Isyanov was born in Voskresensk on 20 August 1962, and served in the Soviet Air Force for two years.
He worked for two seasons at a regional theatre in Khabarovsk, before enrolling in the MKhAT Studio-School in Moscow, under Alexander Kalyagin, graduating in 1990.
[2] He also studied three summers overseas at the British American Drama Academy's "Midsummer at Oxford" program in England.
He began his professional career as an ensemble member of the Theatr Clwyd in Wales.
He had a supporting role as Cornelius in Kenneth Branagh's epic adaptation of Hamlet, released the following year.