Alim Kouliev  Alim Kaisynovich Kouliev (born June 24, 1959) is a Russian-American actor, theatre director and screenwriter of Balkar origin. Kouliev was born in Nalchik — a small city in USSR. His father was the Balkar poet Kaisyn Kuliev. His older brother Eldar Kuliev is a Russian film director and a screenwriter ( died January 14, 2017 in Moscow). His younger brother Azamat Kuliev is the Russian painter, living and working in Istanbul, Turkey. At the age of seven, Kouliev was influenced by Vladimir Visotsky an acclaimed Russian actor, poet and singer, one of his father's younger colleagues in a poetry field. Alim decided to become an actor. He studied acting at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS) in Moscow. After serving in the Soviet Army, he continued his education at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow, where he graduated from the acting class of Yevgeny Matveyev, an acclaimed master of theater and cinema. His classmate was Natalya Vavilova. Kouliev also studied stage directing at GITIS in 1981. Ever since he was a student, Kouliev appeared on the professional stage. His first significant role on stage was Mercutio in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" at Aleksandr Demidov Theater-Studio, where he also played Atavio in "The Moods of Marianne" by Alfred de Musset and Meleander in Maurice Maeterlinck's "Aglavain and Selyzett". He broke into films starring as Joseph Codrero in "Copper Angel" with Leonid Kuravlyov, Anatoly Kuznetsov, Aleksandr Filippenko, Leonid Yarmolnik. He has twelve years of acting experience working in leading Moscow theaters and has had several roles in the famous Russian feature films. He has also performed extensively as an actor for radio and TV. Kouliev created many great characters in classic and contemporary productions, under the best Russian theatrical directors. In 1991 his life changed dramatically. He moved to the United States. After the long break in his career as an actor, Kouliev made his comeback. In Los Angeles, he became a key member of the theatrical troupe "Dreamhouse Ensemble", where he played Sasha Smirnoff in "Room Service" and Uncle Tobit in "Jimmy Christ".