Known for Acting
Baskin was born in Riga, the son of Frieda and Zalman Baskin. He attended Moscow's prestigious Theatre and Variety Arts College and won a Festival of Young Actors Award at the Moscow Comedy Theatre. Baskin immigrated to the United States in 1976. He has built a considerable career in TV and movies, and is often cast as a Russian, due to his ancestry and accent. He has ultimately become one of the most popular choices whenever a Russian is needed in a TV-episode or a major movie production. He is also a regular on the long-running Internet program "Outlaw Radio" hosted by Matt Alan, where he makes amusing commentary on contemporary topics, and does comedic interaction with fellow actor Richard Tyson and author Burl Barer, among many others. Description above from the Wikipedia article Elya Baskin, licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Born
August 11, 1950 (age 76)
Birthplace
Riga, Latvian SSR, USSR [now Latvia]
Filmography
55 films, 38 shows


Dance With Me
2026 · 16m · US
As the boundaries between past and present blur, an elderly Holocaust survivor with dementia struggles to distinguish memory from reality while his devoted wife fights to hold onto the man she loves before he slips away forever.


Guys' Night in The Thing
2025 · 2h 9m · US
A group of friends reuniting at a winter retreat are snowed in by the most heinous blizzard in history. But as the night goes on and a terrifying secret is uncovered in the nearby woods, it becomes clear that one of them is not what he seems...and not everyone will make it out alive.


Reagan
2024 · 2h 21m · US
Told through the voice of former KGB agent Viktor Petrovich, whose life becomes inextricably linked with Ronald Reagan's when Reagan first caught the Soviets’ attention as an actor in Hollywood, Reagan overcomes the odds to become the 40th president of the United States.


An Oral History of: The Name of the Rose
2022 · 2h 30m
An oral history of the 1986 film adaptation of "The Name of the Rose", gathering together the memories of several members of the surviving cast/crew.


I Love Us
2021 · 1h 37m
Veteran thief Sammy Silver struggles to trade his criminal ways for married life after he falls in love with a single mother.


Legacy
2020 · 1h 38m · US
While on a hunting trip in the isolated wilderness, a father and his adopted teenage son are turned into the prey of unknown assailants. They are unexpectedly joined in their fight for survival by a stranger who reveals the disturbing truth about the son's biological father, an international crime lord, and why that crime lord has sent trained assassins to kill the teenager.


Supervized
2019 · 1h 30m · IE
Four aging superheroes in a retirement home in Ireland come together for one last hurrah.


Hit Me
2019 · 3m
A scene recreation in which two young men cut loose and clobber one another. Filmed on location outside a dollar store at subzero temperatures.


Jangan Benci Cintaku
2018
Rafeeqa and Shahrizal's marriage is a family arrangement made when Rafeeqa is still young. Unwilling to commit, she sees the marriage as a burden. Thus, Rafeeqa does not hesitate to continue her studies in Sunderland without considering her husband's feelings, who loves her dearly. Five years later, Rafeeqa returns to Malaysia and realizes she has begun to miss her husband and is willing to take on the responsibility of being a proper wife. However, Shahrizal now has a sweetheart named Husna, and Rafeeqa promises herself she will win back her husband's love. But it is not that simple. With Husna's appearance between her and Shahrizal, Nek Pah who has never acknowledged her position as a daughter-in-law, and Irwan who constantly tries to get close to her, everything tests her patience.


Chicanery
2017 · 1h 21m · US
Darren Flare is an Emmy Award-winning, slightly dim newscaster, who is about to stumble on the story of the decade: the capture of the FBI's most wanted terrorist, the Imam Abdul Mohammed Zaleeka.


The Hive
2015 · 1h 29m · US
An amnesiac must reach back into his mind for memories that will help him save the love of his life before a virus completely takes over.


Silent Screams
2015 · 1h 28m
Andre Essen (Elya Baskin) says goodbye to his daughter, Natalia (Sasha Kolos), as she heads to America as a foreign exchange student. Natalia bonds with her surrogate family, Amanda (Callan Coles) and her father, Marcus Garrett, before strange supernatural occurrences begin to happen.


Jimmy P.
2013 · 1h 57m · FR
At the end of WWII, Jimmy Picard, a Native American Blackfoot who fought in France, suffers from unexplainable symptoms and is admitted to a military hospital. When doctors suspect schizophrenia, an eccentric psychoanalyst takes up the case and starts a conversation with the veteran.


Transformers: Dark of the Moon
2011 · 2h 34m · US
The Autobots continue to work for NEST, now no longer in secret. But after discovering a strange artifact during a mission in Chernobyl, it becomes apparent to Optimus Prime that the United States government has been less than forthright with them.


Across the Line: The Exodus of Charlie Wright
2010 · 1h 34m · US
The story centers on Charlie, a Los Angeles billionaire financial whiz who goes into self-imposed exile in Tijuana after his empire is revealed to have been a Ponzi scheme. While looking for the woman he abandoned there 25 years before, Charlie is pursued by a Mexican gangster, a federal agent and thugs sent by a former client looking to retrieve his money.


God's Smile
2009 · 1h 57m · RU
A determined student from Chicago is forced to fulfill the last wish of his ailing grandfather. He has to travel to Odessa, Ukraine, and bring back his grandfather's cat.


Angels & Demons
2009 · 2h 19m · IT
Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is recruited by the Vatican to investigate the apparent return of the Illuminati – a secret, underground organization – after four cardinals are kidnapped on the night of the papal conclave.


Say It in Russian
2007 · 1h 25m · FR
Jacqueline, a Paris society hostess (Faye Dunaway), introduces a fellow American, businessman Andrew Lamont (Steven Brand), to a beautiful young Russian girl, Daria Larina (Agata Gotova), while he is on vacation in Europe. She is the kind of woman who will turn the eye of every man when she walks into a room. Andrew is fascinated by her, as Jacqueline knew he would be.


Spider-Man 3
2007 · 2h 19m · US
The seemingly invincible Spider-Man goes up against an all-new crop of villains—including the shape-shifting Sandman. While Spider-Man’s superpowers are altered by an alien organism, his alter ego, Peter Parker, deals with nemesis Eddie Brock and also gets caught up in a love triangle.


The Dukes
2007 · 1h 36m · US
The Dukes,a Doo Wop group, were on top of the world at 17, now are struggling for survival in 2008. Their manager is desperately trying to get them work but is met with failure at every turn. Finally pushed to the extreme , they pull a heist only a fool would attempt, which leaves them even more desperate. When all seems lost, they find themselves.


Color of the Cross
2006 · 1h 48m · US
A retelling of the events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, based on the idea that he was a black man whose death was a racially motivated hate crime.


The Elder Son
2006 · 1h 24m · US
A thief on the run convinces a single father that he is his long-lost son. Complications ensue when he falls in love with his newfound "sister".


Wheelmen
2005 · 1h 33m · US
Two limo drivers hope to make money by escorting an executive around Los Angeles. Things go awry when they get caught up in a sabotage plot to assassinate the Vice President of the United States.


Spider-Man 2
2004 · 2h 7m · US
Peter Parker is going through a major identity crisis. Burned out from being Spider-Man, he decides to shelve his superhero alter ego, which leaves the city suffering in the wake of carnage left by the evil Doc Ock. In the meantime, Parker still can't act on his feelings for Mary Jane Watson, a girl he's loved since childhood. A certain anger begins to brew in his best friend Harry Osborn as well...


Thirteen Days
2000 · 2h 25m · US
The story of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962—the nuclear standoff with the USSR sparked by the discovery by the Americans of missile bases established on the Soviet-allied island of Cuba.


Runaway Virus
2000 · 1h 36m · US
Two virus experts track down contagious people across the world. But it's only a matter of time before L.A. is exposed to the virus.


Running Red
1999 · 1h 32m · US
Upset over his brother’s murder, Soviet special agent Gregori Wallace leaves Russia to start a new life in the United States. Now happily married to a beautiful woman and the father of a little girl, Gregori soon realizes that he can’t outrun the past.


October Sky
1999 · 1h 47m · US
The true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes.


Murder, She Wrote: South by Southwest
1997 · 1h 40m · US
Jessica Fletcher searches for a woman who witnessed the murder of a man trying to expose a serious flaw in a top-secret government satellite code.


Air Force One
1997 · 2h 4m · US
When Russian neo-nationalists hijack Air Force One, the world's most secure and extraordinary aircraft, the President is faced with a nearly impossible decision to give in to terrorist demands or sacrifice not only the country's dignity, but the lives of his wife and daughter.


Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
1997 · 1h 29m · DE
As a swinging fashion photographer by day and a groovy British superagent by night, Austin Powers is the '60s' most shagadelic spy. But can he stop megalomaniac Dr. Evil after the bald villain freezes himself and unthaws in the '90s? With the help of sexy sidekick Vanessa Kensington, he just might.


Forest Warrior
1996 · 1h 37m · US
McKenna, the spirit of Tanglewood Forest, can transform into a bear, a wolf or an eagle. When a gang of evil lumberjacks led by Travis Thorne arrive in Tanglewood to chop the forest down, McKenna cannot let this happen. With his new friends, the Lords of Tanglewood, a band of children who love to play in the forest, he battles Thorne and his gang.


Spy Hard
1996 · 1h 21m · US
The evil Gen. Rancor has his sights set on world domination, and only one man can stop him: Dick Steele, also known as Agent WD-40. Rancor needs to obtain a computer circuit for the missile that he is planning to fire, so Steele teams up with Veronique Ukrinsky, a KGB agent whose father designed the chip. Together they try to locate the evil mastermind's headquarters, where Veronique's father and several other hostages are being held.


Love Affair
1994 · 1h 48m · US
Ex-football star Mike Gambril meets Terry McKay on a flight to Sydney, which is forced to land on a small atoll. They become romantic on board a ship sent to take them to a larger island. They agree to meet in New York three months later to see if the attraction is real. One shows up but the other doesn't. However, a chance meeting brings them together again.


The Pickle
1993 · 1h 43m · US
Harry Stone always dreamed of making "The Great American Movie." Instead, he made "The Pickle" - a teenage sci-fi flick about a flying cucumber. Harry just wanted to get out of debt; now everyone he's ever known, loved and neglected is standing in line for tickets.


Walker, Texas Ranger: One Riot, One Ranger
1993 · 1h 33m · US
Among the issues Walker has to deal with: a new partner named Trivette, a group of men terrorizing a circus family who camp out at his home, and some bad guys who plan on the ultimate bank caper.


Enemies, a Love Story
1989 · 1h 59m · US
A ghostwriter finds himself romantically involved with his current wife, a married woman and his long-vanished wife.


Big Man on Campus
1989 · 1h 45m · US
In this version of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", a hunchback is found living in the bell tower of UCLA. He discovers life as two students bring him out of the tower and into society.


DeepStar Six
1989 · 1h 39m · US
The crew of an experimental underwater nuclear base are forced to struggle for their lives when their explorations disturb a creature who threatens to destroy their base.


Zits
1988 · 1h 36m · US
When their music teacher needs an expensive operation after being mugged, a group of precocious middle school students attempt to raise the money by selling fake military secrets to the KGB.


Vice Versa
1988 · 1h 38m · US
A mysterious oriental skull transforms a father into his son, and vice versa.


Combat Academy
1986 · 1h 36m · US
"Police Academy"-style comedy set in a military school. Two errant high-school students are ordered by a judge to spend a year at a prestigious military academy, where one of the cadets finds out who is responsible for a spate of midnight thefts.


Streets of Gold
1986 · 1h 35m · US
Alek is an immigrant from the Soviet Union who was a talented boxer in his day, but he was not allowed on the Soviet national team because he was a Jew. Depressed and discouraged, he meets two young amateur boxers. As their coach, he trains them for glory.


The Name of the Rose
1986 · 2h 10m · FR
14th-century Franciscan monk William of Baskerville and his young novice arrive at a conference to find that several monks have been murdered under mysterious circumstances. To solve the crimes, William must rise up against the Church's authority and fight the shadowy conspiracy of monastery monks using only his intelligence; which is considerable.


My Town
1986 · 44m
A series of vignettes based upon an imaginative girl's unique outlook on her community.


Embassy
1985 · 1h 44m · US
US ambassador in Rome must protect US interests and secrets from mob, spies and curious girlfriends who may be more than what they seem.


2010
1984 · 1h 56m · US
While planet Earth poises on the brink of nuclear self-destruction, a team of Russian and American scientists aboard the Leonov hurtles to a rendezvous with the still-orbiting Discovery spacecraft and its sole known survivor, the homicidal computer HAL.


Moscow on the Hudson
1984 · 1h 55m · US
A Russian circus visits the US. A clown wants to defect, but doesn't have the nerve. His saxophone playing friend however comes to the decision to defect in the middle of Bloomingdales. He is befriended by the black security guard and falls in love with the Italian immigrant from behind the perfume counter. We follow his life as he works his way through the American dream and tries to find work as a musician.


American Pop
1981 · 1h 36m · US
The history of American popular music runs parallel with the history of a Russian Jewish immigrant family, with each male descendant possessing different musical abilities.


Raise the Titanic
1980 · 1h 55m · UK
To obtain a supply of a rare mineral, a ship raising operation is conducted for the only known source, the Titanic.


Being There
1979 · 2h 10m · US
A simple-minded gardener named Chance has spent all his life in the Washington D.C. house of an old man. When the man dies, Chance is put out on the street with no knowledge of the world except what he has learned from television.


Butch and Sundance: The Early Days
1979 · 1h 51m · US
Before the adventures that made them legends, they were charming mastermind Robert Leroy Parker, alias Butch Cassidy, and crack-shot outlaw Harry Alonzo Longabaugh, soon to be known as The Sundance Kid. This is the 'prequel' of how they met, their first clumsy robberies, the heroic dangers that abound them together, the secret that nearly tore them apart, and the impossible train heist that made them notorious for life. Saddle up and ride with the showdowns, shootouts, bad guys and good times in the days before the fame when fun was the name of the game.


The World's Greatest Lover
1977 · 1h 29m · US
When frustrated movie studio mogul Adolph Zitz announces a talent search for a romantic leading man to rival the great Rudolph Valentino, thousands of hopefuls decend upon Hollywood. Rudy Valentine, a neurotic baker from Milwaukee, knows little about romance or acting. But when his wife leaves him for the real Valentino, Rudy goes to outrageous lengths to win the role of a lifetime and win back the love of his life.


The Long Recess
1972 · 4h 28m · SU
A young teacher goes to a school for adults. He is younger than many of his students and some of them are starting to miss school.


Telegram
1972 · 1h 35m · SU
Six-graders Tosha and Kostya are trying to deliver the WWII telegram they accidentally find.