Biography
Darya Ekamasova, an award-winning Russian actress, was born and raised in Moscow. She initially trained as a pianist at a music college. At 16, she was cast by renowned Russian director Andrey Proshkin to play Cicciolina, an orphanage girl, in a film. Developing a passion for acting despite her parents' reservations, she left music to enroll in Russia's oldest Academy of Theater Arts. During her studies, she worked with prominent Russian directors like Boris Khlebnikov, Aleksey Fedorchenko, Nikolay Dostal, and Nikolay Khomeriki. Her films have represented Russia at major international festivals including Cannes, Venice, and Berlinale.
In 2010, Ekamasova starred in the lead role of the play "Life is Successful," which won the prestigious Golden Mask theater award. Around this time, acclaimed director Andrey Smirnov cast her as Varvara, the lead in his folk drama "Once Upon a Time There Lived a Simple Woman," depicting Russia’s history through the life of a peasant woman. The film received critical acclaim and widespread audience praise. Ekamasova earned top national awards and high commendations at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, becoming a member of the Asian Film Academy. The film screened internationally, including at the 2012 New York Film Festival, marking her first visit to the United States—a visit that changed her life and sparked a love for New York City, where she began traveling regularly.
In 2013, Ekamasova appeared in the American film "Fourth Dimension," produced by Grolsh Film Works and VICE, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Her 2015 New York stage debut in the play "Knock" at the Lost & Found Theater caught the attention of American producer Ben Barenholtz, known for launching the careers of filmmakers like the Coen Brothers, David Lynch, and Jim Jarmusch. Barenholtz cast her in the lead role of his directorial debut, "Alina," which premiered in Los Angeles in August 2017 with David Lynch presenting and praising her performance.
In 2017, casting director Rori Bergman brought Ekamasova onto the cast of the acclaimed TV series "The Americans," where she was a series regular in seasons 5 and 6, acting alongside Matthew Rhys, Keri Russell, and Noah Emmerich.
Simultaneously, she continued working in Russia, Lithuania, and Ukraine. Her portrayal of Polina Schneider in Aleksey Fedorchenko’s "Angels of the Revolution" was praised at the Rome Film Festival. That same year, she received the Chopard Talent Award, the first Russian actress to do so.
In 2019, Ekamasova starred as Olga Pavlova in the TV series "A.L.Zh.I.R.," about women imprisoned in Stalinist Gulags during the 1937 repressions.
The film "Give Me Liberty," a lyrical and absurd comedy by Kirill Mikhanovsky, premiered at the 2019 Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals, winning the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award. That year, she also portrayed Nadezhda Krupskaya, Lenin’s wife, in Vladimir Khotinenko’s "Lenin. Inevitability," co-starring alongside Yevgeny Mironov.
Also in 2019, Ekamasova appeared in the Norwegian Netflix series "Occupied," playing a sharp-tongued lesbian woman facing political pressure.
In 2021, she starred as Katya Skazka, a prostitute who aids in capturing a pedophile, in the critically acclaimed Russian TV series "Khrustalny," directed by Serbian filmmaker Dušan Gligorov, which was named the best Russian TV series of the year.
In 2022, she appeared in "To the Lake 2," Netflix’s first Russian original series.
In August 2022, at the Window to Europe Film Festival, Ekamasova won Best Actress for her role in Alisa Erokhina’s film "Just Before."
She continues to pursue music, aspiring to play a pianist on screen.
Ekamasova is a member of SAG-AFTRA.
