Zuzanna Szadkowski Vol. 2

Jessica is back for more with Zuzanna Szadkowski, the brains behind Dorota. In the second part of their conversation, they’ll discuss Zuzanna’s takes on the show’s key relationships, working with dogs and babies on set, and almost kind of being in a paparazzi photo that one time.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
I'm Zuzana Shakovsky and I played COROTA on gossip row.
Welcome back, listeners, to your one and only source into
all things gossip crow. You know you'll love it. Xo

(00:25):
X oh, welcome back to Xo XO. I'm Jessica's or
and I promised we wouldn't make you wait too long,
so I'm gonna keep this quick. Okay, so today we're
continuing our epic deep dive conversation with the one and
only de Roda, also known as Zuzana Shatkovsky. Last time,
you'll remember, we talked about how she got cast in

(00:47):
the show even though she was only twenty eight years
old and they were looking for a sixty year old,
how her character basically raised Blair and the mini spinoff
series she's shot called Chasing de Roda. This episode, you'll
hear our conversation about Blair's minions, the Paparazzi on set
and her favorite couples on the show. So let's just
jump back in with her. Zuzana Shatkovski, let me ask

(01:24):
you this. What do you think about the minions? Do
you think de Roda like respected these minions that literally
follow Blair around and like think the sun shines out
of her asshole. You know. I feel like that, like
she always had to kind of babysit them a little
bit in a way. Um. So I feel like there
were a lot of a lot of eye rolls about
certain minions behaviors. Um. So I think that, Um, I

(01:46):
think there was some instances where Groda end up having
to kind of keep them in line. I remember, like
there was the entire story about the La when when
Blair had the you know, was designing so Deronda had
to do a lot of trouble shooting and a lot
of like cleaning up with the mess, and so I
feel like the minions probably, like we're a little bit
exhausting for her. It's just the whole dynamic for Blair.

(02:12):
It's so funny to me. And then she was so
mean to those minions too. So funny, like so mean
to them. It was so like some of the ship
she says. I'm like, Blair, it's Hilarious, it's really funny.
That was it was just that was a very good

(02:33):
like Blair, all of you, De Roda, the minions, like again,
like your reactions to the craziness that's going on Blair's
one liners, her steaming her, you know what I mean,
and then like her relationship with her mom. It was
so grounded in a way to where it's like, okay,
this is why she's acting like this because she doesn't
get get or have this from her family. Right. It's

(02:57):
like a little different set of expectations, right. You know,
I think it's so interesting with the minions because I
think there's such a great example of what works about
gossip girl two, which is it? You have sort of
an over the top situation and you kind of really
go there with the dialogue and, you know, the detail,
but the performances it's like they have to be moored
in some kind of like real heart and like earnest place,

(03:20):
like some kind of desperation or whatever, you know, like
so that those performances it's like, you know, if you
think about like what Amanda Sat and did or our
Alice Callahan, it's like those characters were all so fleshed
out and so different from each other and so the committed,
you know. So every single one of those performances was
like in a full, fully committed mode, so that when

(03:41):
you watch it, all of a sudden they're actually real people,
even though they're the things that they're doing are so
insane and like right. And then even, yeah, Nicole Dream, yeah, like,
I mean all of them doing it, Nelly, Yuki like
and those that and it created a tapestry of like
the person alities that are supported Blair. I mean, like

(04:02):
you said, you know, it's like for Blair to be
the Queen Bee, like there has there has to be
the context and those kind of that context has to
be real and has to be like full. And so
for all of those performances to be so specific and
you know, that's it's kind of like, uh, you know,
a master class and the character work, because everybody kind
of figured out what's the essential thing here at play

(04:24):
and then just played the hell out of it and
it became funny and real and you can empathize with
it and you could go with it and and those
characters were beloved, you know. So I think it's a
really cool example of how TV can like really be special.
You know, absolutely, and what people would really like trip
and I remember when my sisters would come, they would
like be like, oh my gosh, it's crazy that when

(04:46):
you yell cut, like Layton goes over and like hugs
and last with the coal or like right, right, right, yeah,
they're laughing like the road out, you know what I mean,
like because people you see what you see and you
don't understand and literally cut and it's like Oh, yeah,
they're like laughing and hugging or all of us. You know,
which is is the best part about it, which also
made it fun to do. You know. Yeah, like I

(05:09):
have like some really fun pictures from like the final
season and and I have these cute pictures of like
me and Layton and Michelle tractonburn just like giggling about
something because she's playing this insane Georgina, you know. But
it was it was always so funny to me how like,
you know, in between everybody was just like how committed
they were to these like bigger than life characters and

(05:29):
able to be believable in them when really so different.
They're all like very chill, very sweet, you know, down
to our humans. Yeah, totally. What do you think? What
do you think? De Rhoda Thought of like Blair and
Serena's relationship? I don't remember so much, like I mean,
I know I definitely had some moments where I was

(05:52):
like in scenes with Serena kind of, but there are
very few people that could actually hurt Blair, you know,
like like Serena was one of those people who would
actually like get in there and like break her heart. Um,
hence a lot of the drama that they developed between them.
And so I feel like for Garrote, yeah, that would
probably the one in the most dangerous relationships that, you know,

(06:12):
if she was invested in Um and protecting Blair's heart. But,
you know, I think that it's a little bit similar
to the Chuck Relationship and right from Der Rhoda's point
of view, as if de Roode is like, you know,
a little bit removed, you know, and coming at it
from a slightly more mature vantage point of just having
had more life experience or whatever, that she could always

(06:32):
be on team chuck because she knew that, as much
as the bad stuff would happen between them, that there
was fundamentally, yeah, that there was a real love and
that things would be okay in the end, because in
the end we're dealing with, you know, the highs and
lows and of youthful love, right, and so I feel
like she believed in it in a like a long
game way, and I think she probably had a similar

(06:55):
feeling about the friendship with Serena that, you know, she
knew from being in her wise old age, however old
she was, you know that they would be friends. You
know down the line they would look back and laugh
at all of these like really horrible things to each other.
So I think that there was probably a little bit

(07:15):
of sort of an emotional maturity to let let her
you know, not and I also feel like de Roda
probably also saw that. Like they really do love each other,
Blair Serena love each other, but they're so different and
the things that I think getting the way of their
whether it's the jealousy or shadowing or trying to be

(07:37):
it's it's it's wild to me because I'm also like,
whatever you think Serena is doing to you, Blair, you
don't even you're not even that person, you know what
I mean, like you're just, you know, you're you're so
far from what Serena is and Serena so far from Blair.
So and maybe that's part of it. But it's also
just funny because I think in high school, yeah, it's

(08:00):
a very hard time, but in my experience, when you
do connect and find that with a girl and there
isn't a jealousy and you do support each other and
you have that. It's it's really a special thing. So
I think Serena Blair have that. And again, it's a
TV show. There's IT's entertainment. Obviously, like I'm like getting
real deep. No, but it makes so much just very funny. Yeah, because,

(08:23):
like I no matter how far down the road and
life you get, it's like those high school experiences, that
time of life, they affects you. Yeah, it's formative for reasons,
because you're becoming who you are. You know, you find
these kind of like heart, heart to heart connections when
you're young. That can you know, that can have the longevity.
And then, of course they have to go through all

(08:44):
this like, you know, high school drama, because I feel
like the reason we like gossip girl and other shows
about high school experience, like even, you know, as adults
and all kinds of different people like those shows, is
because in high school that's when we are like only
living our emotional lives, you know, like like our like

(09:04):
the steaks of our hearts, everything, everything, everything, the love
of your life, it's your best friend. It's the craziest dance.
It's the craziest sport, it's the craziest essay and nothing's
indulged by the responsibilities of, you know, life that later
on kind of come come into play. It's like all
everything is just it's just full throttle emotional living and

(09:27):
like it's great to watch. You know, we can relate
to it. You know, I love it. I love all
this stuff. I totally and I again think that's where
the writing on this show and even with the parents
in the in the show, I'm finding now when I'm
watching it, I'm like, Holy Shit, like what Kelly is,
what lily is going through, from losing bart to trying

(09:50):
to figure out this thing with Rufus and then to
be like a step mom to chuck and then be
there for Serena and Eric and then you know she's
got Dan and Jenny. I'm like, Yo, are you super mom,
because that's crazy. Yeah, and again they did such a
good job of making sort of the you know, the
older characters fully they exist on their own terms also.

(10:10):
So it's I feel like sometimes when you look at
a show that comes at you from a certain point
of view, like this, the high school drama, then those
parents are just sort of exist, you know, to bounce
things off of. You know, they're just like Erpherl and
here they have their own lives, their own insecurities and
vulnerabilities and all that stuff. That shows you why they
parent the way that they do and how it has

(10:32):
an impact on their kids and how, you know. So
it's a really complicated tapestry. They woke, which I think
is was quite ingenious and like there's a reason why
all kinds of people like the show. Like the reason.
There's a reason why it's not just it only doesn't
only resonate with, you know, private school kids. Yeah, it
resonates with the IT resonates like people all over the

(10:54):
age age gamut. Like even when I when I did
the show, he used to be so surprised because, like,
people would come up to me on this treat Um,
you know that we're like dudes wearing business suits and
they're like fifties and they'd be like row and I
was like what do you watching the show? And I
was like this, this is just a show for, you know,
young kids who are living this experience. It's a show

(11:15):
that resonates with a lot of people. So it's cool.
They really did ye, writing, for sure, and there's like
something to be said, even when it goes to the parents,
if it's not like the flashy thing with Serena or
the drama with Blair. You never you always want to
see what's going on, because they always tied things together
in this spider web way that like you didn't want

(11:38):
to take your eyes off the TV. And then literally
the episode will end and take the wildest turn and
I'm like, are you not? Where would you come up
with the ship? Yeah, and then when people were watching
it live, they had to wait a whole week. I
mean that's what it's wild to me. It's like when
the fact that they, you know, created so much did
that's drama and stuff. Yeah, you know, it's like effect that, Um,

(12:01):
the original format was not binge watch and you had
to wait a whole week to see, like what happens
now with Ivy or whatever. You know, you're like, do
you on other shows that you've done? You've done table reads. Right, yes, yes,
can you imagine if we did table reads? Oh my God,
I was gonna say I never took one on Gossiprol,

(12:21):
but I guess nobody did. We never did. We never
so interesting. I Tho. Wow, I've done table reads, one
on every shiple I just thought it was always a
table reading, unless you know sometimes an everyone's invited. But
the never occurred to me that of course we didn't know.

(12:42):
We never did it, and I don't know. I don't
know if that was part of the reason that, like
the writer's room was in l a at the time.
Maybe it wasn't really like zoom and all the things
that we have now. Probably, but I also don't I
also think it was probably better we didn't because just
the energy and this stuff without like shifting and rewriting

(13:02):
when you hear it out loud, I think it just worked. Yeah,
it's kind of like, yeah, you'd always be just like
right on the ride. Yeah, right, exactly. I went to
l a one time to the writer's rooms, like I
went to visit them. I was happy to be in
L A and I went to visit and that amount
of crazy stuff on the white boards all around the room, storyboards,
and I was like looking and I was like and

(13:22):
they were like don't look over there, and I was
like okay, I was like so nuts. It's just like
every color marker on the storyboard, like it was every
which way. Yeah, and you know, I mean it's a
lot of episodes every year, a lot of Swiss and turns,
a lot of characters and, like you said, I think
one of the interesting things that they did so successfully
is that they kept it was a real uh ensemble show,

(13:46):
because all of the characters were interesting and we were
invested in all of them. That wasn't like, you're right,
there wasn't like the boring family that we didn't care
about the week. You know that. You there wasn't the
part where, like, I go to the bathroom during this part.
It was always and that happened on a lot of shows. Yeah,
and you just I just don't find that with gossip girl,
like if Kelly and Rufus or bart or anyone in
the Waldorf family comes on you, you're interested to see

(14:08):
what's going to happen, because they dialed it in and
connected the dots so brilliantly. Yeah, that you you didn't
want to miss a beat, and I think that's what's really,
really great. Yeah, and I know, I'm from listening to
your podcast that, like you know, every actor has their
own coping mechanisms for being an actor, you know, and
what they do and how they you know, how they
whether they're able to watch themselves or not or whatever.

(14:30):
But like, you know, I happened to be one of
those people that, mostly for probably unhealthy reasons, but I
always watched what I always watched what I do because
I'm like, I'm always very secure about it. So I'm like,
let me see how bad it is, and I'm like, Oh,
it's not so bad. But Anyway, I was one of
the people who watched. I watched Gossipearl as it was
airing and like I was like a fan of the
show and watching it. So I would show up on
set and sometimes you know ed or or Laton or somebody,

(14:54):
to be like how's the show? What's going on in
the show? And I want to be like well, it's good,
in fact this week, and it's like funny because I
you know. So I was actually having a double experience
because I was honestly working, but then I was also
watching it like a fan, and also because my stuff
was so, you know, I was in my kind of lane.

(15:15):
So I was like, you know, often just in the
Waldorf House and often in the only in certain storylines.
So a lot of it was news to me. I mean,
you know, I would get the scripts I was in,
I didn't read all of them, and then I would
see the show and I was into it, you know.
So it's funny because now it's been a while, I
should probably go and rewatch the whole thing too, because
it's probably be you know, forgotten a lot of stuff.

(15:36):
You should, because it's wild. It's crazy. I forgot. There's
stuff I'm in and I'm like, does she hook up
with him? The other day my sisters like, Jessica, you
played her. Did you kissed the guy or not? Honestly, don't, Rebo. So, no,
what's common? Yeah, it's funny. Yeah, it's insane. All the

(16:07):
sets were so great, like all the flowers, the flowers,
oh my God, it was insane, those flowers, and I'd
always be like all right, well, I'll take some at
the end. If no one's gonna take up they're like
take off. I would have like flowers all over my
place in New York after that, because sometimes you could.
You wouldn't have the same flowers in the next scene

(16:28):
or you know whatever, but the way it was just decorated.
But I always loved coming to the to the Blair's house,
like Vanessa had to go there. I always liked filming
there a lot. Yeah, it was cool, it really was.
And then and then the funny because, like I had
a lot of experience with the you know, the cutlery
and the tea toots and stuff. And it's funny because

(16:50):
they had the nicest, obviously China and everything. And sometimes
so I'm like kind of a discerning eye, for I
can tell that pattern and that I've seen it swere
in the world, like Oh, that's the Waldorf's China's real
stuff there, which they never changed out. If it was
like it was whatever, it was designer China, like what

(17:13):
you know, everything, everything, you know, that's it was. Really
that was probably the most taxing part of my job,
was the fact that everything was so nice and real.
So I often was carrying a tray. It was just
like very, very often happened. And that stuff was heavy
because it was like silver. And then I'd like the
teapots and all this stuff, and so I would have
these like heavy, heavy trays so that when we wrapped

(17:34):
at the end, they said, you know, they're like, do
you want to take something, and I was like, so
I took up the biggest tray. That was kind of
the Albatross of my experience. So I haven't it's like
the silver tray with like feet on it and it's
like really heavy and like, you know, Nice. It doesn't.
I mean, I don't have any stuff like that in

(17:55):
my life, so it kind of sticks out like a
sore thumb in my in my house, but it's like
I have this big old silver, fancy tray and I'm
the other thing I took actually, was my head band,
I love. Yeah, I was just kind of cute. Let's
talk about that for a second. In a scene when
you're holding those that ship is heavy and you can't

(18:17):
you have to keep it in the same place, in
the same spot, like Oh, I definitely had some problems sometimes,
like clinking glasses, because my arms start shaking after like
ten takes and then they're like hey, hey, you do
not set the glass down out of your line. You're like, well,
I have to set it down when she said uh,
because I set it down when she said on nine times.
But yeah, I'll just like wait a beat and then

(18:39):
you're like trying not to think about it. Yeah, you know,
I'm actually like a real expert on the kind of minutia,
technical life stuff, because of my scene work on gossip
girl had to do with some sort of you know,
tea service, food, you know, so that thing of like
hitting the same mark with like putting down the plates

(18:59):
and picking up the teacup and the business. Like I
was always doing business, and so now if I ever
work on any sets and they give me any business,
I'm like, oh the problems. People love me because I'm like,
I know just I always get it in the right spots,
I'm picking it up the right dirt way, you know.
So it's like I had a lot of business and
the one that was the hardest was kind of funny.

(19:20):
It was there was a whole storyline where Blair got
a bulldog. Handsome, yes, but was it because of school? Ever?
I think so. It was with Yale, maybe. Yeah, I
was doing Yale. Yeah, and there was the bulldog and
the bulldog came in and it was puppy, a teeny
bulldog and was so cute and I had to carry it,

(19:42):
you know, around and then that's like a difficult thing
to do in a scene like, let's just be honest,
a baby or a puppy. And this thing, ever, it's
a difficult thing. Yeah, and he was already he was like,
you know, fine at first, and then we took a
hiatus for the holidays and when we came back to
the same episode and that dog was like full grown,

(20:04):
because it grew. And so then I had to carry
it and it was so heavy and the man was
like handing it to me and I was like, dude,
this is such a because it was a big old
bulldog and by that point my arms were like going numb.
And then you're trying not to complain, because it's the
dumb thing to complain about, but you're like, can we
please speed this up or make a change, because this

(20:25):
dog is on a wheel dy Oh my God. But
did they only have one? They had that one and
they thought for some reason they didn't think that it
would change over the maybe they had another one of
it or something, but whatever it was that if they
were twins or brothers and they both grew up, because
the continuity was weird, but they just like rolled with it.

(20:47):
They just went with it. Yeah, because there was a
there's a baby that comes along. Yeah, because I remember
I had to Oh my God, it's and you also,
for me, I like felt weird because I'm like does
this bag? We even want to be here like them? Yeah,
I just like I had a birth scene, like I
sided to give birth to my baby on a gossip

(21:08):
girl and they handed me the newborn baby like to
my arms and so, you know, then the smallest they
can get, like you know with the Union, three months. Yeah,
and so the mom was like I could see her.
She was like she wasn't supposed to step into the set,
so she was. The baby was carried from the mom
to meet by like a baby nurse. By the way,
if someone told me I can't be by my three

(21:29):
month old child, I'd be like you can get out
of here by yeah, and I can't. Looking at the
mom thing, like is this? Who was this fun for?
But I guess people like being on TV. Yeah, but yeah,
but the baby, I remember being like Oh, and I
was so uncomfortable about it because it was like so
fresh of a baby and I was like I don't
what the responsibility holding him, but you know, I was

(21:52):
laying down. It was fine. They like said it and
then they worked with a little a few minutes at
a time, but I remember thinking like yeah, so, yeah,
there were twins. One cries that they break the other
one and I'm like, Oh my God. Yeah, so this
woman had to bring her twins in from, you know,
Long Island or remember that she had like a long commute.
Oh my God, I forgot that the ROADA had a baby. Yeah,
I had too, because I had the one that was

(22:13):
like season three I think, and then that I was
pregnant when I got married to the Vanya character, and
then I had another one later, which was purely a
plot device because there was like a reveal with like
a pregnancy test in a trash can. But they I
forget if you thought it was Blair or Serena or something.
It was like and then it turned out to be
me again, just popping babies out, taking practice test in

(22:37):
Blair's bathroom for some reason. But you know, wait, who's
The dad all the time? Well, it was Bonnia, all
of them. Yeah, well, mine, Yeah, Mine, mine was Bonya because,
like the reason we got married because I was pregnant
with his baby and then and then we had a
second baby later. But yeah, but yeah, but there was

(22:59):
other babies to Georgina had a baby. That was baby
was pretty present. I think. I can't remember. There was
another baby's too? Yeah, because my babies were only there
a couple of times, but it was still fair. How
about Rufus and really having a baby, another child? Right?
It's like so nice that you're watching it back in order,
because it's like yeah, all those things, I know all
of this stuff that happened. No, I mean, I don't
remember all of it, but it's like all one big soup. Okay, wait,

(23:22):
let's just do this, because I'm having so much fun
with you. Who would who do we like to see
each other with? We obviously like chuck and Blair. I
like chucking Blair. whould you like to see Serena with
Serena and Dan? No, I think Serena. Didn't Serena and
nate have a thing at one point at the beginning?
Wasn't the first one? Yes, I think that was in

(23:43):
the bar at the YEP. I feel like I like
that just just for starters. But Um, I really liked
Vanessa and Dan. So I feel like the original setup,
you know, from those first seasons, like you know, when
everyone kind of found their love matches. I always kind
of got stuff on those. I feel like that's the
only person that works for Vanessa. There and really, when

(24:05):
I'm watching it now, I'm like they're just very similar.
They like the same thing. Yeah, it just made sense
because we're like they're cute together. You know, it's funny.
It's like I used to always say to people. Look,
like people always ask me about, you know, stuff on
the set and all the actors and whatever, and I
would always say about you, I would say she's the
sweetest person and she's the most beautiful person I've ever

(24:26):
seen in person. I was like the fact that nobody's
always feel like it's really crazy, like when you walk
in the room, people are like because they are so
striking and you have such a beautiful heart that like
radiates three or so. You're just like a lovely human.
So I used to always tell the village you were
the one that when anybody asked me, like who's the
most beautiful person? Who got the girl world, they're like

(24:47):
you're like just, Oh my God, you are the sweetest.
That makes me so happy. So I always like to
see Vanessa happy too. I was a big fan of that. Yeah,
feel like, Vanessa, get it, get you got it, get it. Yeah,
that's so sweet of you. It's funny you say that
because like even when I just saw your face pop

(25:09):
up on here before we went, like your skin is fawless,
you have the biggest heart, you're so sweet and lovely
and when you see your smile and everything, you're so
warm and beautiful and like literally what you did for
a character that didn't have lines, like that's how beautiful
and amazing and talented you are. So when you're saying that,
that just made me feel so warm and happy and

(25:29):
I love you for saying that and appreciate it. Well,
I really do think that this show like really part
of the magic of it, like the reason that people
still really are moved by it and just love it
to death. It's like is the human contact. These characters
are fleshed out by just the right people and it

(25:49):
has the right kind of chemistry amongst the cast and
that charisma that the individual actors bringing their individual ways,
and it's it's like everything is sort of in its
right place, you know, and like every character is brought
to life by the right human and like so it works,
and so then people really love it and it's lasting because,
like you can tell, like there are a lot of
shows and whatever years were or whatever it was would

(26:12):
finished doing this, you know, and not all of them
still have the same kind of Fan Fervor and commitment,
you know, but I think it's personally because these characters
are really like fleshed out with love. Yeah, it's got
to be the craziest thing for like Josh and Stephanie
to take this, you know, get option the books, make
it into a TV series, go to the network and

(26:33):
just really have the faith with the casting, with the cast,
with the producers, with you know, wardrobe, hair and makeup,
the camera. You just have to have faith that it's
going to work, and I think they did a good job.
I think. Yeah, right, yeah, you see, like people so
excited about it, you know, who are newly watching it,

(26:53):
like young people now who are watching it, and then
people who watching it, who like still hold it dear
after all this time and continue to watch it or
have some connection to it. You know, it's cool and
people have Um, you know, they kind of grew up
on it a certain way and saw themselves reflected in
one way or another. or or was it or it
was escapism. I think it's a good mix of the
two things because, like, for sure, you know, there's things

(27:13):
people relate to you, but it's also this fantastical other,
the world of like Glamour and yeah, flashy, Flash, yeah,
all the things the city, these vibes. Do you know what?
We were just in Charleston. This girl came up to
me and she said, I just have to tell you.
She said, I'm losing my mom to cancer and the

(27:37):
only thing it's gonna make me cry, it gets me through,
is watching gossip girl. And I'm like the fact that
like we can do something when someone's literally having like
a life or death situation, to give them a moment,
it's like really beautiful. It is beautiful. No, it absolutely
makes sense and people, I mean it's like, you know,

(27:58):
that feeling when it's most like you can be with
your your extended family or your friends, you know, and
it has the quality of a show where you can
always go in and kind of get away from things
for a little bit and feel connected to another story
and uh, and it means a lot and the fact
that those people, there are so many people that are
touched and moved by in that it's important to them

(28:19):
and every time I meet someone like that that's a
really special gift and it's like one of those things
about being an actor. That's like beyond imagine. Night you're like,
how lucky might I get to do such a fun
job that I love so much, and it's like insane
to me that I ever get to do it? And
then the fact that I not only did I get
to do it, but I got to be I got
to walk around inside of that world that other people,

(28:41):
you know, really like to visit and be connected with. Yeah,
it's huge and, like we talked about before, like this
is a show that wouldn't be what it is if
it wasn't for the fans and the way that it
came into the Zite guys, because the fans really wrote
the show and they made the show, because this show
was right on the precipice of writers listening to their audience,

(29:02):
a dialogue, you know, because people were, we're reviewing it
and writing about it online and social media was starting,
and so all of a sudden it's a show that
is really owned by the fans in a way that
it's really special, because it was one of the first
shows that actually listened to its own audience, you know. So, yeah,
it makes my day and people always say him, I'm
starting to bother you them like, are you kidding? And

(29:23):
makes my day because it makes me feel like I
did something of some kind of value to somebody. And
also it's just a thrill, you know, it's a thrill,
and it's a thrill to be a part of anything
that touches them. You know. Yeah, totally. It's it's wild
and it's like what you're saying, like the support from
the fans made the show keep going. All right, I
just got really emotions, I know, and I was already

(29:46):
like stopping with my allergies, but it's true. It's like
because it's so funny too, because, like you, you will
get this, like actors too, there's like certain people that
like take our stuff way too seriously, right, and we
should like we you can take out a role and
it is our job and be defending, but like we're
not carrying anything, we're not like saving people's lives, but

(30:06):
if we could give people a moment to like connect
or feel something or laugh for a minute or get
through something that they're going through for storylines that they're watching,
that's what we do, why we love what we do
and like beyond me. Yeah, and it's amazing because it's like, yeah,
everybody has their you know, I guess they're calling or

(30:27):
their their gifts and like if you know, this is ours.
And then it's like we have to take our job
seriously and we can't take ourselves seriously. But what we
can do is like the gratitude aspect. We can take
that part seriously so we can be like look, it's
really freaking cool that we are in something that means
something to people. Like thank you, thank you, universe. Yeah,

(30:49):
and I think in that with with the writers and
producers and what they did with the show, I think
that's part of it, because there was so much heart
in it. It wasn't just because there's Times I get
a script and I'm like, well, these people are just
trying to make a hit. And, by the way, I
read a ton of scripts that are beautifully written and
great too, but there's times where I'm like, okay, they're
just it's not about making a hit. It's not about

(31:11):
trying to make something successful. Something becomes successful when there's
heart in it across the board. To itself, yes, and
across the board like even our camera guys and everyone
on the show, like every ankle right, no pun intended,
but like every part of the show, every piece of
the puzzle, from our drivers to our security guards, to

(31:35):
crafty to hair and makeup, like everyone cared fully, everyone
poured their hard into it and I think it really
came through not just on screen on set, in in
the fittings, in the trailers. I just ran into an
extra that was for four years. He was like I
basically was there every day and I said, Oh my God,

(31:58):
this is crazy. It's years, and he's like, you know,
I have not been on a set like that again,
where it was like a family and people talked to
the background and like the background what makes the show too. Yeah,
there's not one party scene that works without every background in.
And that was a huge background show too, because it
had so much. There were so many festivities and and no,

(32:22):
we did have we had people who were background and
stand ins that were there for season after season after season,
which I think is unusual right, because most people moving through. No,
I definitely had that vibe too, and for me it
was the first show I've ever been on for, you know,
other than just a little drop in, so to see
how the feeling of that world developed and, you know,

(32:43):
and at first I felt a little bit trepidaciously. I
mean I was like, I don't know exactly when I
started feeling in the ownership over it or feeling like
it was my show too. You know, I always felt
a little concerned about it. Um, I didn't know how
to be but it was like, you know, when I
was you know, I always felt like I was like, Oh,
I don't know, and then it was it was because

(33:04):
of Layton and, you know, she would always make sure
I felt like, yeah, I know, I was part of
the goings on, and so it was like finally, when
I kind of looked around, I was like, Oh, I'm
a part of this family and I'm doing this. It
was like such a thrill and it was like kind
of snuck up on me almost, you know. So it
was you know, but it's still continues and even seeing
seeing you recently and now talking to you today, it's

(33:26):
like it's amazing because, like you know, it still feels
really like an important part of my life. You know
that Um always carried with me, I know, and just
even when we were all just there in Charleston, like
even just like it also felt like none of us
skipped a beat, right, right. Yeah, I also love the
fact that like I love when I'm watching things and
I'm like, oh, here's chase just like absolutely murdering it

(33:49):
on this you know, cool gass show called the boys,
or you know, and I'm yeah, and it's like a or,
you know, pen on you or I'm always so thrilled
for everyone to see what they're doing and and what
how their lives have changed, especially because, like, even though
I wasn't so much older than everyone, I was like
a little bit of a generational step aside from from

(34:12):
you guys, just being in my late twenties versus early
twenties when we started. So now seeing people have like
babies and this whole other phase of life. I'm like
everybody's adults, so weird. You know. That's like so cool.

(34:37):
Do you remember the feeling or when you knew kind
of like Whoa the show hit? In a way, I
just feel like all of a sudden, one day we
showed up and it was like security guards and like
fans and Paparazzi and it was like overwhelming. People are
like was it exciting? I'm like no, it was kind
of like scary, right. No, I mean it was really
interesting to be on a show that you know was

(34:59):
filming before. Yeah, I guess it always happened to me,
but the fact that we were filming x amount of
episodes before it ever aired and then they're like what
is this gonna be like? And then all of a
sudden it's airing and then all of a sudden it's
this like hot thing. So yeah, watching that transition, I
always felt a little bit like I was watching it
the side a little bit. I remember having a feeling
that so many of the actors, you know, playing the

(35:21):
principal roles, had had already storied and long careers as
such young people, you know, it'd already been in in
Hollywood or, you know, working since a very young age,
and so to see people kind of get the for
lack of a better word, like the payoff or like
kind of hit it, you know, it was really fun
moment to see. But also than watching, than the specifics

(35:43):
of what that looks like. It is weird. It's weird
all of a sudden that you know there has to
be security and it's weird that there's so many people,
because I remember always Um when we're on location and
like if I was walking, you know, with Layton Everth
Blake or something and people we're coming for autographs or pictures.
It's not that anyone doesn't want to give them out,
it's just that there was an unending tide of people.

(36:06):
All of a sudden you're like, well, you can't. The
security guard was there, because you couldn't stop with that
if you'd never get ten steps ahead. And I've never
seen anything like that in my life. So I was
like Whoa. And so that was interesting. And watching those
those you know kind of big burly guys who have
to like push young ladies aside. You know it was
not but it was. And then, like you remember when,

(36:27):
like when the guys would come out of the trailer,
like pen or chase or ed or Oh man connor,
like they'd come out and the girls would scream and
be like a piercing like beetles, like the Beatles, like
from the like. I would be in an old like
how the videos have gotten excited about the Beatles and yeah,

(36:48):
and we would be like hollowly crap. And there would
be times too. I remember on the Upper East side,
I think baby ed and I one time like walked
over to the crowd of people. We said Hey, we
will um and do any hugger autograph after but can
you just not scream so we can get through the scene,
like we want to go home, you want to go home,
we want to meet you. And they were so respectful

(37:10):
and amazing once they kind of understood, like okay, let's help.
That was like red. But there was one one day
where we were like going to not make the day
because of how excited they were. And and then like
on the on the flip of it, like if I
put myself at ten years old and I'm walk out
of my school and, you know, nine, O, two and
O was filming, like I'd probably be like, Oh my God,

(37:31):
I want to go say hi. I don't, I don't
know that I would, you know. So on the flip
I'm like they're just excited and great, but sometimes it's
just about like understanding, you know, the flip, because I'm like,
we can't get mad and have like an a d
go yell at a ten year old. But like yeah,
but I do remember like the Paparazzi, things like I've
never seen before because I was not my world, and

(37:51):
so watching the Paparazzi on set, like the fact that
they would be so destructive and like like not discreet
at all and the fact that there would be like
full shots ruined because of like, uh, you know, photographers
would get mad at they didn't get close enough and
then they would go and mess up a shot by
like standing in the back of it, you know, and
I would just see that all the time. But they
were like that. Sometimes they were deliberately doing that. They

(38:14):
would go o're like, Oh my God, we can't even
shoot right now. You'd almost have to like feed need it,
you know, they had so we can work. Yeah, it's
such a weird thing, as I remember that. Yeah, to
me it was like I remember there was a episode
we're actually feeding ducks in central park and it was
I just love that line. We're just feeding duck wing

(38:36):
D coming, no big deal, but they were actually it's
one of my favorite things about you and Blair, though. Oh,
I know the feeding ducks well and we had at
once and where they actually brought in ducks like they
were like after ducks, you know. They were like Um
professional ducks. So the guy had like a trainer brought
them and he put them in the pond with like
the normal ducks. They was like it was so funny

(38:56):
because the one group of ducks was very well behaved
and so we had like actor ducks and then one
of the ducks, the trainer was like showing us the
duck and like the Layton was like kind of holding
it and I was like petting it and the Paparata
took a picture and it was like in people magazine
and it was a picture of like Layton holding the

(39:16):
duck and kind of like half my face and I
was like, Oh, I'm gonna, I'm gonna Properustiot People magazine.
That was like the moment where I was like, Oh,
this is really exciting for me. Um, so that was
it was like my arm. I just also loved that
there's like actor ducks, like actor ducks and yeah, you know,

(39:38):
but I do remember like taking the subway and stuff like.
Probably we're like into season two or the kind of one,
stoda started having a little more of a storyline and
I'd see people looking at me and I was like Oh, like,
I'm being recognized, like the first feelings of ever being recognized,
you know, for a TV part. Like I remember the
visceral feeling of that and it was like very it was.

(40:01):
It's never I mean because of you know my my position.
I'm at a different mantage point than you guys. But like, Um,
it's it's never been personally overwhelming because it's always been
a kind of minor so it's always only a thrill,
you know. But I've seen it on the on the
big scale, or it's a little freaky, but for me
it's always Um, it's always in these little bite sized pieces.

(40:22):
That just makes me feel like, oh, cool. But also,
when you say bite sized pieces, I feel like you're
like the whole, like pizza, because people literally you're like
a fan favorite, like people come undone. That's why, like
when I saw you and my girl and you're like
your podcast is like from like day one, but like,

(40:46):
like you would have been one of the first five
episodes for sure, and everyone, to not just fans, like
the cast, to the writers, like love like you're like
people may be discreet fans on the street is they're nervous,
but like you really really are people's like favor we
we read the things, the reviews, and that that goes.

(41:08):
You're you literally had an audition where you didn't have
words to do cripple your age, and you managed to
then have a full bowed character that people like love
and adore and it's so red, which, by the way,
you're gonna probably to be like, come on, just I'm
gonna have to ask. Can You? Can you do like

(41:29):
one or two lines as Deroda, like talking to Blair? Yeah,
it's funny because like, Um, people to ask you. Ye,
people ask me all the time, and so it's like
I always I can never remember like a line to say,
but I always yeah, but the accent I can do. Um,
you know what, I'd probably get it the most. It
was always funny when when Ed and I were in
a scene together. I'm always think we're the two people

(41:49):
not seeking in our own accent, and we had there
like that split second before we enter, to like just
um the line people always want me to say, which
I think is so weird, as they always want me
to say God is always watched Miss Blair, and it's
which when she was master, yes, which I think it's
such a weird thing is people always want me to
say it to them and I'm like that's a masturbating

(42:11):
God always watching Miss Blair. Um, there was something about chalk.
You gotta do with you talk. Okay, all right, yeah, yeah,
Mr Chuck. Um, I defriend Mr Chuck in facebook and life. Wait,
over time. I defriend Mr Chuck in facebook and life.

(42:34):
By the way. Was it written like that? I think so.
I can't I think I might him got a little
bit wrong just now, but yeah, it was deep friend
in facebook and life. Yeah, Oh my God, Mr Chu Chuck. Yeah,
now do you? Obviously you could just turn it on.
I find that fascinating. Yeah, it's fun because like, Um, yeah,

(42:56):
Mr Chuck, Miss Blair, like the once you stick a
mist a miss on it, that'll do it. Um, yeah,
did you? Was it written that way or did you
do that the script? Was it? It was usually written.
I mean the miss, miss and Mr stuff was in there,
but I would sometimes push it a little bit more
to the accent. Um, but it was. It was pretty

(43:18):
much set up for that. It's funny because I did
a cameo on the new gossip girl, um, with Aaron.
I wanted. I wanted to ask, but I wasn't sure
if we could talk about it. Oh, yeah, well, no,
we did it. Um. It was the Hanukah episode of
the first, you know, season. I guess they're filming the
second season now, and we came in for that UH,
like a dinner party that we would have been invited

(43:40):
to by miss by Blair's mom and by eleanor and Cyrus,
and so it was Margaret, wally mean and Aaron, me
and Aaron that were like return for that episode and
there was a line that I was supposed to say
and it said Ms Waldorf, and so I went up
and I was like, excuse me, I was like Dorontas,

(44:01):
Miss Eleanor, but I was like, I was like it's
been a lot of years, so you don't remember. But
I was like no, dorona would never say an swaller up.
She would say yeah, and so I like got them
to change it a little because I was like, you know,
there's a certain way that I'm right. Of course, yeah,

(44:21):
it was. It was weird to step back into. And
so are you? You sound literally perfect, do you? Are
you good with all accents? Um? No, I mean I
do a lot of eastern European. I like Russian, and
you know, on people understand this, it's very, very hard,
like very hard. Well, those things, those ones are like

(44:42):
kind of more in my wheelhouse. And then you know,
I've tried French and other western European ones, but I'm
not as comfortable with that. I'm not very good with British.
You know, that's the one thing I wish I was
better at. Um, but I feel like my well also British,
just like there's so many different accents. Like the UK
is quite small, like so many different sounds, and England

(45:05):
and and there's so many accents there. Like you think
of America and there's like a Texas accent and Louisiana
like a southern accent. There's like so many different ones,
and then there's New York and then there's the midwestern.
You know. Yeah, it's like Um some of them. I
watch a lot of like BBC stuff and like British
shows and it's like sometimes I've turned the subtitles on

(45:27):
it's talking about like what. I'm just watching something that
was set in whales and I was like what, you know,
so it's it's wild. But yeah, they based in European accents.
Stuff kind of comes. Yeah, what's Aaron's accent on? Aaron
is supposed to be Russian but UM, okay, yeah, he
was his first time working with that accent on Gospel.
So he called like a buddy and he was like

(45:50):
from Belarus or something and had a little bit of
a little session to get that one up to part. But,
you know, he and I would always talk about the
fact that, like you know, there's a good mix of,
you know, wanting to be real and then also having
fun with it. So those characters are fun characters. And
so a lot of times, like even I would like
air on this side of making a slightly funnier choice

(46:11):
than always being like down to the brass tacks of
being like absolutely authentic. So sometimes I would lean into
the fuy sound. But you know, it's like my between
my two parents in a very different way of expressing themselves.
You know, both had a thick Polish accent. But so
I'll steal a little bit of this or that. You know,
it's like you're making it your own. But I had
a couple of scenes in the show where I got
to speak in Polish for a moment. Like there was

(46:33):
a scene that I kind of lose it on Mr
Chuck because he tries to like buy me off or
something something. And so yeah, it's me and it's me
and chuck and Serena and we're and there's a scene
I kind of turn on them and I'm so enraged
that I start yelling at him in Polish and in
that scene they kind of let me translate it. They

(46:53):
kind of let me write my own Polish lines, but
I worked on it really hard because I wanted it
to be while we're seeing, because I know people in
Poland watched the show. They have, you know, they haven't Poland.
So I wanted Polish people to be proud of me.
So I was like, I wanted to nail it and
get really perfect. Do People like freak when they hear
you talk without the accent, only knowing you as de Rota,

(47:14):
like a fan? That's the yeah, number one thing that
they say, are you? And I was like you don't
have an accent, you know, and then they always say
I look much younger too, and even even now that
I'm older than I was, now, I'm like, they still
say I was younger. So the thing, everyone looks so good. Yeah,
I was like, when I saw you guys, I'm like, yeah,

(47:36):
everybody looks at you know, it's insane. Well, there's a
reason that everybody so in the Biz, I guess. Yeah,
I don't know, but like you look amazing. Like I
kept being like, are we all drinking. Like I say,
we put myself right in there well, drinking the same
water because, like chase looks lat and lake. It's like
everyone's almost aging backwards. It's wild. Oh yeah, no, I

(47:57):
think that everyone just looks really good. Yeah, I think
it's definitely true. And it's like chase is another one
that like I used to like. You know, he would
walk in the room and be like Whoa, and I
saw him, you know, a couple of weeks ago when
we were together, and I was like yeah, the same,
same old thing. I was like, he's a you're like

(48:18):
drops out of some kind of cloud from heaven and honestly,
people probably get so sick of anyone who comes on
and we talked about this. So sorry, guys. He's also
just the nicest person. Yeah, he's so sweet and I
used to love it, like when we would go to events,
like if there was like a party or, you know,
some sort of organized thing and they would be out

(48:38):
in a public place and he would always like chat
with me and make me feel cool because like all
the girls were trying to chat with him and I
was like, you know, the old Polish housekeeper, but I
was like, chase is talking to me. You know, he
always was very nice to me and like, you know,
because I feel like way, like part of what I
was saying was because I was playing Grota and you know,
I wasn't there all the time and you know, so

(48:59):
I had that slight feeling of like not knowing, you know,
not feeling too probably really didn't have that many scenes
with with nate, really, no, and not you know. You know,
I always felt a little bit not shy, but you know,
it's a little tentative. And so it was all the
individual people sort of reaching out and, you know, kind
of taking care of me in a sweet way. Um,
you know, Blake was always that way with me too,

(49:20):
where it was like, you know, kind of made me
feel like I was part of the team. Chase and
Ed both always for like that, and pen too. You know,
it's like I feel like we had lots of fun
chats and you know, I was made to feel like
up here instead of just like, you know, some old housekeepers.

(49:40):
That's saying. Everyone loves, loves you so much, even too,
like when Layton just came out the Orbelle, she's like
I still talk to all the time. She's she's the
best I'm like she's yeah, yeah, it's great, and it's
like we had Um, you know, you have all that
off time and, you know, time in between scenes, and
I feel like I got, you know, so many interesting
friendships and chance to really meet people on that show

(50:02):
that I still hold very close to my heart, you know,
and it's like that made it so much fun. You know,
even when you were sitting around waiting, there was always
some kind of fun chat or hanging out in somebody's
dressing room. You know, it wasn't a very solitary experienced
the way it is on some sets. You know, absolutely,
and I too think we were all experiencing something together too.

(50:27):
It was experience like New York together, experiencing the way
the show was hitting. There was just so much that
we were all doing together, whether we knew it or not.
What I mean? Yeah, and it's interesting to see, you know,
how it show kind of takes off and becomes its
own sort of little spaceship and everybody else over the

(50:47):
ride with it and everyone just like, okay, buck up here.
We kind of love hearing your stories, like from from
the podcast, you know, the stories of you guys having
the sort of home mass with the guys have being
roommates and, you know, just had and find that it's
almost like going to college and like you have to
find your you know, your home away from home, like,
you know, it's like that. If that being you know,

(51:07):
being a young person kind of going into a different
landscape and then like having a wild experience together. It's like,
you know, the the kind of way that you have
to bond and and hold each other up through that
and make it fun and memorable. You know. So it's
those stories are really cool. It's yeah, it's just been
a trip and that's why this has just been so fun. Yeah,

(51:28):
and I love that you're doing this podcast because I
think that, you know, firstly, I mean podcasts are are
the thing. I like with that part, I'm like, how
did I live without podcast I like it was like
such an important part of my daily life. And then, Um,
you know, the show still lives and has all this,
you know, this huge fan base that continues to grow,
and so it's nice to have a tribute to it

(51:49):
in a place to sort of talk about it and
kind of get the behind the scenes stuff. And then also,
I think it's nice because, you know, we have the
new gossip girl in the world. Um, and Old Gospel
has its own sort of D N A and obviously
they're connected, but it's it's nice that the popularity the
new one can help reinspire people to just to rediscover
the old one as well. So it's nice because it's

(52:11):
all kind of working together. You know. I think that's great, right. Yeah,
it's yeah, Um, well, you're you are, you're in New York,
so you're probably like, let me get to my Friday evening.
You know, this has been so fun to talk to you.
I'm so glad I got to sort of, you know,
thank you and see your face recently and also to

(52:34):
be a part of this, because I've been a fan
of the podcast. The fact that I've here is like
a thrill to me. So, yeah, I just want to
express my gratitude to you and also my admiration. I
mean not only a big fan of your work and
you as a human, but also I think you're a
tremendous podcaster and I really like, I love what you're
making here, so it's my honor to be part of it.

(52:54):
You are just a yeah, but a human. Thank you.
You're so sweet. Thank you so much. Happy that you
came on and when I come to New York, let's
do the tour. Yeah, that'd be really fun and we can,
we can. Yeah, it'll be a trip. Well, thank you
so much. Thank you very much, Susanna. It was so

(53:19):
awesome to finally get you on the podcast, girl, and
thank you so much for giving the many, many Drota
fans such a treat. I can't wait for a tour.
I'm so excited and in the meat time I'M gonna
go watch more of the gilded age and keep up
with everything that you've got going on, and everyone listening
you should do the same thing now. Catch you all

(53:39):
next week for another episode of X O X O.
we'll be back to the rewatches, picking up with season
two episode. Until next time, x x O, x o
x o is produced by propagate content and meet Jessica's Orne.
Our Show is executive produced by Lingley. Our producers are

(54:01):
Diego Tapia, Kristin Vermilia, Emily Carr and Hannah Harris. ORIGINAL
MUSIC BY MAXI AND LUM