Ralph Fiennes
An English theater and movie actor known for roles in the Harry Potter series, Schindler's List (1993), and The English Patient (1997), Ralph Fiennes has shown a deep interest in Russian culture over the years.
He starred in Two Women (2014), directed by the Russian filmmaker Vera Glagoleva, and also portrayed Alexander Pushkin (the classic author’s namesake and an acknowledged choreography teacher) in The White Crow (2018), a film about the legendary ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev.
Fiennes has also spoken Russian publicly (and pretty confidently). For example, he delivered a speech at the Moscow premiere of Spectre (2015), a film in the James Bond series:
Paul Landers (Rammstein)
Paul Landers, the guitarist of Rammstein, speaks fairly good Russian and has even lived in Moscow for a year as a child. In an interview with a Russian music channel, he shared fond memories of local foods like pirozhki, pelmeni, and kvass.
There’s also a recording of him singing a famous song by the beloved cartoon character Cheburashka:
Grimes
Claire Boucher, better known as Grimes, has spoken about her interest in the Russian language and culture on numerous occasions. Incidentally, this also includes her singing Cheburashka’s song.
The artist has spoken about her obsession with Russian authors like poet Anna Akhmatova and writer Fyodor Dostoevsky, incorporated Russian text into her artwork and lyrics, and interacted with Russian fans on social media.
As you can see, Russian is a global language that inspires many prominent creatives. Could that be the motivation boost you needed to keep studying it, too? If so, check out our other stories on learning Russian.
