Klitschko, Serduchka and others: top 5 Ukrainian celebrities who starred or were mentioned in Hollywood movies

What do the actresses Mila Kunis, Olga Kurylenko, Katheryn Winnick, Vera Farmiga, and Milla Jovovich have in common? All of them have Ukrainian roots: some of them were born here, while others were born abroad, but to Ukrainian citizens. These people carefully preserve the memory of their own origins and instill in their children a love of the Motherland, its language and traditions.

And there are stars who started (or are still doing so) building their careers in Ukraine, and at the same time play cameo roles in Hollywood movies. Have you ever noticed in which films? Find out in the OBOZREVATEL article.

1. Andriy Danylko (Verka Serduchka)

Ukrainian singer, screenwriter, TV presenter, and actor Andriy Danylko is known all over the world for his stage persona, Verka Serduchka. In 2015, the celebrity was invited to make a cameo in the comedy Spy. Of course, the artist could not miss this opportunity. According to the plot of the movie, Serdyuchka performed at a concert in France with the song Dancing Lasha Tumbai, which she had previously sung at Eurovision 2007. Then the main character ran onto the stage and tried to take the microphone away from the star to tell her colleague about a bomb hidden in her backpack.

2. Volodymyr Klitschko

Ukrainian professional boxer Volodymyr Klitschko is a world boxing champion in the heavyweight category according to the WBO, IBF, IBO, The Ring, and WBA. In 2001, he was featured in the movie Ocean's Eleven. According to the plot, the adventurers plan to rob a casino on the day when the Ukrainian allegedly entered the ring with Canadian boxer Lennox Lewis to win the world title.

In 2013, Klitschko was featured in the movie "Blood and Sweat: Anabolic". In the movie, he was punching a punching bag while it was being held by the film's protagonist, played by actor Mark Wahlberg. In addition, Volodymyr played in two parts of the German film comedy "Earless Hares" (2007). He played the role of the singer Yvonne Katterfeld's fiancé.

3. Ivanna Sakhno

Actress Ivanna Sakhno began her career in film with roles in the Ukrainian sitcom Lesya + Roma and the Ukrainian biopic Ivan Syla. Now she is 25 and has already managed to conquer Hollywood at such a young age.

For 8 years, the talented artist has been actively building her career in the United States. At first, it was roles in low-budget films, and in 2018 she starred in the fantastic movie Pacific Rim: Uprising, where she played cadet Victoria. In the same year, a comedy action movie starring her, The Spy Who Dumped Me (Nadezhda), was released, and in 2020, the thriller Peak Fear, where Sakhno got the lead role.

In 2023, the miniseries Ahsoka premiered. This is a sequel to The Mandalorian; a project of the fantastic Star Wars media franchise. And the Ukrainian actress was honored to play a character named Shin Gati.

4. Jamala

Ukrainian singer Jamala won the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with her song "1944" dedicated to the deportation of Crimean Tatars. This was a turning point in her career: the whole world learned about her. In 2019, the Netflix team invited the star to star in the comedy film Eurovision: The Story of the Fire Saga."

In a letter, American director David Dobkin said that Jamala is the heart and soul of Eurovision, so he would love for the artist to accept. The Ukrainian singer was impressed and, of course, accepted the offer. On the set, Jamala met Hollywood actors Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams and Dan Stevenson.

5. Viktor Yushchenko

The third president of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, did not appear in films. However, Hollywood talked about him. And more than once. The directors were impressed by the story of the politician's poisoning, so they told about it in the TV series Scream Queens (episode 7 of season 2), Law & Order (episode 19 of season 17), and CSI: Criminal Minds (episode 20 of season 12). In the documentary series "The Craft of Spying," Netflix devoted an entire episode, the second episode, to the poisoning of Ukrainian political figures (Viktor Yushchenko, Stepan Bandera, and Lev Rebet).

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL wrote about actors with Ukrainian roots who conquered Hollywood.

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