# Danila Kozlovsky

Danila Valeryevich Kozlovsky (Russian: Данила Валерьевич Козловский; born 3 May 1985) is a Russian actor and director. His most famous roles in films include Vampire Academy and Soulless, as well as the TV series Vikings. During his career he achieved international popularity in Eastern European countries.

## Biography

Kozlovsky was born in Moscow. His mother, Nadezhda Zvenigorodskaya, is a stage actress, and his father, Valery Kozlovsky, was a professor at Moscow State University specializing in marketing and mass communications. He is the second of three brothers, an older brother, Yegor, and a younger brother, Ivan. From a young age, Kozlovsky was placed in dance and music classes, learning to play the saxophone and the alto. During his early years, he frequently changed schools, potentially due to discipline issues. He made his big screen debut in 1998, playing the troubled sixth grader Denis on the Russian television series Simple Truths.
In 1996, he was accepted into the Kronshtadt Naval Military School, which he attended until his graduation in 2002. Upon graduation, he matriculated to the Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy, entering the acting/directing course supervised by Lev Dodin. During his fourth year he made his debut on the stage of the Little Drama Theatre (Theatre de l’Europe), playing the part of Edgar in King Lear (2006). The role brought him his first theatre award: a special prize of Expert Council of the "Golden Sofit" (the top-rated theatre award in Saint Petersburg) for Best Debut. Then there was a role in the play Life and Fate, which premiered in Paris and the diploma performance "Warsaw Melody".
After graduating from the academy in 2007, Danila Kozlovskiy was officially admitted to the staff of the Little Drama Theatre (Theatre de l'Europe). In his repertoire were added performances Lord of the Flies, where he played Ralph, Intrigue and Love and The Cherry Orchard.
In 2005, he also received his first important film role – in the picture Garpastum. The film, set during the time of the First World War, tells the story of two brothers who wish to build their own football stadium. Kozlovsky received the Russian Guild of Film Critics "White Elephant Award" for the best male lead actor.
Kozlovsky gained wider publicity in 2008 with his starring role in the film Black Hunters. There he played the role of robber archaeologist Sergei Filatov, who is transported into the past together with his friends when making illegal excavations.
In 2009, he portrayed drag queen Lusya in the comedy-drama Jolly Fellows. It was screened in the Panorama section of the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival.

### Soulless and breakthrough

After Kozlovsky starred in the 2012 film Soulless he became a household name in Russia. He played the lead role of Max Andreev, a young ambitious executive manager who begins to reevaluate his priorities in life and career. The film was a hit and grossed $13 million. He received the National Golden Eagle Award for Soulless (2012, nomination "Best Cinema Actor"). The film was followed by a sequel in 2015, for which he won the Nika Award as best actor.
Kozlovsky played the role of Yegor Dorin, in the 2012 film The Spy, based on the Boris Akunin novel.
In 2013, he portrayed ice-hockey player Valeri Kharlamov in the sports drama Legend № 17. The film was a critical and box-office success, earning $29.5 million at the box-office.
Kozlovsky starred in his first Hollywood film in 2014; he played Dimitri Belikov in the comedy-horror picture Vampire Academy.
The year 2016 saw Kozlovsky star in five films – romantic comedy Status: non engaged, sci-fi action film Hardcore Henry, comedy film Friday, disaster film Flight Crew and historical action film Viking.
Out of the aforementioned films, the most popular ones at the box-office were Flight Crew, earning $27 million, and Viking which grossed $34 million.
He played Count Vorontzov in the film Matilda (2017), which told the story of the romance between Emperor Nicholas II and ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska. The film became controversial after State Duma deputy Natalia Poklonskaya led a campaign to ban the film on religious grounds.
Also in 2017, it was announced that Kozlovsky will appear as Oleg of Novgorod in the sixth season of popular Canadian historical drama Vikings.
In 2018, Kozlovsky played a supporting role in Dovlatov. The biographical picture about writer Sergei Dovlatov premiered at the 2018 Berlinale in competition.
Danila Kozlovsky's directorial debut Coach was released in 2018.
In 2021, he directed the film Chernobyl: Abyss, the soundtrack for the film was recorded by Alla Pugacheva.

## In the media

In 2013, GQ Russia picked Danila Kozlovsky as Man of the Year.
Kozlovsky appeared in advertisements for Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle alongside Keira Knightley in 2015.
For a number of years, he was cited as a sex symbol by various media outlets in Russia.

## Personal life

In late 2008, Kozlovsky married the Maly Drama Theatre actress Urszula Małka. They divorced in 2011. Kozlovsky was in a relationship with actress and model Olga Zueva from 2014 to 2020. They split shortly after Olga gave birth to their daughter Oda Valentina Zueva (born in February 2020).
On 24 and 27 February 2022, Kozlovsky posted several Instagram posts condemning the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, sharing an image of a crying refugee. In his 27 February post, Kozlovsky admitted to, and apologized for, his indifference to the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014. Kozlovsky's film Viking had been filmed in parts of the Russia-annexed territory of Crimea. According to Novaya Gazeta, Kozlovsky has faced harassment due to his stance against the invasion and has faced difficulties finding new film roles.

## Theater
### Little Drama Theatre (Theatre de l’Europe)

* 2006 – King Lear – Edgar
* 2006 – Whim – Barkalov, the manager of the estate
* 2007 – The Warsaw Melody – Victor
* 2007 – Life and Fate – Novikov
* 2009 – The Lord of the Flies – Ralph
* 2010 – Lorenzaccio – Lorenzaccio
* 2012 – Intrigue and Love – Ferdinand
* 2013 – The Cherry Orchard – Lopakhin
* 2016 – Hamlet – Hamlet

### Theater Post

* 2012 – Shoot / Get Treasure / Repeat by Mark Ravenhill, director Dmitri Volktostrelov – Dictator

### Clapham Grand

* 2024 — Frank, director Savva Savelev — Himself

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Original Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | Simple Truths | Простые истины | Denis Selivyorstov | TV series |
| 2003 | Dancing on the Waves | Я всё решу сама: Танцующая на волнах | Valera | TV series |
| 2003 | Streets of Broken Lights | Улицы разбитых фонарей | soldier-deserter Popov | TV series |
| 2004 | Sissi: The Rebel Empress | Сисси – мятежная императрица | Young Franz Joseph | TV film |
| 2004 | On Verhniaya Maslovka street" | На Верхней Масловке | Modigliani | |
| 2005 | Garpastum | Гарпастум | Nikolay | Russian Guild of Film Critics Award for Best Actor |
| 2006 | Alka | Алька | Lenya Astakhov | TV miniseries |
| 2006 | Crime and Weather | Преступление и погода | Victor | |
| 2007 | Lenin's Legacy | Завещание Ленина | Sergei | TV miniseries |
| 2008 | Black Hunters | Мы из будущего | Sergei "Bormann" Filatov | Also known as We Are from the Future and Back in Time Nominated—MTV Russia Movie Award for Best Kiss (shared with Ekaterina Klimova) |
| 2009 | Jolly Fellows | Весельчаки | Lyusya | |
| 2009 | A. D. | А. Д. | Daniil Ageev | TV |
| 2010 | On-alone | Одиночка | Andrei Gromov | TV |
| 2010 | Attempt | Покушение | Yevgeniy Kostin | TV series |
| 2010 | Moscow, I Love You! | Москва, я люблю тебя! | Taxi driver | |
| 2010 | Hamlet. XXI Century | Гамлет XXI век | Laertes | |
| 2011 | Gulf Stream Under the Iceberg | Гольфстрим под айсбергом | Ari Brylskiy | |
| 2011 | Target | Мишень | Mitya | |
| 2011 | Five Brides | Пять невест | Alexei Kaverin | |
| 2011 | Skerries-18 | Шхера-18 | Andrei Egorov | TV |
| 2011 | Raspoutine | Распутин | Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich | Russian-French co-production |
| 2012 | The Spy | Шпион | Yegor Dorin | |
| 2012 | Soulless | Духless | Max Andreev | Golden Eagle Award for Best Leading Actor Nominated—Nika Award for Best Actor Nominated—Russian Guild of Film Critics Award for Best Actor |
| 2013 | Legend № 17 | Легенда № 17 | Valeri Kharlamov | |
| 2013 | Everything Began in Harbin | Всё началось в Харбине | Boris Eybozhenko | TV series |
| 2013 | The habit to leave | Привычка расставаться | Vadim | |
| 2014 | Dubrovsky | Дубровский | Vladimir Dubrovsky | Feature film and TV mini-series |
| 2014 | Vampire Academy | Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters | Dimitri Belikov | |
| 2015 | Soulless 2 | Духless 2 | Max Andreev | |
| 2016 | Status: Free | Статус: Свободен | Nikita Kolesnikov | |
| 2016 | Friday | Пятница | Mikhail Bondar | |
| 2016 | Hardcore Henry | Хардкор | Akan | |
| 2016 | Flight Crew | Экипаж | Alexey Guchshin | Remake of Air Crew |
| 2016 | Viking | Викинг | Vladimir the Great | |
| 2017 | Matilda | Матильда | Vorontsov | |
| 2018 | McMafia | МакМафия | Grigory Mishin | TV series |
| 2018 | Dovlatov | Довлатов | David | |
| 2018 | Coach | Тренер | Yuri Stoleshnikov | |
| 2018 | In the Hood | На районе | | |
| 2019–2020 | Vikings | — | Oleg the Prophet | TV series, main role (season 6) |
| 2021 | Chernobyl: Abyss | Чернобыль | Alexey Karpushin | Also director |
| 2021 | Karamora | Карамора | Karamora | |
| 2022 | Molodoy chelovek | Молодой человек | |
| 2022 | Treason | — | Lord Anton Melnikov | TV miniseries |

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Year | Category | Nominated Work | Result |
| Nika Award | 2015 | Best Actor | Soulless 2 | Won |
| Glamour Awards | 2013 | Man of the Year | — | Won |
| Golden Eagle Awards | 2012 | Golden Eagle Award for Best Leading Actor | Soulless | Won |
| Golden Floodlight Theatre Awards | 2006 | Best Debut | King Lear | Won |
| GQ Awards | 2013 | Man of the Year | — | Won |
| MTV Russia Movie Awards | 2008 | Best Kiss (shared with Ekaterina Klimova) | Black Hunters | Nominated |
| Nika Awards | 2012 | Best Actor | Soulless | Nominated |
| Russian Guild of Film Critics Awards | 2005 | Best Actor | Garpastum | Won |
| Russian Guild of Film Critics Awards | 2012 | Best Actor | Soulless | Nominated |
| Constellation Film Actors Festival | 2008 | Best Leading Actor | Back in Time | Won |