'Sputnik': Meet Oksana Akinshina, Fyodor Bondarchuk and rest of the cast of Russian sci-fi horror
Fans of Ridley Scott’s classic 1979 science-fiction horror film, ‘Alien’, have a new feature headed their way: the Russian sci-fi horror/thriller, ‘Sputnik’.
The film revolves around a young doctor called Tatiana Yurievna, who due to her controversial methods, is on the precipice of losing her medical license. Her career may not be over, though. After she’s recruited by the military, Tatiana is brought to a secure science research facility to assess a very special case, that of Konstantin Sergeyevich, a cosmonaut who survived a mysterious space accident and has returned to Earth with a unique condition. There’s something living inside him that only shows itself late at night. And obviously, the military has nefarious plans for it. Tatiana wants to stop it from killing Konstantin. And the creature itself thrives on destruction.
The film, in the trailer, looks as high-budget as they come. The visual effects, the aesthetics, and of course, the fabled creature look promising. But aside from that, the film’s cast, too, sets expectations high. Let’s take a look at who the cast members are:
Oksana Akinshina as Tatyana Yuryevna
The 33-year-old Russian actor Akinshina was born on April 19, 1987, in Leningrad, in the former-USSR as Oksana Aleksandrovna Akinshina to a mechanic father and an accountant mother. Akinshina started acting at the young age of 12. She was soon discovered by famous Russian actor Sergei Bodrov Jr., and consequently, she made her screen début in the Russian crime film called ‘Sisters’.
She then went ahead to act in foreign films like the Swedish-Danish drama called ‘Lilya 4-ever’, the American thriller, ‘The Bourne Supremacy’, and the Ukrainian film ‘Birds of Paradise’. She has also acted in several Russian films like ‘Hipsters’, ‘Vysotsky’, ‘Thank You For Being Alive’, and ‘Quiet Comes the Dawn’.
Akinshina has three children: son Filipp Litvinov with her ex-husband Dmitriy Litvinov; another son called Konstantin Gelovani, and a daughter called Emmi Gelovani with her second ex-husband Archil Gelovani. She and Gelovani separated after six years of marriage in 2018.
Fyodor Bondarchuk as Colonel Semiradov
The 53-year-old Russian film director, actor, TV, and film producer, television host, and entrepreneur comes from Russian cinema royalty. He was born on May 9, 1967, in Moscow to the Oscar-winning director and actor Sergei Bondarchuk and Soviet movie star Irina Skobtseva. He graduated from VGIK, the State Institute of Cinematography, in 1992.
Aside from being an actor, Bondarchuk has several feathers in his cap. He’s the co-founder of the production company called Art Pictures Studio. He’s the chairman of the board of directors of the Lenfilm Production Studio and he’s also the founder of Industry Film and Television School.
His acting debut was in 1986 in the film ‘Boris Godunov’, which starred, and was created by, his father. In 1990 Bondarchuk became the first Russian producer of music videos. In 1993, he won the Ovatsia (Ovation) award as the best producer of music videos and received it from his father's hands.
Bondarchuk, as a filmmaker as well, has received much acclaim. His 2005 war drama ‘The 9th Company’, based on the Afghan war, did well at the box office and was also later awarded by the National Academy. Another war drama created by him, 2013’s ‘Stalingrad’, is one of the highest-grossing films in Russian history.
As an actor, Bondarchuk has been part of the Russian film industry for more than three-and-a-half decades. Mostly known as an action star, Bondarchuk has performed in more than 70 films. Some of his most notable films include ‘8 ½ $’, ‘Down House’, ‘Two Days’, ‘The PyraMMMid’, and ‘Ghost’. He is a two-time winner of the Golden Eagle award.
The actor and his ex-wife TV host and socialite Svetlana Bondarchuk share two children, Sergei and Varvara.
Pyotr Fyodorov as Konstantin
Like Bondarchuk, the 38-year-old Russian actor, too, belongs to an acting family. Fyodorov was born on April 21, 1982, in Moscow. His father Pyotr Evgenievich Fyodorov was a famous theater and film actor, art critic, and television presenter. His grandfather, Yevgeny Fyodorov, was also a Soviet and Russian theatrical actor, who had received the prestigious recognition of “Honored Artist of the RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic)”.
In 1997, Fyodorov entered the Moscow Theater Art Technical School (MTTU). In 2003, he graduated from the acting department of the Boris Shchukin Theatre Institute. Following that, he was part of the Moscow Stanislavsky Drama Theater.
His first major role in films was in 2001’s ‘101 km’. He also received national popularity for his role in the popular teen television series, ‘Club’. Some of his more notable performances in films include ‘The Inhabited Island’, ‘The Darkest Hour’, ‘Stalingrad’, ‘Duelist’, ‘The Icebreaker’, and ‘The Blackout’.
‘Sputnik’ will be released on August 14 and will be available in select theaters and on-demand.