Gaia Weiss is a French actress with Polish roots. Her appearance in the now cult series “Vikings” brought her international fame. Over the years, she also appeared in such productions as “Outlander”, “Medici: Lords of Florence”, “Assassin’s Creed”, “Maria Antonia”. In an interview with Interia, he talks about his favorite series, Poland, plans and the first series festival in Poland – BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon.
Katarzyna Ulman, Interia: How do you like the first BNP Paribas SerialCon?
Gaia Weiss: This is a great time for me. Everyone is nice and cordial, I was very warmly welcomed. The creation of a festival such as SerialCon in Poland, during which TV series are appreciated and awarded, is important – we finally have a platform to present works created in this format to the world. On Sunday, we will know the winners of the Best Series of 2024 competition. I am on the jury, so we watched a lot of series. I was amazed by their diversity, how different they are from each other, and how different species of roses they present. It is a show of extraordinary quality and talent.
You have Polish roots. Can you tell me about your connections with Poland?
– My mother is Polish, she was born here, and my grandmother’s apartment, which I mentioned at the conference, was located on Emilii Plater Street, not far from here. I spent winter breaks and holidays in Poland; I partly grew up here. I know this area, I have memories from almost every corner of it, so being a part of SerialCon and serving on the jury touches me very much.
During your career, you have starred in several spectacular historical series. I love “Vikings”, “Marie Antoinette” is phenomenal. Do you like this genre?
– I love working on the set of historical series because, as an actress, I immerse myself in a different world that the creators create for me and the viewers. For Marie Antoinette we shot a lot in castles, even part of Versailles. We shot one of the scenes in a castle near Paris, which was one of my favorite memories, but also a source of worry for the film crew due to the location. When shooting historical series, you don’t even have to imagine that you are in a different era, because thanks to the costumes and makeup, you are in it in a sense. These are great experiences; this is what I wanted to do when I was a child.
How does working on the set of historical TV series differ from others you’ve played in?
– You have a little less time to prepare because in historical series we start early in the morning – you wake up around 4:00 and have one and a half to two and a half hours to prepare. Hairstyle, makeup, costumes. With a production set in modern times, you have twenty minutes and you’re done. This was the case with “Marie Antoinette”. I would come to the set and then we would put on the corsets.
– In the meantime, they combed my hair, which took a lot of time; the makeup took half an hour, and then putting on the rest of the costume. Total time – 2.5 hours. However, this was the moment when I could mentally prepare for the whole day – I would arrive as Gaia, and then for those two hours I would “get into the skin” of my character and become Madame du Barry.
The main theme of BNP Paribas Warsaw SerialCon is television and streaming productions. What is your favorite series?
– I don’t know if I’ll be able to name one favorite. There has to be something in the series that moves me – it has to be a great performance or a great story. I love TV series as a viewer and as an actress because I can completely immerse myself in the presented world and be “kidnapped” by the characters. If I had to name one title, it would probably be “The Sopranos”. Classic. Recently, I absolutely liked “Chernobyl”, about which we had the opportunity to talk about SerialCon guest Jared Harris during the festival. It’s a very dark series, but beautifully crafted and executed.
– There’s also “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” I started watching one or two episodes while I was preparing for the role and I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is just absolutely brilliant.’ I watched all the seasons in a few days or a week.
Do you prefer watching series traditionally, week by week, or do you prefer the binge-watching model?
– I definitely love binge-watching. I have no shame.
I’m on this team too. Can you tell me a little about your future projects?
– I have two upcoming projects. One is “Imminent Threat, Witnessing Loss” – a French-Israeli thriller full of intrigue. In turn, in February, “The Story of My Family” (“Storia della mia famiglia”) – directed by Claudio Cupellini – will debut on Netflix. Just like the title says, it’s a story about a dysfunctional family. I play a mother whose husband takes her children and she tries to get them back and bring justice.
Do you have a dream role? Is there a project you dream of implementing?
– Three years ago, together with my co-author, I started writing a script for a series about Solidarity. I’d like to shoot it in the next 12 months and act in it.
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