Pavel Lichnikoff is an American actor of Russian origin. In the nineties of the last century he emigrated to the United States and has since played more than eighty roles in film and television. He is one of the most successful Russian-speaking actors in the West.
Childhood and youth
Pavel Dmitrievich Lychnikov was born on February 16, 1967 in the city of Moscow. After graduating from high school, he entered the GITIS in the acting department. In his youth, he played a lot in the theater, among his Moscow productions, the roles in the performances "The Examiner" and "Crime and Punishment" stand out.
After graduation, the young actor realizes that in the post-Soviet era, it is almost impossible to find work in theaters and the film industry. After several years of wandering without stable employment, Pavel leaves for the USA to conquer the American industry. The Russian arrived at JFK Airport in New York City with five dollars in his pocket and extremely modest knowledge of English.
Carier start
After moving to the USA, the actor changes his name to Pavel Lichnikoff, as the most harmonious for the American audience. The first few years, the actor establishes connections in the industry, takes on any work in New York and Los Angeles. One of Hollywood's first mentors in Hollywood was Jonathan Banks. He helped Pavel get private lessons from renowned acting teacher Gary Austin.
The first work of Pavel Lichnikoff in America is a small guest role in the popular series "The New York Police." She allowed the actor not only to get on the radar to the studios and directors, but also to get a place in the US Actors Guild, which greatly facilitated his subsequent employment.
TV roles
Over the next few years, Pavel Lichnikoff played many guest roles in popular TV shows. Among them are his appearance in Nash Bridges, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Spy. However, a real breakthrough for the actor is work in the series from the HBO channel "Deadwood". In this harsh western, Pavel played the role of the Russian telegraph operator Blazanov. Compared to the actor’s previous television works, this is a big step forward, because in two seasons Blazanov appeared in 16 episodes and became one of the main characters of the series (which, unfortunately, was closed after the third season).
After working at Deadwood, Pavel Lichnikoff returned to guest appearances again. Among his works of the late 2000s and early 10s, roles in the TV series Chuck, Shield, New Girl, Black List, Elementary and Theory of Lies stand out. In one of the most popular sitcoms of our time, The Big Bang Theory, Pavel played the role of Russian cosmonaut and appeared in five episodes.
Among the actor’s last television works, secondary roles in the TV series Ray Donovan (three episodes) and Shameless (five episodes) stand out. Also, Russian viewer Pavel Lichnikoff was clearly remembered for the role of Misha Buddist in the third season of the popular comedy series Fizruk. This is one of the few Russian works of the actor.
Work in films and video games
The first notable line in the actor’s filmography is the episodic appearance in the blockbuster with Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman “The Airplane of the President”. Over the following years, Pavel rarely appeared in films, focusing on television and video programs.
However, among the feature films of Pavel Lichnikoff, you can find work with prominent directors. The actor played small roles in such films as “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, “Star Trek”, “Die Hard: A Good Day to Die”, “Miami Police”, “Monster” and “Dick and Jane Scams”.
Another industry where Pavel Lichnikoff was noted for his acting work is video games. The actor voiced and animated the characters in such popular series as “Medal of Courage”, “Battlefield” and “Warhammer”.