Get a closer look at some of Hollywood's perfect pairs.

Hollywood Power Couples

Get a closer look at some of Hollywood&#39;s perfect pairs.

"The Gentlemen" and "Slow Horses" return this fall, while the "Reacher" spin-off series "Neagley" makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

2026 Fall TV and Streaming Watch Guide

&quot;The Gentlemen&quot; and &quot;Slow Horses&quot; return this fall, while the &quot;Reacher&quot; spin-off series &quot;Neagley&quot; makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

Streaming Stars, Then and Now

He was born on Sakhalin Island at the far eastern end of the former Soviet Union and began studying dance at age 9 in the Riga State Ballet School. He later said his mother put him there to prevent his becoming "a hooligan". One of his classmates and friends at the school was Mikhail Baryshnikov. After graduating he toured with the Moscow Classical Ballet. He joined the Bolshoi in 1971; there he received rave reviews for the lead in "Swan Lake", "Giselle" and other classical and contemporary works. In 1973 he won a gold medal at the Moscow International Competition. The same year he received more praise when the Bolshoi toured the United States. He was then marked as a potential defector and not allowed to tour for five years. In August 1979 he did defect. The story grew in importance when his ballerina wife returned to the USSR a few days later. He joined the American Ballet Theater and danced with it until 1982 when he and its director Baryshnikov had a falling out. He was by then a frequent companion of Jacqueline Bisset. His first movie role was as the Amish farmer Daniel in "Witness" (1985). The NY Times reviewer described him as the film's "most riveting presence". The same critic did not take so kindly to his role as Karl in "Die Hard" (1988) ("a sight gag in his terrorist costume"). When he became a US citizen in 1987 he said he planned to celebrate by eating a "hamburger stuffed with caviar". He had been filming a movie in Budapest a few weeks before he was found dead in his West Hollywood home, of "natural causes" according to his physician.

On <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/name/nm0000864/?ref_=nmqu_qu">Mikhail Baryshnikov</a> firing him from the American Ballet Theatre in 1982: He threw me away like a potato peel.

I push my feelings inward. I keep them inside of me.

On his film offers after <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0095016/?ref_=nmqu_qu">Die Hard (1988)</a>: Producers said things
like, &quot;You will play the guy who comes in with a long coat and machine
gun and kills everybody in the room. And use that same expression on
your face you used in Die Hard.&quot;

Quotes

Alexander Godunov

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