Ukrainian ballet star Sergei Polunin to star in two Hollywood movies

Ukrainian ballet sensation Sergei Polunin is set to make his Hollywood feature film debut in two upcoming pictures, starring alongside Johnny Depp and Jennifer Lawrence.

The 27-year-old dancer, who at 19 was the youngest ever principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, has been cast in Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and the upcoming spy thriller Red Sparrow.

In Murder on the Orient Express, Polunin will appear along with such huge names as Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley and Penelope Cruz, while Jennifer Lawrence will play a starring role in Red Sparrow.

Although these movies will be the first Hollywood feature films for the dancer, Polunin is is also the subject of Dancer, US director Steven Cantor’s PGA award-nominated documentary.

After leaving the Royal Ballet after two years as its principal dancer — a move that saw him dubbed the “bad boy” of ballet by many — Polunin has become not only a major star in the world of ballet, but also a viral sensation. Last year he danced to Hozier’s hit track Take Me to Church in a video shot by American photographer David LaChapelle, which has received close to 17 million views.

Source: Hollywood Reporter