The Bite Magazine - issue 16

accent. I even checked out her Instagram to get a feel for her personality. Then it was on to learning lines, preparing myself for the psychological traumas that she endured, how I could relate and visualise it to make it real and ‘in the moment’ still after the sixth take. It can demand a lot of your energy but it’s so invigorating when you’re on set and you have a whole team of people wanting you to shine.” It’s interesting to see that while acting is so often depicted as super glamorous and easy, it’s actually quite taxing.“Sometimes you only get a few days to learn your lines before shooting, so I have become well practiced with learning lines.Training my body was a lot more of a lengthy and gruelling process as I had to gain muscle within a short amount of time, so it was a lot of heavy weight lifting (which I’d never done before!) and high intensity interval training.” And sometimes those high demands can actually put you in harm’s way. “I had to get a glass thrown at my face and have it shatter into pieces, which was quite nerve wracking! It was made of sugar glass so it shouldn’t have cut me, but I still managed to cut myself on it though! I also got shot and had a squib explode out of my chest, which is basically a bag full of blood operated by someone via remote control and explodes with some force when the gun is fired.” However, role preparation doesn’t end there. Actors learn that in order to avoid being pigeonholed; they must take on characters and projects that range from the pretty to the gruesome. From the first steps during auditioning to the final wrap call on set, you have to be ‘on’ and ready.You’d think this would be the hardest part of the acting process, con- stantly having to be up for anything. But maybe that’s actually the biggest draw to being an actor, getting the chance to pour your entire self completely into a foreign situation from the skin out. “First and foremost I want to make sure it’s a role that I can give just to, that I can sink my teeth into and that would challenge me. I always look for characters that are far from my own life. I often get seen for European and South American roles since I speak fluent French, Greek and Spanish.This is great as it means I get to travel for work.” I then inquired what the difference is between film castings and commercial auditions? “Commercial castings can be really funny, I’ve been asked to kiss someone randomly, talk about dating nightmares, dance around in my bikini, do some yoga poses, pretend to see a tiny robot on the floor, pick him up and talk to it.The list goes on and on. They’re mainly all scenario based improv auditions so you can’t really prepare for them, you just have to be open to directions and be prepared to let your inhibitions go!” Vasiliou goes on to explain how her work includes many different facets of her own self. She recently played a seduc- tive French woman in a short film that made use of her language skills and her love of travelling. “Aside from playing Evimer, I was lucky enough to be cast in a new wave style short film which was entered into Sundance Film Festival. There I played a ‘femme fatale’, which I’ve always wanted to do, learning to smoke on set and make it look oh so chic was… hilarious! It took half a cigarette to warm into it, and while it made me feel increas- ingly light-headed it only added to the mystery of her character.This was shot in Paris and the script was in French, which was another challenge that I embraced. Having enjoyed reading French at univer- sity, I was able to channel the skill here.” I saw a few moments of the film on her show reel, and it does look really good! Her accent is perfect and the plot of the story, intriguing! Overall, the entire process sounds fascinating and varied, making it anything but boring, “The fact that many talented creatives collaborate to make something truly spectacular, whether that’s on a fashion shoot or on set of a film, it’s truly inspiring.” Having accomplished so much already, Vasiliou has had a career many only dream of achieving at such a young age, but get ready to envy this lucky lady even more because her next role has to be her coolest to date. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably seen the latest DC Comic’s megawatt take on Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice . If not, well spoiler alert, audiences get to see the resurgence of Wonder Woman in all her glory! Yes, Wonder Woman is back and kicking ass! As such, DC Comics has been working on two new blockbuster spinoff movies, one that focuses solely on the Princess Diana of Themyscira’s life entitled Wonder Woman as well as a sequel to Superman v Batman, the new Justice League.  So, without further suspense, Vasiliou landed a part as an Amazonian warrior in both movies! “I completely threw myself into the role of an Amazonian for the DC Comics Wonder Woman movie. After the audi- tions, I began training with the stunts team for six months leading up to filming. I trained in sword fighting, archery and mixed martial arts as well as training in the gym everyday to build muscle and lose fat. I was given a strict diet plan in order to gain muscle in time for the film’s battle scenes.” Being given the chance to play an Ama- zonian warrior in an action film has to be one of the best roles imaginable! And with the current explosion of feminism and female empowerment happening everywhere from politics to Hollywood, it’s great to see women being cast as true action heroes! “My action role as an Amazonian in Wonder Woman aims to empower other women to be strong and fight for what they believe in.While there are few action-based roles for women, I feel it is an honour to play.The producers and directors wanted to portray strong athletic independent women, which really comes through in the movie. It’s all about empowering women and inspiring a sense of equality and strength within them, which resounds through the whole film. I don’t think its clichéd; it will be a film of its own kind that shows a land of strong women, physically as well as men- tally.” To that, I say a resounding, “Amen, sister!” It’s shocking to realise that it has taken over 75 years for this strong, fierce female character to be celebrated on the silver screen just like her male cohorts. To add to Vasiliou’s film credits, this will actually be the second of her three comic-related roles. She previously played the young Catwoman in Batman: The Dark Knight Rises in a scene opposite Christian Bale… and this is where my jaw hit the floor, because, I mean, he’s one of the finest actors of our time! As our interview came to an end, I had the overall impression that I think I may have chosen the wrong career path and it was better for my ego that we never met face to face (really, she’s that pretty). This aspiring woman has given it her all to get where she is today and if her past accomplishments are any prediction of what’s to come, the future indeed looks bright for this young starlet. vimeo.com/169539114 bite actress profile