WEBVTT - Zuzanna Szadkowski Vol. 1 0:00:05.120 --> 0:00:18.040 I'm Susanna Shotkovsky and I played Deronda on Desprol. Welcome back, 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:21.119 listeners to your one and only source into all things 0:00:21.160 --> 0:00:28.720 gossip Girl. You know you love it. XO x oh, hello, 0:00:28.840 --> 0:00:31.760 and welcome back to XO XO everyone. I'm your host, 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:35.520 Jessica's or Okay, so you've been waiting for this one. 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:38.479 I've been waiting for this one. I am beyond excited 0:00:38.520 --> 0:00:43.000 to announce that my guest today is Susanna Shatkovsky, who 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:46.600 played the iconic de Roda on Gossip Girl. And you 0:00:46.640 --> 0:00:49.680 know what, I don't even know where to begin with her, 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:52.600 so we're just going to skip the rewatch today and 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:55.960 just deep dive into her entire gossip Girl journey and 0:00:56.000 --> 0:00:58.920 what made de Roda such an important character on the show. 0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:02.320 Susanna and I were just together in Charleston, South Carolina. 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:04.920 We also were with some of our castmates, Chase Ed 0:01:04.959 --> 0:01:07.720 and Aaron, so to have a little mini reunion and 0:01:07.760 --> 0:01:10.600 get to see some of you amazing fans with such 0:01:10.640 --> 0:01:14.280 a treat and it also leads Susanna coming on the podcast. 0:01:14.319 --> 0:01:17.240 So I'm all smiles over here. And this one is 0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:19.920 so good that we had to split it into two parts, 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:23.080 so this time will cover things like her casting story, 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:27.240 her relationship with Miss Blair, but obviously come back next 0:01:27.280 --> 0:01:31.520 week for more from the one and only Susanna shatkov Ski. 0:01:31.760 --> 0:01:52.840 Here she is everyone, Hi, Hi, Hi. Oh my gosh, 0:01:52.840 --> 0:01:54.320 your baby is so cute. I was looking at your 0:01:54.320 --> 0:01:57.040 Instagram pictures unless she looks just like you, It's insane. 0:01:57.200 --> 0:02:01.120 That's so funny. Everyone keeps saying that I see it, 0:02:01.240 --> 0:02:04.240 and then I'm also like, like, she's your twin. I'm like, 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:06.840 is she though? But I love that. I love that. 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:09.000 I want to be your twin. But wait, can I 0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:14.360 just tell you? Seeing you in Charleston and every like, 0:02:14.400 --> 0:02:17.359 all of us together just made me feel like so 0:02:18.080 --> 0:02:21.519 good on every level, and then having you here today, 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:24.480 I'm just like so thrilled. We've been talking about you 0:02:24.520 --> 0:02:28.800 for months, like from the beginning of the podcast, and 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:30.720 I'm like, I don't think she wants to do it, guys, 0:02:30.720 --> 0:02:33.280 And she's not in She's not down so bad at 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:36.640 Instagram that I didn't see that, And it's like like 0:02:36.680 --> 0:02:39.560 I never look at any messages or anything that I being, like, 0:02:39.800 --> 0:02:42.040 I wish I could be on the podcast. You were 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:44.720 like one of our first people we wanted. That's amazing 0:02:44.800 --> 0:02:49.520 and yeah, well thank you. I'm sorry, I'm so finally. 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:53.400 I know. It's so exciting because you're a legend and 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:59.400 a gangster and such an amazing actor. And here's the 0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:02.959 other thing. Much on top of all of that, you're 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:06.280 just fucking cool, Like you're just a cool person. You've 0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:09.440 got to like a good sense of humor. You're real 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:14.840 like radical and I appreciate because we had not been 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:16.640 around each other in a long time, but I was 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:19.360 just with you many years. I'm like, yo, this girl 0:03:19.520 --> 0:03:22.800 is just she just knows what's up. She's got like 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:26.200 the coolest cute little elphit on. I'm like this, you're 0:03:26.280 --> 0:03:28.840 just read. I do like to think that maybe I'm 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:31.680 a little bit cooler than Deronda on a daily basis. 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:34.760 I mean, I feel like I feel like she has 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:40.680 her her vibe and her style. But you know what, though, 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:44.680 you gave de Rota a real swagger and a real presence. 0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:49.280 But before all of that, tell us where, tell everyone, 0:03:49.320 --> 0:03:54.960 like where you're from? What made you get into acting? Well? Um, yeah, 0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:58.240 so I was actually born in Poland like Deronda. So 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:01.240 that's that's my inn with um and I came here 0:04:01.280 --> 0:04:02.720 when I was little, but I was only three when 0:04:02.720 --> 0:04:04.480 I came to the US. I definitely am more of 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:07.840 a you know, American gal um, but I have a 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:10.880 Polish soul, so I like to maintain that. But I 0:04:10.920 --> 0:04:13.080 grew up in the Midwest. So did you always speak 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:16.279 both languages? Yes, I mean I was already speaking, you know, 0:04:16.279 --> 0:04:18.000 when I was a little baby when we came here 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:20.159 and then so that was really my first language. And 0:04:20.200 --> 0:04:22.160 when I was a kid, I had an accent. So like, 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:24.280 it's so weird because I found a video of myself 0:04:24.320 --> 0:04:26.560 when I was six or seven, and I had a 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:29.320 Polish accent, and so I was like a little Polish baby. 0:04:29.320 --> 0:04:32.320 And I grew up in the Midwest in Indiana, so 0:04:32.520 --> 0:04:35.000 there were not a lot of other Polish babies around. 0:04:35.000 --> 0:04:38.400 So I was like a little a little unusual kid 0:04:38.440 --> 0:04:41.599 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Um, but I learned, you know, 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:45.520 I Americanized pretty quickly, but my parents always pushed me 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:49.640 to maintain my Polish. You know. I had to uh 0:04:49.839 --> 0:04:52.479 read in Polish and write, which I really am grateful 0:04:52.520 --> 0:04:55.560 for now because I use it, you know, professionally, and 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:57.320 I feel like it's an important part of my identity. 0:04:57.360 --> 0:04:59.520 And I'm really grateful for it now. But yeah, but 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:02.719 like talking and speaking like this, it's like wild that 0:05:02.800 --> 0:05:05.039 you're just like, I'll just take this other language, have 0:05:05.120 --> 0:05:08.040 this other act, that be this completely different person from 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:12.680 this other culture. That's like ridiculously right. Well, it's funny 0:05:12.680 --> 0:05:14.640 because it's like I've used my Polish accent as an 0:05:14.640 --> 0:05:19.320 actor so much like my first TV job or jobs 0:05:19.360 --> 0:05:23.000 actually were with Polish or Eastern European accents, and then 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:25.080 I got the Deronda Party, which was another one, and 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:27.599 I didn't have anything with an American accent, you know, 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:32.360 in my whole repertoire until like well into my acting career, 0:05:32.440 --> 0:05:35.240 so it was like, you know, it definitely became a thing. 0:05:35.360 --> 0:05:37.599 But I but I'm you know, I appreciate it, and 0:05:37.600 --> 0:05:40.720 I've always been like, to me, it's been really important 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:45.599 to be authentically Polish for the Polish fans in the world, 0:05:46.000 --> 0:05:49.160 because you know, it is an important part of my identity. 0:05:49.200 --> 0:05:51.640 And you know, my parents had my mom passed away 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:55.920 Uhelve and my dad is um still to this day, 0:05:56.000 --> 0:05:59.120 so many years had they had thick, thick accents that 0:05:59.240 --> 0:06:03.200 never went away. So I had a plenty of experience 0:06:03.240 --> 0:06:07.119 with the extreme polish accent stuff. So that comes pretty 0:06:07.200 --> 0:06:10.880 naturally to me. Right, that's wild. But you went you 0:06:10.960 --> 0:06:15.719 studied acting at Harvard? Yeah, I went to. Let's just okay, 0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:19.880 don't just say yeah like that, you know I did. 0:06:20.760 --> 0:06:24.560 You've never heard of studying acting at Harvard is kind 0:06:24.560 --> 0:06:27.120 of funny because it's like all these Harvard students are 0:06:27.240 --> 0:06:29.560 you know, I have their noses in the books, and 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:32.880 they're like super genious writing, writing amazing papers and thesis 0:06:33.160 --> 0:06:35.720 and all this stuff. And I'm you know, rolling around 0:06:35.720 --> 0:06:37.799 the floor pretending to be an animal or a tree, 0:06:38.160 --> 0:06:41.120 because that's like acting school, even at Harvard is still 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:44.920 acting school, you know. But I did get to. Yeah, 0:06:44.960 --> 0:06:46.560 I was there, and I was on the campus and 0:06:46.600 --> 0:06:49.640 I pretended to be starting pants like the rest of them. 0:06:49.760 --> 0:06:52.080 But you know, no, I went to M. Barner College 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:54.680 in Manhattan as an undergrad, and then I went to 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:57.880 the a Art Institute, which is the acting school at 0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:02.080 Harvard for my graduate school. So sort of ussured me into, 0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:05.480 I guess, my professional career. It was after grad schools 0:07:05.480 --> 0:07:08.960 when I started auditioning and working. So back to New 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:13.080 York City and back to the grind. What made you 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:17.760 like I wanted take on acting. You know, I didn't 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:20.520 my first My first acting experience I think was like 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:24.840 sixth or seventh grade in Indiana in school, and it 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:28.480 was like I auditioned. It was for Diary of Anne 0:07:28.480 --> 0:07:31.840 Frank and I got on the little stage for the audition. 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:33.800 In the minute I opened my mouth, I was like, Oh, 0:07:33.840 --> 0:07:37.040 this is it. I was like, you know, and it 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:40.040 was like, you know, I totally got the bug. And 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:42.080 I'm not sure exactly what it was started. I always 0:07:42.160 --> 0:07:44.360 kind of think my parents were pretty strict because it 0:07:44.400 --> 0:07:47.400 was like I was an only child Polish parents, so 0:07:48.000 --> 0:07:50.800 you know, I wasn't allowed to wear makeup, and I 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:54.320 think part of the appeal as a kid was that 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:56.440 you got to put on all this makeup and be 0:07:56.520 --> 0:08:00.280 fabulous and glamorous. So I think that was like one 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:02.840 of the things I like, which is funny because then 0:08:02.840 --> 0:08:05.720 my acting career was never glamorous again. I mean, not 0:08:05.760 --> 0:08:07.520 that in Frank was, but you know, I did some 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:10.640 musicals and stuff in high school. You know, I had 0:08:10.640 --> 0:08:12.640 really a lot of fun with the sort of not 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:15.920 just being on stage and kind of the fabulous magical transformation, 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:18.760 but also the community feeling of being in the theater like, 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:23.240 I really like that scene, and so I stuck with 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:26.520 it and there was no dissuading me after that. After 0:08:26.560 --> 0:08:30.960 I got a taste of it. That's amazing. You're like, 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:34.000 I'm doing this. Yeah, so you got the bog You 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:38.079 were like great? And how was your family supportive? Indiana 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:41.920 is like the Midwest rid from Like people knew of it, 0:08:41.960 --> 0:08:43.960 but they didn't really like they're like, what what are 0:08:43.960 --> 0:08:46.920 you doing? What? It's a very weird thing. I mean 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:50.000 in high school, I was voted most likely to be famous. It' 0:08:50.040 --> 0:08:52.320 just kind of funny because I am. It was just 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:54.600 because I did all the did all the plays, you know, 0:08:54.679 --> 0:08:56.679 so it's like that was your that was the only, 0:08:58.040 --> 0:09:00.719 you know, kind of way to do it. But um no, 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:03.720 my parents, what happens that they were that that's correct? 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:05.320 Do you go back and like did they win an 0:09:05.320 --> 0:09:10.720 award for like being correct? Well? It was me, all right. 0:09:10.760 --> 0:09:12.840 It was funny because like, yeah, I missed my I 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:15.240 just had my I won't even age myself to tell 0:09:15.280 --> 0:09:17.840 you which anniversary I missed, but they just had like 0:09:17.880 --> 0:09:20.320 the reunion for my high school, like a really big one, 0:09:20.679 --> 0:09:25.600 and I did ten years right yeah, right right there 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:29.360 with you. Oh, but no. But you know, my parents, 0:09:29.679 --> 0:09:32.000 my dad he has PhD in mathematics and he he 0:09:32.120 --> 0:09:34.280 was he worked as a mechanical engineer and my mother 0:09:34.360 --> 0:09:37.200 was biochemists. So for the two of them to have 0:09:37.280 --> 0:09:39.920 an actor daughter was I think a little bit traumatizing. 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:42.920 Not exactly what they were looking for. They're like, who 0:09:42.960 --> 0:09:45.400 are you saving? And how are you changing the world? 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:51.440 And you're like, trust do a math equation? Well, you know, 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:54.080 I do think, you know, they it was a little 0:09:54.120 --> 0:09:56.200 bit of a hard sell at first, but I think 0:09:56.400 --> 0:09:59.400 actually being on television made it a little bit easier 0:09:59.440 --> 0:10:02.040 for them because they could watch me. Because then they 0:10:02.120 --> 0:10:04.480 ended up living in North Carolina, Like they moved there 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:07.240 when I was in college, and so when I was 0:10:07.520 --> 0:10:10.000 in New York working as an actor, the first time 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:12.320 they could see me on it on TV and they 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:14.920 could like show the neighbors. It was like, oh, she's 0:10:14.960 --> 0:10:20.920 actually has a job. It's okay, It's gonna be okay. 0:10:21.080 --> 0:10:23.000 So in the end, I mean, I think, yeah, they 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:25.840 you know, they've always been supportive and loving parents. But 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:27.320 I think that it was a little bit of a 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:29.240 hard cell. I mean, they didn't It wasn't so much 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:30.400 that they gave me a hard time. It was more 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:33.920 that they made fun of me and still do, but 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:38.880 my my fantastical acting aspirations. But I think that they're 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:40.680 happy that I kind of get to, you know, for 0:10:40.800 --> 0:10:43.320 lack of a better word, like see the world and 0:10:43.320 --> 0:10:47.600 and sort of live slash chase my dream, you know, 0:10:47.679 --> 0:10:53.320 depending on the moment. Right, Okay, So your situation for 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:56.280 Gossip Girl, like it was never going to be that 0:10:56.360 --> 0:11:02.200 de Roda was in start to finish, no, first, no, no, 0:11:02.320 --> 0:11:04.920 it was totally unexpected. And I always tell like young 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:08.720 actors that you know, I always my advice is always 0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:11.840 like you never know uh where the character ever know 0:11:11.880 --> 0:11:14.680 where your opportunities lie. You know, you have this idea 0:11:14.760 --> 0:11:16.800 that oh, this is gonna be the job that's it, 0:11:16.960 --> 0:11:18.640 or this is the thing that this is gonna be 0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:20.960 a great gig for me, this is my path, and 0:11:21.000 --> 0:11:23.040 it's always a surprise, like it's never the one you 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:25.240 thought it was. It's always somewhere where you didn't expect 0:11:25.320 --> 0:11:28.559 or see it. Because for me, um the Derotor role 0:11:28.679 --> 0:11:32.800 was an audition for literally it was a possible recurring 0:11:33.559 --> 0:11:41.120 guest star and the breakdown said something like sixty plus 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:46.840 plus housekeeper. Yeah, and there were and there were no 0:11:46.920 --> 0:11:49.360 and I said no lines, and so I was like 0:11:50.000 --> 0:11:54.000 Rota was sixty five years old and a mute, silent Yeah, yeah, 0:11:54.080 --> 0:11:55.680 there are no lines in the There were no lines 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:57.440 in the first episode. And it was like, by the way, 0:11:57.520 --> 0:12:01.559 there's so without Derota, so was no gossip Girl. Basically 0:12:02.320 --> 0:12:05.240 it was gone, I'm I'm dropping the bike dub with 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:09.440 the podcast, like no gossip Girl exists. Yeah, So it 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:10.880 was like they were so basically it was like a 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:13.920 possibly going to recur housekeeper who didn't have any lines 0:12:13.960 --> 0:12:15.400 and they were looking for an older woman. But the 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:18.800 only keyword, the only reason I even popped up, you know, 0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:21.720 my agents even submitted me was the Polish part. I 0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:24.760 had just played a Polish housekeeper and the Sopranos, like 0:12:24.800 --> 0:12:27.240 in the final season this little show no one's ever 0:12:27.280 --> 0:12:31.200 heard of that basically television a tiny part because then 0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:33.520 like they had a really cool Polish housekeeper who did 0:12:33.559 --> 0:12:35.840 a lot of stuff on that show, but that wasn't me. 0:12:36.200 --> 0:12:38.160 And then in the final season when she was gone, 0:12:38.240 --> 0:12:42.040 I played, uh, the Polish housekeeper for Carmel and Tony 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:44.480 for like three episodes. But I said a couple of 0:12:44.520 --> 0:12:47.600 lines to Tony which was actually really thrilling, you know really, 0:12:47.640 --> 0:12:50.839 and I'm like, you know, and he was really and 0:12:51.200 --> 0:12:52.760 James sandal Pine, he was really nice to me and 0:12:52.760 --> 0:12:54.280 he said I had a good accent and that I 0:12:54.360 --> 0:12:58.080 was very good, and I was like so exciting. But 0:12:58.080 --> 0:13:00.360 but it had just happened right before the gospel auditions, 0:13:00.360 --> 0:13:01.880 so they were like, well, they know you you can 0:13:01.920 --> 0:13:05.440 do a Polish maid, and they know you're not sixty five. 0:13:05.480 --> 0:13:08.360 And in fact, like this always shocks people. But when 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:12.200 we started Gossipel, I was twenty eight, and I love 0:13:12.240 --> 0:13:17.440 it because when you really look you don't like very young, 0:13:18.360 --> 0:13:22.000 but people in person maybe say, oh, you look younger. 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:24.040 But the contrast and like what they did with the character, 0:13:24.080 --> 0:13:26.640 it just made me seem like right, and we're in 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:31.600 a high yeah, yeah, like you and you're you know, 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:34.839 sixteen at the time. Yeah yeah, I supposed to be 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:36.400 like raising her. Yeah. And the thing is like we 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:39.040 always had all these lines about de Roto going to 0:13:39.120 --> 0:13:41.599 feed ducks in Central Park with Blair when she was 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:44.439 a baby, and I was like, yes, Deronto was twelve, 0:13:44.880 --> 0:13:49.079 you know, but anyway, literally Deronda was learning how to 0:13:49.120 --> 0:13:53.760 walk as well. Don't worry. It's like Hollywood magic. But anyway, 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:55.280 so I went in for an audition and I had 0:13:56.080 --> 0:13:59.160 there were no lines, So what do you like, you know, 0:13:59.400 --> 0:14:04.520 just the different literally yes, literally for the audition, they said, 0:14:04.920 --> 0:14:07.840 you know, improvised, like you're serving breakfast to some rich kids. 0:14:09.240 --> 0:14:14.839 And I was like okay, um, And in the lobby right, well, 0:14:14.840 --> 0:14:15.959 that's the thing is, I was like, I gotta do 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:18.400 something with personality, and so like when I signed in 0:14:18.400 --> 0:14:20.400 in the lobby and you know the actors, I'll sign 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:22.480 in a sheet and I saw that I was the 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:25.440 only one with a Polish name, so I was like, oh, 0:14:25.440 --> 0:14:28.920 I'm probably the only like, you know, legit pole in here. 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:31.960 So I figured let me lean into that. So when 0:14:31.960 --> 0:14:35.200 I did the audition, I sort of improvised and I 0:14:35.240 --> 0:14:38.160 was like mumbling and talking to myself in Polish, like 0:14:38.200 --> 0:14:44.000 in a sort of like uh, you know, brilliant. I 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:46.960 love that. And I did it for so long and 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:49.760 I think it was I'm pretty sure it was Mark Pisnarski, 0:14:49.880 --> 0:14:52.200 who was like who did the pilot and had directed 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:53.720 the pilot, but this I wasn't in the pilot, was 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:55.280 in the second episode. But I remember they let me 0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:58.720 go on and on for you're just talking to yourself. 0:14:59.080 --> 0:15:02.000 I'm just walking around out of polish, cursing and you know, 0:15:02.520 --> 0:15:06.040 roll in my eyes. And and then I left. And 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:08.280 it was funny because I got the part, and I 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:10.840 didn't really think that was that. I was like, oh, okay, 0:15:10.880 --> 0:15:13.520 I mean it's like no lines, like whatever. And my 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:16.080 agent said, you know, it's gonna probably be a good, 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:19.280 big show because it's based on a very popular book series. 0:15:19.800 --> 0:15:23.760 And I thought another hit show. You're like, yeah, And 0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:25.520 I didn't really know anything because I was just like 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:27.920 I never knew anything about anything I was, which is 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:31.160 also always good. I really am the same. Yeah, And 0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:33.040 I've talked to I mean, I've heard I've listened to 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:35.200 your podcast. I'm a big fan, and I've heard a 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:37.000 lot of people can't talk with you about you know, 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:41.720 this idea that um, you know in this business, you know, 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:43.880 either make a pilot that will the pilot go? Who 0:15:43.920 --> 0:15:47.120 knows will when we recast? Will it one continue? Will 0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:49.680 the show get picked up? Like all of the variables 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:52.880 and uncertainty, the fact that any show ever goes at all, 0:15:53.040 --> 0:15:55.680 much less that it becomes popular, much less that it continues, 0:15:56.120 --> 0:15:58.320 much less that in that it then becomes part of 0:15:58.360 --> 0:16:01.400 the Zeitgeister and you know, part of pop culture over time. 0:16:01.440 --> 0:16:05.040 Like it's just so many phenomenal things one after the 0:16:05.040 --> 0:16:06.800 other with the show that I didn't even know to 0:16:06.880 --> 0:16:09.040 worry about. Like when we were talking show, I never 0:16:09.080 --> 0:16:11.600 even occurred to me to worry that they wouldn't renew 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:13.760 it or you know, I was always on the ride, 0:16:13.840 --> 0:16:16.640 you know, I'm just gonna talk to myself and the 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:19.920 most favorite pends on the show. No. But it was 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:21.880 like I just always was, you know. And the thing 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:24.000 for me is that I was always scared I would 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:26.240 never that they would never have me back. So it 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:29.120 was like in the beginning, I as Dorota's character sort 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:32.400 of grew over time. I never every single script, I 0:16:32.480 --> 0:16:34.600 was like, I hope they didn't kill me off or 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:36.480 get rid of me. So I was like, I was 0:16:36.520 --> 0:16:39.440 like waiting for that to happen for six seasons. UM. 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:43.280 So I never really even felt super comfortable in it. Um. 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:44.840 But yeah. But the funny part was the one I got, 0:16:44.840 --> 0:16:46.360 the part they called me and said, you know, you 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:50.040 got the the show, And I text message my boyfriend 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:53.240 at the time and I said I got Gossip Girl 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:55.520 and he wrote back he was like, did you mean 0:16:55.520 --> 0:16:57.200 this for somebody else? Because he thought I met I 0:16:57.280 --> 0:17:03.040 got Gossip Girl, Like, hey all, I got got yeah, 0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:04.879 And I was like, no, no, I got the show 0:17:04.960 --> 0:17:20.800 calling off Girl. It was I showed up and my 0:17:20.880 --> 0:17:24.600 first scene was with Layton. It was like a really 0:17:24.600 --> 0:17:27.000 cool reveal for my character because it was like Lara's 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:30.800 speaking kind of lamenting about her day and her troubles, 0:17:31.320 --> 0:17:34.720 and it looks like she must be talking to her 0:17:34.720 --> 0:17:36.720 mother because he would only speak to your mother that way. 0:17:37.160 --> 0:17:41.160 And then when they shot reverses, you see that it's 0:17:41.200 --> 0:17:44.120 the housekeeper. And so even though the housekeeper had no lines, 0:17:44.160 --> 0:17:46.640 you could see that, like, this is in this girl's life, 0:17:46.640 --> 0:17:49.640 This is who she has to you know this, Yeah, 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:52.640 this is her maternal figure, and like this is kind 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:55.800 of you know, where she is um in terms of 0:17:55.800 --> 0:17:59.240 her relationships her own mother. So it was automatically kind 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:02.840 of set up in that way, and I think, you know, 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:07.760 the the relationship between Blaren Dorota sort of grew, sort 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:09.560 of it grew organically, and then we had so much 0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:12.720 fun with it, and then all this kind of silly 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:15.800 uh stuff started getting introduced. I remember the first episode 0:18:15.840 --> 0:18:18.240 where it was like a funny thing happened for Deronda 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:23.159 was that Cyndy Lapper came in and and and Blair 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:25.439 wants to run off after Chuck or something, and then 0:18:25.480 --> 0:18:29.000 so she ends up pushing Dorota on Cyndi Lauper like 0:18:29.040 --> 0:18:31.639 She's like, you know, Derote is your biggest fan. And 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:33.680 I had this like fantastic scene with Cyndy Lapper where 0:18:33.680 --> 0:18:35.760 I had to like, you know, freak out over her. 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:38.240 And so Throtta all of a sudden started having a 0:18:38.240 --> 0:18:40.520 little you know, funny things to do, and I think 0:18:40.560 --> 0:18:44.640 over time it started to to grow. Yeah, oh my god, 0:18:44.680 --> 0:18:49.159 I love that love. And honestly, like when Norman Buckley 0:18:49.200 --> 0:18:53.800 was on he was talking about yeah, yeah, where he 0:18:53.840 --> 0:18:56.080 was like, you guys have to kind of lead into 0:18:56.119 --> 0:19:00.760 this relationship because of the way Blair's relationship with her mother, 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:04.760 there has to be this thing. Basically, he was saying, 0:19:04.760 --> 0:19:08.879 you guys have to explore this relationship right now. He 0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:10.720 really was the guy. I mean, he and I know 0:19:10.760 --> 0:19:13.080 you talked about this in the podcast, but he was 0:19:13.160 --> 0:19:17.320 the one who really re established the possibilities for Dorota 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:20.800 because he switched up this scene where Margaret it was 0:19:20.840 --> 0:19:24.000 written for um Claire's mom and then he made it 0:19:24.080 --> 0:19:26.040 all of a sudden because of him and his collaboration 0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:30.000 with the writers and producers, it became Derota scene and 0:19:30.040 --> 0:19:32.159 it was really what to find that role all of 0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:35.240 a sudden. It came from like an implied possibility to 0:19:35.359 --> 0:19:38.240 a reality, and so he opened that door and it 0:19:38.320 --> 0:19:41.000 was such a huge moment. It happens sometimes as an 0:19:41.000 --> 0:19:44.000 actor where you have, uh, you know, you're sort of 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:45.760 doing your work over here on the side, and then 0:19:45.760 --> 0:19:47.920 you kind of get a door that you can step through, 0:19:48.119 --> 0:19:49.840 you know, and somebody has to open that up for you. 0:19:49.880 --> 0:19:52.040 And it was for me and for Dorota it was 0:19:52.440 --> 0:19:55.520 it literally just kind google down my whole body right now. 0:19:56.920 --> 0:20:01.320 So cool. There's something so lovable and wonderful that you 0:20:02.080 --> 0:20:05.359 do and bring to Deronda. The way you are balancing 0:20:05.440 --> 0:20:08.320 all these kids that are trying to deal with all 0:20:08.320 --> 0:20:14.119 these crazy emotions and money and wild, wild stuff. The 0:20:14.200 --> 0:20:18.399 way that you played it, it's just it's it's really great. 0:20:18.480 --> 0:20:20.640 I'm like so happy that I'm watching it now because 0:20:20.640 --> 0:20:24.320 I'm like, really, what you did with this role is amazing, 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:27.920 Like you should really honestly win like an award. Oh 0:20:27.960 --> 0:20:30.199 my god, that's well, I already have because of just 0:20:30.280 --> 0:20:33.119 the nice things you're saying that means really means a 0:20:33.359 --> 0:20:35.879 serious you know. Part of it, I think is that 0:20:36.000 --> 0:20:39.680 like as an actor, it's like when I look at 0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:42.280 Rona or As as that role was started developing and 0:20:42.320 --> 0:20:44.760 those relationships with developing, it was like she was such 0:20:44.800 --> 0:20:47.879 an easy and fulfilling characters played because she was like 0:20:48.200 --> 0:20:51.840 all heart. So it's like the fact that um, I 0:20:51.840 --> 0:20:54.880 think in a way she's functioned like dramaturgically, is sort 0:20:54.920 --> 0:20:57.000 of like a moral center for that universe, you know, 0:20:57.040 --> 0:20:58.960 because of just her position. You know. So it's like 0:20:59.000 --> 0:21:01.399 all this drama was happening around her. She was the housekeeper. 0:21:01.760 --> 0:21:03.879 But then in terms of her relationship with all the 0:21:04.240 --> 0:21:09.879 you know kids, Uh, it was like she just loved 0:21:09.920 --> 0:21:11.800 Blair and she was going to protect Blair and she 0:21:12.040 --> 0:21:14.520 because of that, she loved Mr Chunk and she loved 0:21:15.359 --> 0:21:17.560 and everybody you know, yeah, you know. So it was 0:21:17.640 --> 0:21:20.560 like so it all came from that very maternal, like 0:21:21.119 --> 0:21:24.359 very sort of um simple and deep deep deep like 0:21:24.480 --> 0:21:27.480 maternal love center that she had, and so it was 0:21:27.560 --> 0:21:29.760 kind of easy and fun. And it's like I can 0:21:29.800 --> 0:21:31.600 relate to some of that. Some of that's very different 0:21:31.640 --> 0:21:35.280 from me but you know, she um, it was always easy, 0:21:35.320 --> 0:21:37.240