Sergey Jursky – actor, film and theater director, writer, poet and writer – was born in Leningrad into a theatrical, musical family. In 1952, he graduated from high school with a gold medal and entered the law school of the Leningrad University. From 1955 till 1959 he studied at the Leningrad Ostrovsky Theater Institute in the acting department (class of L. Makarieva). During his studies, he was invited to the Bolshoi Drama Theatre (BDT – Tovstonogov), where from the mid '60s he was one of the leading actors of the troupe. Among his most notable roles – Chatsky in "Woe from Wit" and Professor Polezhaev in "Restless Old Age." In 1974, he made his debut as a director with the play – "Moliere" – which was based on the play by Mikhail Bulgakov – "The Cabal of Hypocrites".
Since 1959, he began to act in films, where he preferred playing mostly character roles. His portrayal of Vikniksor "Republic SHKID" G. Poloka (1966) and Ostap Bender in the "Golden Calf" by M. Schweitzer (1968) brought him the greatest popularity. Since 1978, he lives in Moscow, where he works in the Mossovet Theater. As an actor and director he has collaborated with the Moscow Art Theater (named after Chekhov), “Art Partner – XXI”, Yermolova Theatre and the "School of the Modern Play" theater. Among his extensive television work (participating in the role of actor, director and narrator) are Shakespeare in "Dark Lady of the Sonnets", Hemingway’s "Fiesta", which he filmed as a director, and a variety of literary programs on Pushkin, Saltykov-Shchedrin and Chekhov.
The story of "Chernov", written by Jursky, became the literary basis for his directorial debut in the film by the same name (" Chernov," 1990).
Since 1996 he has been a Member of the Board of Trustees of the St Filaret Orthodox Christian Institute. In 2011, he became the recipient of the "Star Theater-goer" award. He holds the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR (1987).