Yuri Georgievich Kutsenko, professionally known as Gosha Kutsenko, is a renowned Russian film and theatre actor. Born on May 20, 1967, in Zaporozhie, Ukraine, USSR, he is the son of Georgi Pavlovich Kutsenko, a manager of the electronics industry, and Svetlana Vasilevna, a medical doctor.
Kutsenko's early life was marked by a speech irregularity, which made it difficult for him to pronounce his given name, Yuri, and instead, he adopted the nickname Gosha. He also had a Ukrainian accent, which initially complicated his chances of becoming an actor in Moscow.
Despite these challenges, Kutsenko pursued his passion for acting and entered the Moscow Art Theatre School in 1990, where he was accepted by Oleg Tabakov and studied under Ivan Tarkhanov. He graduated in 1992 and made his film debut in 1991 with roles in 'Chelovek is komandy Alfa' and 'Mummy from a case'.
Kutsenko's breakthrough role came in 1998 with the leading part in 'Mama ne goryuy', a Russian criminal comedy-drama. He received critical acclaim for his performance in 'Antikiller' (2002) and co-starred in the vampire franchise 'Night Watch' (2004) and 'Day Watch' (2006),directed by Timur Bekmambetov.
In addition to his film career, Kutsenko is a permanent member of the Moscow Theatre of Mossoveta, where he has played leading and supporting roles in various productions. He has also been a partner in a film production company and has developed a career as a singer-songwriter in Russia.
Kutsenko has been married to actress Maria Poroshina from 1992 to 1997 and has one daughter. Outside of his acting career, he is an avid sportsman, specializing in boxing and wrestling, and is also an amateur cart-racer. He currently resides in Moscow, Russia.
