From Russia with love 'ADVENTURE'S IN MY BLOOD'

Victoria's glad she took the leap of faith, even though it was a desperate act

- Catherine Milford

Victoria Haralabidou understands what it means to be diff erent.

A natural adventurer, the Russian-born actor is quirky and funny, and when the Weekly caught up with her at her Gold Coast home to talk about fi lming in New Zealand for her latest movie The Moon is Upside Down, her energy is infectious as she relays the story of her unconventional journey to stardom.

Born in Leningrad – now Saint Petersburg – Victoria grew up in communist Russia, under the rule of Brezhnev and Gorbachev. Lessons included how to use a firearm aged seven and how to hide under tables in case of attack.

“It was all about war in the ’80s,” explains Victoria, who moved to Australia in 2005. “I see the horror in people’s eyes when I tell them. It sounds extraordinary, but that was my normal – I didn’t know any diff erent.

“We’d line up to get food, which was handed over when it was your turn. If we lined up for cheese, we’d get cheese. It wasn’t until we moved to Greece when I was 15 that I learned there were other cheeses! To me, it was just cheese.”

While Victoria now understands her parents, a mechanical engineer and a doctor, left Russia “for a better life”, moving to Greece as a teen was tough.