# Ed O'Ross
**Ed O'Ross** (born Edward Oross, also spelled Edward Orss) is an American character actor known for tough-guy and villain roles in action films of the 1980s and 1990s, including Viktor Rostavili in *Red Heat* (1988), Mendez in *Lethal Weapon* (1987), Lt. Touchdown in [Stanley Kubrick](https://www.edgepedia.org/stanley-kubrick)'s *Full Metal Jacket* (1987), and Cliff Willis in *The Hidden* (1987)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/) • [2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/258460-Ed-O%27Ross?isMiscCredit=False). On television he is known for the recurring role of Nikolai, a Russian florist, on the HBO series *Six Feet Under* (2001–2005)[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/ed-oross/umc.cpc.5aqd4rd1i0xbcqah470ig494v).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth | Born Edward Oross in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; sources give 1946 or 1949 (see below)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/) |
| Pre-acting career | Amateur Golden Gloves boxing champion and minor league baseball player[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/) |
| Training | Studied acting in New York with Stella Adler and Uta Hagen[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/) |
| Film debut | *Dear Mr. Wonderful* (1982)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/) |
| Signature role | Viktor "Rosta" Rostavili, the Georgian drug dealer pursued by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Walter Hill's *Red Heat* (1988)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/258460-Ed-O%27Ross?isMiscCredit=False) |
| Signature TV role | Nikolai on *Six Feet Under* (2001–2005)[3](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/ed-oross/umc.cpc.5aqd4rd1i0xbcqah470ig494v) |
| Trademark | Deep gravelly voice; frequently cast as Russian characters despite being of Czechoslovakian descent[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/) |
## Early life and athletic career
O'Ross was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of a steel worker[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/). His birth year is reported inconsistently: the biographical text on IMDb and several film databases give 1946[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/) • [4](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-15636/biographie/), while IMDb's own infobox, Memory Alpha, and Kinopoisk list 1949[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/) • [6](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Ed_O%27Ross). One source, the South African television site TVSA, places his birth in [Pensacola, Florida](https://www.edgepedia.org/pensacola-florida) rather than [Pittsburgh](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh)[7](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=5678).
He was an altar boy as a child and graduated from Munhall High in 1964, then attended Point Park College and Carnegie Tech[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/). Before acting he was an amateur [Golden Gloves](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-gloves) boxing champion and a minor league baseball player[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/); the French database AlloCiné dates his Golden Gloves title to 1964[4](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-15636/biographie/). He then studied acting in New York with [Stella Adler](https://www.edgepedia.org/stella-adler) and [Uta Hagen](https://www.edgepedia.org/uta-hagen)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/).
## Film career
O'Ross made his film debut in 1982 in *Dear Mr. Wonderful*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/). His early screen work included *The Cotton Club* (1984), in which he played Monk, a henchman for the gangster [Dutch Schultz](https://www.edgepedia.org/dutch-schultz)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/258460-Ed-O%27Ross?isMiscCredit=False) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/).
**The 1987–1988 run.** Within two years he appeared in a cluster of prominent genre films: as the dope pusher Mendez in *Lethal Weapon*, as Lt. Touchdown in Kubrick's *Full Metal Jacket*, as police detective Cliff Willis, host to an alien entity, in the science-fiction thriller *The Hidden*, as Stringer in *Action Jackson*, and as the main villain in *Red Heat*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/). In *Red Heat*, directed by [Walter Hill](https://www.edgepedia.org/walter-hill), he played Viktor "Rosta" Rostavili, a Georgian drug dealer whose killing of both leads' partners drives the plot alongside [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://www.edgepedia.org/arnold-schwarzenegger)'s Soviet policeman and James Belushi's Chicago detective[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/258460-Ed-O%27Ross?isMiscCredit=False) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/06/17/red-heat-arnold-chars-chicago/baa492df-d47c-464d-a414-eacd50f67afa/).
**Later film work.** The 1990s brought supporting parts as Itchy in [Warren Beatty](https://www.edgepedia.org/warren-beatty)'s *Dick Tracy* (1990), Frank Cruise in *Another 48 Hrs.* (1990), and Colonel Perry in [Roland Emmerich](https://www.edgepedia.org/roland-emmerich)'s *Universal Soldier* (1992)[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/258460-Ed-O%27Ross?isMiscCredit=False) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/). He played mobster [Ralph Capone](https://www.edgepedia.org/ralph-capone) in *The Verne Miller Story* and returned as another Dutch Schultz henchman in *Hoodlum* (1997); both gangster films starred Laurence Fishburne as Bumpy Johnson[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/). Later credits include *A Green Story* (2012), in which he played Van Vlahakis[2](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/258460-Ed-O%27Ross?isMiscCredit=False), and voice work as Ivan the Doorman in *Curious George: Royal Monkey* (2019)[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/).
## The Russian roles
O'Ross is frequently cast as Russian characters, a typecasting that began with *Red Heat*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0415866/). A 2004 DVD featurette, *I'm Not Russian, But I Play One on TV*, interviews him about the role; he has said that most people believe he is actually from Russia, and that the part opened doors for him in Hollywood[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0415866/). In his own words, "Boy, if anyone thinks I look Irish, they need glasses. I'm pure Czechoslovakian and proud of it"[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/). His Russian-accented parts extend to Nikolai on *Six Feet Under*, Yuri Denikoff on *Shark*, and the voice of Agent Kay in *Men in Black: The Series*[7](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=5678).
## Television
From the 1980s onward O'Ross accumulated guest spots across a wide range of series, including *Moonlighting*, *Scarecrow and Mrs. King*, *Seinfeld*, *Frasier*, *NYPD Blue*, *Chicago Hope*, *Curb Your Enthusiasm*, *CSI: NY*, *Boston Legal*, and *Walker, Texas Ranger*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/) • [7](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=5678). His best-known television work is the recurring role of Nikolai, a lusty Russian florist, on HBO's *Six Feet Under* across seasons 1, 2, and 5[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/) • [7](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=5678). He called it "the first good series I've ever done"[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/).
Genre television brought further one-episode parts: Gaavrin the Tellarite in the *Star Trek: Enterprise* second-season episode "Bounty"[6](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Ed_O%27Ross), Dao Huang on *NCIS*, Judge Phillip Stevens on *Boston Legal*, and Ryan Littman on *The Closer*[7](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=5678). He also voiced Agent Kay in the animated *Men in Black: The Series*[7](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=5678) and appeared in the video game *[Judgment](https://www.edgepedia.org/judgment-video-game)* (2018) as the English voice of Shigeru Kajihira[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/).
## Stage and personal life
On stage O'Ross has appeared in Shakespeare's *King Lear*, James Thurber's *Story Theater*, and City Center children's theater, and he has acted in television commercials[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/). He married Veronica Talbot on September 18, 2000; the couple have two children[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/). He lives in both New York and Los Angeles[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/).
## References
1. [Ed O'Ross – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/bio/)
2. [Ed O'Ross – Filmography, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/258460-Ed-O%27Ross?isMiscCredit=False)
3. [Ed O'Ross Movies and Shows, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/ed-oross/umc.cpc.5aqd4rd1i0xbcqah470ig494v)
4. [Ed O'Ross : Sa biographie, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/personne/fichepersonne-15636/biographie/)
5. [Ed O'Ross, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0642522/)
6. [Ed O'Ross, Memory Alpha](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Ed_O%27Ross)
7. [Ed O'Ross, TVSA](https://www.tvsa.co.za/actors/viewactor.aspx?actorid=5678)
8. ["Red Heat" Arnold Chars Chicago, The Washington Post (June 16, 1988)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/06/17/red-heat-arnold-chars-chicago/baa492df-d47c-464d-a414-eacd50f67afa/)
9. [I'm Not Russian, But I Play One on TV (2004), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0415866/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames O to Pa*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license