Dimitri Diatchenko

Dimitri Diatchenko (April 11, 1968 – April 21, 2020) was an American actor. Life and career Diatchenko was born April 11, 1968, in Oakland, California. He was a native of San Francisco, California and a first-generation American; his father is Ukrainian and his mother was of Greek and Swedish descent. Diatchenko began classical guitar lessons at the age of seven. Two years later, he gave his first solo classical guitar recital. During and after his studies, Dimitri Diatchenko won several medals in guitar competitions including the Stotsenberg International Classical Guitar Competition or the World Championships of Performing Arts. He released four solo guitar CDs. Diatchenko studied martial arts from the age of seven. He earned black belts in both Tae Kwon Do and Kenpo Karate and studied boxing and arnis. During the early 1990s, Dimitri Diatchenko competed as a heavyweight in several national championships, winning many medals in full contact fighting, including the US Olympic Festival, the WTF National Championships and The 1991 World Invitational in Miami, Florida. Diatchenko attended Newton North High School in Newton, Massachusetts where Matt LeBlanc also attended at the same time and later Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. There he was a scholarship music student, majored in classical guitar, and received a Bachelor of Music degree. After transferring to Florida State University in Tallahassee, Dimitri Diatchenko continued with acting and music studies in the Masters program. In April 1996, as Dimitri Diatchenko was graduating, he was cast in Ridley Scott's 1997 action film G.I. Jane and landed a small role as trainee; following this, Dimitri Diatchenko relocated to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. In Los Angeles, he also taught guitar privately and performed regularly as a soloist and ensemble player.