Born Anton Zafirov Gorchev on November 10, 1939 in the city of Sofia, he enrolled acting at The National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts where he graduated in 1963. After the graduation, Gorchev was appointed in the Varna Theatre for two years. In 1965, he went to Plovdiv and started working with the local municipal theatre. Here Gorchev met his wife Sonya Markova. He returned to Sofia in 1971 and became a regular actor in the Boyana film studios. In 1973, Gorchev joined the troupe of the Sofia municipal theatre.