Censored by the Soviet Government, Petr Shelokhonov experienced hard times. In 1970, he was recommended by film director Sergei Gerasimov for portrayal of Sergei Korolev, the legendary rocket scientist who launched the first man in space, but state censors refused him the job. The film title was "Taming of the Fire" ("Ukroshcheniye ognya") () but Shelokhonov was banned from playing the leading role by Soviet censor. The leading role eventually went to his fellow actor Kirill Lavrov and Shelokhonov played a supporting role having such film partners as Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Igor Gorbachyov, Yevgeni Matveev, Zinovi Gerdt, Igor Vladimirov, Vera Kuznetsova, Andrei Popov and other notable Russian actors.