He excelled in the parts of Tsar Fyodor in Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich by Aleksey Tolstoy (1935), Karenin in Anna Karenina (1937), Tuzenbach in Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov (1940), but before that as Alexey Turbin in The Days of the Turbins by Mikhail Bulgakov, which brought him critical recognition and fame in 1926.

[1] "Khmelyov imparted his characters with extreme tension and clarity… His stage moves were both highly elaborate and unexpected, he was totally free in his choice of stylistic means and emotional colours, and he loved the sudden change of perspectives," Solovyova wrote.

His Karenin and Turbin were lavishly praised by Joseph Stalin who, upon seeing MAT's Anna Karenina in 1937, instantly issued an order for Khmelyov and Alla Tarasova to be awarded the titles of the People's Artist of the USSR.

[3] Khmelyov was a recipient of numerous state awards (including the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, 1937) and a three times Stalin Prize laureate (1941, 1942 and 1946, posthumously).

Khmelyov died on 1 November 1945 in the theatre, during the rehearsals for Hard Days by Aleksey N. Tolstoy in which he played Ivan the Terrible.