Viktor Ivanovich Sukhorukov was born into an ordinary family in the town of Orekhovo-Zuyevo, Moscow Oblast. In childhood and youth he had the nickname "Grandmother Shosho" because he wore a headscarf. In 1970 he graduated from Secondary School No. 4 in Orekhovo-Zuyevo. He served in the Soviet Army in Astrakhan Oblast (Kapustin Yar, regimental school for training junior commanders). He worked for several years at the Orekhovo-Zuyevo textile factory. From 1974 to 1978 he studied at GITIS (V. P. Ostalsky's course, teacher L. Knyazeva). He studied in the same year as Tatyana Dogileva and Yuri Stoyanov, who was also Sukhorukov's roommate in the institute dormitory. After graduating from GITIS, at the invitation of Pyotr Fomenko, he left for Leningrad and joined the N. P. Akimov Comedy Theatre, where he was approved for the leading role in the play "Good, Fine, Well" based on the works of Vasily Belov. In 1982, because of his drinking, Sukhorukov was dismissed from the troupe with no right to employment for six months. For several years he fell out of the profession, lived in poverty, and wandered. During this time he had to work as a loader, dishwasher, and bread cutter. But in the end he found the strength to return and, after changing several Leningrad theatres, found himself again in the troupe of the Comedy Theatre. In 1986 Sukhorukov was accepted into the Leningrad State Theatre named after the Leninist Komsomol. Here he acted in the plays "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" (1986), "Belugin's Marriage" (1987), "The Dragon" (1988), "Long Live Stupidity!" (1991), "Children of Paradise" (1991). In cinema Viktor Sukhorukov was practically in no demand until the end of the 1980s. The actor's new life began in 1989, when director Yuri Mamin invited him for a major role in the comedy-farce "Sideburns" about a society of Pushkinists.

The film was successful, and the young director Alexei Balabanov became interested in the actor. He offered Sukhorukov a role in his film "Happy Days" based on the works of Samuel Beckett, and the actor agreed. Sukhorukov admits: "with his pictures Balabanov 'made' me, and I helped him." In 1997 Alexei Balabanov's film "Brother" was released, and Sukhorukov, who was already 45 at the time, gained nationwide fame. But true popular love was brought to the actor by the film "Brother 2". In the mid-1990s he appeared several times in the program "Gorodok" in the segment "Pranks of Our Little Town". Until 2003 Sukhorukov was given exclusively negative roles. A new stage in Sukhorukov's career began after he was offered roles in historical films: Count Palen in Ilya Khotinenko's film "The Golden Age" and Paul I in Vitaly Melnikov's film "Poor, Poor Pavel". For the role of Emperor Paul I he was awarded the Nika film prize in 2004. Continuing to work in theatre and cinema, Sukhorukov became increasingly popular. The actor was even invited to Hollywood to appear in the twentieth installment of the Bond series, but Sukhorukov refused because he was acting in Oleg Menshikov's play "The Gamblers". In March 2008 Viktor Sukhorukov was awarded the title People's Artist of the Russian Federation. The 2011 Golden Eagle Award for Best Supporting Actor in the film "Silent Souls". In 2017, speaking about the roles that characterize the actor best, Sukhorukov named such films as "Comedy of Strict Regime", "Of Freaks and Men", "Poor, Poor Pavel", "The Island", "Not by Bread Alone" and "Agitbrigade 'Strike the Enemy!'"