Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrei Kogolenok.
Hi Andrei, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in Minsk, Belarus, and grew up speaking Russian. People always ask me about our language, which is Belarusian. Unfortunately, it isn’t as prominent as it once was, so although I can understand it, I’m not as fluent in it as I am in Russian. I started learning English when I was 6, but I didn’t use it daily until I moved to the States at 17. Most people wouldn’t know that I’m a foreigner, which is somewhat of a compliment to my English, I guess. My journey to acting started as a filmmaker. It was the summer after my sixth grade, and I told two of my close friends that I wanted to make a short film. As a kid, movies had a profound impact on me. I was a big fan of Christopher Nolan (and still am) and found movies to be an escape. So, I got a summer job, made some money, and used it to produce, write, direct, and act in my first film. I remember kids made fun of me for doing it, but they were also sort of inspired by my passion. I continued making student films and got into a directing program at Andrei Polupanov’s Kino School in Minsk. I was determined to make it as a director when I met Anna Polupanova, my first acting coach. I was 15 years old, had never acted before, and knew nothing about theater (it isn’t very accessible back home). And then she completely changed my life. She’s by far the best acting coach I’ve worked with until now. I dropped out of my directing course, although Andrei himself wanted me to stick around. I told Anna I wanted to move to America and become a great actor. Apart from never knowing anyone who’s even been to America, the idea of being an actor seemed impossible to think of. My dad is a director of a factory, and my mom left her career to take care of me and my siblings. But I didn’t want to listen to anyone. I was determined to make it work. I worked with Anna for the next two years; we went through fire and water together. She believed in me when I didn’t get enough scholarships and lost my chance to move to America. I was at the lowest in my life up until that point. One month later, Chris Ceraso (my future advisor) from Drew University’s Theater Program contacted me. He wanted to know what was my decision. I explained that my family didn’t have enough money to afford it and after a week of back-and-forth emails they gave me another scholarship. My dream came true. I was going to America.
Upon arrival to America, I was scouted on Instagram by my future agent, Ezme Arana. She’s been following my page for 6 months and liked my self-tapes that I filmed in the basement of a winery where Anna and I worked for nearly 2 years. We never had a designated space for our lessons. Sometimes, we had to do it in old offices and even on the street. Nothing is more poetic than an accomplished Belarusian actress and a 16-year-old boy reading Chekhov on the streets of Minsk. I miss those days. After I met with Ezme, she signed me, and I’ve been repped by Paramount Talent Agency ever since. I’ve had some great auditions with Ezme, including Euphoria, Stranger Things, and The Chosen. 2 years later, she introduced me to my manager Wayne Gasser. I love my reps and consider them my family as opposed to networks. I’m very lucky to have them and have since learned that it isn’t easy to get representation. It’s tough to navigate this business, but I believe in making it a journey with those I love. Ultimately, I want to look back and say we had a great time, and I’m proud of doing it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I doubt any actor has had a “smooth road” or any person anywhere ever. When you’re young, you have a safety net to fall back on – your parents. When you leave your house, you have to put on your big boy pants. I left home at 17 and moved across the world to a place I’ve only seen in movies. I knew absolutely no one here, and yet I had the audacity to pursue my dream. Everyone told me it was impossible. Even my parents, who are my biggest supporters now, had many sleepless nights because I would skip school to shoot student films. More often than not, people doubt you not because they want you to fail but because they can’t imagine it for themselves. I learned early on that you have to fight for your dreams. And at times you have to fight the part of you that has doubts. But life does get in the way, and the child-dreamer in you has to put up a shield once every now and then. For as long as that child lives in you, you will never give up. The difficult part is to keep that child alive. During the recent strike, I, like many of us, felt the lack of opportunities to release that creativity. I started contemplating going back to filmmaking, writing, and even (it was scary to admit) directing. I had an idea of a character that I wanted to play for nearly two years. I decided to take this seriously, and one month later, I had my first draft of a short film titled “For Them.” The story is about a famous painter coming to terms with his past traumas and is told across three stages of his life. I’m playing the character in his twenties when he battles with drug abuse, a violent mother, and a painful breakup with his boyfriend. Together with my producing partner, Zachary Shook, I’m currently working on making it into a feature. We shot a proof-of-concept trailer that’s available on my Instagram page. While filming it, I got to work with some amazing people. My DP Franco Machado-Pesce and I bonded over the artistic vision of the film and the choice of shooting it in the 1:33 ratio. Working with Franco was an incredible experience; sometimes it felt like he could see the film with my own eyes.
Casting “For Them” was an eye-opening experience for me, too. We went through 1,500 actors and cast 6 amazing actors for our trailer. I realized what every casting director meant every time I asked them why certain actors get cast and others don’t. For me, casting came down to two inherent qualities in an actor – vulnerability and truthfulness. After seeing 10-20 tapes of the same scene, it becomes hard to tell the difference. Every now and then I’d see a completely different tape and I’d be glued to the screen. There was one amazing actress who sent in a tape. We knew she wasn’t right for the part, but there was something incredible about her tape. She filmed a tape without a partner, only reacting to silence, and had a very strong lisp. But she didn’t compromise her truth and stood her ground. She delivered a performance that still remains with me. I had goosebumps watching it. Although she didn’t get the part, I added that actress to my “list” of people I want to work with.
As actors, we always want to guess what the casting, director, and producers want to see. We do take after-take “perfecting” our performance only to rid it of all the amazing qualities that are inherently ours. My lesson with this actress was that she came in knowing who she was and owned it till the last beat. We all have something special and unique to share, but the hard part is being able to give all of it and forget it ever happened. I’m learning to treat every audition like it’s my last one. My only chance to live this character’s life. And once it’s over, I don’t ever want to think of it. Until I get a callback. Then, all the nerves and anxiety come out. But my point is that we, actors, have to have an insane amount of belief in ourselves and our talent so we can bravely share it day after day without losing faith. Because as we all know, 90% of those auditions go into void and we are left wondering if there’s something wrong with us. It’s a daily process for me to encourage myself to believe that tomorrow is going to be a better day and will bring more opportunities my way. And I know for a fact that I can always create them for myself. It all starts with us. One door closes, and another one opens. I guess my only advice is to give it all you got, let go, and do it all over again.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve been an actor for the last 6 years. I’m represented by Paramount Talent Agency and managed by The Gasser Group. I currently have a few works in post-production including two Arizona-based indie features where I played a leading and a supporting role, my first SAG feature “The Christmas Letter” starring Chevy Chase, and a straight-to-streaming series titled “Mr. Santa, I Want You Back”. Next month I’m filming a web series “Submitting” and a short based on a true story that happened during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. I’ve been in several shorts, web series, and music videos, such as “19” for Giselle Torres. On occasion, I also model. I recently did my first runway show during the NYFW. I’ve done some stage work, most prominently an Off-Broadway play “The Dark Stone”, performed at one of the oldest New York theaters – Repertorio Español. It is based on Federico García Lorca’s life story and the Spanish Civil War. It was my first real play, and I’m very proud of the work I put into that show. As someone who hadn’t done much theater before that, it was a life-changing experience for me to do quite an intense ninety-minute two-actor production. It was a rigorous rehearsal process, and I wasn’t used to that from my experience on film sets. I had the honor to work with AENY Spanish Artists in New York and Ignacio García-Bustelo, our amazing director. It was the first time in my life someone had to pay to see my work and to a 20-year-old college senior that meant a lot. My friends and family laugh at me because I graduated college and still couldn’t go to a bar. I’m not one of those people who always knew I wanted to be an actor. As a child, I was a part of a contemporary dance group back in Belarus. For 5 years, we performed on our nation’s stages. At that time, the nine-year-old me was a huge fan of Shakira (still am) and I remember she came to our city for a concert. It was talked about everywhere. Only a few Western singers ever came to Minsk, and she’s one of the most famous singers in the world. The day after her concert, I was on that same stage as a back-up dancer. I remember standing there in awe, thinking that she was there just a few hours ago. What an incredible memory to have, but I guess I wasn’t meant to be a dancer. When I was twelve, I saw “Interstellar” and decided to become an astronaut. For about a year, my favorite subject became physics, I took every extracurricular, and even started writing a science-fiction book (my failed dream as a writer). It only took me about a year to realize I didn’t want to go to space and that I wasn’t that good at physics. It was the movie itself that had such a profound impact on me. So, at thirteen, I told everyone I would be a director. I studied the works of Denis Villeneuve, Jean-Marc Vallée, Lars von Trier, and Yorgos Lanthimos. You know, all that fun stuff that every thirteen-year-old does. When I was around fifteen, I became cautiously obsessed with Heath Ledger (who wasn’t really). I even did a biopic on Heath when I was in college. Particularly his performance as the Joker in “The Dark Knight.” Something about that performance made me want to do that. I wanted to become an actor, but I had no idea if I was any good or how to even start. One small step-after-another I enrolled in an acting class and the rest is history. They say if you can do something without checking the time or getting paid, try making that thing work. For me, that thing is acting.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I guess the thing that might surprise people is the fact that English isn’t my first language. I fluently speak Russian and some Belarusian. I perfected my English and my American accent by watching Ellen, “Friends,” and generally imitating American movies. A big part of it was me trying to get rid of my accent when I first came here. I was quite scared that I wouldn’t be able to act or would get typecast because of it. I didn’t want to play a stereotypical Russian gangster or an evil general, so I made it a priority in my career early on to learn other accents.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://andrewkogolenok.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holy_and_rew/?hl=en%20
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHZQ4TZwun117rT7rQbCk0g
- Other: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/andrewkogolenok
Image Credits
LAMA Entertainment
Phony New York
AENY
