Danila Kozlovsky

Danila Valeryevich Kozlovsky (; born 3 May 1985) is a Russian actor and director. His most famous roles in films include Vampire Academy and Soulless, as well as the TV series Vikings. During his career, he achieved international popularity in Eastern European countries.

Biography Kozlovsky was born in Moscow. His mother, Nadezhda Zvenigorodskaya, is a stage actress, and his father, Valery Kozlovsky, was a professor at Moscow State University specializing in marketing and mass communications. He is the second of three brothers, an older brother Yegor, and a younger brother, Ivan. From a young age, Kozlovsky was placed in dance and music classes, learning to play the saxophone and the alto. During his early years, he frequently changed schools, potentially due to discipline issues. He made his big screen debut in 1998, playing the troubled sixth grader Denis on the Russian television series Simple Truths.

In 1996, he was accepted into the Kronshtadt Naval Military School, which he attended until his graduation in 2002. Upon graduation, he matriculated to the Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy, entering the acting/directing course supervised by Lev Dodin. During his fourth year he made his debut on the stage of the Little Drama Theatre (Theatre de l’Europe), playing the part of Edgar in King Lear (2006). The role brought him his first theatre award: a special prize of Expert Council of the "Golden Sofit" (the top-rated theatre award in Saint Petersburg) for Best Debut. Then there was a role in the play Life and Fate, which premiered in Paris and the diploma performance "Warsaw Melody".

After graduating from the academy in 2007, Danila Kozlovskiy was officially admitted to the staff of the Little Drama Theatre (Theatre de l'Europe). In his repertoire were added performances Lord of the Flies, where he played Ralph, Intrigue and Love and The Cherry Orchard.

In 2005, he also received his first important film role — in the picture Garpastum. The film, set during the time of the First World War, tells the story of two brothers who wish to build their own football stadium. Kozlovsky received the Russian Guild of Film Critics "White Elephant Award" for the best male lead actor.

Kozlovsky gained wider publicity in 2008 with his starring role in the film Black Hunters. There he played the role of robber archaeologist Sergei Filatov, who is transported into the past together with his friends when making illegal excavations.

In 2009, he portrayed drag queen Lusya in the comedy-drama Jolly Fellows. It was screened in the Panorama section of the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival.

Soulless and breakthrough

After Kozlovsky starred in the 2012 film Soulless he became a household name in Russia. He played the lead role of Max Andreev, a young ambitious executive manager who begins to reevaluate his priorities in life and career. The film was a hit and grossed $13 million. He received the National Golden Eagle Award for Soulless (2012, nomination "Best Cinema Actor"). The film was followed by a sequel in 2015, for which he won the Nika Award as best actor.

Kozlovsky played the role of Yegor Dorin, in the 2012 film The Spy, based on the Boris Akunin novel.

In 2013, he portrayed ice-hockey player Valeri Kharlamov in the sports drama Legend № 17. The film was a critical and box office success, earning $29.5 million at the box-office.

Kozlovsky starred in his first Hollywood film in 2014; he played Dimitri Belikov in the comedy-horror picture Vampire Academy.

The year 2016 saw Kozlovsky star in five films — romantic comedy Status: non-engaged, sci-fi action film Hardcore Henry, comedy film Friday, disaster film Flight Crew and historical action film Viking.

Out of the aforementioned films, the most popular ones at the box-office were Flight Crew, earning $27 million, and Viking which grossed $34 million.

He played Count Vorontzov in the film Matilda (2017), which told the story of the romance between Emperor Nicholas II and ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska. The film became controversial after State Duma deputy Natalia Poklonskaya led a campaign to ban the film on religious grounds.

Also in 2017, it was announced that Kozlovsky will appear as Oleg of Novgorod in the sixth season of popular Canadian historical drama Vikings.

In 2018, Kozlovsky played a supporting role in Dovlatov. The biographical picture about writer Sergei Dovlatov premiered at the 2018 Berlinale in competition.

Danila Kozlovsky's directorial debut Coach was released in 2018.

In 2021, he directed the film Chernobyl: Abyss, the soundtrack for the film was recorded by Alla Pugacheva.

In the media In 2013, GQ Russia picked Danila Kozlovsky as Man of the Year.

Kozlovsky appeared in advertisements for Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle alongside Keira Knightley in 2015.

For a number of years, he was cited as a “sex symbol” by various media outlets in Russia.

Personal life In late 2008, Kozlovsky married the Maly Drama Theatre actress Urszula Małka. They divorced in 2011. Kozlovsky was in a relationship with actress and model Olga Zueva from 2014 to 2020. They split shortly after Olga gave birth to their daughter Oda Valentina Zueva (born in February 2020).

On 24 and 27 February 2022, Kozlovsky posted several Instagram posts condemning the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, sharing an image of a crying refugee. In his 27 February post, Kozlovsky admitted to and apologized for, his indifference to the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in 2014. Kozlovsky's film Viking had been filmed in parts of the Russia-annexed territory of Crimea. According to Novaya Gazeta, Kozlovsky has faced harassment due to his stance against the invasion and has faced difficulties finding new film roles.

Danila married Oksana Akinshina, and they had a son in May 2026.

Theater Little Drama Theatre (Theatre de l’Europe) 2006 – King Lear – Edgar 2006 – Whim – Barkalov, the manager of the estate 2007 – The Warsaw Melody – Victor 2007 – Life and Fate – Novikov 2009 – The Lord of the Flies – Ralph 2010 – Lorenzaccio – Lorenzaccio 2012 – Intrigue and Love – Ferdinand 2013 – The Cherry Orchard – Lopakhin 2016 – Hamlet – Hamlet

Theater Post 2012 – Shoot / Get Treasure / Repeat by Mark Ravenhill, director Dmitri Volktostrelov – Dictator

Clapham Grand 2024 — Frank, director Savva Savelev — Himself

Filmography Year Title Original Title Role Notes 1999 Simple Truths Простые истины Denis Selivyorstov TV series 2003 Dancing on the Waves Я всё решу сама: Танцующая на волнах Valera TV series 2003 Streets of Broken Lights Улицы разбитых фонарей soldier-deserter Popov TV series 2004 Sissi: The Rebel Empress Сисси – мятежная императрица Young Franz Joseph TV film 2004 On Verhniaya Maslovka street На Верхней Масловке Modigliani 2005 Garpastum Гарпастум Nikolay Russian Guild of Film Critics Award for Best Actor 2006 Alka Алька Lenya Astakhov TV miniseries 2006 Crime and Weather Преступление и погода Victor 2007 Lenin's Legacy Завещание Ленина Sergei TV miniseries 2008 Black Hunters Мы из будущего Sergei "Bormann" Filatov Also known as We Are from the Future and Back in Time Nominated—MTV Russia Movie Award for Best Kiss (shared with Ekaterina Klimova) 2009 Jolly Fellows Весельчаки Lyusya 2009 A. D. А. Д. Daniil Ageev TV 2010 On-alone Одиночка Andrei Gromov TV 2010 Attempt Покушение Yevgeniy Kostin TV series 2010 Moscow, I Love You! Москва, я люблю тебя! Taxi driver 2010 Hamlet. XXI Century Гамлет XXI век Laertes 2011 Gulf Stream Under the Iceberg Гольфстрим под айсбергом Ari Brylskiy 2011 Target Мишень Mitya 2011 Five Brides Пять невест Alexei Kaverin 2011 Skerries-18 Шхера-18 Andrei Egorov TV 2011 Raspoutine Распутин Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich Russian-French co-production 2012 The Spy Шпион Yegor Dorin 2012 Soulless Духless Max Andreev Golden Eagle Award for Best Leading Actor Nominated—Nika Award for Best Actor Nominated—Russian Guild of Film Critics Award for Best Actor 2013 Legend № 17 Легенда No. 17 Valeri Kharlamov 2013 Everything Began in Harbin Всё началось в Харбине Boris Eybozhenko TV series 2013 The habit to leave Привычка расставаться Vadim 2014 Dubrovsky Дубровский Vladimir Dubrovsky Feature film and TV mini-series 2014 Vampire Academy Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters Dimitri Belikov 2015 Soulless 2 Духless 2 Max Andreev 2016 Status: Free Статус: Свободен Nikita Kolesnikov 2016 Friday Пятница Mikhail Bondar 2016 Hardcore Henry Хардкор Akan 2016 Flight Crew Экипаж Alexey Guchshin Remake of Air Crew 2016 Viking Викинг Vladimir the Great 2017 Matilda Матильда Vorontsov 2018 McMafia МакМафия Grigory Mishin TV series 2018 Dovlatov Довлатов David 2018 Coach Тренер Yuri Stoleshnikov 2018 In the Hood На районе 2019–2020 Vikings Oleg the Prophet TV series, main role (season 6) 2021 Chernobyl: Abyss Чернобыль Alexey Karpushin Also director 2021 Karamora Карамора Karamora 2022 Molodoy chelovek Молодой человек 2022 Treason Lord Anton Melnikov TV miniseries 2022 13 Clinical 13 Клиническая Kirill Akinshin TV miniseries 2022 In Two Надвое Kostya TV miniseries 2025 One Call Bar Бар «Один звонок» The barman TV miniseries, Main Role 2026 Firing Zhora Уволить Жору Maks movie, Main role 2026 First Первая ракетка Tennis player Igor Strelnikov TV miniseries, Main role 2026 From London with Love English-speaking movie, also Director 2026 NoOneWhoAreYou НиктоКакТы Mark movie 2026 Time Noise Шум Времени

Awards and nominations Award Year Category Nominated work Result Nika Award 2015 Best Actor Soulless 2 Glamour Awards 2013 Man of the Year Golden Eagle Awards 2012 Golden Eagle Award for Best Leading Actor Soulless Golden Floodlight Theatre Awards 2006 Best Debut King Lear GQ Awards 2013 Man of the Year Russian Guild of Film Critics Awards 2005 Best Actor Garpastum 2012 Soulless Constellation Film Actors Festival 2008 Best Leading Actor Back in Time