Why Skender Lulgjuraj From Justified: City Primeval Looks So Familiar
A continuation of the original series, FX's "Justified: City Primeval" takes US Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) into unfamiliar territory – namely Detroit, Michigan – as he takes on murderous outlaw Clement Mansell (Boyd Holbrook). Actor Alexander Pobutsky, meanwhile, will be playing the character of Skender Lulgjuraj.
Nothing's been released by FX yet about Pobutsky's character, but the show is adapting one of Elmore Leonard's novels, 1980's "City Primeval: High Noon in Detroit." In the book, Lulgjuraj is a tough Albanian who's being extorted by Mansell. This kicks off the plot, as homicide detective Raymond Cruz vows to hunt him down. Presumably, however, the protagonist of the show will be Raylan instead of Cruz.
Pobutsky hasn't received a ton of screen credits as of 2023, but he's still had small walk-on roles or guest appearances on Netflix shows, NBC dramas, and Amazon Prime miniseries. "Justified: City Primeval" will be his highest-profile role to date – but here's where else you've seen the young actor.
He was a badly scarred soldier on Ratched
Alexander Pobutsky began acting on screen in 2014, when he appeared in the short film "Ghosts in the Machine." However, his first truly standout role came in 2020 when he appeared as a horrifically burnt soldier on Netflix's "Ratched."
Nurse Ratched (Sarah Paulson) eventually reveals to Nurse Betsy Bucket (Judy Davis) how she was once forced out of the army for euthanizing soldiers. The show features a flashback to Ratched in World War II trying to help badly injured servicemen. One such example is Potbusky's character, who has visible, messy burns all over his body and is in agony. It's a physically demanding performance, and Pobutsky sells the character's misery, as well as why he'd welcome the nurse's offer of death instead of constant, tremendous pain.
After this performance, and the role of "Handsome Fella" on an episode of HBO Max's "Julia," Pobutsky's next role would be much more prominent and even offer his character a distinct name.
Pobutsky plays a crazed drug dealer on The Blacklist
Where Alexander Pobutsky was buried under graphic makeup and didn't have a name on Netflix's "Ratched," his character is the namesake of "The Blacklist" Season 9 episode "Laszlo Jankowics."
Jankowics is the son of another deceased "Blacklist" alum, Hungarian drug lord Marko Jankowics (Arnold Vosloo). The Task Force begins looking for the younger drug dealer after he kills an entire lab of scientists researching hallucinogens. Where Marko was fairly stable, Laszlo has actually done so much LSD he has permanent brain damage. The twitchy criminal is even convinced an actual lion is following him around wherever he goes.
The team discovers Dr. Wallace Avery, the lab's only survivor, was planning to sell Jankowics' product himself. Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader) and Avery create a setup for Jankowics to get arrested and a gunfight ensues. However, when a gun blasts next to Alina Park's (Laura Sohn) ear, her headache returns and Jankowics makes his escape. Hopefully, we can see more of the unpredictable, trigger-happy criminal on the show's 10th and final season.