Beka Sikharulidze

Baka Sikharulidze is a Georgian-American actor, director and producer. He was born in Tbilisi, Georgia (former part of the Soviet Union). He was raised in an artistic family, as his father, Givi Sikharulidze is one of the most prominent actor, writer and choreographer in Georgia. Beka's mother, Rusudan Sikharulidze, was a doctor and the nurturing strength of this artistic family. At an early age Beka was introduced to various sports. During that time, he was one of the lead dancers in his father's Georgian National Folk Dancing Company and toured all over the world. At the age of 13, he retired from dancing to devote his time to Tennis. He participated in numerous tournaments all over the world and succeeded in becoming a national junior champion in both singles and doubles. Shortly thereafter he developed a keen interest in Boxing, Arm Wrestling and Martial Arts (Karate, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Jiu-Jitsu). At 17, he was in the Georgian Professional Arm Wrestling Federation and was chosen as one of two juniors selected for the national team. By the age of 19, he became a black belt in full contact karate - Goju-ryu style. He practiced Kyokushinkai style karate and Japanese Swordsmanship. In 1997 Beka trained the Presidential Security Service in unarmed combat. Also, he was the personal bodyguard to the Police Commissioner of the city of Tbilisi, Georgia. In 1998 Beka toured the United States for the World Championship in Full Contact Karate and seized the opportunity to stay and settle in Los Angeles, CA. Within a few years, Beka had founded the "Beka Tennis Academy" and was coaching the top 50 ATP professional as well as the top National and International Juniors. He also trained numerous Hollywood celebrities for various movie, television and commercial roles. With his successful sports career, Beka began to explore his artistic side. His appreciation for film was inspired by such great directors as William Wyler, Vittorio De Sica, Majid Majidi, and Yasujirô Ozu. Actors like Marlon Brando, Jean Gabin, Charlton Heston and Al Pacino have also been inspirational in shaping Beka's craft. He studied acting at the Berg Studio with Gregory Berger-Sobeck in Hollywood, CA. After that he was mastering his craft with one of the Hollywood's top acting coaches, Ivana Chubbuck. He has been a member of the Screen Actors Guild/ AFTRA since 2004 and has appeared in numerous films, both in Hollywood and Europe, including his first internationally acclaimed film, L'héritage (2006), (The Legacy), which won the Sundance Special Jury Prize Award in 2007. In 2009 he went on to study directing at the New York Film Academy and continued his directorial education at UCLA. In 2014 Beka launched his film production company, "Beka Film Productions" LLC in Tbilisi, Georgia. In the same year, he wrote, directed and produced his first short film Grandpa's Debtor (2015) based on his father's short story. He also starred as the leading character. Grandpa's Debtor has achieved worldwide success and won seven International Film Festival Awards. The movie has been purchased by the Eurochannel and has been aired for two years in 86 countries worldwide. In 2019 he wrote and directed his first feature drama From Life to Life in Tbilisi, Georgia. In November, 2019 Beka has been appointed as official representative of Georgian Film Academy in the United States of America and Canada. Beka has a Bachelor's Degree in Public Relations. He is fluent in Georgian, English, Russian Languages and familiar with Spanish language. Beka is married to Maia Gusharashvili and they have two children.