Christopher Michael Ashworth (born March 13, 1975) is an American actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of

Sergei Malatov Sergei "Serge" Malatov ( Ukrainian: Сергій Малатов) is a fictional character on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'', played by Chris Ashworth. He acts as a driver and enforcer for The Greek. He is Ukrainian, although Americans often ...

on ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...

''. He commonly plays characters from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

due to his ability to mimic accents and dialects. Ashworth began training in

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

, particularly

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, in 1993. He also earned two associates' degrees, criminal justice & general studies, and a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

.Chris Ashworth trivia
/ref> He made his acting debut in 2000, in the low-budget

sci-fi film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...

''Aquarius''. He followed this up with a number of small roles in higher budget films such as ''

Cecil B. DeMented ''Cecil B. Demented'' is a 2000 black comedy film written and directed by John Waters. The film stars Melanie Griffith as a snobby A-list Hollywood actress who is kidnapped by a band of terrorist filmmakers; they force her to star in their u ...

'', '' The Replacements'' and '' The Watcher'' before eventually landing a regular role on ''

s second season in 2003. He has since appeared in numerous other films and television series including ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002, to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'', ''

The Lost Room ''The Lost Room'' is a 2006 supernatural television miniseries that aired on the Syfy Channel in the United States. The series revolves around the titular room and some of the everyday items from that room which possess unusual powers. The show ...

'' and ''

Terminator Salvation ''Terminator Salvation'' is a 2009 American military science fiction action film that is the fourth installment of the ''Terminator'' franchise, serving as a sequel to '' Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' (2003). It is directed by McG an ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

Official website
* Living people 1975 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from Virginia American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Christians from Virginia American male Muay Thai practitioners People from Farmville, Virginia {{US-screen-actor-1970s-stub