''Peter the Great'' is a 1986 American

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

historical drama television miniseries directed by Marvin J. Chomsky and

Lawrence Schiller Lawrence Julian Schiller (born December 28, 1936) is an American photojournalist, film producer, director and screenwriter. Career Schiller was born in 1936 in Brooklyn to Jewish parents and grew up outside of San Diego, California. After atten ...

, based on

Robert K. Massie Robert Kinloch Massie III (January 5, 1929 – December 2, 2019) was an American journalist and historian. He devoted much of his career to studying and writing about the House of Romanov, Russia's imperial family from 1613 to 1917. Massie was ...

's 1980 non-fiction book '' Peter the Great: His Life and World''. It stars an ensemble cast consisting of Maximilian Schell,

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, tw ...

, Omar Sharif,

Trevor Howard Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage, film, and television actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved star status with his role in the film ''Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by ''T ...

, Laurence Olivier,

Helmut Griem Helmut Griem (6 April 1932 – 19 November 2004) was a German film, television and stage actor, and director. Biography Born in Hamburg, Griem was primarily a stage actor, appearing at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, the Deutsches Schauspielhaus ...

Jan Niklas Jan Niklas (born 15 October 1947) is a German film and television actor. He is best known for appearing in TV films such as '' Peter The Great'', '' Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna'' and '' Anne Frank: The Whole Story''. He won a Golden Globe Aw ...

, Elke Sommer, Renée Soutendijk,

Ursula Andress Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss-German actress, former model and sex symbol who has appeared in American, British and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' (1962 ...

, and

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón Ferrer (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with ''Scaramouche'', '' Lili'' and ''Knights of the Roun ...

. The miniseries received generally positive reviews from critics and won three Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Miniseries. It was also nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, including Best Miniseries or Television Film.

Cast

* Maximilian Schell as Peter the Great *

as Peter the Great in early adulthood *

as Tsarevna Sophia * Omar Sharif as Prince Feodor Romodanovsky * Laurence Olivier as William III and II, King of England, Scotland and Ireland *

as Sir

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a " natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...

as Athalie *

Olegar Fedoro Olegar Fedoro ( ''né'' Olegár Pablo Fedóro; born 6 March 1958) is a Ukrainian-born former Soviet performer who later became a Spanish and then English actor. He enrolled in the acclaimed VGIK Film School (All-Russian State University of Ci ...

as Boyar Lopukhin *

Natalya Andrejchenko Natalya Eduardovna Andreychenko (russian: link=no, Ната́лья Эдуа́рдовна Андре́йченко; born May 3, 1956) is a Russian actress. Her most famous roles include the title character in ''Mary Poppins, Goodbye'' and Lyuba ...

as Tsaritsa Eudoxia Lopukhina *

as Captain Alexander Menshikov * Renée Soutendijk as Anna Mons (Peter's Dutch mistress) *

Hanna Schygulla Hanna Schygulla (; born 25 December 1943) is a German actress and chanson singer associated with the theater and film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. She first worked for Fassbinder in 1965 and became an active participant in the New German ...

as Catherine Skavronskaya (Peter's 2nd mistress and later on wife) *

Christoph Eichhorn Christoph Eichhorn (born 8 September 1957, in Kassel, West Germany) is a German television actor and director. Life He is the son of German actor Werner Eichhorn. From 1972 to 1977 Eichhorn worked as actor at Schauspielhaus Bochum. As film ...

as Charles XII, King of Sweden *

Lilli Palmer Lilli Palmer (; born Lilli Marie Peiser; 24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a German actress and writer. After beginning her career in British films in the 1930s, she would later transition to major Hollywood productions, earning a Golden Glob ...

as Tsarina Natalya, mother of Peter the Great *

as Frederick I, King in Prussia * Elke Sommer as Charlotte, Queen in Prussia *

Jan Malmsjö Jan Wilhelm Malmsjö (born 29 May 1932) is a Swedish stage and film actor, musical star and singer. He is married to Marie Göranzon and father to Jonas Malmsjö. Biography Malmsjö was born in Lund, Sweden. He trained at the prestigious Roy ...

as The Patriarch * Boris Plotnikov as Tsarevich Alexis *

Jeremy Kemp Edmund Jeremy James Walker (3 February 1935 – 19 July 2019), known professionally as Jeremy Kemp, was an English actor. He was known for his significant roles in the miniseries ''The Winds of War'' and ''War and Remembrance'', the film ''The ...

as General

Patrick Gordon Patrick Leopold Gordon of Auchleuchries (31 March 1635 – 29 November 1699) was a general and rear admiral in Russia, of Scottish origin. He was descended from a family of Aberdeenshire, holders of the estate of Auchleuchries, near Ellon. The ...

Geoffrey Whitehead Geoffrey Whitehead (born 1 October 1939) is an English actor. He has appeared in a range of television, film and radio roles. In the theatre, he has played at Shakespeare's Globe, St Martin's Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic. Early life Whiteh ...

as Prince Vasily Golitsyn *

Graham McGrath Graham McGrath (born 29 July 1971) is an English actor with film, television, radio and theatre credits. He currently also works for Merlin Entertainments based near London in Surrey, England. He had tuition at the Junior Academy of the Royal A ...

as young adult Peter the Great * Dennis DeMarne as the figure of Peter the Great at the narrating scenes of the later years * Ann Zacharias as

Daria Lund ''Daria'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis Lynn. The series ran from March 3, 1997, to January 21, 2002, on MTV. It focuses on the title character, Daria Morgendorffer, an intelligent, cynical high s ...

, the mistress of Captain Alexander Menshikov * Algis Arlauskas as Father Theodosius The series was released as a three-tape VHS box (set in 1992, then, in 1994, as a single, lengthy VHS tape).

Awards and nominations

References

* ''The Complete Films of Laurence Olivier'' by Jerry Vermilye, Citadel Press, 1992.

External links

* * {{EmmyAward Limited Series 1986 American television series debuts 1986 American television series endings 1980s American drama television series 1980s American television miniseries American biographical series American historical television series Cultural depictions of Peter the Great Cultural depictions of Isaac Newton Cultural depictions of William III of England NBC original programming Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries winners Television shows based on biographies Television shows set in Russia Television series set in the 17th century Television series set in the 18th century Films directed by Marvin J. Chomsky