Nowadays some Russian actors have made quite a successful career in Hollywood. It’s hard to imagine, but, in counterbalance, Hollywood stars take part in different Russian movies. Has the reset begun earlier than we thought?

It all began in the USSR. During the Cold War, it was very hard to leave the country, almost forbidden for most of citizens. Despite this difficulty, Savelii Kramarov, one of the greatest Russian actors, succeeded. When Russian directors stopped inviting him to produce films in Russia, he decided to ask the government if he could move from the Soviet Union. He was rejected.

In 1981, he wrote a letter to American President Ronald Reagan, which was full of complaints concerning his destiny. This letter was read on the radio station “The Voice of America” several times.  That same year, he immigrated to the United States. There he took part in different movies, such as “Moscow on the Hudson,” a bittersweet story set against the backdrop of the Cold War, pre-perestroika years of the early 1980s. He also acted with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie “Red Heat.”

After the Soviet era, when the Iron Curtain was removed, the political crisis had begun, so there was no work for actors in the new Russia. Those who had fortitude went to the United States to pursue their dreams – people like Vladimir Mashkov, Oleg Menshikov, Valeriy Nikolaev and others. Mashkov was even offered a part as the boyfriend of Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) in Tomb Raider, but he refused because he was occupied with his own Russian project.

Former boxer Oleg Taktarov had decided to move to the United States after seeing success in Russia. After some roles in low-budget American movies, he acted in some famous ones such as “Air Force,” “15 Minutes,” “Rollerball,” and “Miami Vice.” He also acted with Vladimir Mashkov in the TV show “Alias” – both were given “bad guy” roles, appealing to the stereotype of Russian villains shown since the Cold War.

Recently, American audiences have started to watch modern Russian movies.  One of the first films was “Night Watch” by Timur Bekmambetov. He definitely knows what he is doing, because after his two Russian movies had been so well-received by American audiences, he was invited to the United States as a guest director of the new blockbuster film, “Wanted.”

There is one actor who wants to break the stereotype of the Russian person who drinks vodka and plays a balalaika. His name is Dolf Lundgren. After he visited Russia several times, he decided to make a movie about a true, strong-spirited Russian person.

In the last few years, some American actors have taken part in different Russian movies. The most constant American member of the Russian film industry is Michael Madsen. He acted in “Smatyvay udochki” (“Clear Out”), “Muzhskoy sezon. Barkhatnaya revolyutsiya” (“A man's season - velvet revolution”) and “Put” (“The way”). He admitted that he likes to return to Russia because he is lost in admiration of it.

“America is a child in comparison with Russia. What a culture, what architecture,” he said.

Part of the film “The Bourne Supremacy” was shot in Russia. Oxana Akinshina, a young and successful Russian actress, took part in the movie. Now American directors choose Russian actors or actresses for Russian roles, rather than following their former methods: “Do you speak Russian?” - “A little bit”- “Ok, you’re hired.” This is the way of the so-called reset as it develops in Russian-American film industry.