September 14, 2022 • 43 mins
On this special two-part deep dive, Jessica finally gets to sit down with the incredible Zuzanna Szadkowski - the woman behind everybody’s favorite housekeeper, Dorota. Part 1 covers her audition story, Dorota’s relationship with Miss Blair, and the time she met a real-life Dorota in the wild.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
I'm Susanna Shotkovsky and I played Deronda on Desprol. Welcome back,
listeners to your one and only source into all things
gossip Girl. You know you love it. XO x oh, hello,
(00:28):
and welcome back to XO XO everyone. I'm your host,
Jessica's or Okay, so you've been waiting for this one.
I've been waiting for this one. I am beyond excited
to announce that my guest today is Susanna Shatkovsky, who
played the iconic de Roda on Gossip Girl. And you
know what, I don't even know where to begin with her,
(00:49):
so we're just going to skip the rewatch today and
just deep dive into her entire gossip Girl journey and
what made de Roda such an important character on the show.
Susanna and I were just together in Charleston, South Carolina.
We also were with some of our castmates, Chase Ed
and Aaron, so to have a little mini reunion and
get to see some of you amazing fans with such
(01:10):
a treat and it also leads Susanna coming on the podcast.
So I'm all smiles over here. And this one is
so good that we had to split it into two parts,
so this time will cover things like her casting story,
her relationship with Miss Blair, but obviously come back next
week for more from the one and only Susanna shatkov Ski.
(01:31):
Here she is everyone, Hi, Hi, Hi. Oh my gosh,
(01:52):
your baby is so cute. I was looking at your
Instagram pictures unless she looks just like you, It's insane.
That's so funny. Everyone keeps saying that I see it,
and then I'm also like, like, she's your twin. I'm like,
is she though? But I love that. I love that.
I want to be your twin. But wait, can I
just tell you? Seeing you in Charleston and every like,
(02:14):
all of us together just made me feel like so
good on every level, and then having you here today,
I'm just like so thrilled. We've been talking about you
for months, like from the beginning of the podcast, and
I'm like, I don't think she wants to do it, guys,
And she's not in She's not down so bad at
Instagram that I didn't see that, And it's like like
(02:36):
I never look at any messages or anything that I being, like,
I wish I could be on the podcast. You were
like one of our first people we wanted. That's amazing
and yeah, well thank you. I'm sorry, I'm so finally.
I know. It's so exciting because you're a legend and
a gangster and such an amazing actor. And here's the
(02:59):
other thing. Much on top of all of that, you're
just fucking cool, Like you're just a cool person. You've
got to like a good sense of humor. You're real
like radical and I appreciate because we had not been
around each other in a long time, but I was
just with you many years. I'm like, yo, this girl
(03:19):
is just she just knows what's up. She's got like
the coolest cute little elphit on. I'm like this, you're
just read. I do like to think that maybe I'm
a little bit cooler than Deronda on a daily basis.
I mean, I feel like I feel like she has
her her vibe and her style. But you know what, though,
(03:40):
you gave de Rota a real swagger and a real presence.
But before all of that, tell us where, tell everyone,
like where you're from? What made you get into acting? Well? Um, yeah,
so I was actually born in Poland like Deronda. So
that's that's my inn with um and I came here
(04:01):
when I was little, but I was only three when
I came to the US. I definitely am more of
a you know, American gal um, but I have a
Polish soul, so I like to maintain that. But I
grew up in the Midwest. So did you always speak
both languages? Yes, I mean I was already speaking, you know,
when I was a little baby when we came here
and then so that was really my first language. And
when I was a kid, I had an accent. So like,
(04:22):
it's so weird because I found a video of myself
when I was six or seven, and I had a
Polish accent, and so I was like a little Polish baby.
And I grew up in the Midwest in Indiana, so
there were not a lot of other Polish babies around.
So I was like a little a little unusual kid
in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Um, but I learned, you know,
I Americanized pretty quickly, but my parents always pushed me
(04:45):
to maintain my Polish. You know. I had to uh
read in Polish and write, which I really am grateful
for now because I use it, you know, professionally, and
I feel like it's an important part of my identity.
And I'm really grateful for it now. But yeah, but
like talking and speaking like this, it's like wild that
you're just like, I'll just take this other language, have
this other act, that be this completely different person from
(05:08):
this other culture. That's like ridiculously right. Well, it's funny
because it's like I've used my Polish accent as an
actor so much like my first TV job or jobs
actually were with Polish or Eastern European accents, and then
I got the Deronda Party, which was another one, and
I didn't have anything with an American accent, you know,
in my whole repertoire until like well into my acting career,
(05:32):
so it was like, you know, it definitely became a thing.
But I but I'm you know, I appreciate it, and
I've always been like, to me, it's been really important
to be authentically Polish for the Polish fans in the world,
because you know, it is an important part of my identity.
And you know, my parents had my mom passed away
Uhelve and my dad is um still to this day,
(05:56):
so many years had they had thick, thick accents that
never went away. So I had a plenty of experience
with the extreme polish accent stuff. So that comes pretty
naturally to me. Right, that's wild. But you went you
studied acting at Harvard? Yeah, I went to. Let's just okay,
don't just say yeah like that, you know I did.
(06:20):
You've never heard of studying acting at Harvard is kind
of funny because it's like all these Harvard students are
you know, I have their noses in the books, and
they're like super genious writing, writing amazing papers and thesis
and all this stuff. And I'm you know, rolling around
the floor pretending to be an animal or a tree,
because that's like acting school, even at Harvard is still
(06:41):
acting school, you know. But I did get to. Yeah,
I was there, and I was on the campus and
I pretended to be starting pants like the rest of them.
But you know, no, I went to M. Barner College
in Manhattan as an undergrad, and then I went to
the a Art Institute, which is the acting school at
Harvard for my graduate school. So sort of ussured me into,
(07:02):
I guess, my professional career. It was after grad schools
when I started auditioning and working. So back to New
York City and back to the grind. What made you
like I wanted take on acting. You know, I didn't
my first My first acting experience I think was like
sixth or seventh grade in Indiana in school, and it
(07:24):
was like I auditioned. It was for Diary of Anne
Frank and I got on the little stage for the audition.
In the minute I opened my mouth, I was like, Oh,
this is it. I was like, you know, and it
was like, you know, I totally got the bug. And
I'm not sure exactly what it was started. I always
kind of think my parents were pretty strict because it
was like I was an only child Polish parents, so
(07:48):
you know, I wasn't allowed to wear makeup, and I
think part of the appeal as a kid was that
you got to put on all this makeup and be
fabulous and glamorous. So I think that was like one
of the things I like, which is funny because then
my acting career was never glamorous again. I mean, not
that in Frank was, but you know, I did some
musicals and stuff in high school. You know, I had
(08:10):
really a lot of fun with the sort of not
just being on stage and kind of the fabulous magical transformation,
but also the community feeling of being in the theater like,
I really like that scene, and so I stuck with
it and there was no dissuading me after that. After
I got a taste of it. That's amazing. You're like,
(08:31):
I'm doing this. Yeah, so you got the bog You
were like great? And how was your family supportive? Indiana
is like the Midwest rid from Like people knew of it,
but they didn't really like they're like, what what are
you doing? What? It's a very weird thing. I mean
in high school, I was voted most likely to be famous. It'
just kind of funny because I am. It was just
(08:52):
because I did all the did all the plays, you know,
so it's like that was your that was the only,
you know, kind of way to do it. But um no,
my parents, what happens that they were that that's correct?
Do you go back and like did they win an
award for like being correct? Well? It was me, all right.
It was funny because like, yeah, I missed my I
(09:12):
just had my I won't even age myself to tell
you which anniversary I missed, but they just had like
the reunion for my high school, like a really big one,
and I did ten years right yeah, right right there
with you. Oh, but no. But you know, my parents,
my dad he has PhD in mathematics and he he
was he worked as a mechanical engineer and my mother
(09:34):
was biochemists. So for the two of them to have
an actor daughter was I think a little bit traumatizing.
Not exactly what they were looking for. They're like, who
are you saving? And how are you changing the world?
And you're like, trust do a math equation? Well, you know,
I do think, you know, they it was a little
bit of a hard sell at first, but I think
(09:56):
actually being on television made it a little bit easier
for them because they could watch me. Because then they
ended up living in North Carolina, Like they moved there
when I was in college, and so when I was
in New York working as an actor, the first time
they could see me on it on TV and they
could like show the neighbors. It was like, oh, she's
actually has a job. It's okay, It's gonna be okay.
(10:21):
So in the end, I mean, I think, yeah, they
you know, they've always been supportive and loving parents. But
I think that it was a little bit of a
hard cell. I mean, they didn't It wasn't so much
that they gave me a hard time. It was more
that they made fun of me and still do, but
my my fantastical acting aspirations. But I think that they're
happy that I kind of get to, you know, for
lack of a better word, like see the world and
(10:43):
and sort of live slash chase my dream, you know,
depending on the moment. Right, Okay, So your situation for
Gossip Girl, like it was never going to be that
de Roda was in start to finish, no, first, no, no,
it was totally unexpected. And I always tell like young
(11:04):
actors that you know, I always my advice is always
like you never know uh where the character ever know
where your opportunities lie. You know, you have this idea
that oh, this is gonna be the job that's it,
or this is the thing that this is gonna be
a great gig for me, this is my path, and
it's always a surprise, like it's never the one you
thought it was. It's always somewhere where you didn't expect
(11:25):
or see it. Because for me, um the Derotor role
was an audition for literally it was a possible recurring
guest star and the breakdown said something like sixty plus
plus housekeeper. Yeah, and there were and there were no
(11:46):
and I said no lines, and so I was like
Rota was sixty five years old and a mute, silent Yeah, yeah,
there are no lines in the There were no lines
in the first episode. And it was like, by the way,
there's so without Derota, so was no gossip Girl. Basically
it was gone, I'm I'm dropping the bike dub with
the podcast, like no gossip Girl exists. Yeah, So it
(12:09):
was like they were so basically it was like a
possibly going to recur housekeeper who didn't have any lines
and they were looking for an older woman. But the
only keyword, the only reason I even popped up, you know,
my agents even submitted me was the Polish part. I
had just played a Polish housekeeper and the Sopranos, like
in the final season this little show no one's ever
heard of that basically television a tiny part because then
(12:31):
like they had a really cool Polish housekeeper who did
a lot of stuff on that show, but that wasn't me.
And then in the final season when she was gone,
I played, uh, the Polish housekeeper for Carmel and Tony
for like three episodes. But I said a couple of
lines to Tony which was actually really thrilling, you know really,
and I'm like, you know, and he was really and
James sandal Pine, he was really nice to me and
(12:52):
he said I had a good accent and that I
was very good, and I was like so exciting. But
but it had just happened right before the gospel auditions,
so they were like, well, they know you you can
do a Polish maid, and they know you're not sixty five.
And in fact, like this always shocks people. But when
we started Gossipel, I was twenty eight, and I love
it because when you really look you don't like very young,
(13:18):
but people in person maybe say, oh, you look younger.
But the contrast and like what they did with the character,
it just made me seem like right, and we're in
a high yeah, yeah, like you and you're you know,
sixteen at the time. Yeah yeah, I supposed to be
like raising her. Yeah. And the thing is like we
always had all these lines about de Roto going to
(13:39):
feed ducks in Central Park with Blair when she was
a baby, and I was like, yes, Deronto was twelve,
you know, but anyway, literally Deronda was learning how to
walk as well. Don't worry. It's like Hollywood magic. But anyway,
so I went in for an audition and I had
there were no lines, So what do you like, you know,
(13:59):
just the different literally yes, literally for the audition, they said,
you know, improvised, like you're serving breakfast to some rich kids.
And I was like okay, um, And in the lobby right, well,
that's the thing is, I was like, I gotta do
something with personality, and so like when I signed in
in the lobby and you know the actors, I'll sign
(14:20):
in a sheet and I saw that I was the
only one with a Polish name, so I was like, oh,
I'm probably the only like, you know, legit pole in here.
So I figured let me lean into that. So when
I did the audition, I sort of improvised and I
was like mumbling and talking to myself in Polish, like
in a sort of like uh, you know, brilliant. I
(14:44):
love that. And I did it for so long and
I think it was I'm pretty sure it was Mark Pisnarski,
who was like who did the pilot and had directed
the pilot, but this I wasn't in the pilot, was
in the second episode. But I remember they let me
go on and on for you're just talking to yourself.
I'm just walking around out of polish, cursing and you know,
roll in my eyes. And and then I left. And
(15:06):
it was funny because I got the part, and I
didn't really think that was that. I was like, oh, okay,
I mean it's like no lines, like whatever. And my
agent said, you know, it's gonna probably be a good,
big show because it's based on a very popular book series.
And I thought another hit show. You're like, yeah, And
I didn't really know anything because I was just like
I never knew anything about anything I was, which is
(15:27):
also always good. I really am the same. Yeah, And
I've talked to I mean, I've heard I've listened to
your podcast. I'm a big fan, and I've heard a
lot of people can't talk with you about you know,
this idea that um, you know in this business, you know,
either make a pilot that will the pilot go? Who
knows will when we recast? Will it one continue? Will
the show get picked up? Like all of the variables
(15:49):
and uncertainty, the fact that any show ever goes at all,
much less that it becomes popular, much less that it continues,
much less that in that it then becomes part of
the Zeitgeister and you know, part of pop culture over time.
Like it's just so many phenomenal things one after the
other with the show that I didn't even know to
worry about. Like when we were talking show, I never
even occurred to me to worry that they wouldn't renew
(16:11):
it or you know, I was always on the ride,
you know, I'm just gonna talk to myself and the
most favorite pends on the show. No. But it was
like I just always was, you know. And the thing
for me is that I was always scared I would
never that they would never have me back. So it
was like in the beginning, I as Dorota's character sort
of grew over time. I never every single script, I
(16:32):
was like, I hope they didn't kill me off or
get rid of me. So I was like, I was
like waiting for that to happen for six seasons. UM.
So I never really even felt super comfortable in it. Um.
But yeah. But the funny part was the one I got,
the part they called me and said, you know, you
got the the show, And I text message my boyfriend
at the time and I said I got Gossip Girl
(16:53):
and he wrote back he was like, did you mean
this for somebody else? Because he thought I met I
got Gossip Girl, Like, hey all, I got got yeah,
And I was like, no, no, I got the show
calling off Girl. It was I showed up and my
(17:20):
first scene was with Layton. It was like a really
cool reveal for my character because it was like Lara's
speaking kind of lamenting about her day and her troubles,
and it looks like she must be talking to her
mother because he would only speak to your mother that way.
And then when they shot reverses, you see that it's
(17:41):
the housekeeper. And so even though the housekeeper had no lines,
you could see that, like, this is in this girl's life,
This is who she has to you know this, Yeah,
this is her maternal figure, and like this is kind
of you know, where she is um in terms of
her relationships her own mother. So it was automatically kind
of set up in that way, and I think, you know,
(18:02):
the the relationship between Blaren Dorota sort of grew, sort
of it grew organically, and then we had so much
fun with it, and then all this kind of silly
uh stuff started getting introduced. I remember the first episode
where it was like a funny thing happened for Deronda
was that Cyndy Lapper came in and and and Blair
(18:23):
wants to run off after Chuck or something, and then
so she ends up pushing Dorota on Cyndi Lauper like
She's like, you know, Derote is your biggest fan. And
I had this like fantastic scene with Cyndy Lapper where
I had to like, you know, freak out over her.
And so Throtta all of a sudden started having a
little you know, funny things to do, and I think
over time it started to to grow. Yeah, oh my god,
(18:44):
I love that love. And honestly, like when Norman Buckley
was on he was talking about yeah, yeah, where he
was like, you guys have to kind of lead into
this relationship because of the way Blair's relationship with her mother,
there has to be this thing. Basically, he was saying,
(19:04):
you guys have to explore this relationship right now. He
really was the guy. I mean, he and I know
you talked about this in the podcast, but he was
the one who really re established the possibilities for Dorota
because he switched up this scene where Margaret it was
written for um Claire's mom and then he made it
all of a sudden because of him and his collaboration
(19:26):
with the writers and producers, it became Derota scene and
it was really what to find that role all of
a sudden. It came from like an implied possibility to
a reality, and so he opened that door and it
was such a huge moment. It happens sometimes as an
actor where you have, uh, you know, you're sort of
doing your work over here on the side, and then
you kind of get a door that you can step through,
(19:48):
you know, and somebody has to open that up for you.
And it was for me and for Dorota it was
it literally just kind google down my whole body right now.
So cool. There's something so lovable and wonderful that you
do and bring to Deronda. The way you are balancing
all these kids that are trying to deal with all
(20:08):
these crazy emotions and money and wild, wild stuff. The
way that you played it, it's just it's it's really great.
I'm like so happy that I'm watching it now because
I'm like, really, what you did with this role is amazing,
Like you should really honestly win like an award. Oh
my god, that's well, I already have because of just
(20:30):
the nice things you're saying that means really means a
serious you know. Part of it, I think is that
like as an actor, it's like when I look at
Rona or As as that role was started developing and
those relationships with developing, it was like she was such
an easy and fulfilling characters played because she was like
all heart. So it's like the fact that um, I
(20:51):
think in a way she's functioned like dramaturgically, is sort
of like a moral center for that universe, you know,
because of just her position. You know. So it's like
all this drama was happening around her. She was the housekeeper.
But then in terms of her relationship with all the
you know kids, Uh, it was like she just loved
Blair and she was going to protect Blair and she
(21:12):
because of that, she loved Mr Chunk and she loved
and everybody you know, yeah, you know. So it was
like so it all came from that very maternal, like
very sort of um simple and deep deep deep like
maternal love center that she had, and so it was
kind of easy and fun. And it's like I can
relate to some of that. Some of that's very different
from me but you know, she um, it was always easy,
(21:35):
always had a north star, which was like what's best
for miss Blair, you know. And uh, I think that's
actually why a lot of fans like responded so much
to Grod. It was because you know, she was there
for Blair. But like when you were doing that, like
as an actor, your intentions going in to these seeds
and stuff, was it always that that was your thing.
It's to protect Lair, yeah kind of. And and part
(21:58):
of it what happened organically was so nice is that
I just like immediately had like a total um, you know,
such a nice, warm and loving relationship with Layton. So
she was the person I would always look too on set. Yeah,
and so I would find you know, her energy like
doing scenes with her. We had so much fun together
and I feel like we immediately had you know, love
(22:18):
and respect for each other. And so that translated very easily.
Like that in combination with the way the character was written,
it was really easy for me to you know, step
into sort of the protector of that character and to
go like whole hog team Blair, you know, and like
for me, some of them more fun stuff was you know,
this stuff where Dorota was sent off sort of as
(22:38):
like Blair's yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, like but I had
to go spy for her and do all that stuff.
That was so so. But it's also funny, like Chuck
is this one of these last episodes. He's like, de
Rota tip me off, she's here. I'm like, de Rota
is just talking to Mr Chuck. We got thanks going. Yes,
(23:01):
Deronda had like really good relations very interesting, detailed Blaired
relationship with Mr Chuck which I love too. Um And
because oh yeah yeah, I always say because like to me,
I'm always like when people say, like, why do you
think the fans like dr I'm like, I think it's because,
you know, something magical happened with Um Blair and Chuck,
which is the fans really but into that. That chemistry
(23:24):
of those two characters, right, you know, Team Chuck Blair
was really you know, the audience really grabbed onto that.
And then because Deronda was Blair's protector and also a
big proponent of that relations Chuck Blair all the time,
so it was very easy for fans to identify with Throat.
I almost became like an extension of fans, you know,
because I'm in there, I'm in there doing my best,
(23:45):
you know, de Rode is in there doing her best
to keep that relationship alive and keep everybody safe and happy.
So like fans saw themselves in that character, you know,
I think now that you see that, yes, that but
it's it's just like lovely and awesome and it's just
so funny. Obviously Dorota had a presence and all the things,
(24:06):
but watching it now, you really were this light in
her life that made her really get through all of that. Yeah,
and also she had she could kind of like you know,
ship on Derota when she needed to, which was great
because which is you know, it's a great relationship you
(24:27):
have with like you know, it's like a very classic
trope of all history, cinema, storytelling, literature. Everything was like
that you know, sort of sidekick, you know, nurse companion
person that you know has to do a lot of
the heavy lifting a lot of time and then also
gets the brunt of the things taken out on them
and it can be very comical. So I'd also think
(24:48):
that that was nice because Gossip Girl, I think had
such a nice mix of drama and comedy and some
tongue in cheek stuff and you know, as I think
Dorotta was a fun part to play because a lot
of the sort of sillier, more comedic moments kind of
came my way, which was also really exciting to develop that.
And you know, I had never really done I mean,
(25:11):
you know, I had done some TV, but nothing super substantial,
so it was always a learning curve to especially trying
to do funny things on camera and you're like, was
it funny? It wasn't good, I don't get a response.
And even if you're like, look when Deronda is like
surprised or shocked at things, were shocking moments at every scene,
there's like things happening on a level, and all of
(25:33):
a sudden, you see Rona in your eyes like popa
and it's just the cutest but like most real thing,
I just love it. Like I see those like you know,
little memes or whatever there are of Deronda, and you know,
it's like those funny captures of those like oh, mostly
the shock faces, like the faces of like like, OMG,
(25:56):
that's great. To the writing and producers on this like
what's great. We needed to have that because there's ship
that goes on in this show that's just not stuff
that we should just be like oh whatever, like it right.
It is shocking and it is wild and it is crazy,
and it's some of it's not okay that people and
everyone else is just like in the moment one up
(26:18):
in each other and throwing people under the bus and
like getting by like all the things. So when you
see the roads like eyes pop and chock, I'm like, yeah,
that's actually what everyone should be doing, because this is
not Yes. Yeah, sometimes she just like they're just like
observing and being like what in the world of these kids? Yeah?
And now we know Blair outside of your relationship with Blair,
(26:41):
like de Ronea Blair, who did you like? Well? I
really like For me, my favorite scenes were ones with
the old Waldorf family, like when when Cyrus Rose was introduced,
because while Sean is like such, I mean he is
such a character and like such an some phenomenon as
(27:01):
a human and as an artist, and so working with
him crazy. Margaret Colin, who played you know, Claire's mom,
I mean, she is an incredible I learned so much.
I always always I'm using something that I've learned from
Margaret whenever I work on camera and just watching her.
I mean when I say really, I don't mean like shocked.
(27:21):
I'm saying I love. Yeah, No, it's great because she
like had such a quality of like really embodying what
was on the page and then always somehow lifting it.
You know, she would meet the character in a really
interesting way. It was like so real, and then she
had such great sense of humor, but she didn't push anything.
It was like I was just was really admiring of her.
So I feel like when those scenes when it was
(27:43):
me and Leyton and Wally and Margaret and all the
you know, the Waldorf family, that was always blowing my
mind because it was just so many amazing that's much talent.
I don't even know what to do. And I mean
I had like when I had my wedding episode and
like Wally Sean this you know Cyrus character walked me
down the aisle and that was like such a thrill.
(28:04):
I was like, yeah, of course. Aaron, my husband, Eric Schwartz,
who played Vanya, is also one of my faves to
work with because like, all of a sudden road I
had a boyfriend and then a fiance and then a husband,
and he was He's so cute and so fun and
I really love Aaron and like he he also has
such a great story, you know, because he was like
child actor and he was like this, you know, very
(28:26):
cute kid and mighty ducks and what was out of
him that he did heavy weights that was very popular
back in the day. And then he kind of transformed
himself and became this like you know, physical specimen, this
like Adonis, like really uh you know his least, like
you're very buff and like hot guy. And so he
(28:46):
went from this like you know, cute little kid to
this like hot guy and you know, kind of really
the whole time working and you know, trying to make
this work for himself as an actor, which is such
a difficult road to hope for a long time, you
know what I mean, for to have a lengthy career.
So I'm always so excited for him when he gets
these career opportunities. And so when he became Vania, I
thought he was just like the sweetest and it was
(29:08):
like an inspirational story and exciting and he's you know,
really really funny as Bonnia. So we had a fun time.
I love that. And did you feel like that storyline
they kind of probably wrote into that as it was
like happening like I don't was that like in the
script before No, no, you know you know how that
started so weird um and it speaks to so much
(29:30):
about at a different time we were in when we
made Gossip Girl. Is that it was around season two.
I want to say Verizon, who was a huge sponsor
of Yeah, Verizon came to Gossip Girl and they they said,
because like they were always a big sponsor, because like
their phones were all you know, those like flip phones
and stuff that those like weird old phones that we had,
(29:50):
you know, they were always Brizon phones. The Verizon came
to Gossip Girl and they said that they wanted to
do a spinoff as a web series that would only
be available to Verizon customers on Verizon devices. So, by
the way, that's really awesome and gangster, it wasn't that funny,
and so they were like, so they're like, let's make
a staff and so they considered I think a couple
(30:12):
of options. One was the option that ended up becoming
the Gossipel spinoff. You know, when they they wanted to
make the one about Lily when she was a kid.
They ended up doing that storyline trying that one now
later on, but the other one, they thought, well, why
don't we just do a De Rota backstory spin off,
So they made this thing called Chasing de Rota, which
(30:34):
is available on the DVDs if you buy a DVD
can listen. Everyone go buy the d and this because
and then it's I think you can see it on
YouTube too. But it's like basically we made I can't
remember how many episodes, and it was like there were
many episodes. They were like a four minutes long eache
or something. We made several of them, six eight of them,
(30:55):
something like that. So it was like filmed on the
gospel sets, but it was ust Dorota Vanya and then
Dorota's two best friends. One was Um, one was like
Serena's cook, and then one was like Nates housekeeper or something,
you know. But no, they ended up both coming back
for like a little montage at one point, but Aaron.
(31:18):
That's where Aaron where Vanya was introduced. So in the
Chasing Derota series, we find out that in Poland she
had some sort of royal title, but her husband was
like abusive and she felt trapped, so she escaped from
Poland to escape her usive relationship, came to the US
became a housekeeper and then falls in love with Vanya
(31:38):
the dormant, and then the Polish husband ends up chasing
her down, and then Vania and the Polish husband had
like fisticuffs over her get into it, and this is
all in they's web sites, and it's so weird, and
it was like the weirdest thing for me because it
was like, um, you know, all of a sudden, Dorota
was like the lead of the show, which I was
(32:00):
so unused to, and I found it really like it
made me feel so vulnerable and strange because I used
to pop in and out and doing like a you know,
one liner here and there. But to all of a
sudden be the romantic lead was so foreign to me.
So I was like it was a strange thing. And
then it was I love that. So people watched, I
mean some people watched this thing on the Brizon you know,
phones or whatever. But then, because they were really happy
(32:22):
about the about Aaron and Ivania and they thought it
was a cute storyline and it worked, they ended up
introducing that character into the normal season and so he
showed up. He showed up then and then you know,
became Derota's boyfriend. And then then that proposing her. So
it was such a weird start, and but it really
speaks to the fact that back then Gossiper was on
(32:42):
the cusp of so many things in terms of, like,
you know, the way we watched television now, and one
of the things was like there were no like a
web series and streaming and stuff like that was so
brand new. So it was one of the first web series.
Really was this like Chasing Derota thing, so you know,
it was really kind of on the on the forefront
(33:04):
of television kind of moving to the internet. Yeah, so
it was pretty cool. Did you find it crazy that
dad was gossip Girl? Oh? Yeah, And like, Okay, that's
(33:27):
the number one I think you can say to me.
The number one thing people say to me is they're like, well,
we thought maybe through it was gossip Girl. And the
other thing is I thought maybe she would be too,
But I'm so glad she wasn't because of what we've
been talking about, which is the like, I feel like
Droto was a pure hearted human being who was like
earnest and like had a good intentions. So if if
(33:50):
she had ended up being gossip Girl, it would have
been like the what that would have meant about her
character and her like, you know, being duplicitness and backstabbing
too Blair and all that's like, like I really wouldn't.
Although it would have been a cool twist, it would
have been I think, really disappointing for me and my
understanding of who drown it is. So I'm really glad
it wasn't drow Up. Whether or not it makes sense
(34:10):
that Dan was constable, I'm not so sure on that either.
But you know, I don't know who it could have been.
But a lot of I thought it was going to
be you. Yeah, I really, I mean people always say
that to me, and who did you think it was you?
At one? Boy? I did, because like you know, we
all didn't know. I love that you thought. I mean,
I told itally just like maybe it's me and you know,
(34:33):
but the thing is that they I don't know. I mean,
I really don't know even if pen knew ahead of
that last episode, but that you know, all those redacted
scripts and the fact that we didn't know who it was,
and then I kept thinking it might be me, And
then when I found out it was Dan, I was
like I remember sitting around when we shot that those
last scenes, and we had there was a scene, yeah,
(34:53):
reacting to it, and everybody's like sitting there like being like, wow,
it's Dan And in between takes all of the actors
were like, wow, it's damn. But we were always doing
the same thing, like trying to make sense of it,
you know what I mean. So funny because that's like
a long that was a long time coming. Oh yeah,
I mean yeah, they really had to, yeah, go back
(35:18):
and trying to make sense of that. Yeah. Everyone always
asked did you know I'm like no, No one really knew. No. No,
the whole fairly were like fully blacked out, like it
was nuts. Did you have fittings every week? No? I
had like two fittings in the history of because I
held well, yeah, it was such a fashion show and
(35:39):
I was the only one that I mean, I always
had my same uniform. And then I had like a
couple of pregnancies on the show, so they would like,
you know, give me a pregnancy, but it was always
the same uniform. I mean, it wasn't me pregnant, right,
but she was, but she was, But so they you know,
they made those adjustments. But then um, I would say
probably maybe four or five times over six seasons did
(36:03):
I get in an outfit to where that wasn't my uniform.
And it was always some sort of wedding, so it
was like my own wedding and I had like a
rehearsal dinner dress. And then Blair's wedding to the Prince,
and there was I think I was invited to Lily's wedding.
One of her mother wrote up was invited everywhere at
all days because I remember being at a garden party wedding,
(36:27):
which I think was really so like the few weddings
I got to have like fancy dresses a minute. It
was so fun because I was like, this is what
you guys are experiencing, you know, going in and getting
all the fancy stuff and then and I always thought
it was such a thrill until you know, two hours
into shooting and I was like, oh, these offen suck.
These are uncomfortable, very very practical shoes, and it's very comfortable.
(36:52):
But you know what's really really crazy. There is a
world in which these people have money like that and
I have aids and have butlers and have drivers and
have and that was just wild to me because I'm
like Midwest grew up so far from that, like, oh
me too. I mean, don't you agree? Is that it crazy? No,
(37:14):
it's wild to me and I've never I mean, I
lived in New York for a while because they came
here to go to college, and I just didn't even
know that world really existed, you know, in the way
that it does. And but it had such a weird
experience on set we went to you know, most of
the time I was on set on the in the
sound stage. You know, we had the interiors of everything
built out in the sound stage. But once in a
(37:35):
while I would get to go on location, uh like
sort of less off and I think than other people
because they didn't leave the house that much as Torona.
But for the Thanksgiving episodes, the kitchen, like the Waldorf kitchen,
was in a house on Central Park West. It was
like a mansionette, so it was like a double house,
(37:55):
like right off Central Park in that up east side,
and that's where they had They had rented it out
to shoot the kitchen one year, so then every year
we went back for the same kitchen set, and then
they also shot I want to say it was Nate's
dining room was also in that same house. So whenever
there was a Thanksgiving episode, we always used that house.
And when we would go there, it was the most
(38:17):
incredible mansion. I mean, these people had like Rodan and
Monet and they had um oh, Norman Rockwell. So these
people had the most fantastic house I've ever seen in
my life, and it was like beyond anything even set
Young Gossip Grol. And I always wondered why they would
let the people in their their house, and I figured
(38:38):
it out finally, was because they had teenage daughters who
went to that school that Gossip Rol was based on.
So they so obviously they talked their parents into and
they were like, let them shoot at our house. And
then they used to always like come by and like
with their friends and like watch the shooting and pretend
like pretend not to be super excited about it. But
their video village, yeah, it was like their house. But
the reason I bring it up is that when I
(38:59):
was there, I was sitting in a chair, like you know,
waiting for whatever to happen, and I saw their Derota
and she walked past me and they look an elevator
in their house, and she got and she was wearing
the Derota uniform apron. She even had like a little
head like head gear thing on. It wasn't quite the headband,
but it was similar. And she was in the outfit
and she like looked at me, and we like looked
(39:19):
at each other and she just started like cracking up.
Like I was like, I play you on TV. I
was like, I play you on TV. And she was like, yeah,
this is so funny. And I was like, you know,
this is a world that we were portraying. It was
pretty you know, it was over the top certainly, but
I think a lot of it had it's you know,
the nuts and bolts were very real and and you know,
(39:40):
and my character was based on a real life character
from one of the show creators childhood. He had a
grow up with sudden like a Dorota type figure. Because
my character is one of the only people who didn't
originate from the books. Yeah, yeah, so there was some
kind of which also a volumes. Yeah, so that's so
(40:01):
rare that you're just like, I wasn't even in the books.
But listen, I'm here and I'm gonna make some noise.
But you know, that whole lifestyle of those kids, like
the I mean, the going out in the bar, hopping
and the clubs and all that like stuff. You know.
I feel like I've seen many different documentaries about weird
(40:21):
New York things now and I'm like, yeah, oh no,
that's true. That happens up there on the like they
go out and live it up. Yeah, it's a wild
living in New York. Everything's at your fingertips. So you
walk out of your home and you could get in
a cab, or you can get on the subway and
you can go anywhere. When you live in a small
town or other cities where it's like hard to get somewhere,
(40:44):
it takes a little more effort, you know what I mean. Yeah,
when I was in high school in Indiana, like the
only thing we did would drive around from the Then
we'd sit in the Taco Bell parking lot and just
wonder where we were gonna go next, you know what
I mean, Like we were just like whose house we're
going to? It was just like yeah, or there was
like a bomb yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, we had that
too because we had the country, you know, their foreign
parties and stuff. But you know, it's so wildly different. Yeah,
(41:07):
And I see, um young people who grew up in
New York City and they have the entire world with
their fingertips. You're so right about that. Yeah, it's just
a different way, and there's there's something so beautiful about that.
And also anyone that I know that grew up there,
they're so wise beyond their years. They are very like worldly,
they know stuff. They're streets smart. They because it's also
(41:30):
a city where you just learn. There's art and there's music,
and there's people of the culture. Yeah, there's just it's
a constant like That's that's what I love about that city.
You know, you never want to sit still. You want
to keep going and learning and doing things. And it's
also what I don't like about the city because I'm like,
you could never just I could never really being around. Yeah,
(41:50):
like read a script or a book on the couch
and I hear like the subway and the horns and
like music. I'm like, I gotta be doing something, get
out there. But such a great city in that way,
and I will say they did a really good job
of capturing that and and go absolutely, I think it's
huge and I feel like you can really see you know,
(42:11):
a lot of fans come to visit New York and
they go in the gossoepl Girl Tour of us and
they go to see the things, and I think it's
because you know, that essence of Gospel Girl, it really
is captured. It's like, you know, related to the physical
space that we're in, so you can actually go and
visit it, like it doesn't exist in fantasy land, like
it's it's here. So it's cool. When I talked to
(42:33):
New York next, let's go on that tour. Yeah, let's
do it. I didn't you did. I've never done it
when I was like back when we were shooting still
like it was happy when we were shooting, it was
like the final seasons. Yeah, yeah, you know, we have
to go. They were. People would love it because like
it's so fun because you you know, answered the insider juice,
(42:55):
you know. Yeah, yeah, I would love to do that
with you. Let's do it, and if anyone else is there,
we can get Sebastian or Chase or later and we
should do it. It would be really fun. That would
be so cool. Okay, I'm so sorry, guys. I know
you want to hear the rest of this conversation, so
(43:17):
just hold tight until next week's episode. We're going to
talk about the minions, some of Susanna's favorite memories on set,
and De Roda's accent might even come out. I promise
we'll be back before you know it. X O x
O x O XO is produced by Propagate Content and
(43:37):
Meat Jessica's Or. Our show is executive produced by Langley.
Our producers are Diego Tapia, Christin Vermilia, Emily Carr, and
Hannah Harris. Original music by Moxie and Luke
I'm Susanna Shotkovsky and I played Deronda on Desprol. Welcome back,
listeners to your one and only source into all things
gossip Girl. You know you love it. XO x oh, hello,
(00:28):
and welcome back to XO XO everyone. I'm your host,
Jessica's or Okay, so you've been waiting for this one.
I've been waiting for this one. I am beyond excited
to announce that my guest today is Susanna Shatkovsky, who
played the iconic de Roda on Gossip Girl. And you
know what, I don't even know where to begin with her,
(00:49):
so we're just going to skip the rewatch today and
just deep dive into her entire gossip Girl journey and
what made de Roda such an important character on the show.
Susanna and I were just together in Charleston, South Carolina.
We also were with some of our castmates, Chase Ed
and Aaron, so to have a little mini reunion and
get to see some of you amazing fans with such
(01:10):
a treat and it also leads Susanna coming on the podcast.
So I'm all smiles over here. And this one is
so good that we had to split it into two parts,
so this time will cover things like her casting story,
her relationship with Miss Blair, but obviously come back next
week for more from the one and only Susanna shatkov Ski.
(01:31):
Here she is everyone, Hi, Hi, Hi. Oh my gosh,
(01:52):
your baby is so cute. I was looking at your
Instagram pictures unless she looks just like you, It's insane.
That's so funny. Everyone keeps saying that I see it,
and then I'm also like, like, she's your twin. I'm like,
is she though? But I love that. I love that.
I want to be your twin. But wait, can I
just tell you? Seeing you in Charleston and every like,
(02:14):
all of us together just made me feel like so
good on every level, and then having you here today,
I'm just like so thrilled. We've been talking about you
for months, like from the beginning of the podcast, and
I'm like, I don't think she wants to do it, guys,
And she's not in She's not down so bad at
Instagram that I didn't see that, And it's like like
(02:36):
I never look at any messages or anything that I being, like,
I wish I could be on the podcast. You were
like one of our first people we wanted. That's amazing
and yeah, well thank you. I'm sorry, I'm so finally.
I know. It's so exciting because you're a legend and
a gangster and such an amazing actor. And here's the
(02:59):
other thing. Much on top of all of that, you're
just fucking cool, Like you're just a cool person. You've
got to like a good sense of humor. You're real
like radical and I appreciate because we had not been
around each other in a long time, but I was
just with you many years. I'm like, yo, this girl
(03:19):
is just she just knows what's up. She's got like
the coolest cute little elphit on. I'm like this, you're
just read. I do like to think that maybe I'm
a little bit cooler than Deronda on a daily basis.
I mean, I feel like I feel like she has
her her vibe and her style. But you know what, though,
(03:40):
you gave de Rota a real swagger and a real presence.
But before all of that, tell us where, tell everyone,
like where you're from? What made you get into acting? Well? Um, yeah,
so I was actually born in Poland like Deronda. So
that's that's my inn with um and I came here
(04:01):
when I was little, but I was only three when
I came to the US. I definitely am more of
a you know, American gal um, but I have a
Polish soul, so I like to maintain that. But I
grew up in the Midwest. So did you always speak
both languages? Yes, I mean I was already speaking, you know,
when I was a little baby when we came here
and then so that was really my first language. And
when I was a kid, I had an accent. So like,
(04:22):
it's so weird because I found a video of myself
when I was six or seven, and I had a
Polish accent, and so I was like a little Polish baby.
And I grew up in the Midwest in Indiana, so
there were not a lot of other Polish babies around.
So I was like a little a little unusual kid
in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Um, but I learned, you know,
I Americanized pretty quickly, but my parents always pushed me
(04:45):
to maintain my Polish. You know. I had to uh
read in Polish and write, which I really am grateful
for now because I use it, you know, professionally, and
I feel like it's an important part of my identity.
And I'm really grateful for it now. But yeah, but
like talking and speaking like this, it's like wild that
you're just like, I'll just take this other language, have
this other act, that be this completely different person from
(05:08):
this other culture. That's like ridiculously right. Well, it's funny
because it's like I've used my Polish accent as an
actor so much like my first TV job or jobs
actually were with Polish or Eastern European accents, and then
I got the Deronda Party, which was another one, and
I didn't have anything with an American accent, you know,
in my whole repertoire until like well into my acting career,
(05:32):
so it was like, you know, it definitely became a thing.
But I but I'm you know, I appreciate it, and
I've always been like, to me, it's been really important
to be authentically Polish for the Polish fans in the world,
because you know, it is an important part of my identity.
And you know, my parents had my mom passed away
Uhelve and my dad is um still to this day,
(05:56):
so many years had they had thick, thick accents that
never went away. So I had a plenty of experience
with the extreme polish accent stuff. So that comes pretty
naturally to me. Right, that's wild. But you went you
studied acting at Harvard? Yeah, I went to. Let's just okay,
don't just say yeah like that, you know I did.
(06:20):
You've never heard of studying acting at Harvard is kind
of funny because it's like all these Harvard students are
you know, I have their noses in the books, and
they're like super genious writing, writing amazing papers and thesis
and all this stuff. And I'm you know, rolling around
the floor pretending to be an animal or a tree,
because that's like acting school, even at Harvard is still
(06:41):
acting school, you know. But I did get to. Yeah,
I was there, and I was on the campus and
I pretended to be starting pants like the rest of them.
But you know, no, I went to M. Barner College
in Manhattan as an undergrad, and then I went to
the a Art Institute, which is the acting school at
Harvard for my graduate school. So sort of ussured me into,
(07:02):
I guess, my professional career. It was after grad schools
when I started auditioning and working. So back to New
York City and back to the grind. What made you
like I wanted take on acting. You know, I didn't
my first My first acting experience I think was like
sixth or seventh grade in Indiana in school, and it
(07:24):
was like I auditioned. It was for Diary of Anne
Frank and I got on the little stage for the audition.
In the minute I opened my mouth, I was like, Oh,
this is it. I was like, you know, and it
was like, you know, I totally got the bug. And
I'm not sure exactly what it was started. I always
kind of think my parents were pretty strict because it
was like I was an only child Polish parents, so
(07:48):
you know, I wasn't allowed to wear makeup, and I
think part of the appeal as a kid was that
you got to put on all this makeup and be
fabulous and glamorous. So I think that was like one
of the things I like, which is funny because then
my acting career was never glamorous again. I mean, not
that in Frank was, but you know, I did some
musicals and stuff in high school. You know, I had
(08:10):
really a lot of fun with the sort of not
just being on stage and kind of the fabulous magical transformation,
but also the community feeling of being in the theater like,
I really like that scene, and so I stuck with
it and there was no dissuading me after that. After
I got a taste of it. That's amazing. You're like,
(08:31):
I'm doing this. Yeah, so you got the bog You
were like great? And how was your family supportive? Indiana
is like the Midwest rid from Like people knew of it,
but they didn't really like they're like, what what are
you doing? What? It's a very weird thing. I mean
in high school, I was voted most likely to be famous. It'
just kind of funny because I am. It was just
(08:52):
because I did all the did all the plays, you know,
so it's like that was your that was the only,
you know, kind of way to do it. But um no,
my parents, what happens that they were that that's correct?
Do you go back and like did they win an
award for like being correct? Well? It was me, all right.
It was funny because like, yeah, I missed my I
(09:12):
just had my I won't even age myself to tell
you which anniversary I missed, but they just had like
the reunion for my high school, like a really big one,
and I did ten years right yeah, right right there
with you. Oh, but no. But you know, my parents,
my dad he has PhD in mathematics and he he
was he worked as a mechanical engineer and my mother
(09:34):
was biochemists. So for the two of them to have
an actor daughter was I think a little bit traumatizing.
Not exactly what they were looking for. They're like, who
are you saving? And how are you changing the world?
And you're like, trust do a math equation? Well, you know,
I do think, you know, they it was a little
bit of a hard sell at first, but I think
(09:56):
actually being on television made it a little bit easier
for them because they could watch me. Because then they
ended up living in North Carolina, Like they moved there
when I was in college, and so when I was
in New York working as an actor, the first time
they could see me on it on TV and they
could like show the neighbors. It was like, oh, she's
actually has a job. It's okay, It's gonna be okay.
(10:21):
So in the end, I mean, I think, yeah, they
you know, they've always been supportive and loving parents. But
I think that it was a little bit of a
hard cell. I mean, they didn't It wasn't so much
that they gave me a hard time. It was more
that they made fun of me and still do, but
my my fantastical acting aspirations. But I think that they're
happy that I kind of get to, you know, for
lack of a better word, like see the world and
(10:43):
and sort of live slash chase my dream, you know,
depending on the moment. Right, Okay, So your situation for
Gossip Girl, like it was never going to be that
de Roda was in start to finish, no, first, no, no,
it was totally unexpected. And I always tell like young
(11:04):
actors that you know, I always my advice is always
like you never know uh where the character ever know
where your opportunities lie. You know, you have this idea
that oh, this is gonna be the job that's it,
or this is the thing that this is gonna be
a great gig for me, this is my path, and
it's always a surprise, like it's never the one you
thought it was. It's always somewhere where you didn't expect
(11:25):
or see it. Because for me, um the Derotor role
was an audition for literally it was a possible recurring
guest star and the breakdown said something like sixty plus
plus housekeeper. Yeah, and there were and there were no
(11:46):
and I said no lines, and so I was like
Rota was sixty five years old and a mute, silent Yeah, yeah,
there are no lines in the There were no lines
in the first episode. And it was like, by the way,
there's so without Derota, so was no gossip Girl. Basically
it was gone, I'm I'm dropping the bike dub with
the podcast, like no gossip Girl exists. Yeah, So it
(12:09):
was like they were so basically it was like a
possibly going to recur housekeeper who didn't have any lines
and they were looking for an older woman. But the
only keyword, the only reason I even popped up, you know,
my agents even submitted me was the Polish part. I
had just played a Polish housekeeper and the Sopranos, like
in the final season this little show no one's ever
heard of that basically television a tiny part because then
(12:31):
like they had a really cool Polish housekeeper who did
a lot of stuff on that show, but that wasn't me.
And then in the final season when she was gone,
I played, uh, the Polish housekeeper for Carmel and Tony
for like three episodes. But I said a couple of
lines to Tony which was actually really thrilling, you know really,
and I'm like, you know, and he was really and
James sandal Pine, he was really nice to me and
(12:52):
he said I had a good accent and that I
was very good, and I was like so exciting. But
but it had just happened right before the gospel auditions,
so they were like, well, they know you you can
do a Polish maid, and they know you're not sixty five.
And in fact, like this always shocks people. But when
we started Gossipel, I was twenty eight, and I love
it because when you really look you don't like very young,
(13:18):
but people in person maybe say, oh, you look younger.
But the contrast and like what they did with the character,
it just made me seem like right, and we're in
a high yeah, yeah, like you and you're you know,
sixteen at the time. Yeah yeah, I supposed to be
like raising her. Yeah. And the thing is like we
always had all these lines about de Roto going to
(13:39):
feed ducks in Central Park with Blair when she was
a baby, and I was like, yes, Deronto was twelve,
you know, but anyway, literally Deronda was learning how to
walk as well. Don't worry. It's like Hollywood magic. But anyway,
so I went in for an audition and I had
there were no lines, So what do you like, you know,
(13:59):
just the different literally yes, literally for the audition, they said,
you know, improvised, like you're serving breakfast to some rich kids.
And I was like okay, um, And in the lobby right, well,
that's the thing is, I was like, I gotta do
something with personality, and so like when I signed in
in the lobby and you know the actors, I'll sign
(14:20):
in a sheet and I saw that I was the
only one with a Polish name, so I was like, oh,
I'm probably the only like, you know, legit pole in here.
So I figured let me lean into that. So when
I did the audition, I sort of improvised and I
was like mumbling and talking to myself in Polish, like
in a sort of like uh, you know, brilliant. I
(14:44):
love that. And I did it for so long and
I think it was I'm pretty sure it was Mark Pisnarski,
who was like who did the pilot and had directed
the pilot, but this I wasn't in the pilot, was
in the second episode. But I remember they let me
go on and on for you're just talking to yourself.
I'm just walking around out of polish, cursing and you know,
roll in my eyes. And and then I left. And
(15:06):
it was funny because I got the part, and I
didn't really think that was that. I was like, oh, okay,
I mean it's like no lines, like whatever. And my
agent said, you know, it's gonna probably be a good,
big show because it's based on a very popular book series.
And I thought another hit show. You're like, yeah, And
I didn't really know anything because I was just like
I never knew anything about anything I was, which is
(15:27):
also always good. I really am the same. Yeah, And
I've talked to I mean, I've heard I've listened to
your podcast. I'm a big fan, and I've heard a
lot of people can't talk with you about you know,
this idea that um, you know in this business, you know,
either make a pilot that will the pilot go? Who
knows will when we recast? Will it one continue? Will
the show get picked up? Like all of the variables
(15:49):
and uncertainty, the fact that any show ever goes at all,
much less that it becomes popular, much less that it continues,
much less that in that it then becomes part of
the Zeitgeister and you know, part of pop culture over time.
Like it's just so many phenomenal things one after the
other with the show that I didn't even know to
worry about. Like when we were talking show, I never
even occurred to me to worry that they wouldn't renew
(16:11):
it or you know, I was always on the ride,
you know, I'm just gonna talk to myself and the
most favorite pends on the show. No. But it was
like I just always was, you know. And the thing
for me is that I was always scared I would
never that they would never have me back. So it
was like in the beginning, I as Dorota's character sort
of grew over time. I never every single script, I
(16:32):
was like, I hope they didn't kill me off or
get rid of me. So I was like, I was
like waiting for that to happen for six seasons. UM.
So I never really even felt super comfortable in it. Um.
But yeah. But the funny part was the one I got,
the part they called me and said, you know, you
got the the show, And I text message my boyfriend
at the time and I said I got Gossip Girl
(16:53):
and he wrote back he was like, did you mean
this for somebody else? Because he thought I met I
got Gossip Girl, Like, hey all, I got got yeah,
And I was like, no, no, I got the show
calling off Girl. It was I showed up and my
(17:20):
first scene was with Layton. It was like a really
cool reveal for my character because it was like Lara's
speaking kind of lamenting about her day and her troubles,
and it looks like she must be talking to her
mother because he would only speak to your mother that way.
And then when they shot reverses, you see that it's
(17:41):
the housekeeper. And so even though the housekeeper had no lines,
you could see that, like, this is in this girl's life,
This is who she has to you know this, Yeah,
this is her maternal figure, and like this is kind
of you know, where she is um in terms of
her relationships her own mother. So it was automatically kind
of set up in that way, and I think, you know,
(18:02):
the the relationship between Blaren Dorota sort of grew, sort
of it grew organically, and then we had so much
fun with it, and then all this kind of silly
uh stuff started getting introduced. I remember the first episode
where it was like a funny thing happened for Deronda
was that Cyndy Lapper came in and and and Blair
(18:23):
wants to run off after Chuck or something, and then
so she ends up pushing Dorota on Cyndi Lauper like
She's like, you know, Derote is your biggest fan. And
I had this like fantastic scene with Cyndy Lapper where
I had to like, you know, freak out over her.
And so Throtta all of a sudden started having a
little you know, funny things to do, and I think
over time it started to to grow. Yeah, oh my god,
(18:44):
I love that love. And honestly, like when Norman Buckley
was on he was talking about yeah, yeah, where he
was like, you guys have to kind of lead into
this relationship because of the way Blair's relationship with her mother,
there has to be this thing. Basically, he was saying,
(19:04):
you guys have to explore this relationship right now. He
really was the guy. I mean, he and I know
you talked about this in the podcast, but he was
the one who really re established the possibilities for Dorota
because he switched up this scene where Margaret it was
written for um Claire's mom and then he made it
all of a sudden because of him and his collaboration
(19:26):
with the writers and producers, it became Derota scene and
it was really what to find that role all of
a sudden. It came from like an implied possibility to
a reality, and so he opened that door and it
was such a huge moment. It happens sometimes as an
actor where you have, uh, you know, you're sort of
doing your work over here on the side, and then
you kind of get a door that you can step through,
(19:48):
you know, and somebody has to open that up for you.
And it was for me and for Dorota it was
it literally just kind google down my whole body right now.
So cool. There's something so lovable and wonderful that you
do and bring to Deronda. The way you are balancing
all these kids that are trying to deal with all
(20:08):
these crazy emotions and money and wild, wild stuff. The
way that you played it, it's just it's it's really great.
I'm like so happy that I'm watching it now because
I'm like, really, what you did with this role is amazing,
Like you should really honestly win like an award. Oh
my god, that's well, I already have because of just
(20:30):
the nice things you're saying that means really means a
serious you know. Part of it, I think is that
like as an actor, it's like when I look at
Rona or As as that role was started developing and
those relationships with developing, it was like she was such
an easy and fulfilling characters played because she was like
all heart. So it's like the fact that um, I
(20:51):
think in a way she's functioned like dramaturgically, is sort
of like a moral center for that universe, you know,
because of just her position. You know. So it's like
all this drama was happening around her. She was the housekeeper.
But then in terms of her relationship with all the
you know kids, Uh, it was like she just loved
Blair and she was going to protect Blair and she
(21:12):
because of that, she loved Mr Chunk and she loved
and everybody you know, yeah, you know. So it was
like so it all came from that very maternal, like
very sort of um simple and deep deep deep like
maternal love center that she had, and so it was
kind of easy and fun. And it's like I can
relate to some of that. Some of that's very different
from me but you know, she um, it was always easy,
(21:35):
always had a north star, which was like what's best
for miss Blair, you know. And uh, I think that's
actually why a lot of fans like responded so much
to Grod. It was because you know, she was there
for Blair. But like when you were doing that, like
as an actor, your intentions going in to these seeds
and stuff, was it always that that was your thing.
It's to protect Lair, yeah kind of. And and part
(21:58):
of it what happened organically was so nice is that
I just like immediately had like a total um, you know,
such a nice, warm and loving relationship with Layton. So
she was the person I would always look too on set. Yeah,
and so I would find you know, her energy like
doing scenes with her. We had so much fun together
and I feel like we immediately had you know, love
(22:18):
and respect for each other. And so that translated very easily.
Like that in combination with the way the character was written,
it was really easy for me to you know, step
into sort of the protector of that character and to
go like whole hog team Blair, you know, and like
for me, some of them more fun stuff was you know,
this stuff where Dorota was sent off sort of as
(22:38):
like Blair's yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, like but I had
to go spy for her and do all that stuff.
That was so so. But it's also funny, like Chuck
is this one of these last episodes. He's like, de
Rota tip me off, she's here. I'm like, de Rota
is just talking to Mr Chuck. We got thanks going. Yes,
(23:01):
Deronda had like really good relations very interesting, detailed Blaired
relationship with Mr Chuck which I love too. Um And
because oh yeah yeah, I always say because like to me,
I'm always like when people say, like, why do you
think the fans like dr I'm like, I think it's because,
you know, something magical happened with Um Blair and Chuck,
which is the fans really but into that. That chemistry
(23:24):
of those two characters, right, you know, Team Chuck Blair
was really you know, the audience really grabbed onto that.
And then because Deronda was Blair's protector and also a
big proponent of that relations Chuck Blair all the time,
so it was very easy for fans to identify with Throat.
I almost became like an extension of fans, you know,
because I'm in there, I'm in there doing my best,
(23:45):
you know, de Rode is in there doing her best
to keep that relationship alive and keep everybody safe and happy.
So like fans saw themselves in that character, you know,
I think now that you see that, yes, that but
it's it's just like lovely and awesome and it's just
so funny. Obviously Dorota had a presence and all the things,
(24:06):
but watching it now, you really were this light in
her life that made her really get through all of that. Yeah,
and also she had she could kind of like you know,
ship on Derota when she needed to, which was great
because which is you know, it's a great relationship you
(24:27):
have with like you know, it's like a very classic
trope of all history, cinema, storytelling, literature. Everything was like
that you know, sort of sidekick, you know, nurse companion
person that you know has to do a lot of
the heavy lifting a lot of time and then also
gets the brunt of the things taken out on them
and it can be very comical. So I'd also think
(24:48):
that that was nice because Gossip Girl, I think had
such a nice mix of drama and comedy and some
tongue in cheek stuff and you know, as I think
Dorotta was a fun part to play because a lot
of the sort of sillier, more comedic moments kind of
came my way, which was also really exciting to develop that.
And you know, I had never really done I mean,
(25:11):
you know, I had done some TV, but nothing super substantial,
so it was always a learning curve to especially trying
to do funny things on camera and you're like, was
it funny? It wasn't good, I don't get a response.
And even if you're like, look when Deronda is like
surprised or shocked at things, were shocking moments at every scene,
there's like things happening on a level, and all of
(25:33):
a sudden, you see Rona in your eyes like popa
and it's just the cutest but like most real thing,
I just love it. Like I see those like you know,
little memes or whatever there are of Deronda, and you know,
it's like those funny captures of those like oh, mostly
the shock faces, like the faces of like like, OMG,
(25:56):
that's great. To the writing and producers on this like
what's great. We needed to have that because there's ship
that goes on in this show that's just not stuff
that we should just be like oh whatever, like it right.
It is shocking and it is wild and it is crazy,
and it's some of it's not okay that people and
everyone else is just like in the moment one up
(26:18):
in each other and throwing people under the bus and
like getting by like all the things. So when you
see the roads like eyes pop and chock, I'm like, yeah,
that's actually what everyone should be doing, because this is
not Yes. Yeah, sometimes she just like they're just like
observing and being like what in the world of these kids? Yeah?
And now we know Blair outside of your relationship with Blair,
(26:41):
like de Ronea Blair, who did you like? Well? I
really like For me, my favorite scenes were ones with
the old Waldorf family, like when when Cyrus Rose was introduced,
because while Sean is like such, I mean he is
such a character and like such an some phenomenon as
(27:01):
a human and as an artist, and so working with
him crazy. Margaret Colin, who played you know, Claire's mom,
I mean, she is an incredible I learned so much.
I always always I'm using something that I've learned from
Margaret whenever I work on camera and just watching her.
I mean when I say really, I don't mean like shocked.
(27:21):
I'm saying I love. Yeah, No, it's great because she
like had such a quality of like really embodying what
was on the page and then always somehow lifting it.
You know, she would meet the character in a really
interesting way. It was like so real, and then she
had such great sense of humor, but she didn't push anything.
It was like I was just was really admiring of her.
So I feel like when those scenes when it was
(27:43):
me and Leyton and Wally and Margaret and all the
you know, the Waldorf family, that was always blowing my
mind because it was just so many amazing that's much talent.
I don't even know what to do. And I mean
I had like when I had my wedding episode and
like Wally Sean this you know Cyrus character walked me
down the aisle and that was like such a thrill.
(28:04):
I was like, yeah, of course. Aaron, my husband, Eric Schwartz,
who played Vanya, is also one of my faves to
work with because like, all of a sudden road I
had a boyfriend and then a fiance and then a husband,
and he was He's so cute and so fun and
I really love Aaron and like he he also has
such a great story, you know, because he was like
child actor and he was like this, you know, very
(28:26):
cute kid and mighty ducks and what was out of
him that he did heavy weights that was very popular
back in the day. And then he kind of transformed
himself and became this like you know, physical specimen, this
like Adonis, like really uh you know his least, like
you're very buff and like hot guy. And so he
(28:46):
went from this like you know, cute little kid to
this like hot guy and you know, kind of really
the whole time working and you know, trying to make
this work for himself as an actor, which is such
a difficult road to hope for a long time, you
know what I mean, for to have a lengthy career.
So I'm always so excited for him when he gets
these career opportunities. And so when he became Vania, I
thought he was just like the sweetest and it was
(29:08):
like an inspirational story and exciting and he's you know,
really really funny as Bonnia. So we had a fun time.
I love that. And did you feel like that storyline
they kind of probably wrote into that as it was
like happening like I don't was that like in the
script before No, no, you know you know how that
started so weird um and it speaks to so much
(29:30):
about at a different time we were in when we
made Gossip Girl. Is that it was around season two.
I want to say Verizon, who was a huge sponsor
of Yeah, Verizon came to Gossip Girl and they they said,
because like they were always a big sponsor, because like
their phones were all you know, those like flip phones
and stuff that those like weird old phones that we had,
(29:50):
you know, they were always Brizon phones. The Verizon came
to Gossip Girl and they said that they wanted to
do a spinoff as a web series that would only
be available to Verizon customers on Verizon devices. So, by
the way, that's really awesome and gangster, it wasn't that funny,
and so they were like, so they're like, let's make
a staff and so they considered I think a couple
(30:12):
of options. One was the option that ended up becoming
the Gossipel spinoff. You know, when they they wanted to
make the one about Lily when she was a kid.
They ended up doing that storyline trying that one now
later on, but the other one, they thought, well, why
don't we just do a De Rota backstory spin off,
So they made this thing called Chasing de Rota, which
(30:34):
is available on the DVDs if you buy a DVD
can listen. Everyone go buy the d and this because
and then it's I think you can see it on
YouTube too. But it's like basically we made I can't
remember how many episodes, and it was like there were
many episodes. They were like a four minutes long eache
or something. We made several of them, six eight of them,
(30:55):
something like that. So it was like filmed on the
gospel sets, but it was ust Dorota Vanya and then
Dorota's two best friends. One was Um, one was like
Serena's cook, and then one was like Nates housekeeper or something,
you know. But no, they ended up both coming back
for like a little montage at one point, but Aaron.
(31:18):
That's where Aaron where Vanya was introduced. So in the
Chasing Derota series, we find out that in Poland she
had some sort of royal title, but her husband was
like abusive and she felt trapped, so she escaped from
Poland to escape her usive relationship, came to the US
became a housekeeper and then falls in love with Vanya
(31:38):
the dormant, and then the Polish husband ends up chasing
her down, and then Vania and the Polish husband had
like fisticuffs over her get into it, and this is
all in they's web sites, and it's so weird, and
it was like the weirdest thing for me because it
was like, um, you know, all of a sudden, Dorota
was like the lead of the show, which I was
(32:00):
so unused to, and I found it really like it
made me feel so vulnerable and strange because I used
to pop in and out and doing like a you know,
one liner here and there. But to all of a
sudden be the romantic lead was so foreign to me.
So I was like it was a strange thing. And
then it was I love that. So people watched, I
mean some people watched this thing on the Brizon you know,
phones or whatever. But then, because they were really happy
(32:22):
about the about Aaron and Ivania and they thought it
was a cute storyline and it worked, they ended up
introducing that character into the normal season and so he
showed up. He showed up then and then you know,
became Derota's boyfriend. And then then that proposing her. So
it was such a weird start, and but it really
speaks to the fact that back then Gossiper was on
(32:42):
the cusp of so many things in terms of, like,
you know, the way we watched television now, and one
of the things was like there were no like a
web series and streaming and stuff like that was so
brand new. So it was one of the first web series.
Really was this like Chasing Derota thing, so you know,
it was really kind of on the on the forefront
(33:04):
of television kind of moving to the internet. Yeah, so
it was pretty cool. Did you find it crazy that
dad was gossip Girl? Oh? Yeah, And like, Okay, that's
(33:27):
the number one I think you can say to me.
The number one thing people say to me is they're like, well,
we thought maybe through it was gossip Girl. And the
other thing is I thought maybe she would be too,
But I'm so glad she wasn't because of what we've
been talking about, which is the like, I feel like
Droto was a pure hearted human being who was like
earnest and like had a good intentions. So if if
(33:50):
she had ended up being gossip Girl, it would have
been like the what that would have meant about her
character and her like, you know, being duplicitness and backstabbing
too Blair and all that's like, like I really wouldn't.
Although it would have been a cool twist, it would
have been I think, really disappointing for me and my
understanding of who drown it is. So I'm really glad
it wasn't drow Up. Whether or not it makes sense
(34:10):
that Dan was constable, I'm not so sure on that either.
But you know, I don't know who it could have been.
But a lot of I thought it was going to
be you. Yeah, I really, I mean people always say
that to me, and who did you think it was you?
At one? Boy? I did, because like you know, we
all didn't know. I love that you thought. I mean,
I told itally just like maybe it's me and you know,
(34:33):
but the thing is that they I don't know. I mean,
I really don't know even if pen knew ahead of
that last episode, but that you know, all those redacted
scripts and the fact that we didn't know who it was,
and then I kept thinking it might be me, And
then when I found out it was Dan, I was
like I remember sitting around when we shot that those
last scenes, and we had there was a scene, yeah,
(34:53):
reacting to it, and everybody's like sitting there like being like, wow,
it's Dan And in between takes all of the actors
were like, wow, it's damn. But we were always doing
the same thing, like trying to make sense of it,
you know what I mean. So funny because that's like
a long that was a long time coming. Oh yeah,
I mean yeah, they really had to, yeah, go back
(35:18):
and trying to make sense of that. Yeah. Everyone always
asked did you know I'm like no, No one really knew. No. No,
the whole fairly were like fully blacked out, like it
was nuts. Did you have fittings every week? No? I
had like two fittings in the history of because I
held well, yeah, it was such a fashion show and
(35:39):
I was the only one that I mean, I always
had my same uniform. And then I had like a
couple of pregnancies on the show, so they would like,
you know, give me a pregnancy, but it was always
the same uniform. I mean, it wasn't me pregnant, right,
but she was, but she was, But so they you know,
they made those adjustments. But then um, I would say
probably maybe four or five times over six seasons did
(36:03):
I get in an outfit to where that wasn't my uniform.
And it was always some sort of wedding, so it
was like my own wedding and I had like a
rehearsal dinner dress. And then Blair's wedding to the Prince,
and there was I think I was invited to Lily's wedding.
One of her mother wrote up was invited everywhere at
all days because I remember being at a garden party wedding,
(36:27):
which I think was really so like the few weddings
I got to have like fancy dresses a minute. It
was so fun because I was like, this is what
you guys are experiencing, you know, going in and getting
all the fancy stuff and then and I always thought
it was such a thrill until you know, two hours
into shooting and I was like, oh, these offen suck.
These are uncomfortable, very very practical shoes, and it's very comfortable.
(36:52):
But you know what's really really crazy. There is a
world in which these people have money like that and
I have aids and have butlers and have drivers and
have and that was just wild to me because I'm
like Midwest grew up so far from that, like, oh
me too. I mean, don't you agree? Is that it crazy? No,
(37:14):
it's wild to me and I've never I mean, I
lived in New York for a while because they came
here to go to college, and I just didn't even
know that world really existed, you know, in the way
that it does. And but it had such a weird
experience on set we went to you know, most of
the time I was on set on the in the
sound stage. You know, we had the interiors of everything
built out in the sound stage. But once in a
(37:35):
while I would get to go on location, uh like
sort of less off and I think than other people
because they didn't leave the house that much as Torona.
But for the Thanksgiving episodes, the kitchen, like the Waldorf kitchen,
was in a house on Central Park West. It was
like a mansionette, so it was like a double house,
(37:55):
like right off Central Park in that up east side,
and that's where they had They had rented it out
to shoot the kitchen one year, so then every year
we went back for the same kitchen set, and then
they also shot I want to say it was Nate's
dining room was also in that same house. So whenever
there was a Thanksgiving episode, we always used that house.
And when we would go there, it was the most
(38:17):
incredible mansion. I mean, these people had like Rodan and
Monet and they had um oh, Norman Rockwell. So these
people had the most fantastic house I've ever seen in
my life, and it was like beyond anything even set
Young Gossip Grol. And I always wondered why they would
let the people in their their house, and I figured
(38:38):
it out finally, was because they had teenage daughters who
went to that school that Gossip Rol was based on.
So they so obviously they talked their parents into and
they were like, let them shoot at our house. And
then they used to always like come by and like
with their friends and like watch the shooting and pretend
like pretend not to be super excited about it. But
their video village, yeah, it was like their house. But
the reason I bring it up is that when I
(38:59):
was there, I was sitting in a chair, like you know,
waiting for whatever to happen, and I saw their Derota
and she walked past me and they look an elevator
in their house, and she got and she was wearing
the Derota uniform apron. She even had like a little
head like head gear thing on. It wasn't quite the headband,
but it was similar. And she was in the outfit
and she like looked at me, and we like looked
(39:19):
at each other and she just started like cracking up.
Like I was like, I play you on TV. I
was like, I play you on TV. And she was like, yeah,
this is so funny. And I was like, you know,
this is a world that we were portraying. It was
pretty you know, it was over the top certainly, but
I think a lot of it had it's you know,
the nuts and bolts were very real and and you know,
(39:40):
and my character was based on a real life character
from one of the show creators childhood. He had a
grow up with sudden like a Dorota type figure. Because
my character is one of the only people who didn't
originate from the books. Yeah, yeah, so there was some
kind of which also a volumes. Yeah, so that's so
(40:01):
rare that you're just like, I wasn't even in the books.
But listen, I'm here and I'm gonna make some noise.
But you know, that whole lifestyle of those kids, like
the I mean, the going out in the bar, hopping
and the clubs and all that like stuff. You know.
I feel like I've seen many different documentaries about weird
(40:21):
New York things now and I'm like, yeah, oh no,
that's true. That happens up there on the like they
go out and live it up. Yeah, it's a wild
living in New York. Everything's at your fingertips. So you
walk out of your home and you could get in
a cab, or you can get on the subway and
you can go anywhere. When you live in a small
town or other cities where it's like hard to get somewhere,
(40:44):
it takes a little more effort, you know what I mean. Yeah,
when I was in high school in Indiana, like the
only thing we did would drive around from the Then
we'd sit in the Taco Bell parking lot and just
wonder where we were gonna go next, you know what
I mean, Like we were just like whose house we're
going to? It was just like yeah, or there was
like a bomb yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, we had that
too because we had the country, you know, their foreign
parties and stuff. But you know, it's so wildly different. Yeah,
(41:07):
And I see, um young people who grew up in
New York City and they have the entire world with
their fingertips. You're so right about that. Yeah, it's just
a different way, and there's there's something so beautiful about that.
And also anyone that I know that grew up there,
they're so wise beyond their years. They are very like worldly,
they know stuff. They're streets smart. They because it's also
(41:30):
a city where you just learn. There's art and there's music,
and there's people of the culture. Yeah, there's just it's
a constant like That's that's what I love about that city.
You know, you never want to sit still. You want
to keep going and learning and doing things. And it's
also what I don't like about the city because I'm like,
you could never just I could never really being around. Yeah,
(41:50):
like read a script or a book on the couch
and I hear like the subway and the horns and
like music. I'm like, I gotta be doing something, get
out there. But such a great city in that way,
and I will say they did a really good job
of capturing that and and go absolutely, I think it's
huge and I feel like you can really see you know,
(42:11):
a lot of fans come to visit New York and
they go in the gossoepl Girl Tour of us and
they go to see the things, and I think it's
because you know, that essence of Gospel Girl, it really
is captured. It's like, you know, related to the physical
space that we're in, so you can actually go and
visit it, like it doesn't exist in fantasy land, like
it's it's here. So it's cool. When I talked to
(42:33):
New York next, let's go on that tour. Yeah, let's
do it. I didn't you did. I've never done it
when I was like back when we were shooting still
like it was happy when we were shooting, it was
like the final seasons. Yeah, yeah, you know, we have
to go. They were. People would love it because like
it's so fun because you you know, answered the insider juice,
(42:55):
you know. Yeah, yeah, I would love to do that
with you. Let's do it, and if anyone else is there,
we can get Sebastian or Chase or later and we
should do it. It would be really fun. That would
be so cool. Okay, I'm so sorry, guys. I know
you want to hear the rest of this conversation, so
(43:17):
just hold tight until next week's episode. We're going to
talk about the minions, some of Susanna's favorite memories on set,
and De Roda's accent might even come out. I promise
we'll be back before you know it. X O x
O x O XO is produced by Propagate Content and
(43:37):
Meat Jessica's Or. Our show is executive produced by Langley.
Our producers are Diego Tapia, Christin Vermilia, Emily Carr, and
Hannah Harris. Original music by Moxie and Luke
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