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Gosha Kutsenko is a well-known Russian film and theatre actor, recognized for his roles in films such as Mama ne goryuy (1998) and the vampire series Night Watch (2004) and Day Watch (2006).
Born Yuri Georgievich Kutsenko on May 20, 1967, in Zaporozhie, Ukraine, USSR (now Zaporizhia, Ukraine), his father, Georgi Pavlovich Kutsenko, managed electronics industry, while his mother, Svetlana Vasilevna, was a medical doctor. After finishing high school, he enrolled at the Lvov Polytechnical Institute but left to serve two years in the Soviet Red Army. In 1988, Kutsenko moved to Moscow with his parents when his father was appointed Vice-Minister of Radio Industry of the USSR. That year, he also began studies at the Moscow Institute of Mechanics and Automatics but dropped out two years later to pursue acting.
Since childhood, Kutsenko has dealt with a speech disorder. Although named Yuri after Yuri Gagarin, he could not pronounce his given name and adopted the nickname Gosha. His speech, marked by a Ukrainian accent, initially hindered his acting prospects in Moscow. In 1990, he successfully entered the Moscow Art Theatre School, where he was accepted by Oleg Tabakov and trained under Ivan Tarkhanov. He worked to improve his speech and graduated as an actor in 1992. Kutsenko debuted in films such as Chelovek is komandy Alfa (1991) and Mummy from a case (1991). Between 1995 and 1997, he hosted the TV show Partiinaia Zona on TV-6 and later a popular music TV show in Moscow. From 1996 to 2000, he taught acting in Evgeniy Kindinov's class at the Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK).
Kutsenko gained widespread recognition with his lead role as Arthur in Mama ne goryuy (1998), a Russian criminal comedy-drama. He received critical acclaim for playing Lis (The Fox) in Antikiller (2002), directed by Yegor Konchalovsky, marking a significant milestone in his career. He achieved international fame through his roles in the Russian vampire films Night Watch (2004) and Day Watch (2006), directed by Timur Bekmambetov.
Since the 1990s, Kutsenko has been a permanent member of the Moscow Theatre of Mossoveta troupe, performing leading and supporting roles in notable stage productions. He earned praise for his performances in the contemporary play Chapaev i pustota and in Nikolay Gogol's classic comedy Revizor (The Inspector-General). Beyond acting, Kutsenko has been involved as a partner in a film production company and has pursued a career as a singer-songwriter in Russia.
From 1992 to 1997, Kutsenko was married to actress Maria Poroshina, with whom he has a daughter. Outside his professional life, he is an enthusiastic sportsman, specializing in boxing and wrestling, and is an amateur kart racer. He currently resides in Moscow, Russia.
