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Community High grad and former U-M musical theater student Odin Biron has become a sitcom superstar in Russia, but he recently made waves when he "came out" by way of a New York Magazine article.

A Community High graduate (and former U-M student) who's the star of a popular sitcom in Russia is now making waves in his adopted country, thanks to his recent decision to "come out" by way of a February article in New York Magazine.

Odin Biron, 30, plays Phil - a naive and overly sunny American fish-out-of-water - on the Russian medical sitcom "Interns." And while American-Russian relations have been approaching Cold War levels of chilliness of late, Biron has become so beloved that a meme making the rounds online in Russia includes a headshot of Biron with this message: "When I ask Satan to kill all Americans, I will ask him to save only one."

Perhaps this is why Biron felt he could take the risk of acknowledging his homosexuality in the American media, thereby flying in the face of Russia's 2013 anti-gay legislation that "prohibits endorsement or public expression of homosexuality in a place where children could be present." Plus, one of Biron's "Interns" co-stars, Ivan Okhlobystin - a nationalist former Orthodox priest who regularly calls for the bombing of America - made international news in 2014 when he said that he would put all gays in an oven and burn them alive.

So Biron has made this admission while working in hostile territory, to say the least.

And though Biron was advised not to take the Metro after the news broke, and the show's fans have expressed a wide variety of responses online - from acceptance to disgust - Biron reportedly made the choice to speak openly about his personal life while also preparing to leave Russia, if necessary, this spring.

"I got in touch with his mom, who lives in New Zealand now, and she told me he was fine," said Ann Arbor actress Naz Edwards, who first got to know, and worked with, Biron when he was a Community High student performing in Pioneer Theatre Guild productions. "He came back to the States for a while, to Minnesota, to go to culinary school, so he's been going back and forth between doing that and going back to shoot the Russian sitcom."

Mark Madama, a U-M professor in the musical theater department, was just surprised to suddenly see Biron appearing in magazines and newspapers.

"I think we were all shocked," said Madama. "It was like, 'Odin - wait, that's our Odin!' ... He's his own person. ... And it's funny. I don't worry for him that much because of who he is."

Biron grew up in a cabin, an hour's drive north of Duluth, Minnesota, and a few years' after his parents divorced, he moved to Ann Arbor with his mom.

"When I met him, he was a sophomore auditioning for 'Guys and Dolls,' and I was just so enamored by this kid," said Edwards, who became Biron's voice teacher - he was her first student - and later cast him as Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof" at PHS.

Biron earned a place (and a free ride) in U-M's nationally recognized musical theater program, but after getting started, the program didn't seem to be the right fit for him.

"It's just true, it really wasn't," said Madama. " ... What he wanted was to be in a black box space 10 hours a day, and at the end of rehearsal, you mop the floors. When he came to see me, at the end of his sophomore year, we talked about it, and I remember saying to him, 'Follow what you want to do, if this isn't speaking to you. And it wasn't."

In 2005, at age 20 (and following his sophomore year at U-M), Biron left America for a study-abroad semester at the legendary Moscow Art Theatre.

"I said, 'Odin, you don't know a word of Russian,' and he said, 'I will,'" Madama said. "He's always been that kind of kid. ... He's always had this fearless, adventurous approach to life. ... And he's incredibly smart."

By semester's end, Biron received an invitation to stay on and study in Moscow - a rare thing - and by the end of his studies, he played Hamlet in a production that traveled to New York.

"Talk about listening to your gut, or listening to your heart," said Edwards, who describes Biron as an "old soul." "He not only had to learn this language, but perform in it. ... He's one remarkable kid."

Edwards has particularly warm memories of Skyping with Biron after he moved to Russia "He said, 'I'm going to take you on a tour of my apartment in Moscow.' I said, 'OK,' and he turned (his computer) so I could see the skyline and lights of Moscow. It was magnificent."

Biron has been in a relationship with a Kazakhstani film director for the past year. And as a nod to Russian stereotypes about America, his character on "Interns," in one episode, tells a series of ever-more-masculine men about being raised by two fathers in America.

"A couple of years ago, I saw a Russian commercial (Biron) did for a kitchen product," Madama said. "The two men were living together, and I think it was pretty clear that it was meant to be a gay relationship. And I thought, 'That's brave of you.'"

Since the New York Magazine article was published, some of Biron's TV co-stars have expressed puzzlement at why he didn't just keep his private life private, saying that the New York Magazine revelation was an unnecessary distraction (implying a culture of "don't ask, don't tell). Plus, according to Edwards (and other articles), Biron may decide to move to Minneapolis for good and focus exclusively on training for new career in the culinary arts.

But no matter where he goes from here, he'll have left his mark on Russian pop culture - and Biron's former teachers understand completely the Russians' unlikely love affair with the young actor.

"He's the most open person I've ever met," said Madama. "There's no pretense about him. He just is who he is, which is full of life, and full of positive energy. ... He's just his open-faced young man whose whole being is open and truthful."

Jenn McKee is an entertainment reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Reach her at jennmckee@mlive.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.