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Earned two Associates' Degrees, Criminal Justice & General Studies, and one Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice.Has trained in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) especially Muay-thai & Brazilian Jiu-jitsu since 1993.He grew up in the beautiful country landscape of south-west Virginia where his father taught him how to hunt and fish.Although he plays the Ukrainian thug Sergei Malatov on "The Wire", he is American and speaks with a Southern accent.He has a great ear and natural talent for accents and dialects.His father trained him in the use of all types of firearms.Convinced casting HBO and casting for "The Wire", that he was Russian. He did this without ever having acting or dialect classes.Loves the outdoors.Spike TV asked him if he was interested in being on "The Ultimate Fighter".He played baseball and football in high school. He planned on trying out for the Atlanta Braves minor league team, the Danville Braves, after college, but decided to pursue acting instead.While filming season two of HBO's "The Wire", he auditioned for the role of Vince on "Entourage".As the characters of both Gan and Marcus in "Aquarius", he did two months of green screen work, much of which was fight scenes, but the film was not released.Has always done his own stunts and really enjoys the physical roles.