Rade Šerbedžija in Slow Horses
Rade Šerbedžija plays Nikolai Katinsky in Series 2. His professional credits use the spelling Rade Sherbedgia, so viewers checking the programme against an agency listing may encounter both forms. Katinsky is a former Soviet intelligence officer whose conversations draw Jackson Lamb towards the Cold War’s unfinished business. The performance belongs to the season adapted from Dead Lions.
Šerbedžija makes the early encounters worth watching for the way information is offered. Katinsky can appear helpful without making the conversation comfortable. Beside Gary Oldman, he gives the scene another experienced presence: somebody able to sustain attention through a measured answer rather than a burst of action. His quietness encourages the audience to listen closely to what the apparently straightforward account leaves unresolved.
The Series 2 confrontation
Series 2 performance spoilers
Katinsky’s introduction in From Upshott with Love and the concluding encounter in Old Scores repay comparison. The earlier conversation seems to place him among witnesses to an older world; the finale reveals how actively he has been shaping the present investigation. Šerbedžija allows the same conversational restraint to serve two very different situations.
In the last meeting, the stakes are personal and fatal, but Lamb still behaves with conspicuous everyday informality. Katinsky’s seriousness sharpens that contrast. The scene works through two performers sharing space and knowing more than they initially explain, rather than through an elaborate account of every previous betrayal.
Interview context
Gary Oldman described this finale to TheWrap in June 2023. He explained that he suggested eating crisps while Lamb waited for Katinsky, an addition discussed with director Jeremy Lovering. The detail belongs to Oldman’s account of the scene; it should not be presented as Šerbedžija’s explanation of his own acting choices. It nevertheless offers a specific glimpse of how the encounter’s deliberately unglamorous tone was developed.
Film, television and stage
Before the Rain, released in 1994 and directed by Milcho Manchevski, is a central film credit. Šerbedžija plays the photographer Alexander, whose story forms part of a structure moving between Macedonia and London. Criterion describes the film through its interwoven lives and mounting ethnic and religious conflict. This is a substantial dramatic part, giving viewers much more sustained access to the actor than a short guest appearance.
His international screen work also includes Milich in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, released in 1999, and Boris the Blade in Guy Ritchie’s Snatch, released in 2000. Those two roles sit in markedly different cinematic worlds: one unsettling and dreamlike, the other built around criminal collisions and comic momentum. Seeing them alongside Katinsky makes the changes in pace and social manner especially noticeable.
United Agents lists Prince Kuragin in Downton Abbey, Dmitri Gredenko in 24 and Gregorovitch in the Harry Potter films among his additional credits. Its stage record includes Brecht in Exile and Opera Sarajevo. These credits demonstrate work across theatre, continuing television and large film ensembles without turning a production’s reputation into an unsupported personal award claim.
Where to watch next
Begin with Before the Rain for a major dramatic role, then choose Snatch for a sharply different crime-film rhythm. Eyes Wide Shut offers a third route, with Šerbedžija contributing to Kubrick’s disquieting nocturnal journey.
Questions and answers
Which actor appears as Nikolai Katinsky?
Rade Šerbedžija performs the role; his agency presents his credits under Rade Sherbedgia.
Is Katinsky part of Series 2?
Yes. His storyline is part of the television adaptation of Mick Herron’s Dead Lions.
What role does he have in Snatch?
His credited character is Boris the Blade in Guy Ritchie’s 2000 film.