Dimitri Diatchenko (April 11, 1968 – April 21, 2020) was an American actor.
Dimitri Diatchenko | |
|---|---|
 Diatchenko at the premiere of True Blood Season 5 in 2012 | |
| Born | April 11, 1968 Oakland, California, U.S. |
| Died | April 21, 2020 (aged 52) Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1997–2017 |
Life and career
editDiatchenko was born April 11, 1968, in Oakland, California.[1] He was a native of San Francisco, California and a first-generation American of Ukrainian, Greek and Swedish descent.[2][3] Diatchenko began classical guitar lessons at the age of seven. Two years later, he gave his first solo classical guitar recital. During and after his studies, Diatchenko won several medals in guitar competitions including the Stotsenberg International Classical Guitar Competition or the World Championships of Performing Arts.[4][5] He released four solo guitar CDs.[6]
Diatchenko studied martial arts from the age of seven. He earned black belts in both Tae Kwon Do and Kenpo Karate and studied boxing and arnis. During the early 1990s, Diatchenko competed as a heavyweight in several national championships, winning many medals in full contact fighting, including the US Olympic Festival, the WTF National Championships and The 1991 World Invitational in Miami, Florida.
Diatchenko attended Newton North High School in Newton, Massachusetts where Matt LeBlanc also attended at the same time and later Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. There he was a scholarship music student, majored in classical guitar, and received a Bachelor of Music degree. After transferring to Florida State University in Tallahassee, Diatchenko continued with acting and music studies in the Masters program.[7] In April 1996, as Diatchenko was graduating, he was cast in Ridley Scott's 1997 action film G.I. Jane and landed a small role as trainee; following this, Diatchenko relocated to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. In Los Angeles, he also taught guitar privately and performed regularly as a soloist and ensemble player.
Diatchenko made appearances in several television series. After appearing in the action series Alias, he was in the films Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Get Smart.[8]
For his performance as Ukrainian tour guide Yuri in the film Chernobyl Diaries, Diatchenko received positive reviews from some film critics.[9][10][11]
In addition to acting, Diatchenko worked as a voice actor. He lent his voice to a lot of video and computer games. His first performance in a video game came in 2005 with additional voices for Medal of Honor: European Assault.
Animal cruelty charge
editIn 2015, Diatchenko pleaded no contest to animal cruelty after allegedly cooking and eating his ex-girlfriend's pet rabbit. He was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to perform sixty days of community labor and undergo forty-eight hours of counselling.[12][13][14]
Death
editDiatchenko died in his home in Daytona Beach, Florida, on April 21, 2020, aged 52. He was discovered two days later after a wellness check initiated by concerned relatives.[15] According to Diatchenko's agent, the death appeared to be a heart attack or complications from an electric shock Diatchenko had sustained at work a week before his death.[16] An autopsy later revealed that there was a large amount of fentanyl and Valium in his system and the medical examiner listed the official cause of death as an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.[17]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Goiterboy | Richter | Short |
| G.I. Jane | Trainee | ||
| 1999 | The Settlement | Uncredited | |
| 2001 | Norman J. Lloyd | Norman J. Lloyd | Short |
| 2006 | The Genius Club | Jesse The Mechanic | |
| Miriam | Alexi | ||
| Love Made Easy | Poker Player | ||
| 2007 | The Longest Yard Sale | Grammy | |
| 2008 | Remarkable Power | Ivan | |
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Russian Suit 1 / Russian Soldier | ||
| Get Smart | Russian Underling | ||
| 2010 | Burning Palms | Bob | |
| 2012 | Chernobyl Diaries | Yuri | |
| 2013 | Company of Heroes | Ivan Puzharski | Direct-to-video |
| Clubhouse | Misha | ||
| 2016 | They're Watching | Vladimir Filat | Final film role |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Total Security | Bodyguard | Episode: "Pilot" |
| Diagnosis: Murder | Thug #1 / Carl | Episode: "A Mine Is a Terrible Thing to Waste" | |
| 1998 | Timecop | Sergeant | Episode: "D.O.A." |
| 1999 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Robert Jackson | Episode: "Power Angels" |
| Pensacola: Wings of Gold | Anton Marisovich | Episode: "True Stories" | |
| 2000 | V.I.P. | Episode: "Val Point Blank" | |
| 18 Wheels of Justice | Alexei | Episode: "Smuggler's Blues", Uncredited | |
| 2001 | The Wild Thornberrys | Elder Beaver | Voice, Episode: "All Work and No Play"[18] |
| 18 Wheels of Justice | Sergei Zukaross | Episode: "Hot Cars, Fast Women" | |
| 2004 | Alias | Vilmos | Episode: "The Frame" |
| 2005 | Wanted | Darsikska | Episode: "The Wild Bunch" |
| 2006 | The Suite Life of Zack & Cody | Waiter | Episode: "Odd Couples" |
| The Suite Life of Zack & Cody | Attendant 1 | Episode: "No So Suite 16" | |
| 2007 | Criminal Minds | Lyov Lysowsky | Episode: "Honor Among Thieves" |
| Shark | Gavin Lundy | Episode: "Fall from Grace" | |
| Burn Notice | Boris | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 2008 | The Riches | Russian #2 | Episode: "The Lying King" |
| My Own Worst Enemy | Gold Teeth | Episode: "Breakdown" | |
| Without a Trace | Yuri Ovsenko | Episode: "Push Comes to Shove" | |
| 2009 | CSI: Miami | Andrei | Episode: "Wolfe in Sheep's Clothing" |
| Family Guy | Russian Dinosaur / Russian Guard #2 | Voice, Episode: "Spies Reminiscent of Us" | |
| 2010 | General Hospital | Babak | 3 episodes, Uncredited |
| 2011 | Sons of Anarchy | Head Russian | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | How I Met Your Mother | Arvydas | Episode: "46 Minutes" |
| Perception | Alexi Topaloff | Episode: "Faces" | |
| 2013 | Project: SERA | Zakir | Episode: "Immunity" |
| 2014 | Bones | Dimitri Romanov | Episode: "The Master in the Slop" |
| 2 Broke Girls | Yuri | Episode: "And the Kilt Trip" | |
| 2016 | Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street | Green Beret | Episode: "Gortimer vs. White Hat" |
| Murder in the First | Janko Kolar | Episode: "Rise of the Phoenix" | |
| 2017 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Vulko / Lone Knight / Lead Knight | Voice, 2 episodes[18] |
Video games
editAwards and nominations
editMusic
edit- 2003: Instrumental and Acting Grand Champion of the World at the World Championships of Performing Arts[19]
References
edit- ^ "Dimitri Diatchenko". Daytona Beach News-Journal. May 21, 2020.
- ^ "Welcome to nginx". go386.com. Archived from the original on January 3, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- ^ Staff, T. H. R. (May 1, 2020). "Dimitri Diatchenko, Actor, Musician and Video Game Voiceover Artist, Dies at 52". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ "Short biography of Dimitri Diatchenko". Los Angeles Classical Guitars. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008.
- ^ "Biography for Dimitri Diatchenko". IMDb.
- ^ "Dimitri Diatchenko – Music". www.DimitriD.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012.
- ^ "Short biography of Dimitri Diatchenko". HXC MUSIC.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Linton, Caroline (April 25, 2020). "Actor Dimitri Diatchenko, featured on "Sons of Anarchy," has died at age 52 - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ Scheck, Frank (May 25, 2012). "Chernobyl Diaries: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ "Chernobyl Diaries (2012) – Movie Review". Entertainment Weekly. June 2, 2012. Archived from the original on November 13, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
- ^ "Chernobyl Diaries – Stylish 'Chernobyl Diaries' mostly radiates familiar chills". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 26, 2012.
- ^ Jethro Mullen (December 12, 2014). "Actor accused of killing, skinning and then eating ex-girlfriend's pet rabbit". CNN.
- ^ "An Actor Who Killed His Ex-Girlfriend's Pet Rabbit And Ate It Has Been Sentenced To Probation". BuzzFeed News.
- ^ "North Hollywood Man Pleads to Animal Cruelty in Killing of Roommate's Pet Rabbit" (PDF).
- ^ "'Chernobyl Diaries' Star Dimitri Diatchenko Dead at 52". TMZ. April 24, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ Tapp, Tom (April 25, 2020). "Dimitri Diatchenko Dies: 'Chernobyl Diaries' Star Was 52".
- ^ Jami Ganz (May 27, 2020). "'Chernobyl Diaries' star Dimitri Diatchenko's cause of death revealed". New York Daily News.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Dimitri Diatchenko (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved November 23, 2019. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ "DIMITRI DIATCHENKO SIGNS WITH "GENERAL HOSPITAL"". WCOPA. Archived from the original on June 26, 2012.