BIO

Born in Kiev, Ukraine, formerly a republic of the Soviet Union, Staas Yudenko came to the United States to study Economics at Stanford University in 1997. It is during those years in college that Staas re-discovered his passion for acting. After completing the Economics major in 3 years, Staas took a year of acting classes to hone his craft.

Since his childhood, Staas learned to believe there are no limits. Anything is possible if you really want it. It is this belief that brought him all the way to the US on his own.

Staas was actively involved in various theatrical productions in college, and his success with "Death and The Maiden" landed him an invitation to perform at the International Theatre Festival "The Fringe" in Edinburgh, Scotland. With the Stanford degree under his belt, Staas relocated to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.
After only a month in Los Angeles, a talent management company signed him at the first meeting. The very same day he got an audition and in a day booked a national commercial.

Also, Staas played a supporting role in the horror film "The Jackhammer Massacre," which was picked up for distribution by Artisan/Lions Gate Films and released on DVD. It is now available at Blockbuster.

Staas was a principal actor of the LA-based TV sketch comedy variety show "LA Special," which has been airing on LA channel 36 since August 2003.

Staas has starred in more than 15 independent feature and short-films in Los Angeles, a number of which premiered in various film festivals domestically and internationally and received several awards. He has played a wide range of characters: a boy band wannabe, a priest, a yuppie high school jock, a vengeful friend, a quirky foreign hotel guest, a young mobster, a soldier, a cyborg, CIA and KGB agent and a number of others.

Staas was involved in two successful theater productions: an adaptation of "The Mousetrap" at the Knightsbridge Theatre and "Who Killed Mrs. Bitzer?" at Theatre Unlimited. "The Mousetrap" had such a success that the theater management brought it back for the second run.

Staas is constantly working on improving his acting skills and acquiring new skills. Staas studied with established acting coaches as Brian Reise and Joel Asher in Los Angeles. Staas honed his improvisation talents at the Second City improv. In addition to the scene study and cold reading technique, Staas completed one of the best commercial acting classes in Los Angeles "Hey I saw your commercial!" taught by Michael Pointer. This class was ranked "#1 commercial acting class" by Backstage for the last 2 years.
Staas has also been training in Shaolin Kung Fu at the United Studios of Self Defense and is now a proud owner of the purple belt.

To expand the range of characters, Staas has also mastered American Standard Dialect with outstanding dialect coaches Liz Burnette and Kelly Reiter.
Staas studied with established acting coaches as Brian Reise and Joel Asher in Los Angeles. Staas honed his improvisation talents at the Second City improv. In addition to the scene study and cold reading technique, Staas completed one of the best commercial acting classes in Los Angeles "Hey I saw your commercial!" taught by Michael Pointer. This class was ranked "#1 commercial acting class" by Backstage for the last 2 years.

In addition to pursuing acting career, Staas has founded a successful web-design company www.Stand-Out-Sites.com geared toward the entertainment industry.

Staas is represented by Trio Talent Agency for commercials and print and is currently seeking theatrical representation.