Artist Spotlight: Sadie Alexandru

Sadie Alexandru

You recently made your debut as “Scarlett” on a recent episode of the four-time Emmy award-winning series MadMen on AMC. What was it like to be on set with veteran actors like Jon Hamm, Jared Harris, Christina Henricks and John Slattery?

They are all so seasoned and welcoming.  In the moments when it was time to work they were really focused and professional.  In between takes, they were very easy-going and there was lots of clowning around!  They’re a funny bunch!  It’s a pretty tight-knit crew and they’ve done some amazing things together; there is an air of pride and ease amongst them that I haven’t seen before.  It was quite amazing.  It really couldn’t have been a better experience for me.

Tell me about the auditions, how many rounds did you go through before you received the role?

In the morning I had my audition for casting, then they asked me to stick around the area to attend the call back to producers 2 hours later.  I left the studio lot, drove back to my apartment and not 30 minutes after I entered my front door I got a call from my manager’s office telling me to go back down there for my hair and make-up test for my shoot the next day.  It was a pretty crazy 24 hours!

You’ve also recently done guest appearances in the HBO/Cinemax film noir “Femme Fatales” opposite Casper Van Dien, what was that experience like?

Not only is Casper Van Dien a cool cat, but we discovered that we grew up in the same town in New Jersey so there was LOTS to talk about.  He’s really funny and easy to work with.  He’s got a humongous fan base but he’s super down-to-earth.

Did you always want to be an actress?

Yes, I have.  I was a ballerina as a kid and I always wanted to shout out during recitals…I loved dance but I always felt that I wanted to be more vocal.

Have you done theatre as well?

Yes, quite a lot.  I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and I also studied at the London Academy of Theater.  My background is ALL theater training.  I worked every department of the theater, I re-upholstered couches for set pieces, ran a light board…I’ve done it all.  The program teaches actors to be well-rounded in the theater.  I love it.  I just recently closed a long running production of an original play by the brilliant playwright Rob Mersola entitled “Love Sucks”.

 I understand you’re also a huge supporter of independent film, is there anything coming up we can see you in?

I just Co-Produced and played a supporting role in an independent film called “Act Naturally.”  We just won the audience choice award at the United Film Festival and it will be showing in that same festival in London on June 4th.

If you could work with any director, who would it be and why?

I am obsessed with the Coen Brothers.  They are like the chameleons of the film industry; you never know what they are going to put out next!  I love their writing, I love how character driven their stories are, I love how dark and funny and slice-of-life they are.  I just love everything about them and I would be over the moon to work with them.

 If you could act alongside any Actor/Actress who would it be and why?

There are so many.  Mostly I want to work with actors I truly respect and feel would raise the bar for me; push me in directions I never thought possible…to name a few that come to mind: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Don Cheadle, Catherine O’Hara, Laura Linney, Frances McDormand, Kate Winslet, Tom Hanks, Steve Buscemi, Forest Whittaker…oh the list goes on.

You originally hail from New Jersey, what brought you to Los Angeles?

I was working a lot commercially in New York but I was not working theatrically as much as I liked.  I was on a vacation with my Dad and brother in Bucharest, Romania; I woke up one morning, came down to breakfast and told them that I felt I wasn’t doing everything I possibly could to make my dreams come true.  I explained that the Film/Television Mecca of the US was in L.A. and if I didn’t give it a try, I’d be making a big mistake.  Three months later I was in L.A.

Will we be seeing you in future episodes of MadMen?

Now, you know I can’t tell you that!  Keep watching!

Click here to follow Sadie on Facebook!

Click here to follow Sadie on Twitter!

Click here to visit her website!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.