Maria Roman – an actress journey to… Hollywood

Maria Roman chose to self-export herself for “greener pastures” where she can can fully display their talents and professional skills. In her opinion: “I most freely express my art through acting. I think, moreover, that we are all artists working on our masterpiece – our lives. ” A beautiful young girl who is often likened, physically, with Jennifer Aniston, tackles Hollywood with her own weapons: beauty, talent and innate intelligence. She reached the “promised land” in 2007 and she wanted to attend the same school as her favorite actor – Marlon Brando – The Actors Studio. After three years of hard work, she can now boast herself and she can decorate her wall with a master ‘s degree from the prestigious acting school in New York.
Success starts to take shape and it will not be long, in my humble opinion, until we will see her in a Hollywood film production, alongside with her favorite actors, Woody Harrelson and Charlize Theron.

Why did you choose to become an actress?

I chose to become an actress after I graduated Mathematics and Physics in High School and I was looking to do something that would excite me, something that would help me figure out who we are and what’s our purpose on earth. Now that I know we are electro-magnetic vibes experiencing a physical body, my goal in life is to keep a sustained high vibration of love and remind people that we have an infinite potential, limited only by our fears. Acting has an ancient role to purify and thus to liberate the soul through catharsis, which is reached through empathy. Cinema is a newer form of this art, which I’ve focused on, understanding, while in the States, the importance of specificity in work. I love just as much being on stage as I do being in front of the camera, but I prefer the latter for several reasons, one being the fact that people come to the theater ready to go along with the convention.

Oren Moverman, one of my favorite filmmakers, shared with me his belief that “acting is the hardest job in the world because it’s the art of always being present, and that’s the toughest challenge for any human being: to live in the present moment” .I can say that I learned how to live, learning to act..

When did your odyssey in the States begin? What was your first stop on the American soil?

I left for the States in 2007 because I wanted to have the same training in acting as Marlon Brando. I knew he learned the craft at the Actors Studio, so I went to NY to get my Masters at this famous school. After three years I learned a lot about myself, about acting and about life, but I think the most important discovery was to understand something that was beautifully revealed by Einstein: “Imagination is more important than knowledge .” There’s an essential universal truth in this statement, too easily overlooked in modern society, one that’s based too much on a logic that may become self-destructive…

Another crucial aspect of my training in NY was to understand that, although I’ve chosen to spend my life in the art world, acting has become one of the most well paid businesses, and one of huge influence. So I had to revise my ideas and principles that I had about what I’m supposed to be doing, since I really want to have a platform where to express my art.

Why did you choose New York?

It’s somewhat paradoxical and funny that I went to New York to be an artist, but I needed to live in one of the most industrialized cities in the world, to find a balance between what my soul has to offer and what the world has been programmed to demand.. When I finished school, I decided to remain in the States and it took me another year and a half to get a new visa.

However, I felt that NY is not the right place for me. All that concrete made me feel trapped and constantly under pressure. I asked my manager there, Annette Alvarez, who is also my sponsor for the visa, if she advised me to move to LA or stay there. She said it was very important to live in a place where I feel good, because it will be hard to make it, no matter where I’m at. So I packed and came to LA where I found, indeed, a balance I’ve never had before.

What do you like about Los Angeles – City of Angels – the second largest city in the country after New York?

What I mostly love here is the natural setting, the omnipresent sunshine, gorgeous sunsets, the winters that bring rainbows with almost every rain, the hills where I go running, the ocean, the birds singing and the enchanting starry jasmine smell (here even the jasmine is a star!). When I was in Romania, I was not aware of how important it is to spend time in nature and I’m sorry I missed on many of our national treasures.. I had to live for five years in the skyscrapers prison, to finally look for the comfort of Mother Nature.

How do you like LA compared to New York? It is true that people in New York are snippy, cockier and workaholics?

Deprived of that nature, people in NY are really very agitated, always in a hurry, always ready to attack, I felt that no one had time to live, everybody concerned only with survival. I don’t think our mission is to work, we are not ants , I think, I believe that our mission is to create and the only difference is in the intention behind each action. The idea is to do what we best like doing in order to evolve as a species, and not to exploit talent in exchange for money. When they named the city, I suspect that there was a typo. It was supposed to be New Work! It’s true, they’re workaholics – work, work and work! A great danger in our society, it seems to me to come from the fact that there are people who’re doing nothing but their job. We need more discernment when taking orders or fulfilling tasks. In NY, all industries are operating at full capacity, that’s where the Wall Street’s at, and people are overworked. LA is much more friendlier, people here have more compassion. I chose LA because I want to make movies and here is where the Oscars happen!

How did you find the school in NY?

Actors Studio is everything I could’ve wanted from a school program when it comes to learning the craft. It has the same principles as those of the Romanian acting school, but Lee Strasberg, one of the founders of the Actors Studio, has adapted them to the specifically pragmatic thinking Americans have. One thing that struck me was the teacher-student relationship, which is slightly different from what I know in Romania. Here the teachers have much more respect for the students. This, perhaps, also because they are paid from the loans they’ve made, to be able to continue their education, or maybe it’s just a sound principle based on the higher efficiency students have, when they feel appreciated and treated as equals. There are other very interesting mechanisms I’ve observed, that contribute to a smoother development of things, which I hope Romanians will be able to adopt at some point.

For example, if something doesn’t work perfectly (and what in this world is ever perfect?!), no one starts to comment on the issue, unless they’ve also already come up with a solution. Because that moment, they become the problem! So you’d better take a deep breath and see what you can do to be of help. Which brings me to a big revelation that I had during my classes there – the breathing!

Please explain this revelation to me… What do you mean you learned how to breathe?

Yes, seriously, I’ve had to learn how to breathe! Most people are not aware of how important it is, although we know that it’s the first thing we do when we come into life, and we leave this world when we stop the breathing. Many health problems are stress related, and proper breathing can cure most of them. I learned in voice class that the proper breathing pattern, babies and animals have, has this cycle: the lungs feel the need for air, they fill up, then the air is released, and then there’s a moment of peace, when all is well, until the lungs feel the need of air again and so the cycle is repeated. The keywords are ‘release’ and ‘peace’. In the everyday life, we always come across tense situations, and we get headstrong in solving all sorts of problems and it affects our health. Concentration is not the same with tension. We need the former, but the tension is what prevents us from seeing things clearly. Therefore, the tension must be released through the breath. And in that peaceful moment, we are open to receiving information from the universe, through our intuition. And that’s also where we create from. Before the Studio, my preparation for a role was a struggle to emotionally get to where my brain knew I had to get. It was an ordeal, and when I finally got there, I was too depleted to really enjoy it. I understood how important it is to stir away from getting ideas about how I think it should be, but to discover, working from specific angles, and adding a new dimension with each rehearsal. For example, in each rehearsal I’d focus on the setting where the action takes place, then on the relationship with the other characters, then on what happened just before the scene we’re working on, then on a possible overall sensation (if it’s hot, cold, if I have a pain etc…) and slowly, the character and scene come to life, and the ground is laid for the muses to come and do their job. We should all be taught in school how to breathe..

What movies have you done so far? What are your favorite actors?

I’ve done, surprisingly enough, mostly science fiction and thrillers. I’m most surprised, because this is not my favorite genre of movies to consume. But I like a lot working on this kind of movies, because I’m very comfortable in extreme emotional situations. And I like running through the woods, getting the special makeup that takes a couple hours.. Yes, I love it. I’m not as happy about the fact that I died in most of the movies I’ve been in, but it seems that the role of the victim becomes me. I’ll eventually make it out alive, and I can’t wait to get my revenge! (Laughs)

As for my favorite actors, I’ll name Woody Harrelson and Charlize Theron. Because they’re hot. ..Kidding! Because they transform from a character to the other in most fascinating ways. And Woody Harrelson is living proof that if you’re really good, you can’t get stuck in a type-cast. He launched his career with a character sharing his own name-Woody in “Cheers”. Then he went ahead and did ‘ Natural Born Killers ‘, ‘Indecent Proposal’, ‘ White Men Can’t Jump ‘, ‘Messenger ‘ and many, many other roles, one more different than the other! And Charlize Theron was downright unrecognizable in ‘Monster ‘, but all her efforts paid out big and she got an Oscar!

What was the appeal for America? How do you find the Americans?

I can’t say that America particularly appeals to me. But Los Angeles, yes! I love that Americans make things happen. Europeans accuse them of superficiality, but here people work so hard, they don’t have time to acquire much general knowledge. I’m not saying it’s right or wrong, I like to think I gave up judging in such relative terms. But I understand and appreciate their determination. The schools here prepare winners, children are taught from the beginning that they can do and achieve anything. In Romania, you learn in school resignation. For this is the message that Mioriţa carries, and we all learn that that’s what represents us. The Americans are taught that they are leaders. Which is true. America was founded with the goal of economically leading the world, and became in a very short time, one of the top forces of the world. Americans have it in their blood. A very intense emotional life is unproductive, and here everything is measured in work efficiency. Jay Leno said at one point that “In other countries, people have friends. In America, we have psychologists”. But I’ve made, here in LA, wonderful friends! Maybe because I’m a good psychologist. Another interesting thing and a major social difference is the smile constantly displayed here. Many non-Americans accuse them of being fake. But there’s something extraordinary this smile does in society, even when it’s fake, namely, it keeps a decent atmosphere, even in critical situations. In Romania, people are used to express any negative thought or attitude, and that, most times, aggravates situations and creates a greater conflict. Here you smile, you put the ego aside, and look for solutions. And smiling becomes, ultimately, natural.

Is there a special place in the State that particularly impressed you? How often do you go to Romania?

When it comes to special places, I was very impressed in the States at “Burning Man” , in the Nevada desert. I was there two years ago to film a documentary called “Burning Man and the Meaning of Life “. It’s a very special place, a festival of life I’d say. For a week, people create a world based on love, freedom, compassion and dedication, where everyone comes to experience how our society should actually be like. Just that it’s in the desert; but that’s because, at the end, all the art created gets burned, to remind us of the impermanence of material things. What remains, however, is a sense of belonging and togetherness that can’t be forgotten. In Romania I go about once a year. I don’t think I’d ever return for good, but I’d love to go more often to shoot in Romania.

What do you do in your free time? What are your hobbies?

Free time is to me a rather foreign notion cause I perceive acting to be more of a lifestyle than a job. But when I’m not shooting, I take care of me – my body, my mind and my soul. I swim, hike, I go to screenings, events, I browse on IMDB, always looking to meet new people with whom to collaborate. In other words, I spend my time preparing the luck, and that’s doing everything I can to find the right place at the right time. That’s what I think luck is. I love to travel, see new places, but even more, I like to shoot in as many new places as possible! And I’ve always loved reading, but now I read more on the set, between takes, because I’d rather watch movies when I’m at home.

What are your future projects?

I realize I need to also create my own opportunities, so I’m planning on shooting a short film written by Irina Nedelcu, an absolutely delightful comedy that I shot in Romania, directed by Cristian Georgescu. We want to adapt it in English, here in LA, directed by Ben Berkowitz. I hope we can do it this year, because January brings about the pilot season, and for 4 months, there’s a feverish auditioning process for pilots for the new wave of television series. I recently signed with a new agency, ‘Rascals’, so I anticipate that I’ll be busy at that time. Late January I’ll be part of the jury in Mexico for the International Film Festival ‘San Sebastian of Veracruz’, organized by Fabrizio Prada, whom I’ve met in Romania.

What advice would you give to those who are thinking of coming to the States?

Tips for those who want to come to the States ? I can only speak from my own experience, so to those who want to come here as actors or filmmakers, I would say that it is important to have established themselves in the movie industry first, in Romania, because it’s easier to make it in the country where you were born and trained. Even though Romania is a country with a rather small film industry, it has many young and talented actors. It took me a long time to understand the importance of exposure, so I’d recommend for them to take on any project that’s going to be seen, as well as approaching the people in the industry to whom they’d like to work with. I thought I’d create a network of people from the ones I worked with, but I understand now that it’s rather the other way around, first you get to meet people, and then you work with them. There’s that saying: “It’s all about who you know”. More accurate would be: “it’s all about who knows you!” I’d also advise them not to refuse projects based on artistic principles. Andy Warhol made famous philosopher’s Marshall McLuhan phrase “Art is what you can get away with”, w hich I’d translate into: “Art is what you can convince others that is art. “