10 Hollywood actors who starred in Russian cinema

It’s no secret that Russian cinema is far inferior to Hollywood, which is expressed both in budgets and in the very quality of films.

Any domestic actor would gladly accept an invitation to act in the West, while it is difficult to lure foreign stars into our films, however, there are exceptions to this rule, ten of which we will recall today.

Looking at the names of some of the actors, it’s hard to even imagine what tricks our directors and producers had to go to to lure stars of this level.

10 Danny Trejo, “Courier from Heaven” | 2013

Danny Trejo cannot be attributed to Hollywood stars of the first magnitude, but nevertheless, thanks to his texture and charisma, the actor is recognizable and popular. Most often, he is called for the roles of villains and criminals, giving him albeit minor, but still memorable roles.

The Russian adventure comedy The Courier from Paradise directed by Mikhail Khleborodov brought together prominent Russian actors, including Elizaveta Boyarskaya, Gosha Kutsenko, Dmitry Dyuzhev and Dmitry Nagiyev.

Trejo received, as always, a cameo role, but this time he played not a scumbag, but just a guide. Just a few minutes of screen time allowed him to greatly diversify the picture, which only benefited her.

9. Sean Connery, Red Tent | 1969

In 1969, Connery was already a star, playing James Bond in several adaptations of Ian Fleming’s works: Dr. No, From Russia with Love, You Only Live Twice, etc.

The film “Red Tent”, in which he played one of the main roles, was a product of the joint work of Soviet, Italian and British directors, so his appearance here does not seem so surprising.

Nikita Mikhalkov worked with him on the set, although he received a less significant, but still noticeable role.

The film itself tells about the torments of the aged General Umberto Nobile, who blames himself for the crash of the airship “Italia”, which is under his command.

8. Thomas Kretschman, Stalingrad | 2013

At the time of filming in the military drama of Fyodor Bondarchuk, Thomas Kretschman already had roles in such well-known films as “Wanted”, “The Pianist”, “Resident Evil: Apocalypse” and others, but still he managed to lure him to shoot with us.

In fairness, it should be noted that despite all the inconsistency of the film, Krechman played his role perfectly, fully conveying the character and characteristics of the character.

By the way, he has already starred in a military drama with exactly the same name – in 1993, his “Stalingrad” was filmed in Germany, where the actor himself comes from.

7. Jean-Claude Van Damme, “Rzhevsky against Napoleon” | 2012

The situation with Van Damme is the exact opposite of Kretschmann’s story, because he should be ashamed of this role. The hero of the cult action films of the 80s and 90s appears in an absurd and stupid way, causing the viewer more pity than laughter. The comedy, if you can call it that at all, received devastating reviews in the press, and the audience did not appreciate it either.

6. Christopher Lambert, Sobibor | 2018

This film is the directorial debut of Konstantin Khabensky, who also played a major role. Considering that he has experience filming in Hollywood (everyone remembers “Wanted”), it was not so difficult for him to persuade Lambert to participate in his picture.

He embodied the image of the main antagonist, brilliantly coped with his task. Lambert, by the way, was not the only foreigner on the set: in addition to him, little-known actors Dirk Martens, Wolfgang Czerny and others received small roles.

5. Jason Flemyng, “Wii” | 2014

That rare case when a foreign actor gets a leading role in a Russian film (although Germany, Ukraine and the Czech Republic also participated in the production).

Fleming is probably known to all fans of Guy Ritchie’s crime dramas, where he starred in the films “Cards, Money, Two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch”.

Critics and the public accepted the free interpretation of Gogol’s story ambiguously, scolding her for copying Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow, but she, like the role of Fleming, cannot be called a failure either.

4. Alain Delon, “Happy New Year, Moms!” | 2012

Almanac of 5 short stories from Sarik Andreasyan became a continuation of the comedy “Mom”, which was released a little earlier. The legend of French cinema received a cameo in the episode “See Paris and …”, starring with Pavel Volya.

It is noteworthy that the role in the mediocre Russian comedy was the last for Alain Delon in the cinema, and after that he was filmed only on TV. I wonder if he really dreamed of such an end to his film career?

3. Gerard Depardieu, “Rasputin” | 2011

This film is also not entirely Russian, but rather a product of the work of Russia and France. Even the premiere did not take place at our place, but still we could not not include it in the selection.

Depardieu, who at that time was not yet a citizen of the Russian Federation, embodied the image of the controversial figure of Rasputin in a rather original way, proving once again that he was up to playing serious dramatic roles.

Together with him, Vladimir Mashkov, Anna Mikhalkova, Irina Alferova, Danila Kozlovsky and a whole scattering of domestic stars worked on the set.

2. Malcolm McDowell, The Kingslayer | 1991

A historical drama by Karen Shakhnazarov, for which Oleg Yankovsky, the lead actor, was awarded the Nika Prize. The film is about a psychiatrist (Jankowski) and his patient, played by McDowell.

A former criminal, he suffers from a split personality, identifying himself with the murderers of the Russian emperors Nicholas II and Alexander II. The film was shot in two languages: in English for European viewers and in Russian for the USSR.

1. Rutger Hauer and Michael Madsen, Salamander Key | 2010

Let’s finish the list with a rather strange creation of the Netherlands, Russia and the USA, where the main roles were played by Fedor Emelianenko, Rutger Hauer and Michael Madsen.

Shot for $7 million, the film tells about the latest invention in the field of life extension, as well as the mysterious events associated with it, in the center of which is a special forces team and scientists.