Konstantin Khabensky facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Konstantin Khabensky
Константин Юрьевич Хабенский
Khabensky in 2022
Born	Konstantin Yurievich Khabensky (1972-01-11) 11 January 1972 (age 53) Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Occupation	Actor director philanthropist
Years active	1994–present
Works	Filmography
Title	People's Artist of Russia (2012)
Spouse(s)	Anastasiya Khabenskaya ​ ​ (m. 2000; died 2008)​ Olga Litvinova ​ (m. 2013)​
Children	2
Awards	Full list

Konstantin Yurievich Khabensky (born 11 January 1972) is a famous Russian actor, director, and someone who helps others (a philanthropist). He has been given the special title of People's Artist of Russia, which is a high honor for artists in Russia.

Konstantin started his acting career in theatre. From 1997 to 2000, he was part of the Saint Petersburg Lensoviet Theatre. Later, in 2002, he moved to the Moscow Art Theatre, where he still performs.

He became well-known in Russia for the TV series Deadly Force (2002-2005). His big break around the world came with the fantasy films Night Watch (2004) and Day Watch (2006). In these movies, he played the main character, Anton Gorodetsky.

Konstantin Khabensky has starred in many other popular films. These include The Irony of Fate 2 (2007), Collector (2016), and the TV series The Method (2015) and Trotsky (2017).

He is one of the most respected actors in Russia. He has won many awards for his acting. These include two Nika Awards and three Golden Eagle Awards. A website called KinoPoisk even named him the most popular actor in Russia for the first 15 years of the 21st century.

In 2018, Konstantin also started directing movies. His first film as a director was Sobibor. He also acted in this movie.

Besides his work in films, Konstantin Khabensky is a kind person who helps others. In 2008, he started the Konstantin Khabensky Charitable Foundation. This foundation helps children who have serious brain illnesses.

Early Life and First Steps in Acting

Konstantin Khabensky was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. His parents, Yuri and Tatiana, were both engineers. His mother also taught math. Konstantin has an older sister named Natalia.

After finishing high school, Konstantin first studied engineering at a university. But after three years, he realized it wasn't what he wanted to do. He tried different jobs before becoming a lighting technician at a theatre. This is where he first got to perform on stage.

In 1990, he decided to study acting. He joined the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts. There, he studied with other actors who later became famous, like Mikhail Porechenkov.

Career Highlights

Starting Out (1994–2003)

Konstantin's first movie role was a small part in a comedy film in 1994. After finishing acting school in 1995, he worked at a theatre called Perekriostok Experimental Theater for a year. At the same time, he also acted at the Saint Petersburg Lensoviet Theatre.

In 1996, he moved to Moscow to join the Satyricon Theatre. He only worked there for a few months before returning to the Lensoviet Theatre in Saint Petersburg. He also worked as a TV presenter for a short time.

In 1998, Konstantin acted in three movies. In Women's Property, he played the main character, Andrei Kalinin. For this role, he won an award for Best Male Actor. He also had a small role in Natasha and Khrustalyov, My Car!. Konstantin said he got these first roles by chance, often after simple conversations with directors.

He continued to act in films like The Admirer (1999) and House for the Rich (2000). He became widely known in Russia when he played investigator Igor Plakhov in the TV series Deadly Force (2000-2005).

Another important role was Sasha Guriev in In Motion (2002). This film was about a journalist who finds out something bad about his politician friend. He won another Best Male Actor award for this role. In 2003, he played a musician in the TV series Lines of Fate.

Since 2003, Konstantin has been a main actor at the Moscow Art Theatre. He has played important roles in plays like Duck Hunting and The White Guard.

Becoming a Global Star with Night Watch

Konstantin Khabensky became famous all over the world after starring in the fantasy films Night Watch (2004) and Day Watch (2005). These movies were directed by Timur Bekmambetov. In them, Konstantin played a magician named Anton Gorodetsky. The films are about a secret battle between good and evil supernatural forces. Both movies were very successful and made a lot of money. The director said he chose Konstantin because he was handsome, a bit innocent, and his eyes showed he had a good heart. Anton Gorodetsky became one of Konstantin's most famous roles.

In 2004, he also acted in Our Own, a World War II film. In 2005, he played a revolutionary in The State Counsellor. For this role, he won his first Golden Eagle Award.

He also appeared in two films by Pavel Lungin in 2005: the comedy Poor Relatives and the TV series The Case of "Dead Souls". Critics praised his acting in Poor Relatives, noting his great comedic timing. He won awards from Kinotavr and the Russian Guild of Film Critics for this film.

In 2007, Konstantin starred in the romantic comedy The Irony of Fate 2. This movie was a sequel to a very popular Soviet film. It was a huge success, making a lot of money at the box office. He won an award for Best Comedy Actor for this role.

In 2008, Konstantin played Alexander Kolchak, a real-life admiral, in the movie The Admiral. This film also did very well. He won Best Actor awards for this role.

Later Roles (2009–Present)

In 2009, Konstantin appeared in the drama The Miracle. In 2010, he starred in the comedy Lucky Trouble with Milla Jovovich. He played a school teacher who gets mistaken for a football coach.

He played a prosecutor in the afterlife in the TV series Heavenly Court (2011). In 2012, he was Dr. Turbin in the miniseries The White Guard.

In 2013, Konstantin played a geography teacher in The Geographer Drank His Globe Away. His acting in this film was highly praised. He won many awards for it, including Best Actor prizes from Kinotavr, Nika Awards, and Golden Eagle Awards. In the same year, he played singer Pyotr Leschenko in a TV series. Konstantin even took singing lessons and performed all the songs himself.

In 2014, he starred in The Adventurers, a movie about underwater treasure hunters. Konstantin is an experienced scuba diver. During filming, he almost had a serious accident because his air tank was not filled correctly. He also appeared in Yolki 1914 and has been the narrator for the Yolki film series.

From 2015 to 2021, Konstantin played a police investigator in the crime drama series The Method. He won an award for best actor in a TV series for this role. In 2016, he starred in the thriller Collector. He was the only actor on screen in this film, and critics called his performance brilliant. He won Best Actor awards for it.

In 2017, Konstantin played a fighter pilot in The Age of Pioneers, a film about the first spacewalk. In 2018, he played revolutionary Leon Trotsky in the TV series Trotsky. He also starred in Selfie, playing a writer who is replaced by a look-alike.

Konstantin Khabensky made his debut as a director with the film Sobibor in 2018. He also played the main role in this World War II drama. The film is about a successful uprising in a Nazi death camp. It was chosen as Russia's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards.

Hollywood Roles

Konstantin has also acted in several American movies. These include Wanted (2008), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), World War Z (2013), and Black Sea (2014).

In World War Z, his role as a Russian soldier was cut from the final movie. Konstantin has said that the language barrier has made it hard for him to take on bigger roles in Hollywood.

Personal Life

Konstantin Khabensky was married to radio-journalist Anastasiya Khabenskaya from 2000. They had a son named Ivan, who was born in 2007. Sadly, Anastasiya passed away in 2008.

In 2013, Konstantin married actress Olga Litvinova. They had a daughter in 2016. Konstantin prefers not to talk much about his personal life in the media.

Helping Others (Philanthropy)

In 2008, Konstantin founded the Konstantin Khabensky Charitable Foundation. This foundation helps children who have brain tumors and other serious brain illnesses.

Since 2010, he has also opened several non-profit creative studios across Russia. He organizes an annual talent festival called "Operenie" for young people.

In the Media

GQ Russia magazine named Konstantin Khabensky "Actor of the Year" in both 2003 and 2016.

In 2017, a survey showed that Konstantin Khabensky was one of the most popular actors in Russia. Also, based on data from the website KinoPoisk, he was named the most popular actor in Russia for the first 15 years of the 21st century.

Awards and Nominations

Filmography

Movies

Television Shows

Voice Roles

Russian Dubbing

• 1995–1998 – Timon & Pumbaa as Timon
• 1999 – Bringing Out the Dead as Noel
• 2000 – Final Destination as Carter Horton
• 2002 – The Cuckoo as Veikko
• 2005, 2008, 2012 – Madagascar 1, 2, 3 as Alex
• 2009 – 9 as 9, scientist
• 2015 – Hardcore Henry as Slick Dmitry
• 2015 – The Little Prince as Fox
• 2016 – Voyage of Time as narrator
• 2017 – Loving Vincent as Dr. Gachet
• 2002 – ChalkZone as Narrator

Russian Language Films

• 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 – Christmas Trees 1, 2, 3, 1914, 5, 6 – narrator
• 2015 – A Warrior's Tail as Anggee
• 2017 – Fantastic Journey to OZ as Urfin Jus
• 2017 – Kikoriki as father

Music and Theater Work

Soundtracks

Songs

Theater Performances

Konstantin Khabensky has performed in many plays at different theaters:

• Theater on the Kryukov Channel
  • The Road (student work) - rope walker Matto
  • Jokes of Chekhov (student work) - "Lomov"
  • Three Sisters (student work) - Chebutykin
  • 1994 - Vysotsky's Time (student work) - several roles
  • 1996 - Waiting for Godot - Estragon

• Satyricon Theater
  • 1996 - The Threepenny Opera
  • 1996 - Cyrano de Bergerac

• Theater of Farce
  • 1998 - Hamlet - Horatio

• Lensovet Theater
  • 1997 - Woyzeck - Karl the fool
  • 1997 - Waiting for Godot - Estragon
  • 1997 - King, Queen, Knave - mannequin / waiter / sanitary officer
  • 1998 - Caligula - Caligula
  • 1998 - Brother Rabbit in the Wild West - Brother Opossum
  • 2000 - The Bedbug
  • 2000 - You Never Can Tell - Valentine

• Entreprise
  • 2001 - The Death of Tarelkin - Varravin

• Moscow Art Theater
  • 2002 - Duck Hunting - Zilov
  • 2004 - The White Guard - Alexei Turbin
  • 2005 - Hamlet - Claudius
  • 2009 - The Threepenny Opera - Mack the Knife
  • 2014 - Der Kontrabaß - one-man play

• Musical Literary Projects
  • 2011 - Joint project of Konstantin Khabensky with Yuri Bashmet
  • 2016 - Do not Abandon your Planet, a play based on The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, with Yuri Bashmet

Images for kids

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  Konstantin Khabensky receiving the title People's Artist of Russia in 2012 from President Vladimir Putin

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  Konstantin Khabensky receiving an honorary award for achievements in cinema in 2018, Prague

See also

In Spanish: Konstantín Jabenski para niños