Dimitri Diatchenko (April 11, 1968 – April 21, 2020) was an American actor.
Diatchenko was born April 11, 1968, in Oakland, California.[1] He was a native of San Francisco, California and a first-generation American of Ukrainian, Greek and Swedish descent.[2][3] Diatchenko began classical guitar lessons at the age of seven. Two years later, he gave his first solo classical guitar recital. During and after his studies, Diatchenko won several medals in guitar competitions including the Stotsenberg International Classical Guitar Competition or the World Championships of Performing Arts.[4][5] He released four solo guitar CDs.[6]
Diatchenko studied martial arts from the age of seven. He earned black belts in both Tae Kwon Do and Kenpo Karate and studied boxing and arnis. During the early 1990s, Diatchenko competed as a heavyweight in several national championships, winning many medals in full contact fighting, including the US Olympic Festival, the WTF National Championships and The 1991 World Invitational in Miami, Florida.
Diatchenko attended Newton North High School in Newton, Massachusetts where Matt LeBlanc also attended at the same time and later Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. There he was a scholarship music student, majored in classical guitar, and received a Bachelor of Music degree. After transferring to Florida State University in Tallahassee, Diatchenko continued with acting and music studies in the Masters program.[7] In April 1996, as Diatchenko was graduating, he was cast in Ridley Scott's 1997 action film G.I. Jane and landed a small role as trainee; following this, Diatchenko relocated to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. In Los Angeles, he also taught guitar privately and performed regularly as a soloist and ensemble player.
Diatchenko made appearances in several television series. After appearing in the action series Alias, he was in the films Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Get Smart.[8]
For his performance as Ukrainian tour guide Yuri in the film Chernobyl Diaries, Diatchenko received positive reviews from some film critics.[9][10][11]
In addition to acting, Diatchenko worked as voice actor. He lent his voice to a lot of video and computer games. His first performance in a video game came in 2005 with additional voices for Medal of Honor: European Assault.
In 2015, Diatchenko pleaded no contest to animal cruelty after allegedly cooking and eating his ex-girlfriend's pet rabbit. He was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to perform sixty days of community labor and undergo forty-eight hours of counselling.[12][13][14]
Diatchenko died in his home in Daytona Beach, Florida, on April 21, 2020, aged 52. He was discovered two days later after a wellness check initiated by concerned relatives.[15] According to Diatchenko's agent, the death appeared to be a heart attack or complications from an electric shock Diatchenko had sustained at work a week before his death.[16] An autopsy later revealed that there was a large amount of fentanyl and Valium in his system and the medical examiner listed the official cause of death as an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.[17]
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