Ukrainian actress in Hollywood: about borscht, Mile Kunis and the conquest of America
'30.07.2019'
ForumDaily Woman
21-year-old Ivanna Sakhno can be remembered by the viewer from such popular films as the blockbuster “Pacific Rim. Rebellion ”(directed by Stephen S. DeKnight) and“ The Spy Who Dumped Me ”(from director Susan Vogel). The actress talked about how she managed to conquer producers and directors in Hollywood, about her relationship with Ukrainian Mila Kunis, her favorite Ukrainian dish and acting.
The Ukrainian woman became famous all over the world after the role of cadet Victoria in the blockbuster “Pacific Rim: Uprising”. Immediately after working on the film, Ivanna's career went up sharply, writes Voice of America.
“To be a Ukrainian girl who came to Los Angeles ... At first I took all the auditions that only I was given. I was given some options, and I said: yes, yes, I will go to all the auditions, ”recalls Ivanna.
Ivanna's family are TV people. Mom - director, dad-operator. But the young star has always seen herself in Hollywood. When she turned 15, Ivanna went to Vancouver to study the language and met the casting director there. Then she arrived in Los Angeles and went to the first test.
“I was in Los Angeles, and for some reason at some point I felt that I needed to go to New York, I just had the feeling that I needed to go there. So I packed one bag and told my parents that I was going to New York, I was 17 years old. At the same moment, the same evening, I bought a ticket, got on a plane. Arriving in New York, I did not know where to spend the night, I called my friends, they invited me to sleep on their couch, and I already told my agent that I would be in New York, and literally the next morning she sent me to one casting, ”says Ivanna.
So the actress first got a role in American cinema. It was a low-budget horror film. But the Ukrainian woman was noticed and later she was invited to the “Pacific Rim”.
“Such projects usually open doors at a meeting with directors whom you could not meet before, because these directors already know about you,” the girl says.
Ivanna's second major role was in The Spy Who Dumped Me, starring Mila Kunis, released in August 2018.
On the subject: 'It's all over between us': Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher answered the rumors of a divorce. VIDEO
“I need to speak perfect English to get my message across to people. But the part of Ukraine that I have, I am very proud of it and I try to tell as many people as possible about my country, to tell what is happening right now politically and happened earlier, to talk about history, customs and traditions, ”shares Ivanna ...
In July, 2019, Ivanna Sakhno joined the jury of the International Competition Program at the tenth Odessa International Film Festival. ICTV Facts The actress took an exclusive interview.
Which directors would you like to work with the most in the future?
- Of course, there are classics that we all know, with whom I want to work - David Lynch, Martin Scorsese - these are the people on whose films I grew up. But there are also young filmmakers who are just starting, and cooperation with them is also very necessary and interesting.
For example, Israeli director Alma Harel, who was born in Israel and moved to Los Angeles. She also started from scratch, and now she is helping other women directors by developing a platform for collaboration and creating projects. This year, her Honey Boy (2019) film is coming out in broad distribution, and I think everyone will be delighted with it.
In The Spy Who Dumped Me, you worked with Mila Kunis. How did your relationship develop?
- Great, because we are united not only by the fact that we worked on one project, but also by our childhood and the country we came from. Even such details as the cinema "Ukraine" in Chernivtsi - she remembered that as a child she watched films there with her family, just like me. Such small details of our life are very valuable. Mila understands Ukrainian, although she speaks Russian, since since childhood it was her parents' choice of what language to speak. Like her husband Ashton Kutcher, she wants their children to be able to speak the language of Mila's childhood.
On the subject: From Ukraine to Hollywood: How Mila Kunis Started
Your familiar Ukrainian actors do not ask for help or advice, how to start in Hollywood?
- Of course - this is a familiar topic in a conversation with my friends, so I also ask them about things that interest me. They ask how to start and how to gain a foothold abroad in the acting craft.
Ready to cooperate with Ukrainian directors?
- It was always my desire to cooperate with Ukrainian directors, and it happened. The film in which I starred with a Ukrainian director is the production of Ukraine and America, and one day you will be able to see it.
Are there films you refuse and why?
- Of course have. It depends on the project, and the reasons are different - the discrepancy in the worldview with the team.
Each project starts with a script. Sometimes it is written 10, 20 years - this time. And an actor must understand that not every project is possible for you. If you do not fully feel it, then it is better to give a chance to a person for whom this project will be more necessary.
Ready for a radical change in appearance for the role?
- For me this is a very interesting feature of the work on the hero. I have already cut my hair, my hair used to be long. I also lost a lot of weight for the movie The Spy Who Dumped Me. This is all an integral part of the acting profession.
What is being said about Ukraine in the USA? And do you follow the situation in Ukraine?
“Of course, I’m following, perhaps, not so often I have to read some articles in Ukrainian, but this topic is especially political now and is an integral part of a conversation with my friends.” I would like, of course, to talk more about Ukraine in the United States.
What makes you happy?
- Self-development, which helps me to understand myself better as a person. And borsch makes me happy too, honestly. Borsch brings me to the state of Zen, but I try the first spoonful of borscht - all the problems of the world fade into the background.
