When we watch an actor perform a powerful scene on the screen, don’t we ask ourselves, how they did it so convincingly? The emotion is so visceral and it can move an entire audience to tears, laughter or shock! There is true power in an artist’s hands when they can deliver a line 50 different ways, but to hit a home run when bases are loaded is pure magic, pure elation and the reason we go to the movie theatre. Escapism allows us a window into a story that we get to live in, for a brief 2-3 hours… with our popcorn. When the story and the characters make you forget that you’re in a theatre with 200 other people, only then can you let yourself seep into the world of escapism. Dance in the rain without getting wet, jump over the fire without fear of burning and get on that stage and sing your heart out using Whitney Houston’s voice. Movies allow you that freedom to lose yourself in the story and experience emotion that our routine lives fail to expose.
One such actor that is always raising the bar in performances is Andrea Stefancikova. A true artist that has worked with the best and has earned her seat at the table. She is not afraid to take on complicated characters with multiple layers. Most actors seek out roles that will challenge them, they want to feel uncomfortable in someone else’s skin and they also get to escape for awhile, to become the villain, the hero, the detective or lover. With a lifetime of incredible and sometimes astonishing experiences, Andrea is well equipped to tap into a treasure trove of emotion that can’t be imitated. Her performance in Promiseland has earned Andrea a ‘Stars to Watch’ Award at the Whistler Film Festival and her name should be on every producers/directors top ten roster.
Andreas latest project AMERICAN BADGER prepares for its release in the US on June 15th, 2021. Originally born and raised in then-communist Czechoslovakia, Andrea has settled in Vancouver to pursue her acting and modeling career. Best known for her starring roles in, KIDNAPPED IN ROMANIA, where she starred alongside actor, Michael Madsen (The Hateful Eight, Kill Bill: Volume 1). You can now see Andrea in the NBC sci-fi hit TV show, DEBRIS. Although the finale was on Monday, May 24, I believe it will be back for a second season. The cast is outstanding and it’s created by the legendary J. H. Wyman. Andrea plays a Russian operative involved with 2-time Tony Award winning actor Norbert Leo Butz (Craig Maddox).
With life experiences that have seen her face down a kidnapping in Istanbul at 19, a runway model that has lived around the world and been in a relationship with some of Hollywood’s hottest stars… her life struggles and triumphs have shaped this incredibly talented actress to heights that have no ceiling. As she pursues her acting, she never forgets the struggles in her life and how she came through the other side. She has become an advocate for drug addiction, mental illness, sexism and positive change. She has picked up the torch and relit it where others could not. I am so impressed with this actor and humanitarian that keeps giving back. Andrea Stefancikova checks off all the boxes and even adds a few more… but that’s another story.
Andrea’s latest lead role as an abused call girl, Marcella Horvathova/Velvet in Kirk Caouette’s AMERICAN BADGER has pushed her acting to an entirely new level of high intensity action packed drama. Male lead actor, Kirk Caouette, plays Dean, a.k.a Badger, a seemingly cold-blooded hitman and reclusive widower whose latest order is to befriend Andrea’s character (Velvet), but all hell breaks loose when he’s forced to kill her. It doesn’t get more intense and Andrea’s performance is Award worthy.
AMERICAN BADGER trailer: https://youtu.be/__nnReOXx0g
I had the incredible privilege of speaking with this enormous talent and here is that conversation…
HNMAG “Your co-star/director in American Badger has some pretty good martial arts skills. Do you also do martial arts?”
ANDREA “(Laughing) No, I have a dance background. When I was younger I would go watch my brother practice karate, then he would practice on me (laughing). They did train me in the film but on the guns and how to move.”
HNMAG “American Badger is your second film with writer/director/actor Kirk Caouette. How did you both begin working together?”
ANDREA “We were introduced by a mutual industry friend. Kirk never heard of me before, but he did send me his script, we then spoke on the phone about it and my take on the character, he invited me to audition, and the rest is history.”
HNMAG “This film is action packed with fighting and shooting… but there is the story of an abused call-girl at the heart of it. When you play a multi-layered character like this, is it easy to shed the nuances of the character after a wrap or is there residual emotion attached for days or weeks?”
ANDREA “It really depends on the character of the process used for preparation. I definitely had a “character hang-over” after this one, and I did seek some professional help.”
HNMAG “You were shooting handguns in this film. How many rounds did you shoot when you were training for those scenes?”
ANDREA “Ouff, a lot! I had some previous training but nowhere near enough to pull this role off. Luckily, I was in good hands with Kirk Caouette, and our armourer John Sampson.”
HNMAG “You’re born in Czechoslovakia but your character speaks Russian. Are the languages close?”
ANDREA “It’s a Slovak language, so the basics are very similar. When I hear Russian, I can generally understand what they’re saying. My grandmother was Russian and my fathers first language was Russian, so I’m used to the sounds and understand some of it. It’s one of those Eastern European languages that’s a little different. Polish is a lot closer to us, Ukraine is a lot closer but Russian and Bulgarian is a little different. Their alphabet is also different but the language is easy for me to learn and pronounce – it comes more natural.”
Image Courtesy of American Badger
Andrea continued to demonstrate some of the pronunciations between the 4 languages and I now feel confident enough to ask someone to open the window and sing to me, the next time I’m in Czechoslovakia. It’s a beautiful country and I’m quite sure you will hear it often, shouted up from the streets below.
HNMAG “How many languages do you speak?”
ANDREA “I speak Slovak, Czech, Italian because I spent a few years in Italy. There’s also English and although I can speak Russian on screen, I’m not fluent in it. My French is also fairly good because I had some French speaking roommates and it’s similar to Italian.”
HNMAG “Will your character be returning in the next season?”
ANDREA “If she comes back, it will be a dream come true. I’ve had so much fun playing her, it’s also my first sci-fi series. The fact that it’s a J. H. Wyman series, is also very cool.”
HNMAG “Your character in American Badger is very tough. You played a very tough role in the film Promiseland. Were the characters similar?”
ANDREA “After the premiere of Promiseland, we went back to camera, Kirk had decided to make American Badger and American Velvet. It’s very different from Promiseland. There are some similarities but the storyline is very different. In the companion film – American Velvet, which is due to come out at the end of 2021, it’s told through Velvet’s eyes/perspective. American Badger is all about Dean and his ways, seeing it through Dean’s eyes and his perspective. This film American Badger has action, but American Velvet has no action. Kirk always wanted to make two films and I believe it took longer than anticipated but they are successful and selling, so it’s great. I’m very happy for him and even though it took a long time, it was worth the wait.”
HNMAG “As in John Wick, he is a widow and there’s a lot of violence. Do you believe John Wick fans will be drawn to American Badger?”
ANDREA “That would be great! I definitely think that the action fans will find the action first class. It is very action driven and American Velvet is very character driven.”
HNMAG “Is there a bigger/underlying message in American Badger?”
ANDREA “He’s contracted to befriend this sex worker but he discovers many similarities between them, which wasn’t expected and now feels vulnerable. I think the underlying message could be that, if a person is doing something bad or violent, there is still a vulnerable side to them and if they could just connect with the right person or be seen by somebody that really cares about them, then they can be a different person. He’s still a violent man, but he ends up doing something good toward the end of the film.”
HNMAG “How does working in a pandemic impact a day on set?”
ANDREA “There can be some extra days of testing, there’s the routine of mask wearing and not recognizing anybody with glasses and a mask, you can’t sit with anyone, so you can’t really see anyone and when you’re wearing the mask you still have to maintain a safe distance. When we have our scenes, is the only time we really see each other. It seems that the vibe has changed a little and there’s an underlying fear. If anybody gets sick, production is put on hold and you’re not sure how it will affect you. Despite all that though, people are still excited and nice.”
HNMAG “Apart from Debris, are you still auditioning for other roles?”
ANDREA “Yes, I’m always auditioning but it’s currently slowed down. I’ve just had an incredible audition for a TV pilot. I think that I was called in for it, due to my work on Debris. I can’t really say which network because it might give it away but it’s a very cool project. I’ve been producing some music videos for 604 Records. The country band, Kadooh has a new video that I produced and it should be out very soon. Another country artist, Danielle Ryan has a new song Weatherman that is getting radio play. Its so good, you should really hear it. The video should be out at the end of May or beginning of June. I was on set for that video but it was very different and a lot of fun, I love it. I was able to do a lot of the work remotely and only had to be on set for 2 days. I also work with Greendale Productions which is part of my other set experience. I’m still teaching acting at Shoreline Studios and I have 2 feature films in development. I’m working with 2 different teams, so I’m quite busy with that. I was offered a role in an Amazon series which would’ve had me shooting for 22 days between Sept. and December in Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland. It would’ve been so great… but I had to turn it down because of something big happening within that time fame, that I’m not ready to disclose at this time.”
HNMAG “After a gruelling day, what do you do to unwind?”
ANDREA “I like to go for a walk with my dog, stretch, sometimes meditate, have a cup of tea, a hot shower and either read a book or watch something I like with my feet up.”
HNMAG “When you must kiss onscreen, how important is fresh breath?”
ANDREA “It’s more of a courtesy towards the other actor and feeling comfortable, but in the moment when the camera is rolling, I don’t really care or pay attention to it.”
HNMAG “You play a recurring character on the hit NBC show Debris. Could you describe your role and how you prepped for the audition?”
ANDREA “I play Irina, a Russian secret agent, a strong and mysterious character who is doing important business with another obscure character, Maddox (Norbert Leo Butz), a CIA operative. These two have known each other for a long time, but we don’t know just how close they are or what is there between them. Irina is a highly intelligent professional, calculated, manipulative, always in the know, one step ahead, with some wit, and she is vulnerable and caring too. When I received the audition sides, I thought to myself, this is a lot of fun, and what a perfect role for me and vice versa. I didn’t have the privilege to read the script or have much info about the show or character, so I just did my own take on Irina, and it worked!”
HNMAG “You have 50 miles to travel and three modes of transportation. A speedboat, a motorcycle and a hot-air balloon. Which do you choose?”
ANDREA “Motorcycle!”
HNMAG “If you could disguise yourself as any female in the world for a day, who would it be?”
ANDREA “I don’t know, maybe Janis Joplin back in the day.”
We finished the interview with a chat about Andrea’s dog Harlie. A 90-pound female boxer. I’ve seen photos on Andreas social media and she is beautiful specimen. They say that good pet owners make great parents. Hmmnn, I wonder if…
