Odin Biron

Born in Duluth, Minnesota,[2] Biron grew up nearby in rural Minnesota, moving to Ann Arbor, Michigan, with his mother after his parents' divorce.[2][4] While studying at the University of Michigan, he studied at the Moscow Art Theatre on student exchange and was, unusually, invited to stay and join the incoming Russian class.[2][1] He has spoken about having had a romantic image of Russia, having known very little Russian on arrival;[2][1][4][5] being less able to communicate with other Muscovites, he focused on studying.[2] In one of his final student roles, he won an award[6] for his portrayal of Hamlet in a production that toured to New York's Baryshnikov Arts Center;[2][4] he drew the attention of the Gogol Center and plaudits from Viktor Ryzhakov, artistic director of the Meyerhold Center and one of his former instructors.[2]

Landing a role in Interns, a top-rated Russian medical sitcom, in 2011 raised Biron's profile substantially and he has spoken about being recognised in nightclubs and avoiding "celebrity events" as a result.[2] In a country where a large majority of the population view the United States "badly" or "very badly",[7] Biron is one of a few Americans in the public eye, yet the success of Interns has led to Biron being considered a heartthrob and very popular.[2]

Biron came out to his parents as a teenager and made no big secret of his homosexuality,[2] but Russia is very socially conservative on LGBT rights, with hostility towards legal recognition of same-sex marriage and support for laws discriminating against LGBT people.[8][9] The United States Department of State repeatedly raised concerns around LGBT civil rights in their 2014 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.[10] His character on Interns was raised by two gay fathers,[1] though the treatment of the issue of sexuality on the show has been described as reinforcing the Soviet idea that homosexuality is a product of Western moral decay, rather than being used to promote more liberal values.[2]

It is very common for LGBT performers in Russia to avoid coming out, with an unspoken don't ask, don't tell arrangement between the entertainment industry and the mainstream press.[2][1][4] After the passage of 2013's Russian LGBT propaganda law, Biron's Interns co-star and former Orthodox priest Ivan Okhlobystin made international news with genocidally homophobic remarks made in a December 2013 talk in Novosibirsk,[11] leading Biron to consider leaving the show and Russian TV altogether.[2][12] As a result, he came out in an interview with New York magazine in early 2015,[2][1] to mixed reactions,[13] reported in the Russian press accompanied by mentions of Okhlobystin's remarks.[12] After an initial reaction leaving Biron with "a sense of physical danger, political danger", he initially left Russia.[1] He returned later without any apparent negative effect on his career,[1] though his friendship with Okhlobystin had become untenable after the former priest's reaction describing him as a "pervert" and a "sodomite".[1]

Biron lived in Moscow with his boyfriend, a Kazakh film director,[2][1][4] and has a brother who lives in Arlington, VA,[5] while his mother lives in New Zealand.[4] In an interview with Minnesota's Star Tribune in May 2015, however, he mentioned that he was back in the United States permanently and, as well as acting, was pursuing a Le Cordon Bleu culinary degree.[14]

From 2016-2022 he lived in Moscow and worked at Gogol Center. Since 2022 he lives in Berlin.

• Named as a Best Actor in the 2009 Golden List while at Moscow Art Theatre, for his role as the title character in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet.[6]

• Odin Biron at IMDb