shyne
25-03-2005, 22:54
Zag gister een stukje van "15 minutes" op TV en herkende Oleg Taktarov in een van de hoofdrollen.
Oleg Taktarov fought his way into acting. Literally. The intensity that made "The Russian Bear" a star in the Ultimate Fighting Championships equipped him with the determination to become one of his country's foremost actors in motion pictures. Taktarov's road to Hollywood began early in his life with childhood training in Judo and Sambo. Not a natural athlete, he learned that practice develops skills, and by age twelve, Taktarov was a recognized martial arts expert.
Later he joined the Russian army and resisted the officers who ordered him to limit his training. Taktarov's defiance got him discharged, but he returned to his province as a hero. In Gorky, during his early twenties, he became a successful employer, taking time away from business only to compete in contact sports. While he fought, he dreamed of acting in the movies. Without a green card or knowledge of English, Taktarov came to America in 1994 to build his dream.
As he learned English and studied acting at the L.A. Playhouse, Taktarov attracted a global fan base with his fights in the U.F.C., winning its championship just six months after his arrival in the States. He electrified a partisan American crowd when he defeated the larger David "Tank" Abbott in July, 1995. Taktarov scored another important victory when he landed a small role in Wolfgang Petersen's "Air Force One" (1997) with Harrison Ford. He was more visible in "Counter Measures" (1998), thanks to a fight scene with Michael Dudikoff, but director John Herzfeld's "15 Minutes" (2001) presented him with his first scene stealing opportunity. Taktarov seized the challenge.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0847727/bio
Oleg Taktarov fought his way into acting. Literally. The intensity that made "The Russian Bear" a star in the Ultimate Fighting Championships equipped him with the determination to become one of his country's foremost actors in motion pictures. Taktarov's road to Hollywood began early in his life with childhood training in Judo and Sambo. Not a natural athlete, he learned that practice develops skills, and by age twelve, Taktarov was a recognized martial arts expert.
Later he joined the Russian army and resisted the officers who ordered him to limit his training. Taktarov's defiance got him discharged, but he returned to his province as a hero. In Gorky, during his early twenties, he became a successful employer, taking time away from business only to compete in contact sports. While he fought, he dreamed of acting in the movies. Without a green card or knowledge of English, Taktarov came to America in 1994 to build his dream.
As he learned English and studied acting at the L.A. Playhouse, Taktarov attracted a global fan base with his fights in the U.F.C., winning its championship just six months after his arrival in the States. He electrified a partisan American crowd when he defeated the larger David "Tank" Abbott in July, 1995. Taktarov scored another important victory when he landed a small role in Wolfgang Petersen's "Air Force One" (1997) with Harrison Ford. He was more visible in "Counter Measures" (1998), thanks to a fight scene with Michael Dudikoff, but director John Herzfeld's "15 Minutes" (2001) presented him with his first scene stealing opportunity. Taktarov seized the challenge.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0847727/bio