# Alim Kouliev

Alim Kaisynovich Kouliev (born June 24, 1959) is a Soviet-born American actor, theatre director, and screenwriter of Balkar origin. Kouliev was born in Nalchik — a small city in USSR. His father was a Balkar poet Kaisyn Kuliev and his mother was his Ingush wife Maka. His elder brother Eldar Kuliev was a Russian film director and a screenwriter. His younger brother Azamat Kuliev is a Russian painter, living and working in Istanbul, Turkey. At the age of seven, Kouliev was influenced by Vladimir Visotsky, an acclaimed Russian actor, poet, and singer, and one of his father's younger colleagues in the poetry field. Alim later decided to become an actor.

## Biography

He studied acting at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS) in Moscow. After serving in the Soviet Army, he was studying stage directing in GITIS, and continued his education at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow, where he graduated from the acting class of Yevgeny Matveyev, an acclaimed master of theater and cinema. His classmate was Natalya Vavilova.
Ever since he was a student, Kouliev appeared on the professional stage. His first significant role on stage was Mercutio in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at Aleksandr Demidov Theater-Studio, where he also played Atavio in The Moods of Marianne by Alfred de Musset and Meleander in Maurice Maeterlinck's Aglavain and Selyzett. He broke into films starring as Joseph Codrero in Copper Angel with Leonid Kuravlyov, Anatoly Kuznetsov, Aleksandr Filippenko, Leonid Yarmolnik. He has twelve years of acting experience working in leading Moscow theaters and has had several roles in the famous Russian feature films. Kouliev created many great characters in classic and contemporary productions, under the best Russian theatrical directors.
In 1991, his life changed dramatically; he moved to the United States.
After a long break in his career as an actor, Kouliev made his comeback. In Los Angeles, he became a key member of the theatrical troupe Dreamhouse Ensemble, where he played Sasha Smirnoff in Room Service and Uncle Tobit in Jimmy Christ. In 2009, the producer-actor-director presented his "master project", his own stage adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel The Master and Margarita. Alim Kouliev performs extensively as an actor in the Hollywood film industry, on stage, and on TV.

## Filmography

| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1978 | Immured in glass (Zamurovannye v stekle) | | Film |
| 1984 | Copper Angel | Jose Codrero | Film |
| 1986 | Jaguar | Cadet | Film |
| 1988 | All Costs Paid | Urka | TV Film |
| 1988 | The Story of One Billiard-Room | Mustached Man | Film |
| 2001 | The Secret KGB Paranormal Files | Egyptian consulate courier | TV Documentary |
| 2005 | War of the Worlds | Ferry Passenger | Film |
| 2006 | The prestige | Theatre Patron | Film |
| 2008 | David & Fatima | Ishmael Aziz (Dubbing, Russian Language) | Film |
| 2008 | Standard Operating Procedure | Interrogator | TV Documentary |
| 2008 | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Cossack | Film |
| 2009 | Taxi Dance | Dmitry | Film |
| 2010 | Medal of Honor | Chechen Fighter | Video game |
| 2012 | I Love Your Moves | Kolya | Video |
| 2012 | A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III | Russian Cabbie | Film |
| 2014 | The November Man | | Film |
| 2015 | Bridge of Spies | Russian General | Film |
| 2015 | Oleander | Victor | TV Series. |
| 2015 | The Secret Space Disaster | Mission Director | TV Mini-Sieries. |
| 2016 | The Americans | Investigating Magistrate | TV Series. |
| 2018 | El Freeman | Yuri | Film |
| 2018 | The Spy Who Dumped Me | Russian Thug | Film |
| 2018 | Unlovable | Konrad | Film |
| 2019 | Conan | Andy Richter lipsynk | Voice |
| 2019 | Call of Duty; Modern War Fare | Voice | Video Game |
| 2020 | Fakov in Amerika | Jailbird | Film |
| 2020 | Time to Wake Up Sleeping Beauty | Sergei | TV Film |
| 2021 | For All Mankind | Soviet Diplomat | TV series |
| 2022 | Grand Crew | Oleg | TV series |
| 2022 | Karaganda | Dima | Film |

## Stage
### Acting

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1977 | ..And Tomorrow Is The Fight | Sashka | Moscow Young Generation Theater, play |
| 1977 | Stop Malakhov | Hooligan | Moscow Young Generation Theater, play |
| 1978 | Mozart and Salieri | Mozart | Russian Academy of Theatre Arts, play |
| 1981 | Romeo and Juliet | Mercutio | Aleksandr Demidov Theater-Studio, play |
| 1982 | Aglovenn And Sellezet | Melleander | Aleksandr Demidov Theater-Studio, play |
| 1982 | She Without Love And Death | Captain | Aleksandr Demidov Theater-Studio, play |
| 1982 | Squareness Of Circle | Abram | Aleksandr Demidov Theater-Studio, play by Valentin Kataev |
| 1983 | Three Musketeers | Athos | Aleksandr Demidov Theater-Studio, play |
| 1983 | The Moods of Marianne | Ottavio | Aleksandr Demidov Theater-Studio, play |
| 1983 | Madame Bovary | Charles Bovary | Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, play |
| 1983 | The Cabal of Hypocrites | Bouton | Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, play |
| 1984 | The Devil's Disciple | Richard | Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, play |
| 1984 | The Lower Depths | The Baron | Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, play |
| 1984 | I Want To Be An Actor | Pashka | Moscow Theatre “Ermitazh” (Moscovsky Teatr Miniature), play |
| 1985 | Brandenburg Gates | Sergeant | Moscow Theatre “Ermitazh” (Moscovsky Teatr Miniature), play |
| 2003 | Room Service | Sasha Smirnoff | The Dreamhouse Ensemble Theater, Hollywood, play |
| 2004 | Jimmy Christ | Uncle Tobit | The Dreamhouse Ensemble Theater, Hollywood, play |
| 2008 | Master and Margarita | Woland | Master Project Production, Hollywood, play |
| 2018 | Till Death Do Us Part | Man | Russian Masters Theatre Projects Production, Hollywood, play based on "Open Couple" by Dario Fo and Franca Rame. |
| 2020 | Wake Up Sleeping Beauty | Sergei | Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, play |

### Directing

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 2008 | Master and Margarita | Master Project Production, Hollywood, play. Producer |
| 2018 | Till Death Do Us Part | Russian Masters Theatre Projects Production, Hollywood, based on "Open Couple" by Dario Fo and Franca Rame play. Producer |