Ravil Isyanov, a beloved character actor known for his work on projects such as Defiance, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and NCIS: Los Angeles, has passed away at the age of 59. Isyanov reportedly passed away on Wednesday, September 29th at his home in Los Angeles, following a long battle with an unknown illness. Over his nearly three decades-long career, Isyanov appeared in over seventy movie and television roles, the most recent of which was Kirkin on seven episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles.
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Isyanov was born on August 20, 1962 in Voskresensk, Russia, which was then part of the USSR. After graduating from high school in 1980, Isyanov enrolled in the Perm Institute of Culture to study directing, but those plans were put on hold when he entered a two-year mandatory military service in the Soviet Air Force in 1982. In 1986, he entered the prestigious acting program at Moscow Arts Theatre school, and graduated in 1990. His first onscreen roles were both in 1992, as Georgi in Back in the USSR and Yakov Dzhugashvili in the TV movie Stalin. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Isyanov stayed in Britain on a work visa, appearing in projects such as EastEnders, Hackers, GoldenEye, Hamlet, and The Saint.ย
After moving to Los Angeles in 1998, Isyanov’s career continued to thrive, appearing in projects such as Alias, Prison Break, NCIS, Holes, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. His most well-known movie roles became Victor Panchenko in the 2008 espionage film Defiance, and Voshkod in 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
In his latter years, Isyanov primarily worked in television, with roles in Bones, Touch, NCIS: Los Angeles, Burn Notice, The Last Ship, Agents of SHIELD, and Glow. His final two roles, which will be released posthumously, will be as Peter in 25 Cents Per Minute, and as Billy Wilder in Netflix’s upcoming Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde.
Isyanov is survived by his wife Erika; his daughter Gulya, her husband Marios, granddaughter Cassandra and grandson Nikita; his sister Dina and nephew Sergey; his former wife Marsha; his step-daughter Aneta and her husband Jon, and step-granddaughters Mila and Tali, as well as his ‘furry children’ Maya and Trezor.
Our thoughts are with Isyanov’s family, friends, and fans at this time.
