Alexander Godunov

Alexander Borisovich Godunov was a Russian ballet dancer and actor, whose defection caused a diplomatic incident between the USA and the USSR.

Godunov was born in Sakhalin, USSR. He joined the Bolshoi Ballet in 1971 and rose to become premier dancer before defecting to the USA in 1979. After briefly dancing with the American Ballet Theatre, he gave up ballet and turned to film acting. Godunov's roles were varied, including a good-natured Amish farmer in Witness, a violent German terrorist in Die Hard, a comically narcissistic symphony conductor in The Money Pit, and Vronsky in Anna Karenina in 1974. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1987.