Ivan Mosjoukine

Ivan Ilyich Mozzhukhin , usually billed using the French transliteration Ivan Mosjoukine, was a Russian silent film actor.

Mosjoukine was born in Kondol, in the Saratov Governorate of the Russian Empire and studied law at Moscow State University. In 1910, he left academic life to join a troupe of traveling actors from Kiev, with which he toured for a year, gaining experience and a reputation for dynamic stage presence. Upon returning to Moscow, he launched his screen career with the 1911 adaptation of Tolstoys The Kreutzer Sonata. He also starred in A House in Kolomna , Pyotr Chardynin directed drama Do You Remember opposite the popular Russian ballerina Vera Karalli , Nikolay Stavrogin , The Queen of Spades and other adaptations of Russian classics.

Source: Wikipedia