# Michael Aronov

Michael Aronov (born May 4, 1976) is an American actor who has worked in film, television and theatre. In 2017, he won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role as Uri Savir in the Broadway play Oslo. He is also known for playing the role of Anton Baklanov, a refusenik scientist in The Americans.

## Early life

Aronov was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He grew up in Miami, Florida and graduated from the city's New World School of the Arts. In 1998 he graduated with a B.F.A in theatre at Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University. He is Bukharian Jewish.

## Career

Aronov spent three seasons on the award-winning series The Americans playing a physicist who is torn from his family and exiled as a political prisoner. In 2017 The Blacklist brought him on as a new member to the show's cast, playing Smokey Putnum, the lovable hustler and sidekick to James Spader. Aronov was also recurring as right-hand-man to John Malkovich in Showtime's Billions. Aronov played one of the leads in a series for Cinemax called Jett and was recently seen opposite Ben Kingsley and Oscar Isaac on the big screen in Operation Finale.
In film, Aronov is known for his role as Chovka, the Chechen warlord and head gangster opposite Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini in The Drop (2014). Other films include Lbs., Amexicano and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The actor also played Danny Raden - a series lead opposite Larenz Tate in BET's original pilot, Gun Hill. Aronov's other television work includes Count Vincent of Naples in the series Reign, Danny Lambros on The Good Wife, Michael Cahill on Person of Interest, Ricky Vintano on Blue Bloods, billionaire Brice Hunter on Without a Trace and recurring roles on Madam Secretary and The Closer.
For his stage work Aronov received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play in 2017 for his role as Uri Savir in the Broadway play Oslo. He was also honored with the Lucille Lortel Award, the Obie Award, and received Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations for Oslo. Prior to that the actor originated the role of Paul in Lyle Kessler's First Born at The Actors Studio in New York. He won "The Elliot Norton Award - Best Actor", for originating the lead role in Theresa Rebeck's Mauritius. On Broadway he appeared as Siggie, in the Tony-nominated revival of Golden Boy (2012-2013), directed by Bartlett Sher. He worked with Sher and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts yet again, playing Gromov, in the American premiere of Blood and Gifts (2011). Aronov was also seen in his solo-show Manigma (2010, 2006), in New York City. In Europe he portrayed Stanley Kowalski in the classic A Streetcar Named Desire (2009). The actor also took on Jean in Miss Julie (2004) at the Cherry Lane Theatre, Dionysus in The Bacchae 2.1 (2001); and Edgar in an award-winning production of King Lear (1999).

## Filmography
### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | The Beat | Vendor | In 1 episode, "Cueca Solo" |
| 2000 | Spin City | First Protester | In 1 episode, "Airplane!" |
| 2000 | All My Children | Lazlo | In 1 episode |
| 2000 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Avi | In 1 episode, "One" |
| 2000, 2002 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Gorsky; Igor | In 2 episodes, a different character in each |
| 2003 | Threat Matrix | Amir Abadiyah | In 1 episode, "Patriot Acts" |
| 2006 | The Game | Babak | In 1 episode, "Gifted" |
| 2008 | Without a Trace | Brice Hunter | In 1 episode, "22 x 42" |
| 2008 | Lipstick Jungle | Serge | In 1 episode, "Chapter 14: Let the Games Begin" |
| 2009 | Life on Mars | Yuri Demidov | In 1 episode, "Take a Look at the Lawmen" |
| 2000, 2007, 2009 | Law & Order | Alex Arshavin; Karl Rostov; Andre Korsakoff | In 3 episodes, a different character in each |
| 2010 | White Collar | Clark Maskhadov | In 1 episode, "In the Red" |
| 2010 | Blue Bloods | Ricky Vintano | In 1 episode, "Officer Down" |
| 2010 | The Closer | Armand Marku | In 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Burn Notice | Vlade / Serb | In 1 episode, "Enemy of My Enemy" |
| 2011 | The Good Wife | Danny Lambros | In 1 episode, "The Death Zone" |
| 2011 | Gun Hill | Danny Raden | TV movie |
| 2012 | Person of Interest | Michael Cahill | In 1 episode, "Blue Code" |
| 2012 | Americana | Alexander Orloff | TV movie |
| 2013 | Golden Boy | Dominic Quinlan | In 1 episode, "Vicious Cycle" |
| 2013 | Elementary | Andrej Bacera | In 1 episode, "Heroine" |
| 2013 | Reign | Count Vincent | In 1 episode, "Left Behind" |
| 2015 | Forever | Dasha | In 1 episode, "The King of Columbus Circle" |
| 2015 | The Mystery of Matter: Search for the Elements | Dmitri Mendeleev | TV mini series documentary |
| 2015 | Quantico | Hamza Kouri | In 1 episode, "Go" |
| 2014-2016 | The Americans | Anton Baklanov | In 12 episodes |
| 2014, 2016 | Madam Secretary | Anton Durchenko | In 2 episodes |
| 2016 | They Shall Not Perish: The Story of Near East Relief | Leslie A. Davis | TV documentary |
| 2018 | Billions | Michael | In 3 episodes |
| 2017-2019 | The Blacklist | Joe 'Smokey' Putnum | In 6 episodes |
| 2019 | Jett | Jack 'Jackie' Dillon | In 9 episodes |
| 2021 | Hit & Run | Isaac | In 5 episodes |
| 2022 | The First Lady | Rahm Emanuel | |
| 2024 | Snowpiercer | Dr. Nima Rousseau | Main, season 4 |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Hedwig and the Angry Inch | Schlatko (band member) | |
| 2004 | LBs. | Sacco Valenzia | |
| 2007 | Amexicano | Alex | |
| 2008 | Soldier's Heart | The documentary director | |
| 2009 | Cold Souls | Mafioso | |
| 2010 | Anomaly: Oblivion | Simon (voice) | Short film |
| 2012 | Happy Hour | Christo | Short film |
| 2013 | Fortune House | Peter | Short film |
| 2014 | The Drop | Chovka | |
| 2018 | Half Magic | John | |
| 2018 | Operation Finale | Zvi Aharoni | |
| 2021 | Crisis | Minas | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2017 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actor in a Play | Oslo | Won |
| 2017 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Oslo | Nominated |
| 2017 | Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Oslo | Nominated |
| 2017 | Lucille Lortel Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Oslo | Won |
| 2017 | Obie Award | Ensemble | Oslo | Won |