David Nykl (born 7 February 1967) is a Czech-Canadian actor who has worked in film, television, commercials and theater. He is best known for portraying Dr. Radek Zelenka in the SyFy television series Stargate Atlantis and Anatoly Knyazev in the DC Comics series Arrow.
Early life and education Nykl was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, to a nurse mother and a structural engineer father. After the Soviet invasion in 1968, he and his family left then-Communist Czechoslovakia for Canada. Upon arriving at Victoria, British Columbia, Nykl briefly attended the University of British Columbia, where he majored in liberal arts and marketing, but did not graduate.
Career
Nykl has appeared frequently in Vancouver and Prague in dozens of theater, film and television productions. Known for his versatility and depth as an actor, he has also produced theatre and film projects, and in 1994, he co-founded Prague's Misery Loves Company Theatre with Richard Toth and Ewan McLaren.
Nykl is known to science fiction fans as the recurring Stargate Atlantis character of Dr. Radek Zelenka, a Czech scientist on Earth's expedition to the "lost city" of Atlantis. His character is often seen working with the main scientist Dr. Rodney McKay, with their disagreements recurring throughout the series. He also played the role in the Stargate SG-1 episode "The Pegasus Project".
Nykl is fluent in Czech, English, French and Spanish. Though his character on Stargate Atlantis speaks English with a Czech accent, Nykl normally speaks with a Canadian accent. Whenever Zelenka spoke Czech in Stargate Atlantis, Nykl was given the lines in English, and he translated them.
In 2012 he made a brief guest appearance on "Once Upon A Time" as dock man turned fish by evil Cora.
Personal life He has three children: daughters Judi and Maddie, and son Sam.
Filmography Actor Year Title Media Role Notes 1988 Danger Bay TV series Peter 1993 Strangeview Feature Trucker's Friend David Feature Bob 1995 Sacred Cargo Feature Brother Alexis 1996 Hidden in Silence TV movie Henek 5 Stunden Angst – Geiselnahme im Kindergarten Feature "Drops" Crackerjack 2 Feature Cavanaugh 1997 Snow White: A Tale of Terror Feature Unknown 1998 Prague Duet Feature The Journalist The Barber of Siberia Feature Unknown Operation Noah TV movie PR Man Act of War Feature George Willmont Česká soda Feature Unknown Blumenstein Fernand – bláznův příběh Feature voice Hell Mountain Feature First Corridor Guard Escape Velocity Feature Father Russell Pat & Mat TV series Pat 1 episode – "Playing Cards" 1999 Loves Lies Bleeding Feature Fraser Joan of Arc TV series Duke of Luxembourg Praha očima − Prague Stories Feature Honza 2000 Jack London's Call of the Wild TV series Settler The Scarlet Pimpernel TV series Robespierre's Barber 2001 Béčka Feature Unknown Seven Days TV series Yuri 2002 The Dead Zone TV series The Waiter My Guide to Becoming a Rock Star TV series Dancing Potato 2003 Jake 2.0 TV series Vasily Stealing Sinatra TV movie The Valet 2004 Spare Change Short film Joel 2004–2009 Stargate: Atlantis TV series Dr. Radek Zelenka recurring, 55 episodes 2005 Masters of Horror TV series CSI Pterodactyl Feature film Herbert Behind the Camera: Mork & Mindy TV movie John Byner Cold Squad TV series Bernhardt 2006 Psych TV series Events Coordinator in "Shawn vs. the Red Phantom" Stargate SG-1 TV series Dr. Radek Zelenka 1 episode – "The Pegasus Project" Merlin's Apprentice TV series Brianna's Father 2007 Eureka TV series Dr. Steven Whiticus 2008 Sanctuary TV series Strickland The Beast of Bottomless Lake Feature Unknown The Seamstress Feature film Donny Platt 2009 Encounter with Danger TV movie Elliott Maine Helen TV series John 2010 Fringe TV series Reverend Marcus Human Target TV series Vincent Morgan 2012 Christmas Miracle Film Drake Camera Shy Film Cliff Gardner2013Once Upon A TimeTV seriesMan on dock1 episode – "The Cricket Game" 2013–2020 Arrow TV series Anatoli Knyazev recurring 2014 Supernatural TV series Lester Morris 2015 Air Film Sleeper 1 2018 Salvation TV series Czech Rep 1 episode – "Détente" 2019 Superior Donuts Play Arthur 2019 The Sleepers () TV series Gerald Lloyd 2025 Resident Alien TV series Gary Episode: "Soul Providers"
References
External links Official Site Letters from Pegasus