Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (1993). He studied at the Odessa Nautical School (1945-1948). He graduated from VGIK (1953, workshop of Sergey Gerasimov and Tamara Makarova). Actor at the Theater-Studio of Film Actors in Moscow. He made his film debut in 1954 in the film 'School of Courage'. Vadim Zakharchenko almost never played leading roles. He went down in history as a true master of the bit part, a character actor of the second plan. With equal success Zakharchenko played bandits and intellectuals, murderers and doctors, boring neighbors and cheerful fellow travelers.

In any image he was organic and natural. He did not refuse work, so sometimes he flashed in completely run-of-the-mill bit parts. He has more than 150 roles in cinema. In the last 6 years Vadim Zakharchenko did not act: he was not satisfied with the level of post-perestroika commercial cinema. On the evening of January 2, 2007 in Moscow, having never recovered from a serious operation, Vadim Viktorovich Zakharchenko passed away. The urn with his ashes was buried in the 18th section of the Babushkinskoye Cemetery in the grave of the actor's wife.