Actor Andrey Ivchenko has been on a difficult health journey since being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that resulted in having half of his pelvis removed and a full hip replacement – but Stranger Things executive producer Shawn Levy and his former costars have been a ray of light in the darkness.
Andrey, who played Grigori in season 3 of the hit Netflix show, exclusively tells Life & Style that he’ll be “forever grateful” for the love and well-wishes he’s received from his Stranger Things family amid his grueling battle against chondrosarcoma — a rare bone cancer that often grows slowly and occurs “most often in the pelvis, hip and shoulder,” according to the Mayo Clinic.
“I was blown away by the overwhelming support from everyone and especially from Shawn Levy,” he says. “I know he is an insanely busy guy and he took the time and sent the sweetest video message to me filled with well wishes and positivity and it just made me so emotional and smiling from ear to ear all at the same time, watching and listening to his uplifting words of kindness and encouragement from my hospital bed.”
Shawn even organized a surprise video from fellow Stranger Things cast members, including Millie Bobby Brown, David Harbour and Brett Gelman. Additionally, Andrey also received other kind messages from Gaten Matarazzo, Priah Ferguson, Gabriella Pizzolo, Randy Havens, Alec Utgoff and Francesca Reale.
‘Stranger Things’ cast
“I hope they all know what an impact they had on me and just how much they made some of my darkest days and pain in the hospital disappear as it was a complete surprise to see them,” he continues. “Their words will be forever with me.”
“I honestly never knew I had such a village or anyone that cared about me to the extent of being shown as much love as they have shown me,” Andrey adds. “It means literally everything to me, and I don’t think I could have gotten through some of those nights without them. I have watched those videos quite a few times over again.”
Andrey also reminisces about his time filming the show, admitting that “every single memory of being on that set is my favorite.”
“If I could bottle it all up and relive it every day I would,” he says.
Among his most favorite moments were shooting his fight scenes with David, who plays Jim Hopper.
“He is a big guy like me, so it was a lot of fun to choreograph and have physical fight scenes with someone your own size,” he explains. “I think it looks really cool on camera too, for the audience to see two, big, strong dudes fighting, because it becomes a fair fight so you can’t really predict who will win at the end.”
As Life & Style previously reported, Andrey exclusively told the outlet that his health journey after his diagnosis with cancer felt “so endless” and had many “ups and downs,” but he’s glad to be “on the other side of the darkness” now.
“Every day I feel a little a little stronger and a little better,” he said at the time. “I am still learning to walk again … so that can be challenging at times when doing the simplest of things I used to take for granted. But, overall I have learned that patience and kindness to yourself is key in all of this.”
