Ilya (Elya) Zalmanovich Baskin (Russian: Илья́ (Э́лиа) За́лманович Ба́скин; Latvian: Iļja Zalmanovičs Baskins; born 11 August 1950) is a Soviet and American actor.
Biography
Baskin was born in Riga, the son of Frieda and Zalman Baskin.[1] He attended Moscow's prestigious Theatre and Variety Arts College and won a Festival of Young Actors Award at the Moscow Comedy Theatre. Baskin immigrated to the United States in 1976.[1] He has built a considerable career in TV and movies, and is often cast as a Russian, due to his ancestry and accent. He has ultimately become one of the most popular choices whenever a Russian is needed in a TV-episode or a major movie production.[citation needed] He is also a regular on the long-running Internet program "Outlaw Radio" hosted by Matt Alan, where he makes amusing commentary on contemporary topics, and does comedic interaction with fellow actor Richard Tyson and author Burl Barer, among many others.
Filmography (selection)
- Big School-Break (1972)
- The World's Greatest Lover (1977)
- Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (1979)
- Being There (1979)
- Raise the Titanic (1980)
- Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
- 2010 (1984)
- A Prisoner of Conscience (1986)
- The Name of the Rose (1986)
- Streets of Gold (1986)
- Combat High (1986)
- Soft Touch (1987)
- Zits (1988)
- Vice Versa (1988)
- DeepStar Six (1989)
- The Slice of Life (1989)
- Enemies: A Love Story (1989)
- War and Peace (1991)
- The Pickle (1993)
- Love Affair (1994)
- Spy Hard (1996)
- Forest Warrior (1996)
- Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
- Air Force One (1997)
- October Sky (1999)
- Running Red (1999)
- Thirteen Days (2000)
- Heartbreakers (2001)
- 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (2004)
- Spider-Man 2 (2004)
- Spider-Man 3 (2007)
- The Dukes (2007)
- Say It in Russian (2007)
- God's Smile or The Odessa Story (2009)
- Angels & Demons (2009)
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
- Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2013)
TV appearances
- Heroes
- Criminal Minds
- The West Wing
- Walker, Texas Ranger
- Felicity
- Roseanne
- MacGyver
- True Blue (TV series)
- Ellen
- Northern Exposure
- Quantum Leap
- The Invisible Man
- Becker
- The Larry Sanders Show
- Rizzoli and Isles
External links
- Elya Baskin at the Internet Movie Database
