Vardan Petrosyan (; born February 27, 1959) is an Armenian actor, scriptwriter, and parodist. He is based in Paris and Yerevan and holds a dual Armenian and French nationality. Petrosyan is widely considered one of the greatest contemporary Armenian actors, touching various issues such as the Armenian genocide, Armenian politics and foreign affairs in his performances.
Biography Vardan Petrosyan was born on February 27, 1959, in Yerevan, Soviet Armenia. He graduated from the Terlemezian Art College in 1983. His father died in 1981, when he was 22 years old. After a two-year service in the Soviet Army, he returned to Yerevan in 1985 to establish—with Vahram Sahakian—the private theatre studio called Vozniner (Ոզնիներ, "Hedgehogs"). Between 1988 and 1992, when the Karabakh movement was in progress, Petrosyan wrote and staged several politically motivated performances. Until 1997, he played in short and feature films. Due to the harsh economic conditions in Armenia, Petrosyan moved to Paris in 1992. He appeared in several French plays.
Beginning in 2000, Vardan Petrosyan has been mainly performing one-man shows on various politics and social issues. Besides Armenia, he has also performed for the Armenian diaspora communities in the United States, France, Canada, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Russia, etc.
2013 car accident On October 20, 2013, Vardan Petrosyan got into a car accident on Yerevan-Yeghvard highway, where two sixteen-year-old boys died and four others were injured, including Petrosyan. After being treated in a Yerevan hospital, on November 9, Petrosyan was charged with "negligent breach of traffic rules, which causes death" and was taken into custody. The court rejected pleas to have him released on bail, despite a petition that eventually garnered 11,000 signatures. Petrosyan pleaded not guilty on January 26, 2015. He was sentenced to five years in prison on January 29, 2015, by a lower court in Kotayk Province. Petrosyan was released on September 2, 2015, and served the rest of his punishment outside prison. He was released in March 2017.Վարդան Պետրոսյանն ազատ է արձակվել (in Armenian)
Performances and filmography Name Original name Date Note The Latest Tango in Paris Ամենավերջին տանգոն Փարիզում 1992 featuring Vahram Sahakian «ՈԶՆԻՆԵՐ»-ի տեսաֆիլմերը in Vraert.com :: Official website of Vahram Sahakian The Latest Tango in Paris-2 Ամենավերջին տանգոն Փարիզում-2 1998 featuring Vahram Sahakian Our EndOur Finale (Video 1999) - imdb.com Մեր վերջը 1999 Playing 1700 Խաղում ենք 1700 2001 Benefice Բենեֆիս 2003 In the fire Կրակի մեջ 2004 Ascent ՎերԵլք 2006 Love and Hatred Սեր և ատելություն 2008 What to do? Ի՞նչ անել 2008 The Lifers Ցմահ բանտարկյալներ 2009 Jokes of Fate Ճակատագրի կատակներ 2010 Sex Horror Սեռասարսափ 2011 Ladies and gentlemen, 50/50 Պարոնայք 50-50 2012 Every Monday Ամեն 2շաբթի 2013
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