Illya Kuryakin
Encyclopedia
Illya Nickovetch Kuryakin is a fictional character from the 1960s TV spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
.
The series was remarkable for pairing an American Napoleon Solo
and the Russian Kuryakin as two spies who work together for an international espionage
organisation at the height of the Cold War
. Kuryakin was played by Scottish actor David McCallum
.
, became an indispensable part of the show, achieving co-star status with the show’s lead Napoleon Solo
played by Robert Vaughn
. McCallum’s blond good looks and the enigmatic persona he created for the character garnered him a huge following of female fans. Such was the popular hysteria surrounding him that he was referred to in newspaper reports at the time as ‘the blond Beatle’ or the ‘fifth Beatle’. While playing Kuryakin, McCallum received more fan mail than any other actor in the history of MGM.
Much of the character’s appeal was based on what was ambiguous and enigmatic about him. When an acute reaction to penicillin hospitalized him in the early days of filming, David McCallum took the opportunity to give serious thought to how he might flesh out what was, at that stage, a sketchy peripheral character. The approach he hit upon was to build a persona based on ambiguity and enigma, hiding, rather than revealing, aspects of the agent’s background and personality. McCallum summed up the character in commenting "No one knows what Illya Kuryakin does when he goes home at night."
, Ukraine
(“The Foxes and Hounds Affair”). He is Number Two in Section Two (Operations and Enforcement) at U.N.C.L.E. headquarters in New York
. He seems to be a Soviet of good standing rather than a defector
. In “The Neptune Affair” he appears in the uniform of the Russian Navy and is recalled to the USSR to help deal with a crisis. Despite the series being aired at the height of the Cold War, no great issue is made of Kuryakin’s nationality and politics. He expresses socialist
sympathies from time to time, particularly in Season One, however in the later seasons his background is rarely mentioned and his accent becomes less pronounced.
McCallum appears to have drawn upon several Hollywood character types and Russian stereotypes in creating Kuryakin. Where Solo is the urbane, charming, romantic lead in the mold of Cary Grant
, Kuryakin’s appeal is that of the more dangerous and exotic hero in the tradition of Rudolf Valentino. Kuryakin’s character recalls the brooding, troubled protagonists of Fyodor Dostoevsky
's novels and gestures towards the association of the USSR with scientific research and an earnest, intellectualized popular culture. Other traits which he possesses which recall popular images of Russia are his gymnastic ability, physical courage and taste for chess.
Even Kuryakin’s marital status is an open question. In most episodes filmed before mid-1966 he wears a wedding band. In “The Bow Wow Affair” Kuryakin is asked explicitly whether he is married and answers evasively with a quote from Andrew Marvell
: "Had I but world enough and time
". His attitude to women contrasts with that of his partner. They chase him, but he rarely pursues them. His attitude towards romance is pragmatic and he appears to be both amused by and irritated by Solo’s weakness in this regard. However, on the rare occasions when he sets his cap at a woman (“The Double Affair”) he is capable of immense charm.
He holds a Masters degree from the Sorbonne
and a PhD in Quantum Mechanics
from the University of Cambridge
, though he admits to not keeping up-to-date with the field ('The Her Master's Voice Affair"). He appears to have been an undergraduate at the University of Georgia in the Ukraine, where he practiced gymnastics ("The Hot Number Affair"). Kuryakin is a polymath
. He is well-read in English literature, he has an in-depth knowledge of music and plays the bass viol, the English horn and guitar
. He also sings. He speaks many languages including French, German and Japanese.
His technical skills are also well honed. He is an explosives expert who stayed on at the U.N.C.L.E. Survival School a month after he graduated to teach a class on the subject. In “The THRUSH Roulette Affair” he is described as “proficient in Physical Arts, Judo, Karate, Fencing, Sharpshooter,” and references are made in various episodes to his training and expertise.
He dresses more soberly than Solo and in darker colors - his signature costume is black slacks and a black turtleneck, often with his shoulder holster worn outside the sweater. He is generally more ascetic in his tastes than his partner and expresses distaste for extravagance on more than one occasion. His one indulgence is food and his enormous appetite is a recurring joke throughout the series.
Kuryakin is the perfect foil for his more personable, extroverted, risk-taking partner. He is self-contained, practical, taciturn, intellectual, irritable, pessimistic and intense. He is the more athletic of the two agents and also the more ruthless. He possesses a dry sense of humor, a great devotion to duty (which he describes as his only weakness) and a flair for the dramatic which shines through on numerous undercover assignments. On rare occasions it is suggested that a more passionate and sensitive personality lurks beneath his pragmatic exterior. In “The Neptune Affair” he exhibits genuine distress and anger when he describes the threat posed to millions of his countrymen by an attack on the Russian grain harvest. He also displays fierce loyalty to Solo and an enthusiasm for art, music and literature.
was canceled mid-way through its fourth season in 1968. McCallum reprised the role of Kuryakin for a 1983 TV movie The Return of the Man from UNCLE: The Fifteen Years Later Affair.
The character has enjoyed a rich afterlife in the U.N.C.L.E. fandom
particularly in fan fiction
. Kuryakin has been the subject of several popular songs including Alma Cogan
's Love Ya Illya and Ilya Kuryakin Looked at Me penned by Cleaners From Venus. The Argentine rap duo Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas
were named after him. In the 1988 comic Shattered Visage, made as a sequel to the spy show The Prisoner
, Kuryakin and Solo both make cameos at the funeral of a spy, along with John Steed
and Emma Peel
. Kuryakin also inspired the name and character of Simon Illyan
in Lois McMaster Bujold
's award-winning Vorkosigan Saga
science fiction series
Since 2003, McCallum has been playing Dr. Donald 'Ducky' Mallard in the TV series NCIS
. In the Season 2 episode, "Meat Puzzle" around 20 minutes, 50 seconds into the episode, when Agent Jethro Gibbs is asked, "What did Ducky look like when he was younger?," Gibbs responds, "Illya Kuryakin".
In an interview for a Man from U.N.C.L.E. retrospective television special, McCallum told of a visit to the White House
during which, while he was being escorted to meet the President
, a Secret Service
agent told him "You're the reason I got this job."
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
.
The series was remarkable for pairing an American Napoleon Solo
Napoleon Solo
Napoleon Solo is a fictional character from the 1960s TV spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The series was remarkable for pairing the American Solo, played by Robert Vaughn, and the Russian Illya Kuryakin as two spies who work together for an international espionage organisation at the height of...
and the Russian Kuryakin as two spies who work together for an international espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
organisation at the height of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. Kuryakin was played by Scottish actor David McCallum
David McCallum
David Keith McCallum, Jr. is a Scottish actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Illya Kuryakin, a Russian-born secret agent, in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., as interdimensional operative Steel in Sapphire & Steel, and Dr...
.
Background
Although originally conceived as a minor character, Kuryakin, played by David McCallumDavid McCallum
David Keith McCallum, Jr. is a Scottish actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Illya Kuryakin, a Russian-born secret agent, in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., as interdimensional operative Steel in Sapphire & Steel, and Dr...
, became an indispensable part of the show, achieving co-star status with the show’s lead Napoleon Solo
Napoleon Solo
Napoleon Solo is a fictional character from the 1960s TV spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. The series was remarkable for pairing the American Solo, played by Robert Vaughn, and the Russian Illya Kuryakin as two spies who work together for an international espionage organisation at the height of...
played by Robert Vaughn
Robert Vaughn
Robert Francis Vaughn, , is an American actor noted for stage, film and television work. His best known roles include the suave spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., wealthy detective Harry Rule in the 1970s television series The Protectors, Albert Stroller in...
. McCallum’s blond good looks and the enigmatic persona he created for the character garnered him a huge following of female fans. Such was the popular hysteria surrounding him that he was referred to in newspaper reports at the time as ‘the blond Beatle’ or the ‘fifth Beatle’. While playing Kuryakin, McCallum received more fan mail than any other actor in the history of MGM.
Much of the character’s appeal was based on what was ambiguous and enigmatic about him. When an acute reaction to penicillin hospitalized him in the early days of filming, David McCallum took the opportunity to give serious thought to how he might flesh out what was, at that stage, a sketchy peripheral character. The approach he hit upon was to build a persona based on ambiguity and enigma, hiding, rather than revealing, aspects of the agent’s background and personality. McCallum summed up the character in commenting "No one knows what Illya Kuryakin does when he goes home at night."
Nationality
Kuryakin is consistently referred to as a ‘Russian’; however, he appears to have spent at least some of his childhood in KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
(“The Foxes and Hounds Affair”). He is Number Two in Section Two (Operations and Enforcement) at U.N.C.L.E. headquarters in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He seems to be a Soviet of good standing rather than a defector
Defection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
. In “The Neptune Affair” he appears in the uniform of the Russian Navy and is recalled to the USSR to help deal with a crisis. Despite the series being aired at the height of the Cold War, no great issue is made of Kuryakin’s nationality and politics. He expresses socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
sympathies from time to time, particularly in Season One, however in the later seasons his background is rarely mentioned and his accent becomes less pronounced.
McCallum appears to have drawn upon several Hollywood character types and Russian stereotypes in creating Kuryakin. Where Solo is the urbane, charming, romantic lead in the mold of Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
, Kuryakin’s appeal is that of the more dangerous and exotic hero in the tradition of Rudolf Valentino. Kuryakin’s character recalls the brooding, troubled protagonists of Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky was a Russian writer of novels, short stories and essays. He is best known for his novels Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov....
's novels and gestures towards the association of the USSR with scientific research and an earnest, intellectualized popular culture. Other traits which he possesses which recall popular images of Russia are his gymnastic ability, physical courage and taste for chess.
Personality
Almost nothing is known about his family background. No siblings are ever mentioned and next to nothing is known about his life in the USSR. He identifies his father as being "the eleventh son of Kuric," a Gypsy leader ("The Terbuf Affair"). While this could have been a cover story, there is a name link (Kuric / Kuryakin), Kuryakin is an expert on the Gypsy culture and traditions, and Solo makes a reference in one of the spin-off novels to his partner's "Gypsy heritage."Even Kuryakin’s marital status is an open question. In most episodes filmed before mid-1966 he wears a wedding band. In “The Bow Wow Affair” Kuryakin is asked explicitly whether he is married and answers evasively with a quote from Andrew Marvell
Andrew Marvell
Andrew Marvell was an English metaphysical poet, Parliamentarian, and the son of a Church of England clergyman . As a metaphysical poet, he is associated with John Donne and George Herbert...
: "Had I but world enough and time
To His Coy Mistress
To His Coy Mistress is a metaphysical poem written by the British author and statesman Andrew Marvell either during or just before the Interregnum....
". His attitude to women contrasts with that of his partner. They chase him, but he rarely pursues them. His attitude towards romance is pragmatic and he appears to be both amused by and irritated by Solo’s weakness in this regard. However, on the rare occasions when he sets his cap at a woman (“The Double Affair”) he is capable of immense charm.
He holds a Masters degree from the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
and a PhD in Quantum Mechanics
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
from the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, though he admits to not keeping up-to-date with the field ('The Her Master's Voice Affair"). He appears to have been an undergraduate at the University of Georgia in the Ukraine, where he practiced gymnastics ("The Hot Number Affair"). Kuryakin is a polymath
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
. He is well-read in English literature, he has an in-depth knowledge of music and plays the bass viol, the English horn and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
. He also sings. He speaks many languages including French, German and Japanese.
His technical skills are also well honed. He is an explosives expert who stayed on at the U.N.C.L.E. Survival School a month after he graduated to teach a class on the subject. In “The THRUSH Roulette Affair” he is described as “proficient in Physical Arts, Judo, Karate, Fencing, Sharpshooter,” and references are made in various episodes to his training and expertise.
He dresses more soberly than Solo and in darker colors - his signature costume is black slacks and a black turtleneck, often with his shoulder holster worn outside the sweater. He is generally more ascetic in his tastes than his partner and expresses distaste for extravagance on more than one occasion. His one indulgence is food and his enormous appetite is a recurring joke throughout the series.
Kuryakin is the perfect foil for his more personable, extroverted, risk-taking partner. He is self-contained, practical, taciturn, intellectual, irritable, pessimistic and intense. He is the more athletic of the two agents and also the more ruthless. He possesses a dry sense of humor, a great devotion to duty (which he describes as his only weakness) and a flair for the dramatic which shines through on numerous undercover assignments. On rare occasions it is suggested that a more passionate and sensitive personality lurks beneath his pragmatic exterior. In “The Neptune Affair” he exhibits genuine distress and anger when he describes the threat posed to millions of his countrymen by an attack on the Russian grain harvest. He also displays fierce loyalty to Solo and an enthusiasm for art, music and literature.
Afterlife
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
was canceled mid-way through its fourth season in 1968. McCallum reprised the role of Kuryakin for a 1983 TV movie The Return of the Man from UNCLE: The Fifteen Years Later Affair.
The character has enjoyed a rich afterlife in the U.N.C.L.E. fandom
Fandom
Fandom is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest...
particularly in fan fiction
Fan fiction
Fan fiction is a broadly-defined term for fan labor regarding stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator...
. Kuryakin has been the subject of several popular songs including Alma Cogan
Alma Cogan
Alma Cogan was an English singer of traditional pop music in the 1950s and early 1960s. Dubbed "The Girl With the Laugh/Giggle/Chuckle In Her Voice", she was the highest paid British female entertainer of her era...
's Love Ya Illya and Ilya Kuryakin Looked at Me penned by Cleaners From Venus. The Argentine rap duo Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas
Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas
Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas was an Argentine funk duo formed in 1991 by Dante Spinetta and Emmanuel Horvilleur. In 2001 Dante and Emmanuel split to continue their solo careers...
were named after him. In the 1988 comic Shattered Visage, made as a sequel to the spy show The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
, Kuryakin and Solo both make cameos at the funeral of a spy, along with John Steed
John Steed
John Steed is a fictional character and the central protagonist on the popular British series The Avengers and The New Avengers, played by Patrick Macnee and Ralph Fiennes in the movie....
and Emma Peel
Emma Peel
Emma Peel was a fictional spy played by Diana Rigg in the British 1960s adventure television series The Avengers. She was born Emma Knight, the daughter of an industrialist, Sir John Knight.-Casting:...
. Kuryakin also inspired the name and character of Simon Illyan
Simon Illyan
Simon Illyan is a fictional character in the Vorkosigan Saga science fiction novels by Lois McMaster Bujold.- Origin of name :Bujold named the character partly for Illya Kuryakin, a character in The Man from U.N.C.L.E..- Biographical summary :...
in Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold is an American author of science fiction and fantasy works. Bujold is one of the most acclaimed writers in her field, having won the prestigious Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record. Her novella The Mountains of Mourning won both the Hugo...
's award-winning Vorkosigan Saga
Vorkosigan Saga
The Vorkosigan Saga is a series of science fiction novels and short stories set in a common fictional universe by American author Lois McMaster Bujold. Most of these were published between 1986 and 2002, with the exceptions being “Winterfair Gifts” and Cryoburn...
science fiction series
Since 2003, McCallum has been playing Dr. Donald 'Ducky' Mallard in the TV series NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
. In the Season 2 episode, "Meat Puzzle" around 20 minutes, 50 seconds into the episode, when Agent Jethro Gibbs is asked, "What did Ducky look like when he was younger?," Gibbs responds, "Illya Kuryakin".
In an interview for a Man from U.N.C.L.E. retrospective television special, McCallum told of a visit to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
during which, while he was being escorted to meet the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, a Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
agent told him "You're the reason I got this job."