NEWS'Dancing With The Stars' Pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy Quitting Show For Acting Career
Sept. 21 2012, Published 4:29 a.m. ET
Oh say it isn't so! Dancing With The Stars heartthrob Maksim Chmerkovskiy is bidding farewell to the show that made him a household name.
The bad boy of ballroom is planning on hanging up his tap shoes at the end of this round of shows which sees him pairing up once again with Kirstie Alley for the All-Stars season.
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"What else do I have to do there after 15 seasons?" he told the New York Post.
"It makes total sense. The audience can't expect for me to want to stick around, and the producers can't expect for me to want to stick around."
Maks admitted that the dancing professionals sometimes got frustrated with not getting their share of the limelight being partnered with higher-profile celebrities.
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"Essentially 80% of our job is to give somebody another push in their career," he explained. "Or we make them into likable characters. But at the end of the day, they go off and they better themselves. I loved doing it. But to be honest with you, at 32, I am at what-about-me time."
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"I wish them the next 50 years of success. But I have to do something else. I need to move on for me."
Maks is launching an acting career and may even do a reality show with his dancing brother, Val.
He has already landed a lead role in a major studio movie and starts filming in January. The film is a romantic comedy about a Latin dancer "who is a bit of a hustler."
"I never thought I was ready," he said candidly. "Then I had a whole day of reading with the director and casting director, and I enjoyed it so much! I caught the bug, as they say. This is something I really want to do."
Maks currently hosts a game show in the Ukraine and appeared in the country's version of The Bachelor.
Are you sad Maksim is leaving Dancing With The Stars?
The new season of DWTS premieres on Monday September 24 on ABC.
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