Ville Haapasalo

Ville Juhana Haapasalo (born 28 February 1972) is a Finnish stage and film actor who has worked in Finland and Russia. His acting career started in 1995, after he finished his studies in St. Petersburg. In 2003, he was honored with the State Prize of the Russian Federation for his role of Veikko in the film The Cuckoo directed by Aleksandr Rogozhkin.

Education Haapasalo was educated in St. Petersburg at the Academy of Performing Arts of the Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy. He knew no Russian when he began studying. He studied there from 1991 to 1995. It was a difficult period in the 1990s Russia; he was mugged nine times in 1992, tried to commit suicide three times, and because of his financial problems he worked as a driver for the mafia.

Career Haapasalo's career got a huge lift immediately after his graduation for his appearance in 1995 in a Russian comedy Peculiarities of the National Hunt. But this sudden fame turned out to be stressful for him and he temporarily returned to Finland to work as a truck driver.

Although his fame comes mostly from film, he also writes for the screen, acts in theaters, and does TV cinema. He also appeared in Finland's Ministry of Transport and Communications' 1998 campaign National Features of Driving instructing Russians on Finnish road rules. He is more widely recognized in Russia than in his country of origin Finland. He has hosted and starred in a number of travel shows on Finnish and Russian TV.

He appeared in the first season of ice show contest Ice Age.

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Haapasalo strongly condemned the war , effectively ending his multi-decade acting and media career in Russia. He also shut down his Soviet-themed restaurant in Helsinki. Haapasalo was labelled a traitor by Russian government-aligned media.

Personal life Haapasalo was born in Hollola, Finland. He speaks four languages fluently: Finnish, Russian, Swedish, and English. His hobbies include playing trombone, ice-hockey, skiing, and skating.

In 2016, Haapasalo opened a Georgian restaurant called Purpur in Helsinki.

Family Haapasalo married Saara Hedlund in 1995. They divorced in 2026. Haapasalo and Hedlund have two children.

Haapasalo also has a son (born 2009) with Russian director , who is of Georgian descent. In 2026, Haapasalo moved to Georgia and married Barkalaya.

Filmography Year Title of film / TV series Title in English Title in other languages Role 1995 Особенности национальной охоты Peculiarities of the National Hunt Особенности национальной охоты (Russian)Metsästyksen kansallisia erikoisuuksia (Finnish) Raivo 1996 Операция С новым годом (ТВ) Operation Happy New Year (TV) Russian second Killer 1998 Elämän suola (TV-Episode: "Yksi lensi yli käenpesän") Salt of life (TV series) Finnish Timppa 1998 Особенности национальной рыбалки Peculiarities of the National Fishing Особенности национальной рыбалки (Russian)Kalastuksen kansallisia erikoisuuksia (Finnish) Raivo 1998 Samaa Sukua, eri Maata (TV) The same family, different country (TV series) Finnish Jari Jokinen 1999 Lapin kullan kimallus Lapin kullan kimallus The glitter of Lappish gold (Finnish) Frans Björklund 2000 Pakkaus (short) The packaging FinnishPackningen (Swedish) Jaakko 2000- 2005 Убойная сила (сериал)Uboynaya Sila (TV series) Destructive force (TV series) Russian episode Kredit Doveriya 2001 Maamiehen Päiväkirja (short) Maamiehen diary Finnish Maamies 2002 One Christmas morning (short film) One Christmas Morning Sweden Одно рождественское утро (Russian) 2002Minä en ole kone (short film) I'm not a machine Finnish 2002 КукушкаKukushka The Cuckoo Russian Käki (Finnish) Veikko 2003 Pietarin Myytti Saint Petersburg myth (Mini-series) Finnish Various 2003 Perjantai Wednesday (TV) Finnish 2003 Letters from Karelia Letters From Karelia Canadian Aate Pitkänen 2003 Кукушкино гнездо (ТВ)Kukushkino gnezdo Cuckoo's Nest (TV) Russian Käen pesä/Käk - tähden synty (Finnish) 2003 Vieraalla maalla in a strange land Finnish Tuomas Linna/Omar Ghaala 2004 Диверсант (мини-сериал)Diversant The Saboteur (TV Miniseries) Russian Wilhelm 2004 Королева бензоколонки 2 (ТВ)Koroleva benzokolonki 2 Queen of the petrol station 2 (TV) Russian Королева бензоколонки 2 (Ukrainian) Ruslan 2005 Yövuoro Night Shift (TV series) Finnish Turvapäällikkö Jari Viirilä 2005 Tahdon Asia (TV-episode #1.6) Matters of the Will (TV series) Finnish (voice) 2005 Гибель империи (сериал)Gibel Imperii The Fall of the Empire (TV mini-series) Russian Tarvilainen 2005 КГБ в смокинге (сериал)KGB v smokinge The KGB in a Tuxedo (TV series) Russian Eugene 2005 Domoi - Kotiinpaluu Domoi - Homecoming Finnish Домой (Russian) The Warrior 2006 Priroda i zdorovie "Luonto ja terveys" (TV) Nature and Health (TV) Finnish Природа и здоровье (Russian) Kostya 2006 Suden Arvoitus Mystery of the Wolf Finnish Vargens Hemlighet (Swedish) Paulus Morgam 2007 Дочь генерала – Татьяна (мини-сериал)Doch generala Daughter of General - Tatiana (Mini-series) Russian 2007 Чужие тайны (сериал)Chuzhie tayny Other people's secrets (TV series) Russian Jeff 2007 Ирония Судьбы: ПродолжениеIroniya sud’by. Prodolzheniye The Irony of Fate 2 Russian Kohtalon ironiaa – jatkoa (Finnish) Số phận trớ trêu. Phần tiếp theo (Vietnamese) Drunken Finn 2008 Lemmenleikit Make love to (TV Series) Finnish Samuli Harjanne 2008 Luola (short film) Cave Finnish Ilari's father 2009 ВесельчакиVeselchaki Jolly Fellows Russian Joyeux compères (French) Roza 2009 Любовь в большом городеLjubov v bolšom gorode Love in the Big City Russian Кохання у великому місті (Ukrainian) Olli (Sauna) 2009 Царь Tsar Russian Andrey Staden 2010 Venäjän halki 30 päivässä (Documentary) Across Russia in 30 Days Himself 2010 Любовь в большом городе 2Ljubov v bolšom gorode 2 Love in the Big City 2 Russian Кохання у великому місті 2 (Ukrainian) Olli (Sauna) 2011 Tunarit (Short) The Duffers Finnish 2011 Sapuskaa - harashoo! (TV Series) Himself 2011 Alamaailma-trilogia Underworld Trilogy Finnish Artur Deminoff 2011 БеременныйBeremennyy The Pregnant Russian Rezhisser 2012 СамоубийцыSamoubiytsy Suicides Russian Finn 2012 Silkkitie 30 päivässä (Documentary) 30 Days on the Silk Road Finnish Himself 2012 Golfa straume zem ledus kalna Gulf Stream Under the Iceberg Latvian Гольфстрим под айсбергом (Russian) Theophilius 2013 Rölli ja kultainen avain Rolli, and the secret of all time Finnish Ролли и золотой ключик (Russian) 2013 Три мушкетера The Three Musketeers Russian Farmer 2013 Suomensukuiset 30 päivässä (Documentary) Russian Tribes in 30 Days Finnish Himself 2014 Любовь в большом городе 3Ljubov v bolšom gorode 3 Love in the Big City 3 Russian Кохання у великому місті 3 (Ukrainian) Каханне ў вялікім горадзе 3 (Belarusian) Olli (Sauna) 2014 Папа напрокат (мини-сериал) Dad for hire (Mini-series) Russian Philip 2014 Jäämeri 30 päivässä (Documentary) Arctic Ocean in 30 Days Finnish Himself 2015 Kaukasia 30 päivässä (Documentary) Caucasia in 30 Days Finnish Himself 2016 Volga 30 päivässä (Documentary) Volga in 30 Days Finnish Himself 2016 Tappajan näköinen mies The man who looks like a killer Finnish Aleksei Kornostajev 2016 Rölli ja kaikkien aikojen salaisuus Rolli, and the secret of all time Finnish Seppä 2017 Altai 30 päivässä (Documentary) Altai in 30 Days Finnish Himself 2018 Haapasalon Suomi (Documentary) Haapasalo's Finland Finnish Himself 2018 Hölmö nuori sydän Stupid Young Heart Finnish Janne 2019– Muumilaakso Moominvalley Finnish Moominpappa

Writer Perjantai (2003) (TV) Luonto ja terveys (2006) (TV)