 Later, Zharkov took part in the performances of the St. Petersburg Theater Center on Kolomenskaya.In the late 1970s, Zharkov played the role of Nicholas's driver in the film "Getting to Know the Big, Wide World" (1978) by Kira Muratova, after which he began actively acting in films.Alexei Zharkov played both major and minor roles in the films "The Last Hunt" (1979), "The Wife Forsaken" (1979), "The Quay" (1979), "The Cask with the Cucumber" (1979), "The Scream of the Loon" (1980), "Citizen Leshka" (1980), "The Night Accident" (1980), "Three Times about Love" (1981).