Cuckoo, The : About The Cast


Anni-Christina Juuso
(Anni)
Anni-Kristiina Juuso was born in 1979 in Northern Finland, Lapland, in a little village called Ivalo, into a well to do Lapp--or, as Juuso prefers, Sami-- family. The Sami people are the only indigenous people in the European Union, and there are currently about 70 000 Sami living in the northern areas of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Juuso's native language is Sami. . Juuso decided to become an actress when she was 6 years old; at 15, she left her family and moved to Helsinki, the capital of Finland, to attend a high school specializing in theatre. Upon finishing high school she entered the acting program at a theatre school in Helsinki. Currently, she continues to study theater in Lapland, and also works as a radio host and DJ for YLE, the Finnish Broadcasting Company, in its Sami Radio section, broadcasting exclusively in the Sami language. In addition, Juuso is a reindeer herder, and keeps her animals in Lapland. For her film debut in "The Cuckoo”, Juuso was awarded the BEST ACTRESS prize at the Russian National Film Festival, "Window onto Europe," in Vyborg, Russia, as well as BEST DEBUT at the Moscow International Film Festival.

Ville Haapasalo
(Veiko)
Ville Haapasalo was born in 1972 in Finland and graduated in 1995 from the St. Petersburg Academy of Theatrical Art in Russia. Besides his native Finnish, Haapasalo speaks fluent Russian, Swedish and English. An acclaimed stage actor in Finland and Russia, Haapasalo was also awarded the 2001 "Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation" award for his star-making turns in the films of Alexander Rogozhkin. Currently residing in Helsinki, Haapasalo enjoys ice hockey, skiing, skating and playing the trombone.

Filmography:
1995 _ Osobennosti natsionalnoi okhoty/Peculiarities of National Hunt
1996 _ Operatsiya "S Novym Godom!"/Operation "Happy New Year!"
1998 _ Osobennosti natsionalnoi rybalki/Peculiarities of National Fishing
Samaa Sukua Eri Maata (TV series)
Elaman Suola (TV)
1999 - Pakkaus
Lapin kullan kimallus/Gold Fever In Lapland
2000 - Maamiehen Paivakirja
2001 - Uboinaya sila/Damned Killing Power (TV series, Russia)
2002 - Kukushka/The Cuckoo/Giehka/ Kaki

Viktor Bychkov
(Ivan)
Victor Bychkov was born in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg). After graduating from the Acting Department of the Leningrad State Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinema in 1982, he worked in many Saint-Petersburg theatres, and is presently a member of the Comedian's Shelter Theatre. Since his breakout role in Alexander Rogozhkin's "For the Sake of Several Lines", the casting of Bychkov in Rogozhkin's films has become a trademark of the director's work.

Filmography:
1976 - Rusalochka/Little Mermaid
1982 - Vzyat Zhivym/Fetch Him Alive
1985 - Radi neskolkikh strochek/For the Sake of Several Lines aka For a Few Lines
1986 - Ekskursant/Excursion Goer (short)
Poslednyaya doroga/The Last Road Pikviksky Klub/Pickwick Club
1987 - Beloe proklyatie/White Curse
Moonzound
Sadovnik/Gardener
Cyrano de Bergerac
1988 - Blagorodny razboinik Vladimir Dubrovsky /Vladimir Dubrovsky the Noble
Robber
1989 - Ono/It
1990 - Anekdoty/Anekdotes
Bakenbardy/Sideburns
Perekhod tovarishcha Chkalova cherez Severny Polyus/March of the Comrade
Chkalov over the Nothern Pole
Doukhov den/The Holy Spirit's Day
Sobachiy pir/Dogs' Feast
1991 - Afgansky Izlom/Afghani Break
Deistvui, Manya!/Manya Act!
IzydiŠ!/Get Thee Out!
Khmel/Hop
Chekist/Secret Service Employee
Ditya/The Baby
Mif o Leonede/The Myth About Leonid
1992 - Igra/Game
Prekrasnaya neznakomka/ Beautiful Stranger
Chicha
Zhizn s idiotom/Life with Idiot
1993 - Act
Tvoya volya, gospodi!/Your Will, My God!
1994 - Battman
Kolechko zolotoe, buket iz alykh roz/Ring from Gold, Bunch of Scarlet Roses
Russky Transit/Russian Transit (mini-series)
1995 - Viva Stalin! (Germany-Russia, short)
Musyka dla dekabrya/Music for December
1995 - Osobennosti natsionalnoi okhoty/Peculiarities of National Hunt
1996 - Operatsiya "S Novym Godom!"/Operation "Happy New Year!"
1997 - Bomba/Bomb
1998 - Osobennosti natsionalnoi rybalki/Peculiarities of National Fishing
Amerikanka
Dukh
Zhenskaya sobstvennost/ Female Property
Lunoi byl polon sad/The Garden Was Full Of Moonlight
Bez obratnogo adresa/Without the Sender's Address
1998 -1999 - Ulitsy razbitykh fonarei/Streets of Broken Lights (TV-series)
1999 - Between Light and Moon Shadow (Mexico-Russia, TV, mini-series)
2000 - Sirenevye sumerki/Lilac Twilight
2000 -2002 - Uboinaya sila/Damned Killing Power (TV series, Russia)
2002 - Kukushka/Giehka/ Kaki / The Cuckoo

Author : Sony Pictures Classics