Odin Biron

Odin Lund Biron (born October 5, 1984) is an American-Russian actor living in Moscow[1] and Minneapolis.[2] While not well-known in the United States,[3] he is best-known in Russia for playing the character Dr Phil Richards in the popular medical sitcom, Interns.[2]

Odin Biron
Born
Odin Lund Biron

(1984-10-05) October 5, 1984
Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.
Citizenship
  • American
  • Russian
OccupationActor
Years active2009–present
Notable work
Interns (TV series)

Biography

Born in Mounds View, Minnesota,[2] Biron grew up nearby in rural Minnesota, moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan, with his mother after his parents' divorce.[2][4] While studying at the University of Michigan, he studied at the Moscow Art Theatre on student exchange and was, unusually, invited to stay and join the incoming Russian class.[2][1] He has spoken about having had a romantic image of Russia, having known very little Russian on arrival;[2][1][4][5] being less able to communicate with other Muscovites, he focused on studying.[2] In one of his final student roles, he won an award[6] for his portrayal of Hamlet in a production that toured to New York's Baryshnikov Arts Center;[2][4] he drew the attention of the Gogol Center and plaudits from Viktor Ryzhakov, artistic director of the Meyerhold Center and one of his former instructors.[2]

Landing a role in Interns, a top-rated Russian medical sitcom, in 2006 raised Biron's profile substantially and he has spoken about being recognised in nightclubs and avoiding "celebrity events" as a result.[2] In a country where a large majority of the population view the United States "badly" or "very badly",[7] Biron is one of a few Americans in the public eye, yet the success of Interns has led to Biron being considered a heartthrob and very popular.[2]

Biron came out to his parents as a teenager and made no big secret of his homosexuality,[2] but Russia is very socially conservative on LGBT rights, with hostility towards legal recognition of same-sex marriage and support for laws discriminating against LGBT people.[8][9] The United States Department of State repeatedly raised concerns around LGBT civil rights in their 2014 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.[10] His character on Interns was raised by two gay fathers,[1] though the treatment of the issue of sexuality on the show has been described as reinforcing the Soviet idea that homosexuality is a product of Western moral decay, rather than being used to promote more liberal values.[2]

It is very common for LGBT performers in Russia to avoid coming out, with an unspoken don't ask, don't tell arrangement between the entertainment industry and the mainstream press.[2][1][4] After the passage of 2013's Russian LGBT propaganda law, Biron's Interns co-star and former Orthodox priest Ivan Okhlobystin made international news with genocidally homophobic remarks made in a December 2013 talk in Novosibirsk,[11] leading Biron to consider leaving the show and Russian TV altogether.[2][12] As a result, he came out in an interview with New York magazine in early 2015,[2][1] to mixed reactions,[13] reported in the Russian press accompanied by mentions of Okhlobystin's remarks.[12] After an initial reaction leaving Biron with "a sense of physical danger, political danger", he initially left Russia.[1] He returned later without any apparent negative effect on his career,[1] though his friendship with Okhlobystin had become untenable after the former priest's reaction describing him as a "pervert" and a "sodomite".[1]

Biron lived in Moscow with his boyfriend, a Kazakh film director,[2][1][4] and has a brother who lives in Nepal,[5] while his mother lives in New Zealand.[4] In an interview with Minnesota's Star Tribune in May 2015, however, he mentioned that he was back in the United States permanently and, as well as acting, was pursuing a Le Cordon Bleu culinary degree.[14]

Since 2016 lives in Moscow and works in Gogol-center.

Awards and nominations
  • Named as a Best Actor in the 2009 Golden List while at Moscow Art Theatre, for his role as the title character in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet.[6]

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
2013DumplingsAlex
2014SpiralSasha, Yakob's assistant
201512 Months: A New Fairy TaleIyul
2017Maximum ImpactP.B. Floyd
Dancing at a height

Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
2010Ivan the TerribleThe English ambassador
2010Capital of sinPrince Max
2011—2016InternsPhil Richardsfrom the 67th series

References
  1. Rachel Donadio (April 10, 2015). "After Interns star came out in Russia, a mix of fury and shrugs". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  2. Charly Wilder (February 9, 2015). "Russia's hottest American is ready to take a risk that could end his career". New York. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  3. Graham Gremore (February 10, 2015). "Russia's hottest American actor makes bold move by coming out publicly". Queerty. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  4. Jenn McKee (April 20, 2015). "Ann Arbor grad / Russian sitcom star at the center of 'coming out' controversy". The Ann Arbor News. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  5. Sofya Raevskaya (May 24, 2012). "Odin Biron: Russia has always fascinated me". Russia Beyond the Headlines. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  6. "Театральная премия "Золотой Лист"" [Theatrical Award "Golden List"] (in Russian). Golden List. May 28, 2009. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  7. Anna Arutunyan (June 6, 2014). "Anti-American sentiment growing in Russia". USA Today. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  8. Tom W. Smith (April 2011). "Cross-national Differences in Attitudes towards Homosexuality" (PDF). NORC at the University of Chicago. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 5, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  9. David M. Herszenhorn (August 11, 2013). "Gays in Russia find no haven, despite support from the West". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  10. "Russia". Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, United States Department of State. 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  11. Vladimir Kozlov (December 13, 2013). "Russian actor Ivan Okhlobystin: 'I would put all the gays alive into an oven'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  12. "Звезда "Интернов" признался в гомосексуализме и рассказал об издевках Охлобыстина" [The star of "interns" admitted to homosexuality and spoke about mockery from Okhlobystin]. RIA Novosti (in Russian). February 10, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  13. Katie Zavadski (February 10, 2015). "Russians react to American sitcom star's coming-out". Vulture.com. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  14. Sharyn Jackson (May 27, 2015). "Actor Odin Biron: TV star in Russia, just another guy in Minnesota". Star Tribune. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
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