler.

In 2016, Khabensky, together with Bashmet, staged on the stage of the Moscow Sovremennik Theater the fantasy play "Don't Leave your Planet" based on the light of "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, in which the actor himself performed all the roles. In 2022, the production entered the repertoire of the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater.

Khabensky also performed as a reader in the literary and musical composition "Eugene Onegin". The project was realized together with the soloists of the Mariinsky Theater and the State Symphony Orchestra "New Russia" and is an author's version of Yuri Bashmet, based on the work of Alexander Pushkin and the opera by Pyotr Tchaikovsky.

Film roles

In total, the actor's filmography includes more than 100 works in film and television. Konstantin Khabensky first appeared on the movie screen in 1994, playing a small cameo role as a passerby in the film "Whom God will send".

The actor got his first major roles in the late 1990s. He starred in the Hungarian director Tamas Toth's crime drama "Natasha" (1997), as well as in Dmitry Meskhiev's melodrama "Women's Property" (1998).

Khabensky became widely known for his role as a police officer Igor Plakhov in the television series Killing Force, which aired from 2000 to 2005. Later, the actor noted that it was thanks to this project that he began to be recognized on the streets, and recognition is an important part of the actor's profession.

One of the key stages in Khabensky's career was his work in Timur Bekmambetov's film "Night Watch", released in 2004. The film is considered one of the first Russian blockbusters: with a budget of about $4.2 million, it grossed almost $34 million. In 2005, the sequel "Day Watch" was released. In both films, the actor played the main role of Anton Gorodetsky.

In the second half of the 2000s, Khabensky continued to actively act in films. In 2007, the film "The Irony of Fate: The Sequel" was released, where he played one of the central roles — Konstantin Lukashin. This was followed by starring roles in the detective "Brownie" (2008), the historical drama "Admiral" (2008), Timur Bekmambetov's Hollywood action film "Especially Dangerous" (2008) and the comedy "Freaks" (2011).

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Other notable works of the actor include the role of teacher Viktor Sluzhkin in Alexander Veledinsky's drama "The Geographer Drank the Globe", based on the novel by Alexei Ivanov (2013), the image of investigator Rodion Meglin in the TV series "Method" (2015), as well as the role of Leon Trotsky in the mini-series "Trotsky" (2017).

In addition to filming, Khabensky was engaged in dubbing and dubbing feature and animated films. His voice can be heard off-screen in all parts of the "Christmas Tree" film franchise, as well as in the Russian version of the animated film "Madagascar".

Career as a director

In May 2018, the military drama Sobibor, which became Khabensky's directorial debut, was released. The film tells about the uprising of prisoners of the Nazi Sobibor camp, which took place in 1943 under the leadership of Soviet officer Alexander Pechersky. The main role in the film was played by Khabensky himself. Christopher Lambert and Maria Kozhevnikova also starred in the project.

In the winter of 2018, the actor and director presented fragments of the film "Sobibor" to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The screening took place in Moscow as part of the opening of the exhibition "Sobibor: Conquerors of Death", held at the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center.

In September of the same year, the film was nominated by Russia for the Oscar in the category "Best Foreign Language Film". In October, Sobibor was longlisted for the award, but was not included in the final list of five nominees.

Later, in November 2018, the American company Samuel Goldwyn Films acquired the rights to distribute the film in the United States.

Awards

Konstantin Khabensky has been awarded a number of state awards. In 2006, he was awarded the title of Honored Artist of Russia, and in 2012 — People's Artist of Russia. In 2019, the actor received the Ministry of Defense Award in the field of culture and art as part of the film crew of the film Sobibor, as well as the Russian State Prize for Outstanding Achievements in the field of charitable activities. In 2023, Khabensky was awarded the Order of Honor.

During his professional career, the actor has also repeatedly received prestigious theatrical and cinematographic awards. In 1999, he won the V. I. Strzhelchik Independent Acting Award for his work in the play "Waiting for Godot." In 2005, Khabensky won the Kinotavr Film Festival prize for Best Actor in the film Poor Relatives, as well as the Chaika Theater Award for his role as Claudius in the play Hamlet.

Later, the actor was awarded the Golden Eagle Award for his supporting role in the film The State Councilor (2006), and in 2009 he received the same award for his starring role in the historical drama Admiral, where he played Admiral Alexander Kolchak.

One of Khabensky's most highly acclaimed works was the role of Viktor Sluzhkin in the film "The Geographer Drank the Globe": for it he received the Kinotavr Prize (2013), as well as the Nika and Golden Eagle awards (2014) for best actor. In 2016, the actor was again awarded the Kinotavr prize for his work in the film Collector.

In 2022, Konstantin Khabensky received the Stanislavsky prize "I Believe!", which is awarded at the Moscow International Film Festival.

Personal life

Konstantin Khabensky's first wife was Anastasia Fedoseeva, a journalist at a St. Petersburg radio station. They got married in January 2000, and in September 2007, the couple had a son, Ivan. During her pregnancy, Anastasia was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. In December 2008, she died at a clinic in Los Angeles. After her death, the actor created a charity foundation that helps children with brain and spinal cord tumors.

Olga Litvinova, an actress at the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater, became Khabensky's second wife. Their wedding took place in 2013. Two daughters were born in the family — Alexandra (2016) and Vera (2019).

The actor's son Ivan lived in Spain for several years with his grandmother, the mother of his first wife. In 2021, Khabensky moved him to Russia.

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Appointment of I.O. Rector of the Moscow Art Theater Studio School

In early March 2026, Konstantin Khabensky was appointed acting rector of the Studio School at the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater. This was announced by the Minister of Culture of Russia Olga Lyubimova.

The need for a new head of the educational institution arose in mid-January after the death of Igor Zolotovitsky, who had headed the university since 2013.

At the end of January, Konstantin Bogomolov temporarily served as rector, but he held this position for a little more than two weeks.

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