Elya Baskin facts for kids

Elya Baskin (born August 11, 1950) is an actor from Latvia who became famous in both the Soviet Union and the United States. He is known for playing interesting characters in many movies and TV shows.

You might know him best as Anatoly Cherkasov, the best friend of Robin Williams' character in the movie Moscow on the Hudson (1984). He also played Mr. Ditkovich, Peter Parker's landlord, in the superhero movies Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007). Another cool role he had was cosmonaut Max Brailovsky in the 1984 film 2010: The Year We Make Contact.

Early Life and Training

Elya Baskin was born into a Jewish family in Riga, which was part of the Soviet Union at the time. He loved acting and went to the Theatre and Variety Arts College in Moscow to study. He even won an award at the Moscow Comedy Theatre for young actors!

Moving to America

In 1976, Elya Baskin moved to the United States. Because of his background, he is often chosen to play characters from Eastern Europe in movies and TV shows.

Movies and TV Shows

Elya Baskin has been in many films and television series throughout his career. He often plays memorable supporting roles.

Notable Film Roles

He has appeared in a wide range of movies, from comedies to dramas and sci-fi. Some of his well-known film roles include:

• Moscow on the Hudson (1984) as Anatoly Cherkasov
• 2010 (1984) as Maxim Brailovsky
• The Name of the Rose (1986) as Severinus
• Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) as General Borschevsky
• Air Force One (1997) as Andrei Kolchak
• October Sky (1999) as Ike Bykovsky
• Thirteen Days (2000) as Anatoly Dobrynin
• Spider-Man 2 (2004) as Mr. Ditkovich
• Spider-Man 3 (2007) as Mr. Ditkovich
• Angels & Demons (2009) as Cardinal Petrov
• Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) as Cosmonaut Dimitri

Television Appearances

Elya Baskin has also been a guest star on many popular TV shows. Some of these include:

• MacGyver (1986-1987) as Yuri Demetri
• Northern Exposure (1991) as Nikolai Appolanov
• Quantum Leap (1991) as Major Yuri Kosenko
• Walker, Texas Ranger (1993-1996) as Corp. Yuri Petrovsky / Misha
• The West Wing (2005) as Mr. Zubatov
• Criminal Minds (2007) as Arseny Lysowsky
• Heroes (2007) as Ivan Spector
• Castle (2014) as Sergei Vetotchkin
• Homeland (2018) as Viktor Makarov, Russian ambassador

Video Games

Elya Baskin has also lent his voice to video games, bringing characters to life in a different way. Some of his voice roles include:

• Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge (2001)
• Prey (2017) as Yuri Andronov
• Call of Duty: Vanguard (2021) as Boris Petrov

See also

In Spanish: Elya Baskin para niños