Editing Sergei Bodrov Jr. (section)

== Career ==

=== Early roles ===
Sergei's first role as an actor was in ''Freedom is Paradise'' in 1989, directed by his father. He appeared on screen only for a few minutes, playing a minor lawbreaker who was waiting for a decision on his own fate while sitting next to the main hero of the film. During his university days, he also had a bit role as a bellhop in the 1992 movie ''White King, Red Queen''.

=== Prisoner of the Mountains ===
In 1995, his father travelled to [[Dagestan]] for the filming of his movie ''[[Prisoner of the Mountains]]''. Bodrov asked to go with him, prepared to do any available work. Unexpectedly, he became one of the featured actors, playing the conscript Vanya Zhilin, partnered with [[Oleg Menshikov]] who played the regular soldier Alexey Ryapolov. Bodrov received an award for best actor jointly with Menshikov at the [[Kinotavr]] cinema festival in [[Sochi]].

Bodrov himself did not claim to be an actor: ''I always say everywhere: I'm not an actor, I'm not an actor, I'm not an actor. And I hear: "No, you're an actor". And I say that an actor is quite a different thing. Actors are different, it's a different temperament. A role for me is not a profession. It's something that you do.<ref name="Sergei Bodrov The Messenger" />''

=== Vzglyad ===
From October 1996 to August 1999, Bodrov was the host of the program ''[[Vzglyad (TV program)|Vzglyad]]'' on [[Channel One (Russia)|Channel One]]. He said that he left the show feeling it had given him a good schooling:<ref name="Trophimenkov M." />''I became acquainted with so many people, heard so many stories, read so many letters - it doesn't happen in other jobs. It had a very positive charge. Help two or three people and the telecast has done some good. But it has to be done responsibly.<ref name="Trophimenkov M." />''

In 1997 Sergei married Svetlana Mikhailova (author of the television projects "Wordsmiths" and "Canon"). In 1998 their daughter [[Olga Bodrova|Olga]] was born, followed in 2002 by a son, Alexander.

=== Brother ===
During the 1996 Sochi film festival, Sergei Bodrov made the acquaintance of director [[Aleksei Balabanov]], who invited him to the STW film studio. It was here that ''[[Brother (1997 film)|Brother]]'' was being filmed for release in 1997. Sergei played the starring role, Danila Bagrov. The movie was criticized by the media, accused of [[racism]] and [[Anti-Russian sentiment|Russophobia]] (as a film made for foreign audiences). Bodrov himself assessed his character in the following way: ''I know that Danila is often reproached for being primitive, simple and inarticulate. And in part, I agree with that. But a metaphor connected with him forms in my mind: I imagine people in a primitive chaos, who sit in their cave before the fire and do not understand anything else in their life except for the responsibility to eat and to reproduce. And suddenly one of them stands up and utters very simple words about how it is necessary to stand up for their friends, to respect women, to defend one's brother.<ref name="Sergei Bodrov The Messenger" />''

The music to the movie was composed by the [[Rock music in Russia|Russian rock]] band [[Nautilus Pompilius (band)|Nautilus Pompilius]], which Sergei himself enjoyed listening to.<ref name="Shtepina O.">{{cite news|last = Shtepina|first = Olga|title = Idol of a young generation|url=http://www.sergei-bodrov.sitecity.ru/ltext_2112225905.phtml?p_ident=ltext_2112225905.p_2112230812|work = [[Moskovskij Komsomolets|MK-Bulvar]]|language=ru| date = 2000-10-11|access-date=2009-03-03}}</ref>

It was through playing the lead role in <nowiki>''Brother''</nowiki> that "he became a matinee idol in 1997".<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Wines |first=Michael |date=2002-09-24 |title=Rising Star Lost in Russia's Latest Disaster |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/24/world/rising-star-lost-in-russia-s-latest-disaster.html |access-date=2025-05-05 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> 

Despite some controversy, the movie received critical acclaim and won an award at the film festival in [[Sochi]], a Special Jury Award and the [[International Federation of Film Critics|FIPRESCI]] Award at the international festival in [[Turin]], the same awards in [[Cottbus]], and the Grand Prix in [[Trieste]]. Bodrov received the award for Best Actor at the movie festivals in [[Sochi]] and [[Chicago]] and got the "Golden Aries" prize.

The movie was regarded by many in Russia as culturally significant and for many of the younger generation, Bodrov's character Danila Bagrov became a hero and a role model.<ref name="Trophimenkov M." />

=== Other roles ===
Over the course of 1998–99, Sergei starred in two relatively minor films, the first was in Pavel Pavlikovsky's movie, a joint UK-Russia production, ''The Stringer'', with British actress [[Anna Friel]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Seddon |title=The Stringer |url=https://www.filmaffinity.com/us/film833370.html|access-date=2022-09-11}}</ref> Bodrov played Vadik Chernyshov, an impoverished 'stringer', who dreams of filming something to interest the western news channels. Friel played the role of Helen, a British media executive, as the two begin a romance against the backdrop of the world of journalism, and cultural differences, in the romantic thriller. The second was in [[Régis Wargnier]]'s movie ''[[East/West]]'', in which Sergei played Sasha, a neighbour of the central couple in the film, Dr Golovin and his French wife Marie, in a communal apartment during the Stalin era.

In 2000, the movie ''[[Brother 2]] (Brat 2)'' was released, with Bodrov again playing Danila Bagrov. Critics attacked the movie as they had its predecessor, saying that it expressed racist ideas, threatened national security and insulted the Ukrainian and American nations.<ref name="Trophimenkov M." /> Bodrov responded: ''What was important for us was not to say that all Americans are jerks, but the opposite, that we are not freaks. This is a fairly simple idea, so it is strange that not everyone understands it.<ref name="Shtepina O." /> The Americans make movies about Russians where [[Red Heat (1988 film)|Schwarzenegger as a policeman tears off a mafioso's wooden leg and drugs fall out of it]], and bears are walking in the streets. In other words, we [Russians] are complete lame-brains. So why don't we have the right make a joke at the expense of the Americans?<ref>{{cite journal|last = Abrosimova|first = Arina|title = Bodrov's Brothers and Sisters|url =http://www.itogi.ru/archive/2001/29/106760.html|journal = [[Itogi]]|volume = 29|issue = 267|language=ru|date = 2001-07-24|access-date=2009-03-03}}</ref>''

In 2001, Bodrov moved to California to take part in the shooting of his father's movie ''[[The Quickie (film)|The Quickie]]''. Sergei played Dima – the head of security for a rich American of Russian ancestry – Oleg (Mashkov). In Bodrov's free time during the filming of ''The Quickie'', he wrote the screenplay for his first movie ''[[Sisters (2001 film)|Sisters]]''. His father suggested the idea of the movie to him and Bodrov Jr wrote the screenplay in two weeks; four days later filming began. The heart of the movie is a story of two sisters – Sveta (thirteen years old) and Dina (eight), who become inadvertent victims of their father's criminal past. Sergei played a small part, in a role without an available actor.<ref name="Saprykina" /> The film opened on May 10, 2001. At a festival in Sochi, it received a Grand Prix award "for the best debut" and the young actresses received a jury award for their parts.

In the autumn of 2001, Bodrov became a host of the game show ''[[Last Hero]]''. Sixteen people landed on an island near the coast of Panama and competed in various trials. The last participant to survive all the votes received the main prize of three million [[Russian ruble|rubles]]. Bodrov conducted the game and provided the commentary. He gave his understanding of the telecast: ''I think that the subject of hunger and physical existence will emerge in front of them very seriously. But the true survival lies in how you're strong inside, how you can keep your humanity in inhuman conditions. And this is also related to me.<ref>{{cite news|last = Nikolaev|first = Anton|title = Sergei Bodrov: It's hard to swim on a boat under the tropic downpour|url = http://www.kp.ru/daily/22673/13389/print/|work = [[Komsomolskaya Pravda]]|language = ru|date = 2001-11-13|access-date = 2009-03-08|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090815001432/http://www.kp.ru/daily/22673/13389/print/|archive-date = 2009-08-15}}</ref>''

The shooting of Balabanov's movie ''War'' began in the spring of 2001. Bodrov had a role of short duration (he played captain Medvedev). The opening night was in 2002. The movie got the "Golden Rose" award at the Kinotavr festival and Bodrov received the [[Nika Award]] for the best supporting role.

''Bear's Kiss'' directed by his father Sergei Bodrov opened on November 28, 2002. Bodrov played Misha, a bear who mystically transforms into a person. Sergei's love interest in the film is played by [[Rebecka Liljeberg]].

=== ''The Messenger'' ===
In July 2002, Bodrov settled down to shoot his second film, with the working title ''The Messenger''. He characterized the movie in the following words: "Philosophic-mystical parable about the life of two friends. They are romantics, travelers, and venturers. Of course, there will be bandits, hostages, in general, all that accompanies us in life. The movie is called 'The Messenger' and I'm like a coffee in a carton in it: the author of a screenplay, stage manager and performer of the leading role."<ref>{{cite web|title = One of the last Sergei's interview
|url = http://www.sergei-bodrov.sitecity.ru/ltext_2112225905.phtml?p_ident=ltext_2112225905.p_3107232009|language=ru|access-date=2009-03-03}}</ref>''

The film crew arrived in [[Vladikavkaz]] in September, and on September 20 were filming the scenes in a women's penal colony in Vladikavkaz where they intended to shoot the scenes of the main character's return from the army. At approximately 7&nbsp;p.m., filming stopped due to poor lighting conditions. An [[Kolka–Karmadon rock ice slide|ice slide]] then occurred, where a block of ice fell from [[Mount Jimara]] onto the [[Kolka Glacier]], bringing with it mud and large boulders. This mudflow covered Karmadon Gorge, where the film crew were working. A massive search and rescue operation proved fruitless. 135 people were killed, including Bodrov.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aif.ru/culture/person/posledniy_epizod_bodrova_15_let_so_dnya_tragedii_v_karmadonskom_ushchele|title=Последний эпизод Бодрова. 15 лет со дня трагедии в Кармадонском ущелье|last=Shablinskaya|first=Olga|website=aif.ru|date=19 September 2017 |access-date=2017-12-01}}</ref> Russian television broadcast scenes of devastation from the landslide, which was triggered when around a third of the Maili glacier -- three million tons of ice, by one estimate -- swept 10 miles down a mountain gorge.<ref name=":0" />