Sergei Bodrov was born on December 27, 1971, in Moscow. His father is a famous film director, Sergei Bodrov, and his mother Valentina Nikolaevna was a fine art expert. Sergei Bodrov Jr. believed that “childhood is the most important and the most amazing time in life.” and what you’ll become happens in the first sixteen years”. Various publications report that Bodrov wanted to become a garbageman and drive an orange car.

Bodrov wanted to enrol in the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, but his father advised him that “cinema is a passion, and if you don’t feel it you should either wait for it or forget about it forever.” Instead, in 1989 he enrolled in the art history program in the History Department of Moscow State University, graduating with Honors and remaining for postgraduate studies, although he already knew that he would not work in a museum or library. In his own words, at the university, he “learned to see beauty in the simple things around us”. After becoming a famous actor and television host he completed and defended (in 1998) his graduate thesis entitled “Architecture in Venetian Renaissance Painting” and received the Candidate of Science degree.

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.

In 1991, while still a student, Bodrov studied art in Italy, where he found work as a lifeguard and earned money to support his travels around the country. When he was asked in an interview if his education was useful in his life, he answered:

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.

From October 1996 to August 1999, Bodrov was the host of the program Vzglyad on Channel One. He said that he left the show feeling it had given him a good schooling:

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 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 Russophobia (as a film made for foreign audiences). Bodrov himself assessed his character in the following way:

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

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. Bodrov responded:

In 2001, Bodrov moved to California to take part in the shooting of his father’s movie 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. 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. 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.

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.

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:

Sergei Bodrov attended the special French-language School No. 1265. In December 2012, a memorial plaque was installed in the school in his memory.