Full Suiting Y-3 / Sweater Bianca Saunders / Shoes Untitlab / Ring Maya Magal

Hi Julian! How cool is it that we’re actually doing the shoot at the National Theatre?

It’s nice to shoot here in particular because of all the things that it means. I lived in London for 10 years – from 21 to about 31 years old – and the majority of the time I lived 10 minutes walk from here [the National Theatre]. When I was a broke Bulgarian actor living in London, I would just walk around here and get inspired. I’ve always dreamt very wildly, being  on the stage in London in the West End, or in the National Theatre was a dream. I’ve always had unrealistic dreams, but as you kind of start achieving some of your dreams, you start learning more about the industry and you start becoming more factual and logical. In the last three or four years I’ve been thinking about theatre, knowing that I’m ready to do something on a big stage and craving to express myself in this way. And it’s finally happened. It is also two birds with one stone. I’m doing a National Theatre play at the West End. So double whammy. And the first Bulgarian to ever do either of those things.

I love that – full circle. Before we get into your theatre work, I would love to talk about The White Lotus Season 3, in which you play Aleksei, who, let’s put it this way, is a little unhinged. You seem so innocent in the beginning….

And then you realize I’m the one who broke into the jewellery store, haha. I never got to talk about that during the press tour because I couldn’t reveal anything.

Jacket, sweater and boots Bianca Saunders / Leather Driving Helmet, Goggles and Gloves Connolly

How was the whole experience?

It was like a dream vacation that I get paid for and you get to act with the best actors in the world, and the best director. Mike White is an amazing person to work with because he  writes every word and directs every second of it which is quite unique, in TV in particular. But I kind of think of it as one big movie,  And he’s so good that he would allow us to improvise and give us ideas. He would scream at us from the monitors, like, try this, try that.  And then  it would be the most outrageous, crazy thing, and you just laugh and then do it.  And then he’d be like, no, I was wrong. Or I was right, yeah, keep doing it, or like, here’s something else, or try something you want to try,  do whatever.  So it’s a mixture of that, and in a weird way, there’s no pressure, because after you see how he works and how supportive he is of your expression and fluidity within the scene.  But then when you watch the show,  it’s pretty much what he wrote. He keeps only the improvisations that move the plot along. But also kind of creates this kind of bubble and energy where we can throw our own things in there.

That sounds like the perfect experience. What was your reaction when you found out that you had been cast?

My whole casting process was really weird. I was told I was in the final two. And then I was told I didn’t get it.  And then they cast another actor in another part.  And then they recast him and got me as the runner up from the previous part to do that part. When I didn’t get it the first time, my girlfriend started crying because she’s a huge fan. Like, this is her favorite series of all time. I hugged her and I told her, you know, I think it’s going to come back somehow. And it did come back. So I’m kind of a prophet in my own life. I have these self-fulfilling prophecies that are kind of similar with the theater – when I was like, I want to do theatre and now I am doing it. It normally takes three years to kind of happen whenever I really wish for something.

Shirts and Jeans Feng Chen Wang / Watch Montblanc / Shoes Bianca Saunders 

You are manifesting things! But what an emotional rollercoaster with the casting. So obviously you couldn’t tell anyone that you were the robber of the jewellery store. Did you never almost let it slip?

Oh no, I didn’t. Even my mum didn’t recognize me. My sister recognised me though, a bunch of people were like you’re that guy, I know how you move. My mum was so into the story that she didn’t realise. But also you could see my name in the credits. If somebody was doing an investigation they would have found out. I was not too mad. Then a bunch of people, when  we appeared in the later episodes, were like, these guys were the robbers, we know it. I saw so many theories online. Monkeys did it, that was my favorite. Weirder things have happened in The White Lotus.

Oh yeah, the conspiracies that I saw online were very entertaining, I must say. How did you prepare for your character though?

I think Mike casts people very well based on energy and the vibe they have. So I think it was  well cast so that there wasn’t too much for me to worry about in terms of acting except for  being professional, show up, listen, be present, do my thing and be brave in doing my thing. Everybody was just so receptive. Also being on a job in Thailand was great, we were in the best resorts in the world, pretty much. I was like, okay, this is my life. Overlooking the sea in the jungle. Horrible, horrible life, haha!

Sounds like such a terrible life indeed! What was it like working with Carrie Coon? You two obviously almost had a little fling going on.

I’ve never spoken about the Carrie Coon scene in bed. She’s so incredible to work with. She’s a phenomenal actor and she made me feel so comfortable. Milking that scene was so funny. Like, Mike White is so good at creating cringe. I feel like our culture has become so obsessed with cringe. It is a very specific, new kind of comedy.

Full suiting and shirt Connolly / Shoes Untitlab 

Coon’s character was so desperate as well! And was so oblivious because it was so clear that Aleksei was a bad guy.

She just wanted to have a win! Whereas I think Aleksei really needed to help his mother [laughs]. The scene where we did  the robbery – they had me do that in one take and get out of the car whilst moving, get in, prepare with the gun, figure out how to do all that and hide the gun, get in, rob the place, smash the glass, take as many things as I can, put them back in, get out and get in the car. All in one, it’s like under a minute.  And I was like, damn, robbing is easy, haha. To the people reading this, don’t do it. Don’t do it. You will get caught. It was very exhilarating because I was smashing everything for real and holding the gun so it felt like it’s real. My pulse was through the roof. I’ve done a lot of action stuff before but nothing has been as crazy and heart-pumping as that. So that was a cool experience.

One take, wow! It was a pretty memorable scene for sure! Apart from The White Lotus, your filmography is quite extensive. What do you look out for when you read a new script?

I think at this stage of my career, now that I’ve done some good work, played some iconic characters in video games and TV, I think it’s always that I want it to be something that’s challenging and not repetitive. Or if it’s a similar character at least it has to have some different context to it that I need to like. For example, in Berlin Station I play a similar character to Vladimir Makarov in Call of Duty, but then it’s a different medium, it’s motion capture, and it’s like the biggest game in the world.  And I get to play an iconic villain and reprise that role. I like speaking to the creators and pitching them ideas about, for example, the skill sets that I have, like speaking multiple languages and being able to speak in an American accent, a British accent and all these accents.

I was gonna say, your American accent is really good. I almost thought you were American there.

Thank you! Americans think I’m American. As I say, I’m a professional fake American.

Full Suiting Y-3 / Sweater Bianca Saunders / Shoes Untitlab / Ring Maya Magal

What other languages do you speak?

So Bulgarian is my native, and I speak Spanish and Italian and I can mimic Russian. When I play a different nationality than mine I really want to be as good as I can, as near perfect as I can with the accent within that language. So obviously with Russian I want to speak as close to a Russian native as I can and be able to fake people out like I do with the American accent. So doing accents and languages has been a big part of my career and journey and it’s kind of how I carved out my own niche. I’ve played a Spanish guy, I’ve played an Italian on British TV, and a Moldovan.

An all-rounder! So let’s talk about your role for Till the Stars Come Down. What can you tell us about your character Marek?

Marek is a Polish immigrant who’s been living in the UK for about 10 years. So there we go with the Polish accent. When I was thinking about approaching how the character speaks, I didn’t just want to do an exaggerated Polish or Eastern European accent that borders on caricature. So I tried to figure out how that person learned English. How long ago did they come to the UK? Based on the script that I have, I kind of get clues about how good their English is. But also the nuance of when you’re singing, for example, even if you have a hard accent speaking in English, when you’re singing, you have a much softer accent. And when you’re angry, maybe I put some of the R’s, like rolling R’s when the character’s angry, but not when he’s being soft. I try to work with that and it’s specific to me, scene by scene, moment to moment. Sometimes certain sounds will come across a different way to make it more realistic because every person’s accent is idiosyncratic – unique to them. I am also trying to create this new little aesthetic for how Eastern Europeans sound, to make them hot again. Make Eastern Europeans hot again!

Haha, preach it! So you said earlier that you have been ready for theatre work. What is it about this particular play that drew you to it?

I’ve been telling my agent that I want to do theatre for a while and he’s been on the lookout, but there’s just not too many compared to movies and TV. In the last decade it has gotten better in terms of representation and inclusivity for cultural and language diversity. That’s why I love The National Theatre because they’re giving a chance to performers who are not necessarily from the UK, which is a beautiful thing and I think that’s why they’re the pioneers in theatre. I’m glad that I had the chance to audition, and that I got it. But it was random. I said to my girlfriend, I’m auditioning for a play, I can’t believe it. So I auditioned and three days later they called me, I did a self-tape  from Bulgaria and then they called me that they wanted me. I was very happy when I got the audition and very excited, but when I got the offer, I was terrified. Like, oh my God, now I have to go and do it.  So thank you, National Theatre. I feel very happy, confident, grateful, and humble that I’m part of it, and with such amazing actors because really it is the pinnacle of my career. I feel like in the last five years, every job has been bigger and bigger. The movie Fight or Flight with Josh Hartnett just came out which I play an American in and it was really, really cool. Then I did The Toxic Avenger with Elijah Wood and Peter Dinklage, which comes out in cinemas in the UK and US on August 29th. The ‘biggest unrated cinema release, ever!’. Then of course, The White Lotus, Call of Duty and boom, a National Theatre play on the West End!

Jacket, sweater and boots Bianca Saunders / Gloves Connolly

Wow, look at you! And it is only going to get even better. Personally, what do you find the biggest difference between stage and on screen?

I have done a couple of plays before, but what I remembered now that I came into the rehearsal process is that acting is acting. Regardless of where and how and what you do.  The basic principles are the same and the way I approach it is not different. I found an anecdote because I used to be a professional swimmer.

Hold on, you used to be a professional swimmer?

Yeah, I was national champion 10 times, I was in the national team but in 2010, I quit. Right before the qualifications for the London Olympics. London has given me another type of Olympics now. The anecdote I was going to say is that TV and film is a series of sprints and theatre is a marathon. I would say TV is a bunch of sprints and theatre is a marathon. Both on the day, and throughout the run. Because we’re doing it for three months, every day except Sundays. Twice on Thursdays and Saturdays. On Sunday we get some rest. I get to do a lot in the play. He’s an Eastern European character, a Polish immigrant, living here, marrying into an English family, and so he’s the outsider looking in, and there’s a lot of subjects that are very interesting for me to explore, you know, the slight kind of discrimination, and the fact that he stands up for himself despite his desperate need to fit in. He’s a three-dimensional human being, he goes through a rollercoaster of an arc. He’s a real person and that’s rare in western media especially film, when it comes to how Eastern European characters are portrayed. We’re used to auditioning and seeing ourselves on screen as ‘Drug Dealer Number 3’ or ‘Evil Scientist Number 1’. But now we’re getting out of that. When I read it I was like, I really want to play this character. He sings and he does all sorts of fun things.

Full suiting and shirt Connolly / Shoes Untitlab 

I can’t wait to watch it! Was there ever any point, because obviously there’s a lot of lines to learn, where you had to improvise slightly and just go with the flow during the rehearsals?

We’re given some space to improvise, yeah. But I’m trying for myself to only improvise things that move the story along rather than feel like I’m just trying to do something that’s funny for the sake of it being funny. I’m trying to stick to serving the story, rather than showboating. Somebody was saying that in an interview, I think it was with Seth Rogen and Jason Segel – they were talking about it and I was like, oh yeah, that makes sense. From two people who are comedy geniuses, basically saying just don’t do too much, all acting is is to be present, and leave space for magic.

Yeah that makes so much sense. I love how you were a national swimmer and then you turned into an actor. What was the moment you knew you wanted to be an actor?

And I was studying business management because my dad has a logistics business in Bulgaria. So his dream was that I work with him someday and that he will leave the firm to me. Then I came to London to graduate from Business Management at Uni, and then I burned my diploma and threw it out the window. And I was screaming, no plan B. I’m gonna be an actor! So I called my dad and was like dad, I’m not gonna be doing Business Management. I am gonna be an actor and they were like, but you are shy and I’m like, well, that’s true. I couldn’t deliver a presentation at University.

Heath Ledger’s Joker performance was the turning point – and having depression in Tilburg, Netherlands where I studied the first couple of years. I was so depressed and then it occurred to me that I can be an actor. I moved to London secretly almost – I didn’t tell my parents why I moved but it was to pursue acting and then I got into the National Youth Theatre which brings me full circle because it’s literally a few meters outside of here where we had our first performance. And I was like, if I get into NYT then that means I will be an actor. And with my first audition,  they were like, yeah, you’re in.

What an incredible journey! Fast forward and obviously you’ve done many different characters – what’s a character or a genre that you still want to play one day?

I would love to do a romantic comedy. I’m a sucker for them.

Okay, I need to know, what’s your favourite rom-com? 

Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Such a classic, I just rewatched it the other day.

Yeah, something like that would be incredible to do. I’m sort of working on something. I’m calling it Robert De Niro Is My Dad because I look like Robert De Niro. Everybody says that to me all the time, they want me to do an impression of him and then people who don’t understand how acting works, they’re always like, you should tell your agent to play his son. I’m like, if only that’s how it worked. People always think it’s the easiest thing to just make it happen. But you know, I always say that one of my superpowers is my naivety. There were no Bulgarian actors or Eastern European actors that had made it in Hollywood when I started out. So I had to have this mindset of being the first. Similar to Arnold when he was like, I’m going to be the first Austrian.

I can see the De Niro resemblance! Well, it sounds like you are very booked and busy. 

Yes, for the next three months. Come and see “Till The Stars Come Down” – it starts on July 1st and runs until September 27th.

You’ve definitely overcome your University presentation stage fright days it seems.

Not really! But I think it’s all about turning the fright to excitement. Just gaslight yourself.

That’s the motto. Thank you for your time!

“Till The Stars Come Down” starts on July 1st and runs until September 27th.
Tickets are available here, and you can follow for updates on their Instagram.

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