Sanzhar Madi

Sanzhar Madi (also credited as Sanzhar Madiyev; Санжар Мади) is a Kazakhstani screen actor and director, born on August 4, 1986, in Alma-Ata (now Almaty), then part of the USSR and today in Kazakhstan. Known for his versatile presence in contemporary Kazakh cinema, he has built a career that spans action, drama, and family-oriented storytelling.

Madi’s path to film began while he was still at university: during his second year, he started appearing in commercials, gaining on-camera experience that helped open doors to larger projects. His feature breakthrough arrived in 2009, when he landed a leading role in Kuat Isaev’s detective action film The Other Side, marking his official big-screen debut.

Since then, he has continued to expand his filmography with notable credits including Ademoka’s Education (as an English teacher), Six Degrees of Celebration 2, The Book of Legends: The Mysterious Forest, Return, Hunting the Phantom (as Timur), Rise of the Conqueror (as Jasur), The Wife, and Mountain Onion (as Uncle Vitya). Across these roles, Sanzhar Madi remains a recognizable face of modern Kazakh screen culture.