Alexander Godunov was a Russian-American ballet dancer and actor who was the Bolshoi Ballet's premier danseur until he defected to the United States in 1979. After that, he served as the principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre until 1982. He had a fallout with the company’s director and was dismissed. Later, he performed with the Asami Maki Ballet of Japan, the Israel Ballet and Maurice Bejart's Ballet of the Twentieth Century. Throughout his dancing career, he performed in lead roles in 'Giselle', 'Swan Lake', 'Raymonda', 'La Bayadere', 'Don Quixote', 'Carmen' and 'Moor's Pavane'. Godunov, who danced in films such as 'Anna Karenina' and '31 June' in the Soviet Union, later studied acting with Stella Adler and took voice lessons at the Juilliard School of Music to prepare himself for a career in Hollywood. Starting with an appearance in 'Witness' alongside Harrison Ford, he worked in several other films, including 'The Money Pit', 'Die Hard' and 'North'.
