Angel

Stephanie Romanov

Lilah Morgan: Wolfram & Hart lawyer

Special Thanks: Mike Kerz [Flashback Weekend] and Carolyn Newman [Stephanie’s Manager]

Phone Interview in conjunction with, and to celebrate the upcoming Buffy/Angel Flashback Convention

"Lilah the Fearless"

HW: What drew you to the character, Lilah? And what do you think is so alluring to portray an evil character?

Stephanie: I think it’s more alluring to play an evil character because there’s a lot more to do. It’s more challenging in a creative way. I really wanted Lilah to be more ambiguous, that you weren’t sure how evil she was, even though there were times it was really obvious. I felt that true evil never shows it’s face completely, so I think that challenge in itself was fun, and the comedy that was engrained in the role as well, made it fun. So she wasn’t just a bad guy, she was a bad guy with humor. [laughs] Which I love.

HW:...and female, because there are so many guys on the show.

Stephanie: Yeah, they throw them in on the side, but that’s ok. The character that they wrote for me, was written in a way that a lot of guy characters could be as far as strength, they didn’t try to cheapen it up by making it a woman and then nellying her out. [laugh]

HW: What kind of research did you do for this part? Were there any movies or books that came into play while you fine-tuned Lilah?

Stephanie: No. Not really any research, not as far as something that I copied. It was more the people that I’ve known or circumstances you’ve been in when you don’t know if you can trust this person, can you not trust them. Or people that you thought you could trust that betrayed you. She’s basically a con woman so I tried to base it on that. [HW: A con woman? Hmmm] She’s conning you, conning Wes, it’s about power. She’s a power player - the less you know, the more she knows, the better. But also then coming from a place of survivor, I think she probably was out in the world really young and needed to survive. I created a whole back story for her and then played off that. All my scenes, pretty much, were with men, and the power struggle between a women in a man’s world and not being afraid to be a woman. Not trying to be a man, but using all the female power - negative and positive. [laughs] Both, and not being afraid of it. I just saw that she was fearless. [HW: That’s a good word for her] Lilah the Fearless [laughs]

HW: Do you think Lilah thinks of herself as the uber bitch she is often called? Or does she play on that reaction?

Stephanie: I think it makes her smile. It gives her an inner glow to hear that about herself [laughs] I don’t think it’s something that she looks at as a negative. It’s a sign of power. They’re not going to say that if they’re completely not afraid of you, if your non-threatening. So I think, the uber bitch persona is something she worked hard on to develop, but with a smile, so it’s a bit disconcerting. I think she found joy in those little things [laughs] you gotta love your job.

HW: You have a different style of evil than Lindsey, or even Holland’s character - did you invent the ‘softer side of evil’ or was that completely scripted out for you?

Stephanie: As far as the way I would embody the lines, that was all me. And I didn’t want to play it as one level of evil, like I said, I felt the more ambiguous it was the more threatening it was. You couldn’t tell. There’s some episodes where you start to like Lilah and you think that maybe... but that’s all part of her plan. Her evil is more dangerous because it’s not immediately apparent - and that was my choice. I planned that from the beginning.

It was definitely scripted to be much more straight forward. So then I would smile or whatever, because then you’re ‘what? What’d she say? What’d she mean?’ I wanted to create that question mark. Is she really evil, is she not, is she tough... and I think I was able to do that. And as an actor it makes it much more fun to play, because I believe she was all of those things. A truly evil person most of the time doesn’t think they’re evil. They feel they’re a victim of something and their reaction is ‘this,’ or they have to survive a situation and it’s either you or me, so it’s going to be me. I feel that she doesn’t necessarily feel she’s evil, she just thinks she’s a survivor and is winning.

HW: What’s your favorite part about Lilah’s character?

Stephanie: The human, absolutely. And I liked the way she toyed with people, because in real life I’d never do that. You just can’t do a lot of the stuff that Lilah does or says, or at least I can’t, I’m not that type of person. So I really enjoyed playing it on screen because I got to say things and do things I never had in life.

HW: With all the sparring between Lilah and Angel, why do you think he didn’t kill you?

Stephanie: You know, that’s a good question, I wondered that myself. I think he liked having a good adversary, enjoyed having a strong adversary. [HW: was there perhaps a hint of respect in that relationship?] I think so. I’d like to think that in playing Lilah and the scenes with Angel, that somewhere he ‘got’ the position she was in. By the time you meet Lilah she’s already signed on with the Senior Partners for life and thereafter [laughs]. So at that point she has no choice, it’s just about surviving. I think he respected her ability to survive, especially when he came from hundreds of years of being an evil vampire and he’d found redemption. So maybe he thought at some point he had the ability to be redeemed, and so could Lilah.

HW: Were you ready to move on when Lilah did, or were you sad to leave the piss ‘n vinegar queen behind?

Stephanie: I definitely enjoyed playing her, so there was... it was bittersweet. It was definitely a fun four years and I definitely enjoyed it, so I felt that I was fortunate that I was able to work for four years on a show where the lawyers have been getting killed [HW: true - all at one party too] Yeah [laughs] all at that one party. But they gave me a couple months notice so I knew it was coming, so it was a big shocker in that way. I was certainly sad to see her go, but happy that I had as much time and fun with her as I did. [HW: And with that particular W&H contract you could come back] Exactly - you just never know.

HW: Were Lindsey and Lilah a team or enemies? Were they competing with each other, or for each other’s attentions?

Stephanie: I think it’s a combination of both. I felt they were kind of against each other because in that office, either you won or you were killed. [laughs] So I think that they both had the fear that at any point they could be killed and it was like one above the other - both being at the same level wanting to be ahead. But I also felt that when it came down to it, we were for each other and getting done whatever it was that needed to be done for the company.

HW: Joss gave us just a hint of Lilah’s struggles, as well as, her human side with the Wesley relationship. Do you think Joss could have shown more of Lilah’s personal struggles? Would you have liked to see more of the character’s life?

Stephanie: Absolutely, I was thrilled when they started showing more than just inside the office and dealing with monsters. I had fun doing the fourth season with Wesley - that season was my favorite of all, for sure. I got to do a lot more and you got to see a lot more. I got to make her more of a three dimensional character. I had put so much back story to her on my own, it was fun given the opportunity to use it.

HW: Do you think, given more time, Wesley was close to bringing you over to the ‘brighter’ side?

Stephanie: No, because it wasn’t really a possibility. There was no way to escape it, even when he tried to burn my contract and it comes back. I think she always knew there was no escape from it, but there was maybe a part of her heart that wished there was. And so it didn’t just play on Wesley, it played on her and brought her a lot closer to her human side than she’d been to in a long time. It was suprising to me. When I read it and saw the arc with Wesley I thought she was just playing him, but when we started filming she started falling for him. It wasn’t something that was planned but it was interesting, I think he touched her somewhere.

HW: One particular scene that I always loved is you dressed up as Fred...

Stephanie: [laughs] that was my favorite! [lots of laughing from both]

HW: But from the character’s point of view, was it being a smart aleck or was it jealousy?

Stephanie: I think it was jealously, absolutely. Feeling threatened, so you make a joke out of that which hurts you. And if she can present it right in his face, she can get a better clue as to how much of a threat it is. It was also trying to get the inside scoop.

HW: I gotta know... do either of you still have ‘the dollar’?

Stephanie: [laughs] No. That’s why it’s a great question. That one dollar that one day, it probably got lost. [HW: came out of someone’s pocket and went back in] Probably exactly what it was. I should take one out of my pocket now and make him sign it and then say ‘this is the one’. I don’t have anything from the show, other than a few articles of clothing. [HW: You get to keep your wardrobe?] No, but occasionally they’d let me keep something. A blouse, or A pair of shoes.

HW: If you could play a different type of character on Angel, would you? And what would that be?

Stephanie: I would love to play Faith. I think that would have been a fun character to play, she’s great. Kind of kick ass and bad. [laughs] I would have loved to have done that part!

HW: If Joss asked you to work on another project would you? Any project, any genre?

Stephanie: Absolutely! I think he’s a very talented, smart man, and such a great writer as well, especially for TV. You jump at the chance to work with people like that.

HW: Did your modeling career teach you the discipline you would need for acting? Is there a bridge between the two worlds that can be crossed, or is it more difficult than you make it appear?

Stephanie: To me there is nothing similar in the two, they’re actually very different. The only thing is you have people doing your hair and makeup [laughs] other than that.. .I guess I was used to traveling and working with different people, so that might have helped. As far as the skill of modeling, there would be nothing that is indicative of acting.

HW: You’ve jumped onto the big screen now, appearing in the upcoming Lion’s Gate Film “The Final Cut” - are there any particular character types or genres you would like to explore? [We may get you back for that]

Stephanie: I would love to do period pieces. Would love the costumes. [HW: oh, and you never got to do flashbacks] No, I never got to, so I didn’t get the period costumes that I think would be a blast. And I’m working on developing a script on Ava Gardner, which I want to play. When she left Hollywood and went to live in Europe, those years. Just a kind of modern woman in not modern times, the risks she took and that she did it her way. I think that she’s a really great role model for women, even today. I’m meeting with people that knew her in London, and New York, and here in California for the past year doing research and interviews, so that I can start writing. I don’t think I’ll write it until I have all the information to know how I want it done and hire a writer. So that’s my goal, to play Ava Gardner.

HW: And you have, though I never placed it until you said Ava Gardner, that tall, sleek, feminine style of the 40’s and 50’s.

Stephanie: I definitely wanted Lilah to be like that. To be the femme fatale of the old movies. I was always told I should have been around in the 40’s and 50’s, it would have served me better [laughs] back then. So now I just have to create movies about women that acted back then.

HW: I’m really interested to see you in Cruel Intentions, that should be very interesting to see.

Stephanie: You know, you’re the second person to mention that. I’m not in it. I have written to the Internet Movie Database to tell them I’m not in it. It’s so weird, I don’t know how they got that information.

HW: Now because of that IMdB issue, I have to ask if this one is right. Is there a relationship to the Russian Czar?

Stephanie: Well, my father told me growing that we were related back to Czar Alexander. I don’t know exactly how it goes, I have no proof of it. But it says I said I was related to Xenia somebody, I don’t know who she is, what that side of the family is, and I never said it. I don’t know where they got that story, I never said that. But I was told from my father, and he was told by his father, that it does go back to Alexander the First, but I have no proof of that, no documentation. It’s funny it’s on there, and I’ve written to them, I don’t know where it comes from and I’ve never said that. [laughs]

HW: Is there anything coming up that is real that you’d like to talk about?

Stephanie: The Final Cut, which I’m very excited about. I loved working with Robin Williams, and I think it’s a great film, very thought provoking. It’s an alternate now, people ask if it’s the future or past, no it’s not supposed to be the future or past, it’s like an alternate now, a mix of anytime. That’s the way the set it designed too, which is very cool, you can’t place what time it is because you’re not supposed to. It’s ‘suppose technology went in a different way.’ And that we had this technology where you can implant in your baby’s fetus, in their eye, this camera that then films their whole live. And when that person dies, their family hires a ‘cutter’ to edit it into a movie of their life for the memorial. And he’s a cutter [Williams] I play the wife of the attorney for the company, and when he dies I hire Robin to kind of clean up the memories. I’ve got secrets to hide... kind of similar to Lilah, almost. There’s something there, for sure. You’ll have to see it. It was fun, it was a great experience.

HW: Filming on that just got done, is there anything else on your plate right now?

Stephanie: Just working on the things I’m developing. I’m developing a documentary on Cuba, the thing on Ava, and I’m producing a script that James Merendino, who did SLC Punk!, his next script, which is amazing, I’m just working and getting financing for that. I don’t have anything going on acting wise because I’ve been so involved producing, but then also working on this house [she’s remodeling] which has been a full time job. It’s just been a lot, it’s been crazy, and it’s taken me away from auditioning. But I feel good about developing, it’s exciting.

HW: How do you feel about the difference between acting and producing?

Stephanie: I love the creative process and I love team work, and when you’re producing and developing you get to work with different people at different levels, and I enjoy that very much. Especially since the things I’m working on, a lot of them were my ideas, and then trying to the research. I love that. I love human psychology, so this just brings be to all sorts of different people and the way they’re wired and that’s always something that I’ve always loved. And which also serves in the acting, that’s what helped me play so many different types of characters. I’ve known and lived all over the world, and known all kinds of different kinds of people. Always asking them what they’re about. It’s very interesting to me ‘what makes people tick’ and what motivates them. What motivates them to good choices, bad choices, weakness, the way the mind works, a victim’s mentality, a survivor’s mentality, the works. So I think producing and creating ideas of things that I’m interested in, it draws me to different types of people that I get to learn about.

I love psychology, the inner workings of the human mind. It’s so complex and beautiful. That’s why I got into acting, because I wanted to play all these different types of people that I’ve met. From the time I was a little girl, my mother said I knew everyone within a mile radius of our house from the time I was five. I was just ‘hi, what’s your name? what do you do? Blah blah blah.’ [laughs] And I’m still kinda like that. I spend most of my time alone, and I build up my own inner stuff and then go out and ask about others. You have to do a lot of introspection to understand the human psyche because you have to start with you. [laughs] If you want to know the truth - in a nutshell.

HW: Back to Angel, do you still keep in touch with anybody from Angel?

Stephanie: Oh, Christian and I keep in touch every now and again, but not anybody else really. We get along great, we always did, we got along working together great. He did a convention in London, which I hooked him up with, and we had fun there. He’s like my brother. We just kind of ‘get’ each other.

HW: Which is funny, because you were so rotten to each other

Stephanie: I know! But it makes it so fun when you really dig each other and then you can kind of play, you’re not afraid, you can do whatever and it’s totally accepted.

HW: After he left [the series] you didn’t have that feedback anymore...

Stephanie: I know, and I really enjoyed it with him.

HW: Was it more difficult to do the Lilah without the Lindsey?

Stephanie: It was different, challenging in another way. Trying to create it in another way. I think I just looked at it as her being promoted, and then I made it the joy of being the higher up. But yeah, I definitely preferred having him there. It was a lot of fun, the banter back and forth.

HW: Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to me, I really appreciate everything you’ve done and we’ll be keeping a close eye on Lion’s Gate and your role in ‘The Final Cut’

Stephanie: I appreciate it, it all helps [laughs] gotta keep that fan base! You have a great day and thank you so much!