Yura Borisov

Yura Borisov? The dude’s basically a force of nature in Russian cinema. Not one of those cookie-cutter pretty boys, either—he’s got this intense, kind of unpredictable vibe that makes you wanna watch whatever he’s in, even if you don’t understand a word of Russian. He kicked things off in Zvyagintsev’s “Elena” back in 2011, just a supporting part, but you could already tell there’s something brewing under the surface. Fast forward to 2019, and boom—“Byk.” That film is gritty as hell, set in the wild ’90s, and Borisov plays Anton Bykov like he was born in a tracksuit. GQ Russia even called him their “Discovery of the Year.” Not bad, right? Things only got wilder for Yura after that. In 2021, he’s front and center in “Kapitan Volkonogov Bezhal,” a dark satire where he pulls off this wild balancing act—funny but tragic, tough but somehow breakable. Critics in Russia went nuts for it; he snagged Best Actor from the Russian Guild of Film Critics. That same year, he breaks out internationally with “Compartment No. 6.” Cannes Grand Prix, Golden Globe nom, all that jazz. In that movie, he’s Lyokha, this scrappy miner who’s rough around the edges but somehow still gets under your skin. Then 2024 hits and he pops up in Sean Baker’s “Anora” as a Russian immigrant in Brooklyn. Oscar nomination, first Russian actor to get that nod in, like, 40 years. Not slowing down, he dives into “Konchitsya leto” in 2025, shooting in freezing Yakutia as a messed-up ex-con. The guy just keeps leveling up, no matter where he lands.