Armen Dzhigarkhanyan was awarded the Armenian Republican State Prize in 1975 for "Triangle" and again in 1979 for "Snow in Mourning." He was named People's Artist of the Soviet Union in 1985. Dzhigarkhanyan began his acting career in 1955 at the Russian Stanislavsky Theatre in Yerevan, and in 1967 moved to the Lenkom Theatre in Moscow. In 1969 he joined the Mayakovsky Academic Theatre. Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Dzhigarkhanyan worked as assistant cameraman at Armenfilm studios in 1953-1954. Armen Dzhigarkhanyan is a Soviet and Russian theater and film actor, theater teacher, theater director. People's Artist of the USSR. Armen grew up in a Russian-speaking environment, studied at a Russian school and learned the basics of Armenian and Russian cultures with equal diligence. Mother Elena Vasilyevna was an avid theatergoer and did not miss a single drama or opera performance. During his school years, Armen became interested in theater and cinema, and after graduating from school (1952) he went to Moscow and tried to enter GITIS, but was unsuccessful. Returning to Yerevan, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan got a job at the Armenfilm film studio as an assistant cameraman. In 1954, he entered the Yerevan Art and Theater Institute, taking a course with the famous director Vartan Adzhemyan, head of the G. Sundukyan Theater. But the enrollment turned out to be too large, and Dzhigarkhanyan switched to the course of Armen Gulakyan (graduated in 1958). The actor first appeared on stage in January 1955 - in a play based on Viktor Gusev's play 'Ivan Rybakov' at the Russian Drama Theater named after Konstantin Stanislavski in Yerevan. The actor made his film debut in 1960 with the role of Akop in the film Pluzum (1960). All-Union fame was brought to Armen Dzhigarkhanyan by one of his best film roles (his first leading role in a film) - the young physicist Artyom Manvelyan from the film Barev, yes em (1966) by director Frunze Dovlatyan. In total, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan played more than 260 film roles, becoming the most filmed Soviet actor. He has various roles in films by the best Soviet and Russian directors, in films of various genres, in comedy and adventure films, in dramas and musical films.