# Dimitri Diatchenko

Dimitri Diatchenko (April 11, 1968 – April 21, 2020) was an American actor.

## Life and career

Diatchenko was born April 11, 1968, in Oakland, California. He was a native of San Francisco, California and a first-generation American of Ukrainian, Greek and Swedish descent. Diatchenko began classical guitar lessons at the age of seven. Two years later, he gave his first solo classical guitar recital. During and after his studies, Diatchenko won several medals in guitar competitions including the Stotsenberg International Classical Guitar Competition or the World Championships of Performing Arts. He released four solo guitar CDs.
Diatchenko studied martial arts from the age of seven. He earned black belts in both Tae Kwon Do and Kenpo Karate and studied boxing and arnis. During the early 1990s, Diatchenko competed as a heavyweight in several national championships, winning many medals in full contact fighting, including the US Olympic Festival, the WTF National Championships and The 1991 World Invitational in Miami, Florida.
Diatchenko attended Newton North High School in Newton, Massachusetts where Matt LeBlanc also attended at the same time and later Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. There he was a scholarship music student, majored in classical guitar, and received a Bachelor of Music degree. After transferring to Florida State University in Tallahassee, Diatchenko continued with acting and music studies in the Masters program. In April 1996, as Diatchenko was graduating, he was cast in Ridley Scott's 1997 action film G.I. Jane and landed a small role as trainee; following this, Diatchenko relocated to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. In Los Angeles, he also taught guitar privately and performed regularly as a soloist and ensemble player.
Diatchenko made appearances in several television series. After appearing in the action series Alias, he was in the films Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Get Smart.
For his performance as Ukrainian tour guide Yuri in the film Chernobyl Diaries, Diatchenko received positive reviews from some film critics.
In addition to acting, Diatchenko worked as a voice actor. He lent his voice to a lot of video and computer games. His first performance in a video game came in 2005 with additional voices for Medal of Honor: European Assault.

## Animal cruelty charge

In 2015, Diatchenko pleaded no contest to animal cruelty after allegedly cooking and eating his ex-girlfriend's pet rabbit. He was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to perform sixty days of community labor and undergo forty-eight hours of counselling.

## Death

Diatchenko died in his home in Daytona Beach, Florida, on April 21, 2020, aged 52. He was discovered two days later after a wellness check initiated by concerned relatives. According to Diatchenko's agent, the death appeared to be a heart attack or complications from an electric shock Diatchenko had sustained at work a week before his death. An autopsy later revealed that there was a large amount of fentanyl and Valium in his system and the medical examiner listed the official cause of death as an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1997 | Goiterboy | Richter | Short |
| 1997 | G.I. Jane | Trainee | |
| 1999 | The Settlement | | Uncredited |
| 2001 | Norman J. Lloyd | Norman J. Lloyd | Short |
| 2006 | The Genius Club | Jesse The Mechanic | |
| 2006 | Miriam | Alexi | |
| 2006 | Love Made Easy | Poker Player | |
| 2007 | The Longest Yard Sale | Grammy | |
| 2008 | Remarkable Power | Ivan | |
| 2008 | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Russian Suit 1 / Russian Soldier | |
| 2008 | Get Smart | Russian Underling | |
| 2010 | Burning Palms | Bob | |
| 2012 | Chernobyl Diaries | Yuri | |
| 2013 | Company of Heroes | Ivan Puzharski | Direct-to-video |
| 2013 | Clubhouse | Misha | |
| 2016 | They're Watching | Vladimir Filat | Final film role |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1997 | Total Security | Bodyguard | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1997 | Diagnosis: Murder | Thug #1 / Carl | Episode: "A Mine Is a Terrible Thing to Waste" |
| 1998 | Timecop | Sergeant | Episode: "D.O.A." |
| 1999 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Robert Jackson | Episode: "Power Angels" |
| 1999 | Pensacola: Wings of Gold | Anton Marisovich | Episode: "True Stories" |
| 2000 | V.I.P. | | Episode: "Val Point Blank" |
| 2000 | 18 Wheels of Justice | Alexei | Episode: "Smuggler's Blues", Uncredited |
| 2001 | The Wild Thornberrys | Elder Beaver | Voice, Episode: "All Work and No Play" |
| 2001 | 18 Wheels of Justice | Sergei Zukaross | Episode: "Hot Cars, Fast Women" |
| 2004 | Alias | Vilmos | Episode: "The Frame" |
| 2005 | Wanted | Darsikska | Episode: "The Wild Bunch" |
| 2006 | The Suite Life of Zack & Cody | Waiter | Episode: "Odd Couples" |
| 2006 | The Suite Life of Zack & Cody | Attendant 1 | Episode: "No So Suite 16" |
| 2007 | Criminal Minds | Lyov Lysowsky | Episode: "Honor Among Thieves" |
| 2007 | Shark | Gavin Lundy | Episode: "Fall from Grace" |
| 2007 | Burn Notice | Boris | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2008 | The Riches | Russian #2 | Episode: "The Lying King" |
| 2008 | My Own Worst Enemy | Gold Teeth | Episode: "Breakdown" |
| 2008 | Without a Trace | Yuri Ovsenko | Episode: "Push Comes to Shove" |
| 2009 | CSI: Miami | Andrei | Episode: "Wolfe in Sheep's Clothing" |
| 2009 | Family Guy | Russian Dinosaur / Russian Guard #2 | Voice, Episode: "Spies Reminiscent of Us" |
| 2010 | General Hospital | Babak | 3 episodes, Uncredited |
| 2011 | Sons of Anarchy | Head Russian | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | How I Met Your Mother | Arvydas | Episode: "46 Minutes" |
| 2012 | Perception | Alexi Topaloff | Episode: "Faces" |
| 2013 | Project: SERA | Zakir | Episode: "Immunity" |
| 2014 | Bones | Dimitri Romanov | Episode: "The Master in the Slop" |
| 2014 | 2 Broke Girls | Yuri | Episode: "And the Kilt Trip" |
| 2016 | Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street | Green Beret | Episode: "Gortimer vs. White Hat" |
| 2016 | Murder in the First | Janko Kolar | Episode: "Rise of the Phoenix" |
| 2017 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Vulko / Lone Knight / Lead Knight | Voice, 2 episodes |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2005 | Medal of Honor: European Assault | |
| 2005 | From Russia with Love | |
| 2005 | Quake 4 | Sledge |
| 2006 | SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Fireteam Bravo 2 | |
| 2006 | SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Combined Assault | Paramilitary Leader |
| 2008 | Iron Man | Boris Bullski / Titanium Man, Russian Soldiers |
| 2008 | Fracture | |
| 2008 | Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 | Cmdr. Oleg Vodnik |
| 2008 | Call of Duty: World at War | The Commissar |
| 2008 | Aion: The Tower of Eternity | |
| 2009 | Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 – Uprising | Cmdr. Oleg Vodnik |
| 2009 | Resistance: Retribution | Cloven Leader / Cloven 2 |
| 2009 | Wolfenstein | Golden Dawn Agent / Wehrmacht Officer / Black Market Agent |
| 2009 | Uncharted 2: Among Thieves | Serbian Soldiers |
| 2009 | Rogue Warrior | Russian Soldier 3 / SEAL Captain |
| 2010 | Iron Man 2 | General Valentin Shatalov / Roxxon Soldiers |
| 2010 | Singularity | |
| 2010 | Crackdown 2 | |
| 2010 | Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions | Sandman |
| 2010 | Call of Duty: Black Ops | Spetsnaz Operative |
| 2011 | Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception | Serbian Soldier |
| 2012 | Ghost Recon: Future Soldier | Evgeny Petrakov |
| 2012 | Call of Duty: Black Ops II | |
| 2013 | Tomb Raider | Solarii |
| 2013 | Metro: Last Light | Secretary General Moskvin |
| 2013 | The Last of Us | |
| 2015 | Evolve | Markov |
| 2015 | Battlefield Hardline | |
| 2015 | Fallout 4 | Vadim Bobrov |
| 2015 | Rise of the Tomb Raider | |
| 2016 | XCOM 2 | Soldier |
| 2016 | Deus Ex: Mankind Divided | |
| 2016 | Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare | |

## Awards and nominations
### Music

* 2003: Instrumental and Acting Grand Champion of the World at the World Championships of Performing Arts