Born May 15, 1870, in Karlovo; died Nov. 28, 1931, in Sofia. Bulgarian actor.
Beginning in 1892, Kirkov worked in Sofia in the theater Slezai Smekh (Tears and Laughter; renamed the People’s Theater in 1904). One of the first professional Bulgarian actors, he was an outstanding representative of the romantic trend in the national theater. In the early years of his career, Kirkov played young romantic heroes. His portrayals of Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play, Ferdinand in Schiller’s Kabale und Liebe, and Nekhliudov in the play adapted from Tolstoy’s Resurrection were imbued with a deep sense of tragedy. Other roles included Khristoforov in Iavorov’s At the Foot of Vitosha, Khlestakov in Gogol’s The Inspector-General, Ivanko in Drumev’s play of the same name, and Borislav in Vazov’s play of the same name. His dismissal from the theater in 1926 elicited a protest from Bulgarian cultural figures.