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American-Armenian actor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kenneth Davitian (Armenian: Քենեթ Դավիթյան; born June 19, 1953) is an American actor, best known for his role as Borat's producer Azamat Bagatov in the 2006 comedy film Borat,[1] and for his role as Shtarker in the 2008 action-comedy film Get Smart.
Ken Davitian | |
|---|---|
Davitian attending the "Night of 100 Stars" for the 82nd Academy Awards viewing party at the Beverly Hills Hotel on March 7, 2010 | |
| Born | Kenneth Davitian 19 June 1953 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1975–present |
Kenneth Davitian was born in Los Angeles on June 19, 1953, to an Armenian American family from Montebello, California.[2] His maternal grandparents were survivors of the Armenian genocide.[3] His father, a Red Army soldier during World War II, was captured by Wehrmacht forces and placed at an Armenian Legion camp in Stuttgart. After the end of the war, he immigrated to the United States through the efforts of George Mardikian. Davitian worked in his father's waste management company.[4][5] He graduated from Garfield High School in East Los Angeles and Whittier College.[6][7]
His teenage idol was Burt Reynolds, who greatly influenced his choice of becoming an actor.[8] Davitian would go on to perform in the film Pocket Listing, which also featured Reynolds.[9]
Davitian is fluent in Armenian; he speaks the language as Azamat in Borat.[10]
Davitian founded a restaurant in 2003 called The Dip, which was located in Los Angeles.[11] His son Robert used to run his baseball-themed hot dog restaurant The Infield in Sherman Oaks, which boasted a hot dog, conceived by Charlie Sheen, called the "Charlie Sheen Dog with Tiger Blood".[12]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Sons of Sassoun | Freedom Fighter | |
| 1977 | American Raspberry | Fat Bartender | |
| 1991 | Talkin' Dirty After Dark | Seat Mate | |
| 1991 | Bikini Summer | Max | |
| 1992 | Tuesday Never Comes | Greenberg | |
| 1992 | Maximum Force | Fat Man | |
| 1992 | Return to Frogtown | Bud | |
| 1993 | Sexual Intent | Topless Bar Owner | Direct-to-video |
| 1993 | Private Wars | Bartender | Direct-to-video |
| 1994 | The Silence of the Hams | Luciano Pavarotti | |
| 1994 | Red Sun Rising | Cab driver | |
| 1995 | Lord of Illusions | Swann Audience Member | Uncredited |
| 1996 | The Garbage Man | Uncle Herbert | |
| 2000 | Virgins of Sherwood Forest | Manny / Friar Tuck | Direct-to-video |
| 2000 | Our Lips Are Sealed | Thug No. 1 | |
| 2001 | Bukas, Babaha ng Dugo | Raul | Filipino film |
| 2002 | May | Foreign Doctor | |
| 2002 | Boris | Pawn-Shop Dealer | Short film |
| 2002 | After Freedom | Jacob | |
| 2003 | A Man Apart | Ramon Cadena | |
| 2003 | Holes | Igor Barkov | |
| 2003 | S.W.A.T. | Uncle Martin Gascoigne | |
| 2004 | L.A. Twister | Walter | |
| 2006 | Borat | Azamat Bagatov | |
| 2007 | Lucky You | Poker Player | Uncredited |
| 2007 | South of Pico | Nick | |
| 2007 | On Bloody Sunday | Grandpa | |
| 2008 | Get Smart | Shtarker | |
| 2008 | Stone & Ed | Senor Gordo | |
| 2008 | Meet the Spartans | Xerxes | |
| 2008 | Julia | Taxi Driver | |
| 2008 | Lonely Street | Raj (Motel Owner) | |
| 2008 | Float | Vahig Manoogian | |
| 2008 | Soul Men | Ardesh Kezian | |
| 2009 | Not Forgotten | Father Salinas | |
| 2010 | Let the Game Begin | Eric Banks | |
| 2010 | The Prankster | Stavros Karas | |
| 2011 | You May Not Kiss the Bride | Vlatko 'Vadik' Nikitin | |
| 2011 | The Artist | Pawnbroker | |
| 2011 | The Ballerino | Sergey 'Sam' Belyakova / Homeless Bob | Short film |
| 2012 | Sharkproof | Yuri | |
| 2012 | Melvin Smarty | ||
| 2013 | Abstraction | Jacob Sarian | |
| 2014 | Small Time | Wexler | |
| 2014 | Walk of Shame | Cab Driver | |
| 2015 | Pocket Listing | Mr. Mousian | |
| 2015 | Big Baby | Underbrunter | |
| 2015 | Burn Off | ||
| 2016 | Nina | Club Owner | |
| 2016 | Paint It Black | Masha The Baker | |
| 2016 | The Hollywouldn'ts | Frankie 'The Method' DeSayse | |
| 2017 | The Sex Addict | Ken Davitian | |
| 2017 | The President's Sun | Khoren | Short film |
| 2017 | Once Upon a Time in Venice | Yuri | |
| 2017 | Price for Freedom | Sheik Omar | |
| 2017 | Five Star Fouad | Fouad | Short film |
| 2018 | Diverted Eden | Scotty | |
| 2018 | The Samuel Project | Vartan | |
| 2020 | Roe v. Wade | Papa Potemkin | |
| 2021 | Habit | Gus | |
| 2024 | Angels Fallen: Warriors of Peace | Armen | |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Saved by the Bell: The New Class | Gus | Episode: "Trash TV" |
| 1997 | C-16: FBI | Professor David Amir | Episode: "The Sandman" |
| 1997 | Players | Big Oscar | Episode: "Contact Sport" |
| 1998 | Soldier of Fortune, Inc. | Russian Captain | Episode: "Double-Edged Sword" |
| 1999 | Oh, Grow Up | Taxi Driver | Episode: "President of the House" |
| 1999 | Becker | Cab Driver | Episode: "Hate Thy Neighbor" |
| 2000 | Missing Pieces | Jorge | Television film |
| 2000, 2007 | ER | Zakar Papazian | 2 episodes |
| 2000 | L.A. 7 | Alphonse | Episode: "House Sitting" |
| 2000 | Strong Medicine | Cabbie | Episode: "Drug Interactions" |
| 2001 | Arliss | Episode: "As Others See Us" | |
| 2002 | The Shield | Older Armenian | Episode: "Blowback" |
| 2002 | Gilmore Girls | Jesus | Episode: "Take the Deviled Eggs..." |
| 2003 | Six Feet Under | Krikor Hovanessian | Episode: "I'm Sorry, I'm Lost" |
| 2003 | The Division | Archimedes | Episode: "Hearts & Minds" |
| 2003 | Boomtown | Jewelry Store Owner | Episode: "Wannabe" |
| 2004 | Line of Fire | Zach | Episode: "I'm Your Boogie Man" |
| 2005 | Mind of Mencia | Gardner | Episode: #1.2 |
| 2006 | Boston Legal | Mr. Kahanov | Episode: "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" |
| 2006 | The Closer | Mr. Sarcasian | Episode: "To Protect & to Serve" |
| 2006 | Friday Night with Jonathan Ross | Azamat Bagatov | Episode: #11.8 |
| 2006 | Saturday Night Live | Episode: "Hugh Laurie/Beck" | |
| 2007 | Ghost Whisperer | Jake Rose | Episode: "The Collector" |
| 2008 | Starting Under | Ken | Television film |
| 2009 | Chuck | 'Uncle' Bernie | Episode: "Chuck Versus the First Kill" |
| 2011 | The Cape | Store Owner | Episode: "Tarot" |
| 2011 | Big Time Rush | King of Kerplankistan | Episode: "Big Time Wedding" |
| 2012 | Chasing the Hill | Arnold Sarca | Episode: "Awesomeness Is a Warm Gun" |
| 2012 | Natasha Mail Order Bride Escape to America | Boris the Butcher | Television film |
| 2013 | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Snyder | Episode: "The Gang Broke Dee" |
| 2014 | Two and a Half Men | Mr. Mardirosian | Episode: "Lotta Delis in Little Armenia" |
| 2015 | Hawaii Five-0 | Omar Sadek | Episode: "A Make Kaua" |
| 2015 | Ray Donovan | Vartan | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Small Shots | Amir | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | All Wrong | Kourosh | Television miniseries |
| 2018 | 3rd Eye | Zoran Fashard | |
| 2018–2021 | Cobra Kai | Armand Zarkarian | 3 episodes |
| 2018 | BBZ Good Morning Horizon: The Royal Wedding LIVE Coverage | Hank Markle | Television film |
| 2018 | Actress: Another Word for Waitress | Giagni Mustavo | Episode: "SHOWTIME" |
| 2019 | NCIS: Los Angeles | Narek | Episode: "Human Resources" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | The Adventures of Pinocchio | Grande |
| Year | Title | Director | Label | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Stand Inside Your Love | W.I.Z. | Virgin Records | Throne figure |
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