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Margarita Levieva is an American actress. Born in Leningrad, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (now Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation), at age three she began the rigorous training program of a competitive rhythmic gymnast. Levieva continued to train for the next 13 years, winning competitions in Russia and eventually going on to compete in the United States after emigrating. When she was 11, Levieva's mother moved her and her twin brother to Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn in New York City. She attended high school in Secaucus, New Jersey. Levieva majored in economics at NYU and worked as a fashion buyer. Her continuing interest in acting led her to be accepted into the Meisner Training Program at the William Esper Studio. In 2005, New York Magazine featured her as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in New York.

Eve Harlow was born in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress, known for The 100 (2014), Next (2020) and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013).

Russian actor Yura Borisov is a critically acclaimed actor whose raw intensity and emotional depth and balancing brutality with fragility have made him a standout figure in contemporary Russian cinema.

He first appeared on screen in an ensemble role in Andrey Zvyagintsev's Elena (2011), a quiet yet pivotal start to his career. His breakthrough came in 2019 with Boris Akopov's The Bull (2019), where his portrayal of Anton Bykov, a young man navigating the criminal underworld of 1990s Russia, earned him widespread recognition and the title of "Discovery of the Year" by GQ Russia.

Yura Borisov solidified his reputation in 2021 with Captain Volkonogov Escaped (2021), a darkly satirical drama that won him Best Actor at the Russian Guild of Film Critics. That same year, he gained international acclaim for his role as the rough yet vulnerable miner Lyokha in Juho Kuosmanen's Compartment Number 6 (2021), which won the Grand Prix at Cannes and an Golden Globe nomination for Best Motion Picture - Non-English Language. His performance in Sean Baker's Anora (2024) as a Russian emigrant in Brooklyn further elevated his global profile, earning him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor- the first for a Russian actor in over four decades.

In 2025, he starred in Konchitsya leto (2024), directed by Oscar-nominated Maxim Arbugaev, filming in harsh conditions of Yakutia as a conflicted ex-convict.

Exotic leading man of American films, famed as much for his completely bald head as for his performances, Yul Brynner masked much of his life in mystery and outright lies designed to tease people he considered gullible. It was not until the publication of the books "Yul: The Man Who Would Be King" and "Empire and Odyssey" by his son, Yul "Rock" Brynner, that many of the details of Brynner's early life became clear.

Yul sometimes claimed to be a half-Swiss, half-Japanese named Taidje Khan, born on the island of Sakhalin; in reality, he was the son of Marousia Dimitrievna (Blagovidova), the Russian daughter of a doctor, and Boris Yuliyevich Bryner, an engineer and inventor of Swiss-German and Russian descent. He was born in their home town of Vladivostok on 11 July 1920 and named Yuli after his grandfather, Jules Bryner. When Yuli's father abandoned the family, his mother took him and his sister Vera to Harbin, Manchuria, where they attended a YMCA school. In 1934 Yuli's mother took her children to Paris. Her son was sent to the exclusive Lycée Moncelle, but his attendance was spotty. He dropped out and became a musician, playing guitar in the nightclubs among the Russian gypsies who gave him his first real sense of family. He met luminaries such as Jean Cocteau and became an apprentice at the Theatre des Mathurins. He worked as a trapeze artist with the famed Cirque d'Hiver company.

He traveled to the U.S. in 1941 to study with acting teacher Michael Chekhov and toured the country with Chekhov's theatrical troupe. That same year, he debuted in New York as Fabian in "Twelfth Night" (billed as Youl Bryner). After working in a very early TV series, Mr. Jones and His Neighbors (1944), he played on Broadway in "Lute Song" with Mary Martin, winning awards and mild acclaim. He and his wife, actress Virginia Gilmore, starred in the first TV talk show, Mr. and Mrs. (1948). Brynner then joined CBS as a television director. He made his film debut in Port of New York (1949). Two years later Mary Martin recommended him for the part he would forever be known for: the King in Richard Rodgers' and Oscar Hammerstein II's musical "The King and I". Brynner became an immediate sensation in the role, repeating it for film (The King and I (1956)) and winning the Oscar for Best Actor.

For the next two decades, he maintained a starring film career despite the exotic nature of his persona, performing in a wide range of roles from Egyptian pharaohs to Western gunfighters, almost all with the same shaved head and indefinable accent. In the 1970s he returned to the role that had made him a star, and spent most of the rest of his life touring the world in "The King and I". When he developed lung cancer in the mid 1980s, he left a powerful public service announcement denouncing smoking as the cause, for broadcast after his death. The cancer and its complications, after a long illness, ended his life. Brynner was cremated and his ashes buried in a remote part of France, on the grounds of the Abbey of Saint-Michel de Bois Aubry, a short distance outside the village of Luzé. He remains one of the most fascinating, unusual and beloved stars of his time.

Anton Yelchin was an American actor, known for playing Bobby in Hearts in Atlantis (2001), Chekov in the Star Trek (2009) reboot, Charlie Brewster in the Fright Night (2011) remake, and Jacob in Like Crazy (2011).

He was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, USSR, to a Jewish family. His parents, Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin, were a successful pair of professional figure skaters in Leningrad, and his grandfather was also a professional sportsman, a soccer player. Anton was a six-month-old baby when he immigrated to the United States, where his parents settled in California and eventually developed coaching careers. He demonstrated his strong personality from the early age of four, and declined his parents' tutelage in figure skating because he was fond of acting and knew exactly what he wanted to do in his life.

Yelchin attended acting classes in Los Angeles, and eventually was noticed by casting agents. In 2000, at the age of 10, he made his debut on television, appearing as Robbie Edelstein in the medical drama ER (1994). At the age of 11, he shot to fame as Bobby Garfield, co-starring opposite Anthony Hopkins in Hearts in Atlantis (2001), and earning himself the 2002 Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film as Leading Young Actor. Over the course of his acting career, Yelchin has already played roles in more than 20 feature films and television productions, including Pavel Chekov in the hugely successful reboot Star Trek (2009), and its sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013).

Outside of his acting profession, Anton loved reading, and was also fond of playing chess. He wrote music and performed with a band, where he also played piano and guitar.

Anton lived in Los Angeles, California, until his death on the evening of June 19, 2016, outside his LA home, when his parked Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled backward on his steep driveway, pinning him against a brick pillar and security fence. This was due to badly designed shifter that indicated park when it was in neutral. This death, along with reports of other near-misses, resulted in a recall of that model.

Mark Eydelshteyn was born on 18 February 2002 in Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia. He is an actor and director, known for Anora (2024), Nado snimat filmy o lyubvi (2024) and Strana Sasha (2022).

Emilia Schüle was born on 28 November 1992 in Blagoveshchensk, Russia. She is an actress, known for Freche Mädchen (2008), Tatort (1970) and Dreamfactory (2019).

Sasha Luss was born in Magadan, Magadan Oblast and moved to Moscow at a young age. As a child, she had no interest in pursuing a modeling career, preferring to spend her time writing and dancing. She frequently participated in ballet competitions before she suffered an ankle injury which prevented her from continuing her hobby. Her mother's friends and even strangers would compliment Sasha's modeling potential. When Sasha was thirteen years old, her mother took her to visit a modeling agency, where she was instantly signed. Luss has stated that her grandmother disapproved of this career move, claiming that modeling is a terrible, immoral business.

Sasha made her film debut as Princess Lïhio-Minaa in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017), and then headlined the action thriller Anna (2019), in the title role.

Yuri Kolokolnikov was born on December 15, 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union is a Russian actor of theatre and cinema. His best known roles in television series are Styr in the Game of Thrones (2011) and Gennadi Bystrov in The Americans (2013). His parents divorced shortly after Yuri was born and in 1985 his mother moved to Canada with Yuri and his brother. Kolokolnikov is a citizen of Russia and Canada.

Kolokolnikov as a child, was both unruly and uncontrollable. Unable to cope with the upbringing of her son, his mother sent him back to Russia to live with his father.

Almost immediately after his arrival in Moscow, he went to study at film school and became involved with the production of children shows. Soon afterwards, his father took him to audition for the director Savva Kulish, where Kolokolnikov gained a small role in the film Zheleznyy zanaves (1994).

At 15 years old, he passed external exams for the last two classes of high school and submitted his documents to the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute.

In 2000, immediately after graduation, he went to Hollywood. During the year, he lived in Los Angeles and New York, working part-time as a waiter, a courier, a loader. Unable to break into the American cinema Kolokolnikov returned to Moscow.

He has appeared in more than forty films since 1998. Kolokolnikov met with director Kirill Serebrennikov, who invited him for a role in the television series The Murderer's Diary (2003) and in the staging of Sweet Bird of Youth at the theater Sovremennik Theatre. The premiere took place in 2002.

In 2014, he played the role of Styr, Magnar of Thenn, in the fourth season of the television series Game of Thrones (2011).

In 2015, he played a lead role in the Russian sitcom Ozabochennye (2015), and in one episode of the criminal series The Method (2015) by Yuriy Bykov.

He had a lead role in the Russian 2016 comedy film Zavtrak u papy (2016). The film is about a wealthy man who discovers that he has a 10 year old daughter.

In the 2017 American action-comedy The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017), Kolokolnikov played a Belarusian mercenary leader Ivan.

The most famous Soviet film-maker since Sergei Eisenstein, Andrei Tarkovsky (the son of noted poet Arseniy Tarkovsky) studied music and Arabic in Moscow before enrolling in the Soviet film school VGIK. He shot to international attention with his first feature, Ivan's Childhood (1962), which won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival. This resulted in high expectations for his second feature Andrei Rublev (1966), which was banned by the Soviet authorities for two years. It was shown at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival at four o'clock in the morning on the last day, in order to prevent it from winning a prize - but it won one nonetheless, and was eventually distributed abroad partly to enable the authorities to save face. Solaris (1972), had an easier ride, being acclaimed by many in Europe and North America as the Soviet answer to Kubrick's '2001' (though Tarkovsky himself was never too fond of his own film nor Kubrick's), but he ran into official trouble again with Mirror (1975), a dense, personal web of autobiographical memories with a radically innovative plot structure. Stalker (1979) had to be completely reshot on a dramatically reduced budget after an accident in the laboratory destroyed the first version, and after Nostalghia (1983), shot in Italy (with official approval), Tarkovsky defected to Europe. His last film, The Sacrifice (1986) was shot in Sweden with many of Ingmar Bergman's regular collaborators, and won an almost unprecedented four prizes at the Cannes Film Festival. He died of lung cancer at the end of the year. Two years later link=Sergei Parajanov dedicated his film Ashik Kerib to Tarkovsky.

Olesya Yurivna Rulina is a Russian-American actress. She first hit the small screen in 2001 and plenty of roles followed, but she is best known for co-starring as Kelsi Nielsen in all three films of the High School Musical franchise. She also starred in the films "Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous"(2008), "Flying By" (2009), "Expecting Mary" (2010), and "Family Weekend" (2013).

Tina Ivlev is an American actress best known for her role as Nightsister Merrin in the hit action-adventure video games "Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order" and "Star Wars Jedi: Survivor." Ivlev played Nightsister Merrin, the last surviving Nightsister on Dathomir, providing her likeness as well as full performance-capture and voice-acting work for the role.

Starring as Eve in the thriller, "Bound to Vengeance," which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, Ivlev garnered much praise for her tour de force performance as a young woman who outwits her kidnapper (Richard Tyson) and attempts to rescue his other victims.

Recently on stage, Ivlev originated the lead role of Ester in the gripping drama, "Dry Land," a Colt Coeur production written by Ruby Rae Spiegel and directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt. The play, which immediately became a New York Times Critics' Pick, played to sold out houses in New York.

Her other screen credits include "Charming the Hearts of Men" opposite Sean Astin and Kelsey Grammar, "Deadtectives," and "Death Clique." She has appeared in several guest-starring and recurring television roles, including "Shameless," "All Rise," "Queen of the South," "9-1-1," "Zach Stone is Gonna be Famous," and "Major Crimes" among many others.

George Sanders was born of English parents in St. Petersburg, Russia. He worked in a Birmingham textile mill, in the tobacco business and as a writer in advertising. He entered show business in London as a chorus boy, going from there to cabaret, radio and theatrical understudy. His film debut, in 1936, was as Curly Randall in Find the Lady (1936). His U.S. debut, the same year, with Twentieth Century-Fox, was as Lord Everett Stacy in Lloyd's of London (1936). During the late 1930s and early 1940s he made a number of movies as Simon Templar--the Saint--and as Gay Lawrence, the Falcon. He played Nazis (Maj. Quive-Smith in Fritz Lang's Man Hunt (1941)), royalty (Charles II in Otto Preminger's Forever Amber (1947)), and biblical roles (Saran of Gaza in Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah (1949)). He won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as theatre critic Addison De Witt in Joseph L. Mankiewicz's All About Eve (1950). In 1957 he hosted a TV series, The George Sanders Mystery Theater (1957). He continued to play mostly villains and charming heels until his suicide in 1972.

He was born on Sakhalin Island at the far eastern end of the former Soviet Union and began studying dance at age 9 in the Riga State Ballet School. He later said his mother put him there to prevent his becoming "a hooligan". One of his classmates and friends at the school was Mikhail Baryshnikov. After graduating he toured with the Moscow Classical Ballet. He joined the Bolshoi in 1971; there he received rave reviews for the lead in "Swan Lake", "Giselle" and other classical and contemporary works. In 1973 he won a gold medal at the Moscow International Competition. The same year he received more praise when the Bolshoi toured the United States. He was then marked as a potential defector and not allowed to tour for five years. In August 1979 he did defect. The story grew in importance when his ballerina wife returned to the USSR a few days later. He joined the American Ballet Theater and danced with it until 1982 when he and its director Baryshnikov had a falling out. He was by then a frequent companion of Jacqueline Bisset. His first movie role was as the Amish farmer Daniel in "Witness" (1985). The NY Times reviewer described him as the film's "most riveting presence". The same critic did not take so kindly to his role as Karl in "Die Hard" (1988) ("a sight gag in his terrorist costume"). When he became a US citizen in 1987 he said he planned to celebrate by eating a "hamburger stuffed with caviar". He had been filming a movie in Budapest a few weeks before he was found dead in his West Hollywood home, of "natural causes" according to his physician.

Genndy Tartakovsky was born and raised in Moscow, USSR. He and his family moved to Chicago, IL when he was 7 years old, after his father defected to the US. His interest in comic books and animation led him to study animation at CalArts in Los Angeles. While he was there he produced two student films, one of which was the basis of his series Dexter's Laboratory (1996). The character of Dee-Dee was inspired by his older brother Alex, who would often spoil younger brother Genndy's plans (as Dee-Dee does to Dexter). His first long form directing work was for the TV movie of the series, Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip (1999). He also directed animation for his collaborator Craig McCracken on The Powerpuff Girls (1998) and The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002).

His most celebrated work was the epic animated series Samurai Jack (2001), featuring a time-traveling samurai in a battle of good vs. evil. He stopped work on the series to produce Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) as a direct story tie-in to the beginning of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). He then directed animation for the Adult Swim pilot Korgoth of Barbaria (2006). Plans were up in the air for over a decade for a possible movie conclusion to Samurai Jack, as well as directing a sequel to The Dark Crystal (1982). He created storyboards for the action-packed opening of Iron Man 2 (2010) during this time period.

Genndy produced another dynamic TV series Sym-Bionic Titan (2010), before finally landing his first feature on Hotel Transylvania (2012), which would involve taking over a tumultuous production and incorporating 2D techniques to 3D animation. Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) was the first film for which he had creative control over the entire production, although it was still in the style developed during the first film. In 2017, he finally returned to direct a darker season of Samurai Jack to conclude the story on Adult Swim. He is currently directing Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018).

She was born in Leningrad, former Soviet Union. Her parents moved with her from Russia to New York when she was 17 years old, and she continues to reside in New York.

While working as a hairdresser at a salon, she was discovered by Luc Besson, the co-writer of Transporter 3, in New York, when she crossed a street. He gave her acting lessons and cast her as the female lead in Transporter 3.

Victoria Haralabidou was born on 23 October 1971 in Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]. She is an actress, known for Brides (2004), Psyhi vathia (2009) and The Tourist (2022).

Natalia Vodianova was born on 28 February 1982 in Gorkiy, Gorkovskaya oblast, RSFSR, USSR [now Nizhniy Novgorod, Nizhegorodskaya oblast, Russia]. She is an actress and writer, known for Clash of the Titans (2010), Belle du Seigneur (2012) and Together Forever. She is married to Antoine Arnault. She was previously married to Justin Portman.

Armin Mueller-Stahl is a German actor with a relatively long film career. He was once nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for his role as an abusive father in the biographical drama "Shine" (1996).

In 1930, Mueller-Stahl was born in Tilsit, East Prussia. The town developed around the castle of Schalauer Haus, which had been founded by the Teutonic Knights. Tilsit was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1945, and renamed to Sovetsk. It is currently part of the Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave of Russia located in Central Europe. The town is located close to the Oblast's borders with Lithuania, and has long had an ethnic Lithuanian minority.

Mueller-Stahl's father was bank teller Alfred Müller (who later changed the family name to Mueller-Stahl) ,and his mother was university professor Editha Maaß. Editha was born to a Baltic German family from Estonia. During World War I, the Maaß lived in Petrograd (Saint Petersburg). They moved to Tilsit in 1918.

Mueller-Stahl was born in Germany's Weimar Republic period, and spend his childhood and early adolescence in Nazi Germany. In 1938, he moved with his family to the town of Prenzlau in Brandenburg. During World War II, Mueller-Stahl parted with his father. Alfred was drafted into military service, and later fought on the Eastern Front of World War II. In 1945, Alfred died in a military hospital in Schönberg , Mecklenburg.

In 1945, Editha briefly moved her family to Goorstorf, located near Rostock, the largest city of Mecklenburg. They returned to Prenzlau following the end of World War II. Armin continued his school education there. He graduated from school in 1948, at the age of 18.

Mueller-Stahl initially aspired to become a professional violinist. In 1948, he moved to Berlin. There he attended the city conservatory in West Berlin, where he studied violin playing and musicology. He graduated in 1949, and acquired qualifications to work as a music teacher. At this point, he decided to become an actor instead.

After a few years of studies, Mueller-Stahl made his professional debut at the "Theater am Schiffbauerdamm" of Berlin in 1952. In 1954, he started performing in the Volksbühne ("People's Theatre") , a prestigious theater in East Berlin. For the next 20 years, he was primarily a theatrical actor. During the 1960s, he started a side career as a character actor in East German films. By the 1970s, he repeatedly appeared in polls as East Germany's most popular actor.

From 1973 to 1976, Mueller-Stahl played the Stasi agent Werner Bredebusch in the spy thriller television series "The Invisible Visor" (1973-1979). Bredebusch was initially the series' main character, a Stasi agent who impersonates deceased fighter pilot Achim Detjen and infiltrates West Germany. The series achieved high ratings, and Mueller-Stahll received acclaim. He left the series in 1976, and its ratings soon declined.

In 1976, Mueller-Stahl signed an open letter, protesting against East Germany's decision to exile singer-songwriter Wolf Biermann (1936-). Consequenly, Mueller-Stahl found himself blacklisted in East Germany. After a few years of being unable to find roles in his country, Mueller-Stahl migrated to West Germany.

In 1981, Mueller-Stahl played Von Bohm, the male lead in the romantic drama "Lola" (1981). The film depicted Von Bohm as a building commissioner who struggles against widespread corruption in the town of Coburg, while falling in love with brothel-employed singer Lola (played by Barbara Sukowa). Following the film's relative success, Mueller-Stahl found steady work in West German cinema throughout the 1980s.

Although he barely spoke English at this point of his life, Mueller-Stahl was cast as General Petya Samanov in the American television miniseries Amerika. The dystopian series depicted a version of the United States which was under Soviet military occupation, and in which Soviet general Samanov is the de facto ruler of the occupied country. "Amerika" was the second-highest rated miniseries of the 1986-87 U.S. television season.

Mueller-Stahl decided to to seek more acting roles in the United States, and made his American film debut in the crime drama "Music Box" (1989). He was cast in the role of Mike Laszlo, a Hungarian-American family man, who is exposed as a wanted war criminal who killed numerous civilians during the Siege of Budapest (1944-1945). The film won the "Golden Bear" at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival.

Mueller-Stahl next received the primary role of Polish-Jewish immigrant Sam Krichinsky in the family drama "Avalon" (1990). The film concerned the gradual assimilation of Krichinsky's family into modern American culture. The film was critically praised, and its screenwriter won the "Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay".

In 1991, Mueller-Stahl played the role of Inspector Grubach in the mystery thriller "Kafka". The film depicted a conspiracy in 1910s Prague, and was loosely inspired by the works of Franz Kafka (1883-1924). The film under-performed at the box office, but gained a cult following.

During the same year, Mueller-Stahl played New York City-based taxi driver Helmut Grokenberger in the anthology film "Night on Earth". In the film, Helmut is an East German immigrant in the United States. He is a former professional clown, whose ineptness as a driver and ignorance of New York geography make him ill-suited for his new profession. The film was critically well-received.

In 1992, Mueller-Stahl played Meissen porcelain collector Baron Kaspar Joachim von Utz in the eponymous film "Utz". The film was an adaptation of a 1988 novel by Bruce Chatwin (1940-1989), concerning a passionate collector and his unwillingness to part with his collection, even at the offer of a better life abroad. For this role, Mueller-Stahl won the "Silver Bear for Best Actor" at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival.

In 1996, Mueller-Stahl played Peter, the abusive father of concert pianist David Helfgott (1947-). The film concerns the negative effects of long-term physical and mental abuse of David by his father. Mueller-Stahl's role was critically praised, and he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The award was instead won by rival actor Cuba Gooding Jr. (1968-).

In 1998, Mueller-Stahl played German scientist Conrad Strughold in the science fiction film "The X-Files", a spin-off of the then-popular television series "The X-Files" (1993-2002, 2016-2018). In the film, Strughold is a member of the Syndicate, a shadow government which collaborates with extraterrestrial would-be colonists. The film was a box-office hit, earning 189 million dollars at the worldwide box office.

In 2007, Mueller-Stahl played Semyon, a high-ranking member of the Russian mafia, in the gangster film "Eastern Promises". The film was critically praised, and appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.Mueller-Stahl won the "Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role".

In 2009, Mueller-Stah played former Stasi colonel Wilhelm Wexler in the action thriller "The International". In the film, Wexler works with a merchant bank that has secret ties to drug cartels, powerful corporations, corrupt governments, and terrorist organizations,. The film earned about 60 million dollars at the worldwide box office, and was considered notable for drawing inspiration from real-world banking scandals of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

Also in 2009, Mueller-Stahl portrayed Cardinal Strauss, Dean of the College of Cardinals and the Papal Conclave, in the mystery thriller "Angels & Demons". The film was an adaptation of a 2000 novel by Dan Brown (1964-). It concerns the assassination of fictional Pope Pius XVI, and a conspiracy trying to influence the election of his successor. The film earned about 486 million dollars at the worldwide box office, the highest-grossing film in Mueller-Stah's career.

In 2011, Mueller-Stahl received the "Honorary Golden Bear" at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival. His only film role in the 2010s was playing Fr. Zeitlinger in the experimental film "Knight of Cups ". The film uses images from tarot cards as a main theme, while elements of the plot were inspired by the "Hymn of the Pearl" (2nd century) and the "The Pilgrim's Progress" (1678) by John Bunyan.

By 2021, Mueller-Stahl was 90-years-old. He lives in semi-retirement in California, where he enjoys its pleasant climate. He has written a number of novels and short stories, and has taken painting as a hobby.

Anya Chipovskaya was born on 16 June 1987 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She is an actress, known for The Road to Calvary (2017), Blokbaster (2017) and The Calculator (2014). She is married to Dmitriy Endaltsev.

Born in Moscow, a student of Moscow Academy of Dramatic Arts, Pasha (aka Pavel) Lychnikoff, appeared on Moscow's stages in such productions as Gogol's Inspector General and Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. In early 90s Pasha moved to the United States to pursue his acting career there. Arriving at JFK Airport with five dollars in his pocket, speaking only a few words of English, Pasha made his way to Brighton Beach, Harlem, Hell's Kitchen, and then to Los Angeles to act.

As Pasha's career unfolded, he was introduced to bright minds that molded him as an actor and person. He first received a great helping hand and insight from Jonathan Banks at UCLA Film Theatre Department, which was followed by encouragement from private lessons with The Groundlings' creator Gary Austin. Jumping the fence at Twenty Century Fox paid off. Pasha was able to land his first television guest star role on the critically acclaimed NYPD Blue. This opportunity also earned him his membership with Screen Actors Guild. While working on NYPD Blue, Pasha became great friends with writer, creator, and executive producer David Milch. For the rest of Pasha's life, Milch became a mentor and friend who helped him greatly through his career.

While Pasha was living his dream of acting on television, little did he know that he was the first ever Russian to become a series regular on US television. Pasha's first series regular role was on David Milch and Tony Yarkovich's TV drama "Big Apple" on CBS after which he has had more than 40 TV guest appearances.

Lychnikoff continues to build an impressive resume in both television and film. Pasha has starred as Balzanov, a telegraph operator, in a lawless town of the second and third seasons of the critically acclaimed HBO series "Deadwood", created by David Milch. On the comedy side of acting, he had a recurring role on Chuck Lorre's comedy "The Big Bang Theory" as cosmonaut Dmitri Rezenov, and a lead role on the Russian hit series and number one comedy "Fizruk" as hysterical Misha Buddhist. His film credits include "Miami Vice" directed by Michael Mann with Colin Farell and Jamie Foxx, "Charlie Wilson's War" directed by Mike Nichols with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" directed by Steven Spielberg, "Star Trek" directed by J.J. Abrams, and "A Good Day to Die Hard" with Bruce Willis, and Motherland by Peter Buslov.

Pasha has a big passion for theater which extended beyond acting to producing. The Shelter, which he created alongside Valeri Belykovich, was his production debut in Los Angeles. The play got 5 Ovation Awards nominations in 2006 in 5 different categories including the World Premier Play, Play Intimate Theater, Direction of a Play, the Ensemble Performance, and Lighting Design. His performance in the play got him rave reviews by a number of critics.

In this coming acting season, Pasha will be seen in multiple projects such as a recurring on the 4th season of "Ray Donovan", mini series "Insomnia", and Sony Entertainment's "Beyond Valkyrie: the 4th Reich".

Irina Shayk--sometimes credited as Irina Sheik--was born in the USSR on January 6, 1986, as Irina Valeryevna Shaykhlislamova. She is a model and actress known for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue between 2007 and 2014. She was the cover model for the 2011 issue. Shayk made her acting debut as Megara alongside Dwayne Johnson in Hercules (2014).

Aleksey Serebryakov is a Soviet and Russian theater and film actor, People's Artist of the Russian Federation.

Aleksey was born in Moscow. His mother was a doctor, father was an aircraft engineer. Aleksey studied at a music school in the bayan class and once got into a photo for a report about an educational institution, which was published in the 'Evening Moscow' newspaper. The photo caught the eye of an assistant director who was looking for a boy who looked like the actor Vadim Spiridonov, and Aleksey got into the film Otets i syn (1980), and then into the TV series Vechnyy zov (1973). Then he played the main role of Vladimir Kovalev in the film Alye pogony (1980).

In 1981, Serebryakov worked as an actor at the Syzran Drama Theater named after Aleksei Tolstoy, after he could not enter the Boris Shchukin Theater Institute. In 1986 he graduated from the State Institute of Theater Arts of Anatoli Lunacharsky (workshop of Oleg Tabakov). In 1986-1991, he was an actor at the Studio Theater under the direction of Oleg Tabakov.

In 2000, Serebryakov played crime boss Oleg Zvantsev, nicknamed 'Lawyer' in the series Banditskiy Peterburg: Advokat (2000). The next major work, which caused a wide resonance, was the main role of the battalion commander Vasiliy Tverdokhlebov in the 2004 series Shtrafbat (2004). It can be said that at that moment Serebryakov finally gained a reputation as a person who brilliantly plays ambiguous characters in ambiguous films.

He played the main role in the social drama Leviathan (2014), which was released worldwide in 2014. For this acting work, for the second time in the history of Russian cinema, he was nominated for the European Film Academy Award.

Svetlana Khodchenkova is a Russian actress, known for her roles in Bless the Woman (2003) and in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011).

She was born Svetlana Viktorovna Khodchenkova on January 21, 1983, in Moscow and spent her childhood in Zheleznodorozhny, a small city about 6 miles east of Moscow, Russia. She was raised by a single mother, attended a public school, and once dreamed of becoming a medical doctor.

In 1998, at the age of 15, she started a career as a fashion model in Moscow, and also made a few international gigs. In 2000 she began her studies at the Moscow Institute of World Economics, but quit in favor of acting. From 2001 to 2005 she studied acting at the Shchukin Theatrical School of the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow. There she attended the class of Nina Doroshina and Alekandr Lyubimtsev, graduating in 2005 as actress.

While a student, she starred in films of directors Stanislav Govorukhin, and Viktor Merezhko, and also appeared in popular Russian TV series. In 2008, she earned the best actress award at Gdynya Polish Film Festival, for the leading role in Mala Moskwa (2008). In 2012, she won COFCA Award for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011).

On December 13, 2005, she married her classmate, actor Vladimir Yaglych, and also took her husband's name, changing her name from Svetlana Khodchenkova to Svetlana Yaglych.The couple married on the 13th on purpose; because all their filming contracts were signed on the 13th, they believed that 13 would keep working as a good number for them. However, their marriage did not last, ending in divorce.

Svetlana has been involved in several stage productions of Independent stage project in Moscow. She made stellar appearances in such plays, as "Moulin Rouge Hospital" and "Theatre with and without rules" earning herself much critical acclaim.

Outside of her acting profession, Svetlana is skilled in horse-back riding. She is also fond of winter sports, such as alpine skiing: she practiced her downhill at the ski resort of Courchevel, France.

Russian Award-winning actress Darya Ekamasova was born and raised in Moscow, Russia. She graduated from a music college, playing piano. At the age of 16, she was invited to star in a film by the famous Russian director Andrew Proshkin. She played a girl from an orphanage named Cicciolina. Darya really liked acting in films and, despite disagreements with her parents, she left music and entered the oldest Russian Academy of Theater Arts. During her studies, Darya starred with famous Russian directors such as Boris Khlebnikov, Alexey Fedorchenko, Nikolay Dostal, Nikolay Khomeriki. Films with her participation have repeatedly represented Russia at international film festivals such as Cannes, Venice Film Festival, Berlinale, etc. In 2010, Ekamasova played the lead part in the play "Life is Successful", which received the highest theater Award "Golden Mask". At the same time, the outstanding Russian director Andrew Smirnov noticed her and invited her to play the lead part in the film "Once upon a time there lived a simple woman". This is a folk drama, in the center of the story is a simple peasant woman Varvara. Through the prism of her life and love, the fate of the country is shown. This performance was highly appreciated by critics and viewers. Darya received all main awards in her country, as well as High Commendations at the Asia Pacific Screen Award and became a member of the Asian Film Academy. This film was shown in many countries and became her hallmark in the world of cinema. The film was screened at the 2012 New York Film Festival. That time Darya first came to America. Her life is divided into before and after. She fell in love with New York and began to fly there regularly.

In 2013, Ekamasova starred in the American film «Fourth Dimension» with Grolsh Film Works and VICE film. The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival.

In 2015, The play "Knock" was premiered at the Lost & Found Theater in New York. Her work attracted the attention of American producer Ben Barentholtz, who gave the world such outstanding filmmakers as the Coen Brothers, David Lynch, Jim Jarmusch, etc. Barentholtz invited Darya to play the lead part in his directorial debut film «Alina». In August 2017, the premiere took place in Los Angeles, where the film was presented by David Lynch himself. He praised Darya's acting work in this film.

In 2017, one of the best casting directors in America, Rori Bergman, drew attention to her and Ekamasova joined the team of «The Americans», she became a series regular character in seasons 5 and 6. Her partners were Matthew Rice, Carrie Russell and Noah Emmerich.

At the same time, she continued to act in Russia, Lithuania, Ukraine. Her role as Polina Schneider in Aleksey Fedorchenko's film "Angels of the Revolution" was noted by critics at the Rome Film Festival. And in 2017, Darya received the Chopard Talent Award, presented for the first time to a Russian actress.

In 2019, a TV series about the women's Gulag "A.L.Zh.I.R." was released, where Ekamasova played the lead part of Olga Pavlova, who was imprisoned due to the Stalinist repressions of 1937.

The 2019 Sundance Film Festival and the 72nd Cannes Film Festival premiered «Give Me Liberty». «Give me Liberty» is an absurd and incredibly lyrical comedy by Kirill Mikhanovsky, which won The Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award. She also created a magnificent image of Lenin's famous wife Nadezhda Krupskaya in the film "Lenin. Inevitability" directed by Vladimir Khotinenko, and Yevgeny Mironov himself became her co-star.

And in 2019, the Norwegian TVshow Occupied was released on Netflix, where Darya played a lesbian girl who came under political pressure because of her sharp tongue.

In 2021, the «Khrustalny» TV series by Serbian director Dusan Gligorov was released, which became the best TV series in Russia in 2021. Ekamasova played the main female role of a prostitute Katya Skazka, who helps to catch a pedophile maniac.

In 2022, Darya appears in the series «To the lake 2», which was the first Russian project for Netflix.

In August 2022, at Window to Europe Film Festival, Ekamasova won The Best Actress Award for her performance in the film «Just before» directed by Alisa Erokhina.

She continues to study music and her dream is to play a part of a pianist.

Member of SAG AFTRA