Oleg Nikolaevich Taktarov(born August 26, 1967, Arzamas-16 (now Sarov), Gorky region (now Nizhny Novgorod region), USSR) - Russian and American athlete, actor, TV presenter, film producer, director, public figure. World champion in mixed martial arts (UFC 6, July 14, 1995) and medalist of many sports tournaments and competitions. He performed under the pseudonym “The Russian Bear”.
Having fought twenty-four battles mixed martial arts in the rings of the USA and Japan, Taktarov gained wide popularity, primarily due to his victory at the sixth Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) tournament in 1995. In the ring (or in the cage), the fighter was distinguished by his calmness and skill in grappling and painful techniques. Throughout his entire professional fighting career, Taktarov has never been defeated by painful submission or choke hold.
Biography
Oleg Taktarov was born on August 26, 1967 in the closed Soviet city of Arzamas-16, Gorky region (now the city of Sarov Nizhny Novgorod region), in a family of employees. On his father's side he has Mari roots.
Oleg's father, Nikolai Taktarov, is a former military man with a high rank in boxing. Watching my son early childhood read adventure books and dreamed of becoming an actor, but in confrontations with classmates he could not stand up for himself, his father decided to send him to sports section sambo and judo under the guidance experienced trainer Vitaly Karlovich Mikhailov at a local school. Oleg trained with great diligence and competed in various competitions. The coach saw great potential in his pupil, believed in his abilities and suggested that Oleg had a future as a “world champion”.
After graduating from high school, Oleg Taktarov served two years in the ranks of the Soviet army: first in a sports company, and then in the air defense forces.
In 1990, he fulfilled the standard for Master of Sports of the USSR in sambo.
He was a martial arts instructor in the KGB of the USSR.
In 1993, he won the “White Dragon” tournament in mixed martial arts among amateurs (not professionals), which took place in Riga (Latvia). American scouts noticed him at the competition and invited him to take part in professional fights in their country.
He was a repeated champion of Russian and Eurasian tournaments in Japanese art hand-to-hand combat- jiu-jitsu.
From 1990 to 1994, he was successfully engaged in business in Russia, managing a large company, which he described in detail in 2008 in his autobiographical book “Victory not at any cost, or Up.To the top.”
In 1994 he went to the USA to study professional sports with the goal of earning money to fulfill his long-time dream of acting in a Hollywood movie.
In 1996, he entered one of the most prestigious American acting theater academies, “Playhouse West” in Hollywood (Los Angeles, California, USA), where he studied for six years, while simultaneously studying sports career and acting in films (since 1997).
Sports career
Performances in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
On April 7, 1995, Taktarov made his debut in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) at the UFC 5 tournament, held in the American city of Charlotte, North Carolina, performing under the pseudonym “The Russian Bear”. The MMA industry was just nascent at that time, and often tournaments were fights between fighters representing only one style. Taktarov was a representative of sambo. Despite a knee injury, he successfully fought the first fight, winning by choke. The second fight was stopped due to Taktarov's cut, and the victory was awarded to Dan Severn. According to Taktarov, he was ready to continue the fight.
In July 1995, Taktarov took part in the next UFC 6 tournament. In the semi-finals, he scored one of the fastest victories in history, performing a guillotine choke at 9 seconds. Some believe that the fight was planned in advance, since Oleg and his opponent had the same manager. The final match against David "Tank" Abbott lasted over 17 minutes and ended with Taktarov winning by rear naked choke.
Oleg Taktarov is a Russian and American athlete and actor, champion of sambo sports tournaments and “fights without rules” competitions. As an actor, he is known for the films “Predators”, “Temporarily Unavailable” and “The Maltese Cross”.
Oleg was born in the Nizhny Novgorod region, in the city of Arzamas-16, which was later renamed Sarov. The boy's father, a Mari by nationality, was a military man, and in his youth reached a high level in boxing. Seeing that his son read adventure books all day long and was in his own dreams, but could not stand up for himself in confrontations with classmates, he took Oleg to the sports section. There Taktarov studied sambo wrestling under the guidance of experienced coach Vitaly Mikhailov.
Soon the instructor saw potential in the boy and made a prophetic remark that he was capable of becoming a world champion. Such faith in the abilities of his ward did not allow Oleg to quit sports, although the boy wanted to be an actor. And in 1990, the young man passed the standards for master of sports.
Sport
Three years later, at the next White Dragon tournament in Riga, Taktarov received the title of world champion in amateur martial arts, after which the young man was noticed by American scouts and invited to take part in professional fights.
Having moved to the USA, Oleg Taktarov began performing in mixed martial arts and became widely known as one of the calmest and most balanced athletes. Oleg went to fights under the pseudonym “Russian Bear”, especially since in terms of external parameters (height - 183, weight - 95) he corresponded to this nickname.
The MMA organization was just taking its first steps in conducting “fights without rules”, and competitions took place between athletes of the same style. Oleg chose the sambo category. Taktarov’s first fights did not bring any results young man glory, but the UFC-6 tournament ended for the fighter with a victory over American David Tank Abbott and the championship title. In 1997, Taktarov entered the ring in the first PRIDE sparring, where the Russian’s opponent was Canadian Gary Goodridge. From 2001 to 2007, Taktarov did not participate in competitions, but then returned for several tournaments.
In total, Oleg had 24 fights in the ring, of which he lost only five. Oleg also won an exhibition boxing match against, which took place as part of the “King of the Ring” show. The demonstrative victory became a landmark achievement in sports biography Taktarova.
In 2003, a survey was conducted among UFC fans to determine the most popular athletes in the history of martial arts. Based on the voting results, Oleg made it into the top ten, where he was the only participant from the post-Soviet space.
In addition to his sports career as a fighter, Taktarov tried himself as a commentator for “M-1 - Russia vs. Europe”, but the athlete did not succeed in this experience. Also in 2009, Oleg organized the “Men’s Games” show, the participants of which, according to the plan, were former fighters who were applying for a second chance in their career. After filming was completed, the athletes went to California to participate in a professional tournament. The program never aired on Russian channels, but two years later fans could watch the world-famous fighter in the Channel One program “Special Assignment” as a TV presenter.
In 2012, while already in Russia, Oleg Taktarov received the position of head of the Mixed Martial Arts Federation, where he has been working for five years.
Movies
Oleg Taktarov’s main desire has always been to act in films, and only in Hollywood. And, after the young man became a famous fighter in the ring, the dream came true.
First, Oleg was invited to the science fiction action movie “Total Power” and the thriller “President’s Airplane.” This was followed by the crime drama "15 Minutes of Fame", the action movie "Red Snake", the fantasy film "Rollerball", and the action film "Spy". In all these films, the actor played a native of Russia - either an agent or a criminal.
The adventure film “National Treasure”, the thriller “Bad Boys 2” and the crime drama “Miami Vice: Vice” became popular. Later, Taktarov appeared in the fantasy action film Predators, and also worked in the comedy thriller Get Me If You Can.
Having achieved success in the coveted Hollywood, Oleg began to accept invitations from Russia. Russian-made films began to appear in the actor’s filmography - the saga about oligarchs “The Hunt for Manchurian Man,” the film adaptation of Gogol’s film, the comedy “Ticket to Vegas,” the phantasmagoria “Generation P,” the crime drama “Let’s Do It Quickly.” The most significant works for Taktarov in Russian cinema were in the action films “The Maltese Cross” and “The Guardian”.
The actor works in both Russia and America. In the USA, the actor starred in the action films “Harried” and “Renewal of Brotherhood”, and in his homeland he was involved in the comedy film “Oil Painting”. With the participation of the fighter, the TV series “Fights” and “Ex-Wife” were also released on television.
Personal life
Oleg Taktarov managed to walk down the aisle three times. Moreover, the athlete was never in a hurry, and got married for the first time when he was already famous and financially secure. The first wife's name was Milena, and the athlete and actor lived with her for five years. A son, Sergei, was born into the family, but the marriage soon broke up.
The second wife is an American named Kathleen, who helped the man get out of a psychological crisis after one defeat in the ring. The girl supported Taktarov, they began an affair, which ended with a wedding and the birth of their son Keaton. But the characters of Oleg and Kathleen were not suitable for each other - both are calm, but sometimes impulsive and hot-tempered. The athlete also didn’t like his wife’s profession - Kathleen worked as the warden of a high-security prison and had no intention of leaving there.
A few years later, the actor married again. This time, the chosen one was the Russian girl Maria, who gave birth to Oleg’s third son, Nikita. There were reports in the press that his personal life did not work out here either: the marriage lasted only five years, and Taktarov began dating a businesswoman named Evgenia. But it turned out that this was the speculation of journalists, since Evgenia Troshchiy is the athlete’s mother-in-law, with whom Taktarov was often seen together.
Oleg Taktarov is an active Internet user. The athlete often posts on his personal pages in “
Oleg Taktarov is an athlete who later became a famous actor; as well as an actor with an impressive sports background. IN different years He managed to become famous as a participant in fighting tournaments in various categories, but subsequently gained even greater fame as a professional actor. So who is this strong Russian macho? You can learn all the most interesting things about our hero’s career path from this article.Early years, childhood and family of Oleg Taktarov
Oleg Taktarov was born on August 26, 1967 in the closed scientific city of Arzamas-16, which today is called Sarov. His parents were military personnel, and therefore, from childhood, our today's hero was brought up in strictness.Oleg started practicing martial arts when he was early age. In this regard, sambo became the “basic” sport for him. The future actor attended classes at a local school and also participated in various competitions in his age category.
Some time later, jiu-jitsu was added to his list of hobbies. In this combat discipline, the future actor also achieved impressive success and even managed to win many various competitions even before reaching adulthood.
As for acting, it always seemed to our today's hero to be something of an unattainable goal. Looking at the best representatives of the world of overseas fighters, Oleg Taktarov always wanted to be like them, and therefore he always trained with redoubled zeal.
After graduation secondary school the guy went to serve in the Soviet army. However, something fundamentally new did not happen to him during this period. From an early age Oleg lived in strict army regulations, and therefore military service was something familiar and familiar to him.
Returning home, the young guy began to think about his future fate. During this period, Russia was in a phase of perestroika. The USSR sank into oblivion, and therefore the world around Oleg underwent significant changes. With the fall of the communist regime, various new sports began to appear in the former Soviet republics, which were brought here by the “wind of change.” One of these was fights without rules, which became very popular in the Baltic states.
In 1993, Oleg Taktarov took part in the Riga “White Dragon” tournament and, unexpectedly for everyone, managed to become its champion. This and some other successes allowed our today's hero to save the necessary money to move to the USA. Going to America, Oleg dreamed of becoming a famous actor, but again he found himself in the fighting ring.
Dolph Lundgren vs Oleg Taktarov
The Russian athlete participated in fights without rules and became quite famous as a talented fighter. Money flowed like a river. With money came fame. However, it did not bring real satisfaction. In the fights for the title of champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Oleg’s dream of an acting career only became stronger. And therefore, at one point, the former fighter left the bloody sport.
Career of actor Oleg Taktarov, filmography
In 1996, our today's hero entered the prestigious acting school "Playhouse West", where he began to hone his skills. In parallel with this, he attended various auditions, castings, and also sometimes performed in semi-amateur productions of the acting school.Taktarov received his first film role in the mid-nineties in the series “Military Legal Service”. After this there were minor roles in the projects “Presidential Airplane”, “Total Power” (1 and 2), “Urgent Dive”. During this period, our today's hero played Russian spies, bandits and all sorts of thugs. Such roles brought him some success, but the actor’s soul demanded more.
Oleg Taktarov was able to feel like a real actor only in 2001, when the film “15 Minutes of Fame” was released. In this film, the Russian's partners on the set were Robert De Niro, Avery Brooks and Vera Farmiga. Such a screen tandem brought the film great success at the international box office, and Oleg Taktarov the title of famous actor.
Oleg Taktarov destroyed the restaurant on his birthday
After that, Oleg Taktarov starred in a variety of films both in America and in Europe. From a certain point on, the successful actor also began to appear in Russian films. So, in particular, he played the main role in the action movie “Montana”, and also appeared in the films “Wapit Hunting” and “Sins of the Fathers”.
Over the years, his partners on the set were such world cinema stars as Jean Reno, Nicolas Cage, Al Pacino, Will Smith, Mark Wahlberg, as well as Russian cinema stars - Vladimir Mashkov, Alexey Guskov, Nelly Uvarova and others.
Throughout his career, Oleg Taktarov returned from time to time to the roles of silent killers and thugs. However, in his filmography one can easily find deeper and more intense roles. He played a steppe warrior in The Secret of Genghis Khan, a mercenary condemned to death in the film Predators, and a brave colonel in the film The Path. In addition, the filmography of our today's hero includes such famous films as “Bad Boys 2”, “The Right to Kill”, “An Officer Wounded”.
Oleg Taktarov today
Among the actor’s latest works, the Russian film hits “Generation P”, “Ticket to Vegas”, “Courier from Paradise”, “Viy 3D”, as well as some other films also stand out.IN last years Oleg Taktarov, as before, organically combines roles in Hollywood projects with filming in Russia. It is already known that six new films with the actor’s participation should be released soon. Among these, there was a place for both American and Russian films. The films “Harried” and “Escape to the Sky” have the highest expectation ratings among the actor’s works. In the last of these films, the actor will play a central role.
Personal life of Oleg Taktarov
Oleg Taktarov was married three times during his life. He met his first wife Milena after he became rich. This union lasted five years, during which the actor’s eldest son, Sergei, was born. 
Oleg's second wife appeared in his life after one of his hurtful defeats. The athlete fell into depression, and Kathleen lent him a friendly shoulder. She is the warden of a maximum security prison. Over time, they began an affair, which turned into a serious relationship. The couple gave birth to Taktarov’s second son, Keaton.
The actor’s third wife was a Russian woman named Maria. They met in 2007, at the consulate, while simultaneously applying for a visa. From his third marriage, the actor is raising a son, Nikita. In mid-2012, the couple filed for divorce. After this, it became known that the actor never particularly valued family relationships, always putting his career first.
Oleg was born in the Nizhny Novgorod region, in the city of Arzamas-16, which was later renamed Sarov. The boy's father, a Mari by nationality, was a military man, and in his youth reached a high level in boxing. Seeing that his son read adventure books all day long and was in his own dreams, but could not stand up for himself in confrontations with classmates, he took Oleg to the sports section. There Taktarov studied sambo wrestling under the guidance of experienced coach Vitaly Mikhailov.
Soon the instructor saw potential in the boy and made a prophetic remark that he was capable of becoming a world champion. Such faith in the abilities of his ward did not allow Oleg to quit sports, although the boy wanted to be an actor. And in 1990, the young man passed the standards for master of sports.
Sport
Three years later, at the next White Dragon tournament in Riga, Taktarov received the title of world champion in amateur martial arts, after which the young man was noticed by American scouts and invited to take part in professional fights.
Having moved to the USA, Oleg Taktarov began performing in mixed martial arts and became widely known as one of the calmest and most balanced athletes. Oleg went to fights under the pseudonym “Russian Bear”, especially since in terms of external parameters (height - 183, weight - 95) he corresponded to this nickname.
The MMA organization was just taking its first steps in conducting “fights without rules”, and competitions took place between athletes of the same style. Oleg chose the sambo category. Taktarov’s first fights did not bring glory to the young man, but the UFC-6 tournament ended for the fighter with a victory over American David Tank Abbott and the championship title. In 1997, Taktarov entered the ring in the first PRIDE sparring, where the Russian’s opponent was Canadian Gary Goodridge. From 2001 to 2007, Taktarov did not participate in competitions, but then returned for several tournaments.
In total, Oleg had 24 fights in the ring, of which he lost only five. Oleg also won an exhibition boxing match against Dolph Lundgren, which took place as part of the “King of the Ring” show. The demonstrative victory became a landmark achievement in Taktarov’s sports biography.
In 2003, a survey was conducted among UFC fans to determine the most popular athletes in the history of martial arts. Based on the voting results, Oleg made it into the top ten, where he was the only participant from the post-Soviet space.
Best of the day
In addition to his sports career as a fighter, Taktarov tried himself as a commentator for “M-1 - Russia vs. Europe”, but the athlete did not succeed in this experience. Also in 2009, Oleg organized the “Men’s Games” show, the participants of which, according to the plan, were former fighters who were applying for a second chance in their career. After filming was completed, the athletes went to California to participate in a professional tournament. The program never aired on Russian channels, but two years later fans could watch the world-famous fighter in the Channel One program “Special Assignment” as a TV presenter.
In 2012, while already in Russia, Oleg Taktarov received the position of head of the Mixed Martial Arts Federation, where he has been working for five years.
Movies
Oleg Taktarov’s main desire has always been to act in films, and only in Hollywood. And, after the young man became a famous fighter in the ring, the dream came true.
First, Oleg was invited to the science fiction action movie “Total Power” and the thriller “President’s Airplane.” This was followed by the crime drama "15 Minutes of Fame", the action movie "Red Snake", the fantasy film "Rollerball", and the action film "Spy". In all these films, the actor played a native of Russia - either an agent or a criminal.
The adventure film “National Treasure”, the thriller “Bad Boys 2” and the crime drama “Miami Vice: Vice” became popular. Later, Taktarov, together with Adrien Brody, appeared in the fantasy action film Predators, and worked with Sylvester Stallone in the comedy thriller Get Me If You Can.
Having achieved success in the coveted Hollywood, Oleg began to agree to invitations from Russia. The actor’s filmography began to include Russian-made films - the saga about oligarchs “The Hunt for Manchurian Man,” the film adaptation of Gogol’s “Viy,” the comedy “Ticket to Vegas,” the phantasmagoria “Generation P,” the crime drama “Let’s Do It Quickly.” The most significant works for Taktarov in Russian cinema were in the action films “The Maltese Cross” and “The Guardian”.
The actor works in both Russia and America. In the USA, the actor starred in the action films “Harried” and “Renewal of Brotherhood”, and in his homeland he was involved in the comedy film “Oil Painting”. With the participation of the fighter, the TV series “Fights” and “Ex-Wife” were also released on television.
Personal life
Oleg Taktarov managed to walk down the aisle three times. Moreover, the athlete was never in a hurry, and got married for the first time when he was already famous and financially secure. The first wife's name was Milena, and the athlete and actor lived with her for five years. A son, Sergei, was born into the family, but the marriage soon broke up.
The second wife is an American named Kathleen, who helped the man get out of a psychological crisis after one defeat in the ring. The girl supported Taktarov, they began an affair, which ended with a wedding and the birth of their son Keaton. But the characters of Oleg and Kathleen were not suitable for each other - both are calm, but sometimes impulsive and hot-tempered. The athlete also didn’t like his wife’s profession - Kathleen worked as the warden of a high-security prison and had no intention of leaving there.
A few years later, the actor married again. This time, the chosen one was the Russian girl Maria, who gave birth to Oleg’s third son, Nikita. There were reports in the press that his personal life did not work out here either: the marriage lasted only five years, and Taktarov began dating a businesswoman named Evgenia. But it turned out that this was the speculation of journalists, since Evgenia Troshchiy is the athlete’s mother-in-law, with whom Taktarov was often seen together.
Oleg Taktarov is an active Internet user. The athlete often posts photos and video reports from local and international competitions. The fighter conducts seminars in cities across the country, including St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, which is also reported from the account pages.
Oleg Taktarov now
Oleg Taktarov is at the peak of his professional acting form and annually appears in a number of diverse films. In 2016, Oleg was entrusted with playing the main character, bodyguard Roman, in the thriller “Young,” where Taktarov’s hero had to protect the son of his former boss Andrei (Andrei Bagirov). Also this year, the filming of the films “99% Dead” and “Rustle”, in which Taktarov appeared, was completed.
In 2017, with the participation of the athlete, a screening of the American action film “Misfire” began, about the struggle of humanity against a merciless virus and the monsters that it gave birth to. In the film, Taktarov got a cameo role. Now the fighter is filming in a number of new projects, including “Hunt for Thieves”, “See You Soon”, “Island of the Doomed”.
In October, a scandal broke out in the sports community. Supervisor Russian Union MMA Fedor Emelianenko accused Taktarov of illegally holding the “Championship and Championship of the Russian MMA Federation”, which took place in Lyubertsy. One of the charges was the participation of children of primary school age at a tournament. Emelianenko’s statement was sent to the prosecutor’s office.
Oleg Taktarov, in turn, explained that MMA fights were held for adult fighters, and children competed without punches. Taktarov believes that the reason for this is that it is not the MMA Union, which is officially accredited by the Ministry of Sports, but the MMA Federation controlled by it, acting independently, that was chosen by the international federation IMMAF to host qualifying round in Russia in preparation for the world championship in Bahrain.
Filmography
1997 – “Total Power”
2004 – “National Treasure”
2005 – “Hunting for the Red Deer”
2008 – “Maltese Cross”
2009 – “The Guardian”
2010 – “Fights. Trial by Death"
2010 – “Predators”
2013 – “Ex-wife”
2015 – “Temporarily unavailable”
2016 – “Oil painting”
2016 – “Young”
2017 – “Misfire”
Sports awards
1990 – Master of Sports of the USSR in Sambo
1995 – World Mixed Martial Arts Champion
Respect
Tynalin Gaziz 13.03.2008 08:08:55
When I saw him for the first time in a movie, I was struck by the calmness literally written on his face. And I immediately thought, either this man has gone through a lot, and he stands above all the mercantile routine into which everyday life sucks us, or he was given this calmness from God, when I see him, my heart becomes calm and I begin to think, that there is nothing higher than harmony with oneself and nature, which the Almighty created for us. Thank you Oleg! Gaziz.
