On stage, he can be Father Krastyo, Sancho Panza, Fyodor Karamazov or a man who is slowly losing touch with reality. On the screen, for many, he remains Commissioner Popov from “Undercover“. Vladimir Penev turns 68 on October 24 - an age at which he has dozens of theater roles, film and television roles, awards and a special ability to start over with each new character.
He was born in Sofia in 1958. He graduated from VITIZ “Krastyo Sarafov“ in 1982 in the class of Prof. Nikolay Lyutskanov. His first significant theatrical role was Tuzenbach in Anton Chekhov's “Three Sisters“ at the Varna Drama Theater. He then worked at the Youth Theater, the Theater Workshop “Sfumato“, the Small City Theater “Zad Kanala“ and Theater 199. Since 2009, he has been part of the troupe of the National Theater “Ivan Vazov“.
From Chekhov to Pop Krastyo
His theatrical path goes through many different eras, styles and directorial styles. Among his characters are Dorn in “P.S.“ by Chekhov, Odysseus in “The Dream of Odysseus“, Valmont in “Quartet“, Aston in “The Porter“, Andre in “The Father“ and Fyodor Karamazov in “The Brothers Karamazov“.
Penev is the winner of “Askeer“ for the role of the man in “Nirvana“ in 1996 and for Edgar in “Dance of Death“ in 2007. In 2023 he received “Icarus“ for the leading male role of priest Krastyo in “Easter Wine“ by Konstantin Iliev, staged by Yavor Gardev. For the same role he was also awarded with “Askeer“. BNT reports that the play “Orpheus“, in which Penev also participated, received three “Icarus“ awards in 2023.
The voice that viewers recognize
The television audience knows him best as Commissioner Popov from “Undercover“ - a role that makes him one of the faces of modern Bulgarian television. He also participated in “The Stolen“, “The Ungiven“, “The Fourth Power“ and “Stolen Life“, and his work also includes television theater, cinema and dubbing. In 2021, he received the special award “Golden Linden“ for his overall contribution to cinema.
A curious turn in his biography is his short stay in politics. In March 2013, Vladimir Penev became the acting Minister of Culture. Upon taking office, he said that he wanted to bring the concepts of “morality, honor and dignity“ back into the public conversation.
When the actor returns to poetry
Penev is among the participants in the “Poets“ project, which brings together actors for public recitation of Bulgarian poems. He describes the initiative as a meeting of “friends and like-minded people“, and says of its goal: “We are awakening people with a mission to bring poetry back into our lives“.
Thus, his image is not limited to one role, one series or one theater. Vladimir Penev continues to move between classical texts, contemporary drama, television characters and poems. It is this change - from performance to performance and from voice to voice - that is one of the most memorable features of his career.
Sources: nova.bg, bntnews.bg, bta.bg