Alec Utgoff in Stranger Things: the actor behind Alexei, Season 3's Russian scientist
Actor · Alec Utgoff · Season 3
Four episodes, one frozen drink, one bullet among the rides. In this article: who Alec Utgoff is, his earlier roles, Alexei's arrival in 1985, his death at the fair and the fans' response, the question of a return, then his later films. You'll also find out which series he turned down to play Alexei.
Alec Utgoff plays Alexei, the Soviet scientist Hopper and Joyce kidnap in the summer of 1985. Born in Kyiv in 1986 and trained in London, he had already played a Dmitri, a Yuri and an Alexi before demanding a cherry Slurpee.
The essentials
- Role: Alexei, Soviet scientist, Season 3, summer 1985
- Born: March 1, 1986, in Kyiv, as Oleg Utgof
- Training: Drama Centre London
- Languages: Russian, Ukrainian and English
- Episodes: 1, 5, 6 and 7 of Season 3
- Alexei's death: Episode 7, “The Bite,” shot by Grigori
- French voice: Jean Rieffel
- Afterward: Never Gonna Snow Again in 2020, Gladiator II in 2024
Contents
Who is Alec Utgoff
Alec Utgoff was born Oleg Utgof on March 1, 1986, in Kyiv, then part of the Soviet Union. His father is a heart surgeon, his mother a conductor. According to English-language Wikipedia, his father is from Crimea and his mother is Ossetian. He speaks Russian, Ukrainian and English.
He and his brother were sent to study in England. It was in Portsmouth, on the school stage, that he started acting. After school, he moved to London. He failed a drama school entrance audition the first time, did a foundation year, then got into Drama Centre London on his second attempt.
His first film came before he had finished his studies. This article follows the actor, not just the character. The duo Alexei forms with Murray is covered in the profile of Brett Gelman, who plays Murray.
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1986 Kyiv
Born on March 1, as Oleg Utgof.
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2010 The Tourist
His first film, landed during his final year of studies. He plays Fedka.
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2014 Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Aleksandr Borovsky, in Kenneth Branagh's film.
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2015 San Andreas
He is already called Alexi, one letter short, in Brad Peyton's film.
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July 4, 2019 Alexei
Season 3 comes out. Alexei appears in Episodes 1, 5, 6 and 7.
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July 11, 2019 The Slurpee
The show's account invites fans to drink a cherry Slurpee for Alexei.
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2020 Venice
Never Gonna Snow Again, the lead role, in competition at the Venice Film Festival.
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2024 Gladiator II
He plays Darius in Ridley Scott's film.
The Season 3 bedding set with the fireworks and the fair.
In the shopBedding Set Season 3 Fireworks and Fair69,90 €See the product
Before Alexei: roles with Slavic names
His first set was The Tourist, by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, released in 2010. He played Fedka. In the summer of 2019, he summed up those beginnings for the Russian site KinoPoisk with a single image: a scene where he throws Angelina Jolie onto a couch. In 2010, he was also a chief hacker in the series Spooks (MI-5 in the US).
Next came The Seasoning House in 2012, Outpost: Rise of the Spetsnaz in 2013, and Yuri and Dimitri in the series The Wrong Mans, in 2013 and 2014. In 2014, he was Aleksandr Borovsky in Kenneth Branagh's Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. In 2015, he played Dmitri in Mortdecai, a crew member in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, and Alexi in San Andreas.
He also shot World War Z, where he met the Russian actor Konstantin Khabensky. The part is tiny; according to Russian-language Wikipedia, their scenes were cut in the edit. In 2016 came Our Kind of Traitor, in which he plays Niki. Then, he says, about a year without work.
Then two offers arrived almost at the same time: the series Chernobyl and the third season of the Duffers' show. He turned down Chernobyl. KinoPoisk made that the headline of its interview, published in the summer of 2019.
Alexei, summer 1985
He told KinoPoisk he had already auditioned for the show. Then his agents got a call: the Duffers liked him and wanted to write a role for him. Filming on Season 3 began on April 23, 2018; he was 32. Almost all of his lines are in Russian. Most were already in Russian in the script, but not all: he translated some of them himself. The other 1985 newcomers are introduced in the Season 3 casting article.
Alexei appears as early as Episode 1, “Suzie, Do You Copy?” In 1984, at a Soviet base, a test of a machine goes wrong. The general has the chief scientist killed and gives his second-in-command a year to succeed. That second-in-command is Alexei. In the summer of 1985, he oversees the machine installed beneath Starcourt Mall.
He returns in Episode 5, “The Flayed.” On July 3, Hopper and Joyce find two Russians at work in a bunker hidden under the Hess farm. Grigori bursts in. Jim Hopper fights him, gets the upper hand, unties Alexei, one of the two bound Russians, and, with Joyce, takes him hostage. The car breaks down, then explodes despite Alexei's warnings. On foot, Alexei slips away for a moment: he has spotted a 7-Eleven, where he discovers the Slurpee. Hopper commandeers a convertible, and the trio heads off to see Murray Bauman, who speaks Russian.
In Episode 6, “E Pluribus Unum,” Hopper brings him back a strawberry Slurpee. Alexei spits it out and refuses to talk: “No cherry, no deal.” Hopper throws him out with the car keys. Alexei frees himself, gets in, and doesn't leave: his own side would kill him as a traitor. He then explains the machine, which he calls the Key. At Murray's, he laughs at Woody Woodpecker.
Death at the fair, and the fans' response
Alexei dies in Episode 7, “The Bite,” directed by the Duffers. On the drive back, he gives Murray the code to the safe that holds the keys: Planck's constant. He also asks whether he could become an American citizen. Murray takes him to the fair on July 4, 1985.
At the darts stand, he pops every balloon and wins a giant Woody Woodpecker plush. Murray has stepped away for a minute to get food. Alexei wants to show him his prize. Grigori, the Soviet killer, steps out of the crowd, fires with a silencer, covered by the noise, and calls him a traitor in Russian. Murray drags him aside and gives him his shirt to press on the wound. When Murray returns with Joyce, Alexei is dead. On the way out, Joyce punches Mayor Kline.
The fair was shot in an empty field. The crew got there three weeks before a medieval fair that was already scheduled. Period rides were brought in from all over the country, and their modern lighting was replaced with '80s bulbs.
Some fans could not get over this death. On July 8, 2019, four days after the release, the site Refinery29 rounded up the fans demanding justice for Alexei. On July 11, Free Slurpee Day at 7-Eleven, the show's account invited them to drink a cherry one in his memory. On August 16, the site ComicBook.com flagged a twelve-hour video: Alexei drinking his Slurpee. The actor, for his part, says hundreds of people have written to tell him they cried and laughed.
The Hawaiian shirt of Jim Hopper, the cop who kidnaps Alexei.
In the shopJim Hopper Hawaiian shirt73,90 €See the product
A return after 1985?
No. According to the fan wiki, his last appearance remains Episode 7 of Season 3. His page on that wiki lists only four episodes, all from the same season: 1, 5, 6 and 7. None of the sources consulted brings him back in a flashback or a vision. The list of the show's deaths counts him among the victims of the summer of 1985.
The end of the season plays out without him, but with what he said. Thanks to his explanations, Hopper, Joyce and Murray get into the base under the mall and destroy the Key. The Season 3 recap tells the story of that night, right up to the two keys being turned.
The Russians, though, do come back. In 1986, Hopper is a prisoner in Kamchatka. There he meets Dmitri Antonov, known as Enzo, a guard played by Tom Wlaschiha. He is not Alexei: the profile of Dmitri “Enzo” introduces him. The article on the show's Russians covers both seasons.
After Alexei: Venice, Slow Horses and Gladiator II
In 2020, he played Abramoff in the series Dracula. The same year saw the release of Never Gonna Snow Again (Le Masseur in France), by Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert. He plays the lead: Zhenia, a masseur from Ukraine who settles in Warsaw. In the film, the character's mother, who came from Pripyat, died from the effects of the Chernobyl disaster. The actor who had turned down the series Chernobyl comes back to the subject by a different route.
The film competed at the 77th Venice International Film Festival. Poland chose it as its entry for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film, but it did not get a nomination. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus singles out his performance. In 2022, he was among the Best Actor nominees at the Chlotrudis Awards.
In 2022, he was Arkady Pashkin in Slow Horses and Rudy in The Lazarus Project. In 2024, he played Darius in Ridley Scott's Gladiator II. In France, Alexei is voiced by Jean Rieffel; in the original version, he speaks Russian almost the whole time.
When it comes to the character, he talks about the messages he receives. Russian viewers write to thank him for giving them this Alexei. Before him, there had been a Dmitri, a Yuri, an Alexi. The 1985 one got a Slurpee tribute.
The Season 3 bedding set with the Starcourt neon, the mall of 1985.
In the shopBedding Set Season 3 Starcourt Neon69,90 €See the product
Frequently asked questions
Who plays Alexei in Season 3?
Alec Utgoff, a British actor born on March 1, 1986, in Kyiv. He trained at Drama Centre London.
Is Alec Utgoff Russian?
He was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, in the Soviet era, and grew up partly in England. He is British and speaks Russian, Ukrainian and English.
Which episodes is Alexei in?
Episodes 1, 5, 6 and 7 of Season 3: “Suzie, Do You Copy?” “The Flayed,” “E Pluribus Unum” and “The Bite.”
In which episode does Alexei die?
Episode 7, “The Bite.” At the fair on July 4, 1985, Grigori shoots him with a silenced pistol.
Why does Alexei want a cherry Slurpee?
While on the run, at a 7-Eleven, he tastes a cherry Slurpee and falls for it. Hopper later brings him strawberry, and Alexei refuses to talk. He only gives in after being thrown out with the car keys.
Does Alexei come back after Season 3?
No. His last appearance is Episode 7 of Season 3. The Russian of 1986 who helps Hopper is Dmitri, known as Enzo, a different character.
Who dubs Alexei in French?
Jean Rieffel. In the original version, Alexei speaks Russian almost the whole time, and the actor translated some of his lines himself.
What has he been in since?
Dracula and Never Gonna Snow Again in 2020, Slow Horses and The Lazarus Project in 2022, then Gladiator II in 2024.
