Latvia blacklisted Russian actor Mikhail Porechenkov

Latvia and Ukraine have blacklisted Russian actor Mikhail Porechenkov, who will play one of the lead roles in a version of the crime drama television series ‘The Bridge’ set on the Narva River bridge between Estonia and Russia.

The show, commissioned by Russian television channel NTV, will star Mikhail Porechenkov as an investigator from the eastern side of the border, and Lithuanian actress Ingeborga Dapkunaite as his Estonian counterpart.

The show is scheduled to come out in 2017. Weit Media, part of MasterChef maker Endemol Shine, are producing it. The original edition of “The Bridge” was made by Swedish Filmlance International, today owned by Endemol, working with Danish counterpart Nimbus Film.

The producers behind “The Bridge” said they prefer working with partners on both sides of the border, and discussions are ongoing for a broadcaster on the Estonian side to air the new show, the Guardian reported.

Ukraine banned Porechenkov from entering the country after a video posted online in 2014 that shows him shooting a machine gun at the positions of Ukrainian soldiers in Eastern Ukraine, wearing a helmet saying “PRESS.” The actor later dismissed the firing of the machine gun as a “salute”.

Acting on the request of the country’s Ministry of Culture, the National Security Service, and the Union of Cinematographers, the Ukrainian National Film Agency in 2014 banned all films and series featuring Porechenkov.

Latvia blacklisted Porechenkov the same year for expressing support for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.