---
name: "Nikolay Cherkasov"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/nikolai-cherkasov"
fi1m_id: "nikolai-cherkasov"
imdb_id: "nm0003540"
tmdb_id: 67502
wikidata_id: "Q713014"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "27 July 1903"
died: "14 September 1966"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 72
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-09-25T03:40:55.912646+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Nikolay Cherkasov

## Identity

Nikolay Cherkasov

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/nikolai-cherkasov
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** nikolai-cherkasov
- **IMDb ID:** nm0003540
- **TMDB ID:** 67502
- **Wikidata ID:** Q713014
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolay_Cherkasov, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q713014, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003540/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/67502

Actor. Born 27 July 1903 in St Petersburg, Russian Empire. Died 14 September 1966.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 27 July 1903, St Petersburg, Russian Empire
- **Died:** 14 September 1966
- **Active:** 1944–1958
- **Also known as:** Nikolai Cherkasov, Nikolai Konstantinovich Cherkasov, Nikolai Tscherkassow, N. Cherkasov, Н. Черкасов
- **Frequently works with:** [Mikhail Zharov](https://film.one/person/mikhail-zharov.md), [Serafima Birman](https://film.one/person/serafima-birman.md), [Sergei Eisenstein](https://film.one/person/sergei-eisenstein.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 72, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1940s 80 (1), 1950s 64 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolay_Cherkasov, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q713014, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003540/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/67502

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Ivan the Terrible, Part I*](https://film.one/film/ivan-the-terrible-part-i.md) (80), [*Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot*](https://film.one/film/ivan-the-terrible-part-ii-the-boyars-plot.md) (64)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Nikolay Cherkasov

> Nikolay Cherkasov makes authority visible in the way he holds his body. We value the discipline and force of his acting, especially for Sergei Eisenstein, while accepting that its severity can keep us at a distance.

Nikolay Cherkasov holds himself so stiffly in *Ivan the Terrible, Part I* (1944) that even an attentive audience is kept at a distance. As Czar Ivan IV, he makes royal authority something we can see in a man's bearing. We found him unsettling, and it was the stiffness of his posture that did it. It is a forceful performance, and its severity suits Sergei Eisenstein's carefully arranged images. A more relaxed actor would look misplaced.

That control of the body grew out of work in ballet, pantomime and acrobatics, and it was accompanied by a deep, reverberant voice. The elderly professor in *Baltic Deputy* (1937) helped establish him on screen before the title role in Eisenstein's *Alexander Nevsky* (1938) brought international recognition. Elaborate make-up let him move between ages and types. Historical and heroic figures became his speciality, but they were not the whole of his work. In his account of playing Ivan, he describes choosing to emphasise majesty rather than the ordinary human traits that might make a historical figure feel more familiar to an audience.

Eisenstein's controlling approach might have reduced a less suited performer to another object in the composition. Cherkasov makes that precise positioning feel necessary to the part: his Ivan would be wrong if he seemed casually at home among other people. The drawback is that the film can keep its people remote, and an evening in such formal company requires some patience. We would not recommend him on the promise of naturalism. In *Ivan the Terrible, Part I*, the visual invention and the force of the performance are ample reasons to stay.

The later work offers a useful way beyond the rulers. Cherkasov took the title role in Grigori Kozintsev's *Don Quixote* (1957), continuing a career that included comedy and character parts as well as historical grandeur. That is worth remembering before treating his severe royal bearing as all he could do. Start with *Ivan the Terrible, Part I*, though, and give its unfamiliar acting style time to work.

## Biography

Nikolay Konstantinovich Cherkasov (also credited as Nikolai Cherkasov) was a Soviet actor. Born on 27 July 1903 in Saint Petersburg, he died on 14 September 1966 in Leningrad. He is best known for his title roles in Sergei Eisenstein’s historical films *Alexander Nevsky* (1938) and *Ivan the Terrible, Part I* (1944) and *Part II* (1958), in which he portrayed Czar Ivan IV.

Cherkasov trained at the Institute of Stage Arts, graduating in 1926. He worked in theatre from 1919, including as a mime artist at the Mariinsky Theatre and later at the Leningrad Academic Drama Theatre named after Pushkin until 1965. He received the title of People’s Artist of the USSR in 1947 and several Stalin Prizes for his performances.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot* (1958), Fi1m 64, as Czar Ivan IV — [page](https://film.one/film/ivan-the-terrible-part-ii-the-boyars-plot.md)
- *Ivan the Terrible, Part I* (1944), Fi1m 80, as Czar Ivan IV — [page](https://film.one/film/ivan-the-terrible-part-i.md)

## Complete filmography (43)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Little Tragedies* (1966), Actor
- *Nights of Farewell* (1965), as Gedeonov
- *Мелодии Дунаевского* (1963), Actor
- *All Remains to People* (1963), as scientist Fyodor Dronov
- *Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot* (1958), as Czar Ivan IV — Fi1m 64, [page](https://film.one/film/ivan-the-terrible-part-ii-the-boyars-plot.md)
- *Don Quixote* (1957), as Don Quixote de la Mancha / Alonso Quixano
- *They Knew Mayakovsky* (1955), Actor
- *Rimsky-Korsakov* (1953), as Stasov
- *Mussorgsky* (1950), as Vladimir Stasov
- *The Battle of Stalingrad* (1949), as President Franklin D. Roosevelt
- *Happy Sailing* (1949), as kapitan Levashov
- *Alexander Popov* (1949), as Aleksandr Popov
- *Ivan Pavlov* (1949), as Maxim Gorky
- *Pirogov* (1947), as Lyadov
- *New Home* (1947), as Mikhail Andreevich Kostousov
- *Spring* (1947), as Arkadi Mikhailovich Gromov
- *In the Name of Life* (1946), as Lukich
- *Ivan the Terrible, Part I* (1944), as Czar Ivan IV — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/ivan-the-terrible-part-i.md)
- *Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia* (1943), as Alexander Nevsky
- *His Name Is Sukhe-Bator* (1942), as baron von Ungern-Sternberg
- *Defense of Tsaritsyn* (1942), Actor
- *60 Days* (1940), Actor
- *Concert on the Screen* (1940), Actor
- *Lenin in 1918* (1939), as Maksim Gorky
- *Friends* (1939), as осетин Бета
- *Alexander Nevsky* (1938), as Alexander Nevsky
- *Peter the First, Part II* (1938), as Prince Alexei
- *Treasure Island* (1937), as Billy Bones
- *For the Soviet Motherland* (1937), Actor
- *Peter the First, Part I* (1937), as Prince Alexei
- *Baltic Deputy* (1937), Actor
- *Capt. Grant's Family* (1936), as Jacques Paganel
- *The Girlfriends* (1936), as white officer (uncredited)
- *Frontier* (1935), Actor
- *Hectic Days* (1935), Actor
- *Happiness* (1935), Actor
- *Crown Prince of the Republic* (1934), as Waiter (uncredited)
- *Do I Love You?* (1934), as Student
- *Moon on the Left* (1929), as Kalugin
- *Brother* (1929), Actor
- *His Excellency* (1928), as Tall Clown
- *My Son* (1928), as Pat
- *The Poet and the Tsar* (1927), as Charles (uncredited)

## Gallery

- ![Nikolay Cherkasov as Alexander Nevsky in Alexander Nevsky (1938)](https://film.one/media/person/3859925/gallery-f58d7a8bbbaf.jpg) Nikolay Cherkasov as Alexander Nevsky in Alexander Nevsky (1938) — Film screenshot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/Nikolay_Cherkasov_1938.JPG/1280px-Nikolay_Cherkasov_1938.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![A frame from S. Eisenstein's "Ivan the Terrible" (1945)](https://film.one/media/person/3859925/gallery-c83dc84fd160.jpg) A frame from S. Eisenstein's "Ivan the Terrible" (1945) — Mosfilm, Sergei Eisenstein

Мосфильм, Сергей Эйзенштейн, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Ivan_the_terrible_1945.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Nikolay Cherkasov](https://film.one/media/person/3859925/gallery-cb21cbb5d6c0.jpg) Nikolay Cherkasov — Sergey Eisenstein, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Nevski3.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Иван Грозный и Фёдор Басманов. Кадр из фильма Иван Грозный (Часть I, 1945 год)](https://film.one/media/person/3859925/gallery-ba0a028d44b9.jpg) Иван Грозный и Фёдор Басманов. Кадр из фильма Иван Грозный (Часть I, 1945 год) — Mosfilm, Sergei Eisenstein, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Ivan_the_Terrible_and_Fedor_Basmanov.jpg/1280px-Ivan_the_Terrible_and_Fedor_Basmanov.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Nikolay Cherkasov](https://film.one/media/person/3859925/gallery-f295e428005a.jpg) Nikolay Cherkasov — Image via TMDB
- ![Nikolay Cherkasov](https://film.one/media/person/3859925/gallery-774a530f1b24.jpg) Nikolay Cherkasov — Image via TMDB
- ![Nikolay Cherkasov](https://film.one/media/person/3859925/gallery-b975974a2cb4.jpg) Nikolay Cherkasov — Image via TMDB
- ![A frame from S. Eisenstein's "Ivan the Terrible" (1945)](https://film.one/media/person/3859925/gallery-8e48b511fdae.jpg) A frame from S. Eisenstein's "Ivan the Terrible" (1945) — Mosfilm, Sergei Eisenstein, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Ivan_the_terrible_1945_ivan_near_death.jpg/1280px-Ivan_the_terrible_1945_ivan_near_death.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Other awards — 17 won

- Lenin Prize 1964: Lenin Prize (won), for *All remains to people*
- Order of the Red Banner of Labour 1963: Order of the Red Banner of Labour (won)
- Stalin Prize 1951: Stalin Prize (won), for *Alexander Popov*
- Stalin Prize, 2nd degree 1951: Stalin Prize, 2nd degree (won)
- State Stalin Prize, 1st degree 1951: State Stalin Prize, 1st degree (won)
- Order of Lenin 1950: Order of Lenin (won)
- Stalin Prize 1950: Stalin Prize (won)
- Stalin Prize, 3rd degree 1950: Stalin Prize, 3rd degree (won)
- People's Artist of the USSR 1947: People's Artist of the USSR (won)
- Stalin Prize 1946: Stalin Prize (won), for *Ivan the Terrible*
- State Stalin Prize, 1st degree 1946: State Stalin Prize, 1st degree (won)
- Stalin Prize 1941: Stalin Prize (won), for *Alexander Nevsky*
- State Stalin Prize, 1st degree 1941: State Stalin Prize, 1st degree (won)
- Order of Lenin 1939: Order of Lenin (won)
- People's Artist of the RSFSR 1939: People's Artist of the RSFSR (won)
- Order of the Red Banner of Labour 1938: Order of the Red Banner of Labour (won)
- Honored Artist of the RSFSR 1937: Honored Artist of the RSFSR (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/nikolai-cherkasov