alex sparrow Words by MARISSA JOHNSON Photos by CATHERINE POWELL
Alex Sparrow is already one of Russia’s biggest names and now he’s taking America by storm as one of the stars of Lifetime’s UnREAL. Stepping into the spotlight at only 15 years old, Alex began his career on Russia’s X Factor and established himself as a superstar, going on to make hit records and write soundtracks for major Russian films. With a viral video for his single “She’s Crazy But She’s Mine” and plenty of accolades under his belt, Alex is now coming to American film and television, and even releasing an English album. Alex cur04
rently plays the resident bad boy on UnREAL, a talented dancer named Alexi who is competing for Serena’s (Caitlin FitzGerald) heart on Everlasting and providing plenty of drama and surprises throughout the season. After overcoming a stroke at 25 Alex is stronger than ever and doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon, with more movies and music to be released in the near future. Growing up in Russia, did you always know that you wanted to be a performer? When did you start to make
singing/dancing a career? I grew up in a family which had more kids than money, but since I was 6 I started to learn how to play the accordion, and at one point my father decided to sell his car, which was one of the major sources for feeding our family, in order to be able to buy me an instrument so I could go as a kid to professional music contests. So, I started to perform on stage as a musician very early, but I had another passion which was soccer. At the same time, I played in the local junior team, and when I was 15 and just
