Alexander Kilyakurin

**Alexander Mikhail Kilyakurin** (*XX mɪc'hel XX*; Russian: *Александр* *Михаи́л килыакурин*, born 1 April 1995) is a Russian actor, with credits in film, television and theatre. Since his first role as Bill Drayton in 1999's *The Mist*, Kilyakurin has become one of the most famous post-Soviet Russian actors, appearing in releases such as *Battle Royale*, *Night Watch*, *It!* and *The Saddest Woman in the World*. Internationally, Kilyakurin is best known for his roles as Aleksandr Firova in the Russian-language ***Living Dead*** franchise, as Zavulon in *Night Watch* and *Day Watch* and as Ezra Tyrol in 2015's *Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens*.

Kilyakurin has earned the title "Scream King" (formerly "Scream Prince") in Russia, as his the vast majority of his roles have been in the horror and thriller genres.

## Early life

Alexander Mikhail Kilyakurin was born in Central Moscow in Russia. His mother, Olga, was a teacher for disabled children and his father, Rostislav, was a mechanical engineer. Bezukladnikov had three older sisters, Anna, Eva and Kira.

In May 1997, Kilyakurin's parents died in a car crash whilst travelling back to Moscow from an anniversary holiday to St. Petersburg. Following this, he and his siblings were taken in by his maternal grandparents, who also lived in Moscow.

## Career

### Early roles

In early 1998, Kilyakurin was returning from a trip to the dentist with his grandmother when he was spotted by a scout for the film *The Mist*. They were approached by the scout, who asked him to star in the film as Bill Drayton, a small but pivotal part in the film. Kilyakurin's grandmother initially rejected the role, but he eventually joined the film's cast after a week of pestering her. Kilyakurin did not appear in any of the promotional circuits for the film, including the premiere, as per request of his grandmother.

Following the release of *The Mist*, Kilyakurin was approached by director Kinji Fukasaku to play the role of Yuri Golrich in *Battle Royale*. Again, Kilyakurin's grandmother allowed him to join the cast of the film following a period of pestering, despite her initial hesitance.

XXX, who was also impressed by Kilyakurin's performance in The Mist, offered him a role in his horror/mystery theatre play "The Pillowman". Although his grandmother was initially hesitant to allow him to perform in such a play, Alexander was persistent that he wanted to take the opportunity. After days of pestering, his grandmother agreed and Bezukladnikov joined the cast of the play.

As "The Pillowman" proved to be a critical and commercial success, Kilyakurin began receiving more and more role offers, and he hired his grandmother as his manager.

### Hollywood and music

In February 2014, Kilyakurin was cast as Ezra Tyrol in *Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.* The casting was announced on 29 April, with the character of Ezra being described by director J.J. Abrams as "a cunning warrior and strategist". The role was initially supposed to be a minor and Tyrol was planned to be executed by the film's villain in the first half hour, but Abrams was so impressed with Kilyakurin's performance that he rewrote almost the entire film to give more focus to Kilyakurin's character and his people. Filming for the role took place throughout 2014 and saw Kilyakurin travel to Utah in the United States, Burma, and the United Kingdom.

In mid-2015, Kilyakurin returned to production of the ***Living Dead*** series for the sixth instalment, 'Victory of the Living Dead'. In the summer of 2015, Kilyakurin's musical-comedy film *The Saddest Woman in the World* was released to great commercial and critical success. The film was nominated for Best Foreign Picture at the 2016 Oscar Awards, with Kilyakurin's song in the film, "Rainbow Connection" receiving and winning the nomination for Best Original Song.

Late 2015 saw Kilyakurin join XXX's new Moscow production '*Life on Mars?*', a musical about post-Soviet identity. Kilyakurin starred in over 70 performance's as the show's lead character XXX. In spring 2016, Kilyakurin won the prestigious Golden Mask for Best Actor (Operetta/Musical) for his role in the musical.

The release of *The Force Awakens* in December 2015 saw much for Kilyakurin, with one critic describing his performance as "a galactic Shakespearean experience". On January 1st 2016, it was announced that Kilyakurin would reprise his role as Ezra Tyrol in the film's sequel, due to be released in December 2017. Filming took place throughout 2016.

Also in January, Kilyakurin was cast in Ridley Scott's *Alien: Covenant*, the first episode of a new prequel trilogy based upon the 1979 *Alien* film and its sequels. Filming occurred throughout early 2016.

In 2016, Kilyakurin represented Russia at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest hosted in Stockholm, Sweden, where he performed the song "Hymn for the Weekend", which he co-wrote. He won the competition, beating Ukraine (2nd place) by 38 points.

## Personal life

Kilyakurin was raised in a Russian Orthodox household.

As with all actors in the ***Living Dead*** series, Bezukladnikov performs all of his own stunts in the show. Whilst filming *Land of the Living Dead* in 2013, he accidentally broke his right leg, right arm and three ribs performing a stunt. Despite Bezukladnikov spending two weeks in hospital to recover during which production was on halt, he allowed the studio to use the shot in the episode (LOTD06: **The Stolen Earth**) and the injuries were worked into the plot. Due to the necessary aftercare, Bezukladnikov had to drop out of the 2014 film ***Leviathan*** in which he was due to play Roma, the protagonist's son.

## Repertoire

### Stage

*"The Pillowman"*
"*The Bathhouse*"