Andrew Divoff

Andrew Daniel Divoff (Russian: Андрей Ди́вов, correctly transcribed as Divov; born July 2, 1955) is a Venezuelan-born actor and producer of Russian and Irish descent.[2][3] Divoff has played many villains in film and on television, including drug cartel leaders, terrorists, and organized crime bosses, though he is best known for playing the evil Djinn in the first two Wishmaster films. Other noteworthy roles include the villains Luis Cali in Toy Soldiers, Cherry Ganz in Another 48 Hrs., Ernesto Mendoza in A Low Down Dirty Shame, Boris Bazylev in Air Force One, Ivan Sarnoff in CSI: Miami, Mikhail Bakunin in Lost, and Karakurtin The Blacklist.[4]
Divoff's television guest appearances include roles on The A-Team, JAG,Highlander: The Series, Walker, Texas Ranger, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Burn Notice, Alias, Nikita, The Strain, and Colony.
Divoff can speak eight languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, Catalan, Portuguese, and Russian.[2] He used to speak Romanian but forgot the language when he had no one with whom to speak it.[5] Divoff's multilingual skills are showcased in many of his film and television roles.
== Early life and education ==
Divoff was born in San Tomé, Venezuela. His father was Russian and his mother was Irish.[2][3] His parents worked as wildcatters for Exxon, and met because Divoff's maternal grandfather was his father's supervisor.[3] Divoff describes himself as having been an introvert and an outsider during his childhood in Caracas, Venezuela, stating that he had experienced near-daily physical altercations and bullying from other children.[6] Divoff's first language was Spanish, but he learned English while still living in Venezuela.[6][3]
After Divoff's parents divorced, he emigrated with his sister and mother to Northern California when he was 10 years old.[2] Upon moving to the United States, Divoff was supposed to enter the fifth grade, but the school principal held Divoff back because of his Spanish accent. Divoff states that this experience was a catalyst for his obsession with languages.[3] When he was in the seventh grade, Divoff's school screened films in class, including Seven Days in May, which Divoff found inspiring. As a result, Divoff began envisioning himself as the hero in such films,[7] and told his friends that he wanted to become an actor who did his own stunts.[8]
Divoff's mother worked for the State Department, and he moved with her when she was transferred to Spain.[2] Divoff lived five years in Vilassar de Mar(Catalonia), between 1973 and 1977, feeling himself to be Catalan too.[9] While in Spain, Divoff tutored English-speaking students in Spanish and attended the University of Barcelona, where he completed a research project on linguistics in The Canterbury Tales.[6] He transferred his credits to Georgetown University, where he continued his study of languages and linguistics, and has resided in the United States ever since.[6] Divoff did not graduate from Georgetown University, instead deciding to take a year off to help his father settle in California for retirement.[6]
== Career ==
After returning to California, Divoff worked as a dispatcher for a limousine company, eventually becoming a limo driver in 1983.[6] During his evenings off, Divoff took acting lessons; his teachers included Milton Katselas, director of Butterflies are Free.[6] His first role was that of a Russian guard for a 1986 episode of Misfits of Science. Divoff won the role via a telephone audition, in which was asked to scream, "Stop that truck!" in Russian and then in English with a Russian accent.[6]
His first film role was in the 1986 cult horror film Neon Maniacs, in which he played a demonic surgeon. Divoff had a falling out with the filmmakers due to what he believed constituted animal abuse: real dead pigeons were used in one of the film's scenes.[10]
Divoff's subsequent TV appearances in the 1980s included bit parts and work as an extra in The A-Team, The Twilight Zone, MacGuyver, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, and Matlock. Divoff's multilingual skills and international background helped win him some of these early roles. When auditioning for a guest role as a limo driver for Thirtysomething, Divoff pretended to be a Russian immigrant, and maintained the farce on set until the filming ended, dropping the Russian accent entirely.[10]
Prior to 1990, Divoff landed small roles in big films such as The Hunt for Red October, and big roles in smaller projects such as television movie Fear Stalk, in which he portrayed a serial stalker - his first role as primary villain.
Divoff's breakthrough role came in 1990, when he was cast as the outlaw biker Cherry Ganz in Another 48 Hours. Divoff was vacationing in Berlin when he received the call that he won the role. He went out to celebrate at a nearby pub and then attended the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, grabbing a sledgehammer and participating in the Wall's destruction.[6] Divoff marks Another 48 Hrs. as the film that allowed him to quit his limo driving job and focus on acting.[6]
Following Another 48 Hours, Divoff landed antagonist roles in other significant projects, primarily in the action genre. These projects included Toy Soldiers and A Low Down Dirty Shame. In rare instances, Divoff portrayed the protagonist or hero, such as in Running Cool and Interceptor.
1997 proved to be another breakthrough year for Divoff, with the release of Air Force One and Wishmaster. In his portrayal of a Russian terrorist henchman in Air Force One, as in many other films, Divoff performed his own stunts. Divoff stated in an interview that he has performed his own stunts so frequently that it is often assumed that he used to be a professional stuntman, however, this is not the case.[11] He simply preferred to perform his own stunts because it gave him complete control over every aspect of his characters.[11]
Divoff is best known for having played the nefarious Djinn in the first two films of the Wishmaster series. Wishmaster was directed by special effects artist Robert Kurtzman, and featured cameo appearances by several popular horror actors, including Robert Englund, Tony Todd, Angus Scrimm, Kane Hodder, and Reggie Bannister.[4] Divoff reprised the role as the Djinn in Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies, directed by Jack Sholder.
in 1999, Divoff and a friend penned a script for a third film[3] called Wishmaster: The Third Millennium, which had a Y2K theme involving "American warship in Asia and it is hit by a missile, and all hell breaks loose. Incidentally, there is a meeting going on at the UN and monsters come to life right there and go through the crowd and start ripping it up."[12] Divoff's script also required lavish special effects, and featured "gargoyles on buildings coming to life and coming down into the street."[12]
Divoff's script wasn't optioned, and he ultimately did not return for Wishmaster 3or Wishmaster 4, stating that he believed those projects did not have the capacity for impressive special effects due to a significantly lower budget,[10]and because he felt that these sequels didn't have the love for the franchise of the earlier entries.[13]
Divoff later reunited with Robert Kurtzman for the "grindhouse"- inspired horror film The Rage,[14] and has since appeared in several other horror films, including in the Midnight Syndicate's Indie horror flick The Dead Matter as the lead villain.[15] in The Hatred as a former Nazi, and in the Miles Doleac film Demonsas a religious zealot.
Divoff had a recurring role on Lost (Seasons 3 and 6, 2006–2007 and 2010 respectively) as Mikhail Bakunin, a Russian member of the Others who lived in the Flame station of the DHARMA Initiative. He appeared in "The Cost of Living", and later in "Enter 77" and "Par Avion". He later appeared, in flashbacks, in "One of Us," and reappeared in the episodes "D.O.C.", "The Man Behind the Curtain", "Through the Looking Glass" and "The Package".
Other recurring television roles included his turn as Ivan Sarnoff on CSI: MiamiSeason 7 (2008–2009).[16] Ivan Sarnoff was a Russian Mobster leader who owned an MMA fighting studio in S07E04 Raging Cannibal. Ivan also ran a horse race betting scam in S07E13 And They're Offed. Then Ivan targets the CSI team in S07E19 Target Specific. In the last episode of the season, Ivan escapes an assassination attempt by the Russian mob in S07E25 Seeing Red.
In 2015 and 2016, Divoff had a recurring role as Karakurt in Season 3 of The Blacklist in episodes "The Djinn," "Sir Crispin Crandall," "Zal Bin Hasaan," "Kings of the Highway," "The Director," and "The Director: Conclusion."
== Other business ventures and philanthropy ==
Divoff has pursued a number of other business ventures in addition to professional acting, and uses many of these businesses as a springboard for philanthropic and environmentalist efforts. In the early 1990s, he was a co-owner of the blues bar and restaurant Sunset Social Club.[6]
Divoff states that he is passionate about environmental issues and water rights,[3] and believes that the best form of activism is simply to help people in need.[6] Several years after his move from actor William Boyd's former home in Hollywood to the Lake Arrowhead region of the San Bernardino Mountains in 1992,[2] Divoff formed a logging crew during a time when he described acting opportunities as scarce. Divoff and his crew focused on removing trees that were dead or dying due to a pine beetle infestation.[6]
Divoff later became a partner in Verdant Resource and in Alpine Village Water Company that serves a nearby mountain community. Verdant Resource holds a patent for a wind-powered water pump. With the help of a government grant, Divoff and the other partners at the water company provided running water to a small community using Verdant's pump technology.[6]
in 2014, Divoff developed his own craft beer, the Djinn's Hellabrew, which he has sold to benefit charities including Smile Train,[17] Operation Provider,[2] and the Hollywood Police Activities League.[18] In 2017, Divoff formed his own brewing company, Three Marm Brewing, a "marm" being the part of a tree trunk that forks into two or more trunks.[19] The partners of Three Marm Brewing are predominately members of Divoff's former logging crew.[13] Divoff and his partners are planning to open a taproom in Crestline, California,[19] and have other new beer flavors in development, including the Logger Lager and Mystic Mast Stout.[13]
== Personal life ==
Divoff was married to Russian actress Raissa Danilova.
Divoff's hobbies include sculpting and oil-painting.[10] He also enjoys swimming, skiing, and hiking.[6]
== Filmography ==
Film Performances
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1986	Neon Maniacs 	Doc 	
1988	Mac and Me 	Policeman #2 	
1990	The Hunt for Red October 	Foxtrot Weapons Officer 	
1990	An American Summer 	Dode 	
1990	Another 48 Hrs. 	Cherry Ganz 	
1990	Graveyard Shift 	Danson 	
1991	Toy Soldiers 	Luis Cali 	
1992	Back in the U.S.S.R. 	Dimitro 	
1992	Interceptor 	Capt. Winfield 	
1993	Running Cool 	Bone 	
1993	Extreme Justice 	Angel 	
1994	A Low Down Dirty Shame 	Mendoza 	
1994	Dangerous Touch 	Johnnie 	
1994	Oblivion 	Red Eye / Einstein 	
1994	Hong Kong 97 	Malcolm Goodchild 	
1995	The Random Factor 	Jake Anders 	
1995	The Stranger 	Angel 	
1995	Xtro 3: Watch the Skies 	Captain Fetterman 	
1995	Magic Island 	Blackbeard 	
1996	Oblivion 2: Backlash 	Jaggar / Einstein 	
1996	For Which He Stands 	Paulo 	
1996	Adrenalin: Fear the Rush 	Sterns 	
1996	Nemesis 4: Death Angel 	Bernardo 	
1997	Blast 	Omodo 	
1997	Air Force One 	Boris Bazylev 	
1997	Touch Me 	Dr. Vachenko 	Credited as Andy Divoff
1997	Wishmaster 	The Djinn/Nathaniel Demerest	
1998	Crossfire 	Dekova 	
1998	Captured 	Robert Breed 	
1999	Stealth Fighter 	Roberto Menendez 	
1999	Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies 	The Djinn/Nathaniel Demerest	
2000	Down 'n Dirty 	Jimmy 	
2000	Lockdown 	Perez 	Uncredited
2000	Faust: Love of the Damned 	M 	
2001	The Rage Within 	Shane 	
2001	Knight Club 	Krukov 	
2001	Blue Hill Avenue 	Detective Tyler 	
2003	Knight Club 	Krukov 	
2003	The Librarians 	Marcos 	a.k.a. Strike Force
2004	Forbidden Warrior 	Ujis-Aka 	
2004	Moscow Heat 	Secretary Weston 	
2005	Dr. Rage 	Timothy Straun 	
2005	Sharkskin 6 	Eddie 	
2006	American Dreamz 	Chinese Translator 	
2007	Chicago Massacre: Richard Speck 	Jack Whitaker 	
2007	Treasure Raiders 	Cronin 	
2007	The Rage 	Dr. Viktor Vasilienko 	
2008	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	Russian Soldier 	
2008	Boston Strangler: The Untold Story 	John Marsden 	
2009	Ballistica 	Dragomir 	
2009	Magic Man 	Rudolph Treadwell 	
2010	Shadows in Paradise 	Lt. Stronach 	
2010	The Dead Matter 	Vellich 	
2011	Slip and Fall 	Dean Dickman 	
2012	Night of the Living Dead 3D: Re-animation 	Gerald Tovar, Jr 	
2013	Immigrant 	Tolik 	
2014	Bad Asses 	Leandro Herrera 	
2014	Pretty Fine Things 	Dr. Murray 	
2017	The Hatred 	Samuel Sears 	
2017	Demons 	Jasper Grant 	
2018	Vault 	Buddy Woonsocket 	In production
=== Television ===
Television Performances
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1986 	Misfits of Science 	Guard 	Episode: "Grand Elusion"
1986 	The Twilight Zone 	Vladimir 	Episode: "Need to Know/Red Snow"
1986 	The A-Team 	 	Episodes: "Firing Line" and "Dishpan Man"
1987 	MacGyver 	Russian Guard 	Episode: "Soft Touch"
1987 	Matlock 	Federal Agent 	Episode: "The Reporter"
1986-
1987	Scarecrow and Mrs. King 	Edgar
Russian Guard
Russian Soldier 	Episodes: "Wrong Number"
"Bad Timing"
"The Krushchev List"
1987 	Hooperman 	 	Episode:"John Doe, We Hardly Knew Ye"
1989 	Thirtysomething 	Limo Driver 	Episode: "Success"
1989 	Heartbeat 	Yuri 	Episode: "From Russia with Love"
1989 	Out on the Edge 	Luke 	Television film
1989 	Breaking Point 	Aide 	Television film
1989 	Fear Stalk 	Man 	Television film
1990 	By Dawn's Early Light 	Russian Premier's Assistant (voice only)	Television film
1993 	The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.	Blackbeard LaCutte) 	Episode: "Pirates!"
1996 	Deadly Voyage 	Romachenko 	Television film
1996 	Tarzan: The Epic Adventures 	Nicholai Rockoff 	Episodes: "Tarzan's Return: Part 1" and "Tarzan's Return: Part 2"
1992,
1996	Highlander: The Series 	Bryan Slade
Gavriel Larca 	Episodes: "A Bad Day in Building A"
"Little Tin God"
1996-
1997	EZ Streets 	Andre 'Frenchie' Desormeaux 	Episodes "Pilot," "Every Picture Tells a Story," and "A Terrible Beauty"
1998 	Acapulco H.E.A.T. 	The Raven 	Episodes: "Code Name: The Raven Part 1" and "Code Name: The Raven Part 2"
1998 	Killers in the House 	Delaney Breckett 	Television film
1997,
2000	Nash Bridges 	Carl Dugan
Blackbeard 	Episodes: "Sniper"
"Land Pirates"
1995,
1998,
2000	Walker, Texas Ranger 	Carlos Darius
Rudy Mendoza,
Alberto Cardoza	Episodes: "Deep Cover"
"Everyday Heroes"
"Winds of Change"
2001 	UC: Undercover 	Martin Ritger 	Episode "Of Fathers and Sons"
2001 	The Agency 	Colonel Grachev 	Episode "Deadline"
2002 	Dracula 	Doctor 	Uncredited. TV miniseries.
2002,
2005	JAG 	Russian Captain
Col. Fadil Najjar 	Episodes: "Defending His Honor"
"Bridging the Gulf"
2005 	Alias 	Lucien Nisard 	Episodes: "Search and Rescue" and "The Descent"
2006 	The Unit 	The Major 	Episode: "True Believers"
2008 	Burn Notice 	Ivan 	Episode: "Comrades"
2008 	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 	Andre Bushido 	Episode: "Wildlife"
2008 	Leverage 	Sergei 	Episode: "The Marriage Job"
2009 	Criminal Minds 	Dad 	Episode: "Bloodline"
2008–2009	CSI: Miami 	Ivan Sarnoff 	Episodes: "Seeing Red," "Target Specific," "Raging Cannibal" and
"And They're Offed"
2006-
2007,
2010	Lost 	Mikhail Bakunin 	Episodes "The Cost of Living", "Enter 77", "Par Avion", "One of Us", "D.O.C.", "The Man Behind the Curtain", "Through the Looking Glass" and "The Package"
2010 	The Good Guys 	Pedro 	Episode: "Pilot"
2013 	Nikita 	Krieg 	Episode: "Reunion"
2014 	The Strain 	Peter Bishop 	Episode: "Night Zero"
2015–2016	The Blacklist 	Karakurt 	Episodes: "The Djinn," "Sir Crispin Crandall," "Zal Bin Hasaan," "Kings of the Highway," "The Director," and "The Director: Conclusion"
2017 	Colony 	Ambassador King 	Episode: "Lost Boy"
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