Yuriy Kutsenko

Gosha Kutsenko is a popular Russian film and theatre actor known for his roles in such films as Mama ne goryuy (1998) and the vampire franchise Night Watch (2004) and Day Watch (2006). He was born Yuri Georgievich Kutsenko, on May 20, 1967, in Zaporozhie, Ukraine, USSR (now Zaporizhia, Ukraine). His father, Georgi Pavlovich Kutsenko, was a manager of electronics industry. His mother, Svetlana Vasilevna, was a Medical Doctor. After graduation from high school, he studied at the Lvov Polytechnical Institute, then dropped out and served in the Soviet Red Army for two years. In 1988, Kutsenko moved to Moscow with his parents, because his father was appointed the Vice-Minister of Radio Industry of the USSR and the family moved to the capital. That same year he became a student of the Moscow Institute of Mechanics and Automatics. Eventually, two years later he dropped out of college in his pursuit of an acting career. Since his childhood Gosha Kutsenko has been suffering from a speech irregularity. Although he was named Yuri, after Yuri Gagarin, he could not pronounce his given name, so he was using the nickname Gosha. His speech disorder was also peppered with the Ukrainian accent which complicated his chances of becoming an actor in Moscow. However, in 1990, he made a diligent effort entering the famous Moscow Art Theatre School. There he was examined and accepted by none other than Oleg Tabakov, and became a student of the Acting School of Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT). There he studied acting under Ivan Tarkhanov, and perfected his speech before graduating in 1992, as an actor. Kutsenko made his film debut in 'Chelovek is komandy Alfa' (1991) and in 'Mummy from a case' (1991). From 1995 - 1997 he hosted a popular TV show 'Partiinaia Zona' on TV-6, then hosted the popular Music-TV show in Moscow. From 1996 - 2000 Kutsenko taught acting at the class of Evgeniy Kindinov at Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK). Kutsenko shot to fame with the leading role as Arthur in Mama ne goryuy (1998), a popular Russian criminal comedy-drama. He earned much critical acclaim for the leading role as Lis (aka .. The Fox) in Antikiller (2002), a criminal drama by director Yegor Konchalovsky, which became a pivotal work in Kutsenko's acting career. He ascended to international success after co-starring in the first Russian-made vampire franchise Night Watch (2004) and Day Watch (2006), directed by Timur Bekmambetov. Since 1990s Gosha Kutsenko has been a permanent member of the troupe at Moscow Theatre of Mossoveta. There he has been playing leading and supporting roles in popular stage productions. Kutsenko was acclaimed for his stage performances in a contemporary play 'Chapaev i pustota' and in the classical comedy 'Revizor' (Inspector-General) by Nikolay Gogol. In addition to his acting career, Kutsenko has been a partner in a film production company. He also developed a career as a singer-songwriter in Russia. From 1992 - 1997, Kutsenko was married to actress Maria Poroshina, and they have one daughter. Outside of his acting career, Kutsenko has been an avid sportsman specializing in boxing and wrestling, he is also an amateur cart-racer. He is currently residing in Moscow, Russia.