Julian Kostov has been chosen to replace Milos Bikovic in the third season of The White Lotus after the original star was fired from the third season due to pressure from Ukraine over his pro-Putin stance.
The 34-year-old Bulgarian actor was added to the cast to portray a Russian character just days after HBO fired 36-year-old Serbian actor Bikovic.
Filming for season three is set to begin soon around Koh Samui, Phuket and Bangkok, as the anthology series will follow a new group of guests at another White Lotus property, this time in Thailand.
Kostov joins a star-studded cast including Leslie Bibb, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Carrie Coon, Francesca Corney and season one recurring cast member Natasha Rothwell.
He previously appeared in “Another Mother's Son” (2017), “Search And Destroy” (2020) and “Code Red?” (2013).
Julian Kostov (pictured in March 2019) was chosen to replace Milos Bikovic in the third season of The White Lotus after the original star was fired from the third season due to pressure from Ukraine over his pro-Putin stance
Bikovic, 36, called the recast decision a “troubling precedent” in an Instagram post on Saturday and claimed he was the victim of a “targeted campaign.”
The ministry released a video in which Biković (pictured right) can be seen shaking hands with Vladimir Putin (pictured left) at a ceremony where he was presented with a top cultural award
The third season of the hit TV show The White Lotus will air in early 2025
Meanwhile, Bikovic recently broke his silence on his firing over his pro-Putin stance, saying the move sets a “worrying precedent” for the network.
He was set to star in the blockbuster show's highly anticipated third season until Ukraine complained about his political beliefs.
HBO, which ceded to Ukraine, fired him.
In an Instagram post on Saturday, he claimed he was the victim of a “targeted campaign.”
According to Deadline, Biković has been cast in the role of Russian Valentin, a charming yogi and the hotel's “life enhancement mentor.”
“I grew up in a war-torn country. At the age of 11, I endured days and nights in shelters while my home country and hometown were bombed. “I couldn’t wish such devastation on anyone,” the Serbian actor wrote on Instagram.
Bikovic said he wanted active conflicts everywhere to “stop and the principles of love prevail.”
“Today a targeted campaign was unleashed against me, seemingly as an external maneuver to influence decisions that may set a disturbing precedent that overshadows the essence of artistic freedom,” Biković wrote.
Bulgarian actor Kostov (pictured in London in March 2017), 34, previously starred in Another Mother's Son (2017), Search And Destroy (2020) and Code Red? (2013).
He said: “The result of such a narrative is the triumph of absurdity and the defeat of art.”
Commenting on his statement, Bikovic said: “It was an honor to be chosen for the role of White Lotus, a TV series that I value very much and whose colleagues I have great respect for.”
“However, my participation is not possible for reasons outside of art and I will not bow to any narrative that seeks to compromise my integrity,” he added.
This came just weeks after Ukraine criticized HBO in January for casting the pro-Putin actor, who received a Medal of Honor from the despot himself for his contributions to the arts and consistently supported his invasive actions against Ukraine and Crimea.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has boldly criticized HBO over its decision to cast Serbian actor Miloš Biković in the upcoming third season of its hit series.
The ministry released a video at the time showing Biković shaking hands with Vladimir Putin at a ceremony where he was presented with a top cultural award.
In 2018, he was presented with the Pushkin Medal, awarded to both Russian citizens and foreigners for achievements in the fields of art and culture, education, humanities and literature, at a ceremony in the Kremlin, and in 2021 he received Russian citizenship .
Biković, a dual citizen of Serbia and Russia, said at the time: “It is a great honor for me to be able to say today: Russia is my home.”
HBO has fired a pro-Putin actor from the third season of the Emmy-nominated popular show “White Lotus” following pressure from the Ukrainian government
Biković is said to have been cast in the role of Russian Valentin, a charming yogi and the hotel's “life enhancement mentor.”
Ukraine criticized HBO for casting the pro-Putin actor
He added that he was “an active member of Russian society.”
A graduate of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts at the University of the Arts in Belgrade, Serbia, Biković has appeared almost exclusively in dozens of Russian or Serbian television, film and theater productions over the course of his 20-year career.
His role in The White Lotus, created, written and directed by Mike White and executive produced by White, David Bernad and Mark Kamine, would be Biković's first role in a western production.
He is represented by Chris Prapha and Deanna Russo Clark at Artist International Group and Marina Leonova at SV Casting in Russia.
AFP reported that Biković claimed in 2019 that he had been banned from entering Ukraine on national security grounds.
Ukraine claims it supports Russia's invasion of Ukraine and said he filmed television shows in Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Putin's forces in 2014.
“Dear HBO, do you really support genocide?” They said they pressured the network to drop the actor.
In a resurfaced clip, Biković was seen telling a reporter that he supported annexation. In response to a general question about Crimea, he replied: “It is different from the fact that Russians live there.”
When asked whether this was a sufficient reason for Russia to “take it away and assign it to itself,” the actor said: “[Crimeans] Do it yourself, like the referendum.'
Biković referred to a highly contentious referendum that took place after Russia invaded Crimea, a former part of Ukraine that was largely autonomous from Ukraine.
Russian troops seized key cities in Crimea in late February 2014 after pro-Russian demonstrations led to the overthrow of then-President Viktor Yanukovych.
The referendum, held after the arrival of Russian forces, officially showed a 97 percent majority in favor of integration into mainland Russia, based on a reported turnout of 83 percent.
A graduate of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts at the University of the Arts in Belgrade, Serbia, Biković appeared almost exclusively in Russian or Serbian television, film and theater productions
But international observers said the referendum that officially justified the formal annexation of Crimea on March 18, 2014, just two days after the referendum, was massively manipulated.
Military observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which monitors elections around the world to ensure their validity, said they were forced to turn away from Crimea after Russian forces fired warning shots at them.
The United Nations also heavily criticized Russia at the time for encouraging the presence of paramilitaries and unidentified soldiers near voting booths.
An American official said at the time that there was “concrete evidence” that the referendum ballots had arrived pre-stamped.
Just eight years later, Russia used a similar claim to protect ethnic Russians to justify its invasion of the rest of Ukraine.
Dailymaill.com has reached out to HBO and Biković's agents at Artist International Group for comment.