Silvia Busuioc, a striving actress, played the lead in ‘BELLA GERMANIA’, a historical three-part mini-series for Bavaria Films. She was born in Chisinau, Moldova where she started out as a dancer and TV host before moving into acting firstly in short films. Silvia became a guest star on FOX’s „LETHAL WEAPON” and HBO’s Emmy Award winning show „VEEP”.
Supporting Lead in „SELFIE 69”, directed by Cristina Iacob. This Romanian romantic comedy and winner of several awards had huge box office success and quickly became the most watched Romanian film of the last twenty-six years.
Vera Zadoinov: What made you want to be an actor?
Silvia Busuioc: I always enjoyed performing, since I was a child. I tried singing, but that wasn’t my thing, then I got into dancing and studied it and performed on stage for many years. Acting came later, and once I discovered it through theater, I couldn’t let it go and transformed it into a full-time profession.
V.Z: How old were you when you first started acting (what country was it) and what was your first acting debut?
S.B: My first short film was shot in Moldova for a social cause – informational campaign on how to fight against tuberculosis. I was 16 and we wrote and acted in the short film, ending up winning the first place for it in a National Competition.
V.Z: What director did you like to work the most with and why?
S.B: Luckily, I had great work experiences with all the directors I collaborated with. Probably, when you have longer projects, you get the possibility to explore deeper the characters and the story. Which is what happened while shooting my most recent project – the TV series “Bella Germania” where I am playing the lead role of Giulietta. The series was directed by Gregor Schnitzler and we worked on it over 6 months. We had time for rehearsals, researching the historical time period (the story is starting in 50s and ends up in 70s). Gregor Schnitzler is very respectful and open to work with actors, he is happy to take on board new ideas and is a real team player, that’s what any actor can wish for.
V.Z: What are the roles that you enjoyed playing the most and why?
S.B: As any other woman, I think portraying strong characters who are fighters and keep going no matter the obstacles, those are the roles that are juicy and real. Many projects portray women as weak and needing help. Giulietta in “Bella Germania” series is a very strong woman, who no matter the difficulty in cultural and historical circumstances, kept going until she achieved her independence, became successful in her career and followed the true love, not the one that the culture or family would impose her. I loved working on this character, it took months preparing for it and it was a dream coming true. The series traces the fortunes of the first wave of Italian immigrants to Germany, from the 1960s and encompasses the present day.
V.Z: Could you tell us more about the countries you lived in and how did you decide to live there? (according to your IMDb you lived in Italy, London and LA)
S.B: As a small child, I always dreamed of studying and living in London, but it wasn’t affordable to study at University there. I ended up studying in Italy, that is where I graduated and started to work professionally as an actress and TV host. I fell in love with Italy, the culture, people, the beauty. My parents moved there too, so it became a home. But there was something in me that told me to keep going and not settle, that is when I applied to the Actors Studio in Hollywood. I never believed I’ll be accepted; I mean what are the odds to end up studying and working in Los Angeles?
I was just a simple girl from Moldova, with a very humble background. My Italian teachers insisted to apply and, to my surprise, I was invited for an interview in Los Angeles and later accepted by Martin Landau (artistic director at that time) to join the Actors Studio as a foreign guest. That’s when my American adventure started. For years I studied with them but kept working in Europe too.
I was traveling between Italy, London and LA almost every couple of months, depending on the projects I was booking. My experience in USA thaught me that anything is possible, that there is meritocracy and if you put the work in you get the results. The film and TV industry is moving so much faster in Los Angeles than in Europe, and there are many more opportunities. Funny enough more I was working in USA, more interest I got from European productions and booked more jobs back in London, Italy and most recently, Germany.
V.Z: What country do you feel like home and why?
S.B: Home is where people I love live. For now, it keeps being London, Italy and LA.
V.Z: How is the movie industry different or similar according to the countries you performed?
S.B: One beautiful thing is that artists have a common language, no matter the country they come from. They love storytelling and put their heart in the projects, to move or inspire the audience. Which is why I am really opened to traveling and shooting projects anywhere in the world, if the purpose is to tell a great story.
Speaking five different languages, makes it possible. As mentioned before, the American industry is moving much faster, projects are shot faster and the budgets are bigger (at least in Hollywood). In Europe the projects give you more preparation time and everything takes longer. But the good thing, on both sides I met people with big heart and passion for what they are doing (in front and behind the cameras) and it is a blessing to work with such dedicated artists, no matter the country.
V.Z: What are the challenges in building a family and a career at the same time?
S.B: As with anything in life, you have to find the right balance. If your career is going great, but you don’t have a loved one to share your success with, the happiness easily fades away. It all depends where are you in life and what is important at that moment. Your heart will tell you what the best choice is to make at certain time in your life.
Now being pregnant, the priority is my child and my family; I feel being much more selective with projects and this will become even more obvious once we have the baby. It has to be a really strong project/story with good people involved, before I will consider investing my full time in it.
V.Z: What roles do you aspire to play in the future?
S.B: I will keep working on strong female characters and would love to be part of an action movie/tv series, because it is something I did not experience before.
V.Z: What recommendations would you give to aspiring actors from Moldova and Romania?
S.B: Nothing can stop you achieving your biggest dreams, be proud of your roots, of your family and culture. That makes you unique and remember that anything is possible, and we are the only one who stop ourselves from achieving the highest success.
V.Z: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
S.B: I see myself as a wonderful mother and a successful businesswoman and producer of my own film/tv projects. Keep working with great people from around the world and creating inspiring stories for the screen.
V.Z: What is your biggest goal that you want to achieve in acting and your personal life?
S.B: In acting I would love to keep learning new skills and play different characters, something new each time, and not just some stereotype of Eastern European female characters. A happy personal life means investing every day in the relationship, growing together with the loved one and not taking anything for granted. I just want to keep growing, improving and traveling the world together with the person I love.