Aleksandr Kuznetsov

Aleksandr Kuznetsov is a Ukrainian-Russian actor based in London, UK. He was born on July 22, 1992, in Sevastopol, Ukraine. His father was a sailor, and Aleksandr briefly worked alongside him before beginning his acting career. Kuznetsov felt creatively limited in Sevastopol and moved first to Kiev and then Moscow to pursue his education. In 2015, he graduated from the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) and received offers to work at three of Moscow's most reputable theaters. He chose the Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre where he started as a leading actor the same year. In addition to film and television, he had performed in numerous theater productions for a several years, before he made a decision to quit theater and focus on the movie career. After the release of his first film, "The Scythian," followed soon after by the film "Leto" (The Summer), which was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, Kuznetsov became a rising star in Russia and parts of Europe. In addition to several roles in Russian films and television series, he was a lead in the internationally syndicated Russian Netflix television series "Better Than Us" and the French film "Mon Legionnaire" (Our Men), by director Rachel Lang. He also starred as the character Krzystof in the HBO series "Kamikaze." His role as Helmut in "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore" is his first role in a major international film franchise. Kuznetsov has criticized the war in Ukraine and, as of April of 2022, no longer resides in Russia. Kuznetsov plays guitar and sings vocals for an alternative rock band, which performs in English. His music and theatrical performances have been heavily influenced by Brit pop and punk music. He has been trained in acrobatics and as a stuntman and has a black belt in Aikido. He is also an avid boxer.