Interview by Paul Salfen
The AMFM Interview: Magda Apanowicz – Volition
By Paul Salfen
For Canadian actress Magda Apanowicz, life is as strange for her as it is for everyone else right now. While stuck at home during quarantine, there’s no daily shuffle to sets, working on lines, or auditions. So when asked what she’s up to, she half-jokingly says, “I’m doing a pile of laundry, what are you doing?”
Apanowicz, 34, has had an interesting career with memorable roles in films like The Green Inferno and shows like “Kyle XY” and “Caprica,” but most recently developed a big fan following with her role in the Netflix show “You.” But now she’s got a new film out called Volition from Canadian brothers Tony Dean Smith, who directed and co-wrote the film, and Ryan Smith, who co-wrote the film. Starring Adrian Glynn McMorran, the film revolves around a clarivoyant that sees his own murder and the fate of others around him and tries to change the outcome.The always captivating ideas of time travel, free will and destiny versus fate are all tackled here, leading to a mind-bending trip for the viewer.
Here’s more from Apanowicz:
AMFM Magazine: This was a fun watch, but I think this one will mess with some minds. I’ll bet you’ll get a lot of questions about this one. But that’s a good thing, right?
Magda Apanowicz: Yeah, I feel like there’s not enough interesting movies and they’ve got predictable story lines – not every movie that’s out there because I love you all [laughs], but it’s nice to be a part of a story that’s just different. I knew as soon as I started reading the script by a couple of pages that it was special, and also I love Tony and did a short film with him when I was 18 in film school and I thought he was the bee’s knees. So when he approached me with this, I was like, “Whaaat? Yeah, I’ll do it.” And he was like, “Read it.” I was like, “No, I’ll do it” and we went back and forth. I read it and still wanted to do it and it was one of the most favorite projects I’ve worked on. It was awesome to work with Adrian. Sometimes it’s very hard when you get in a movie with a co-star that’s not easily malleable, but him you can easily talk with and give ideas to tell an important story – so he was a co-partner.
AMFM: Was there a certain day, scene, or time that stood out to you on this one?
MA: Yeah, I think because it was a small crew – tough days, long days, and even after really, really long days, I still didn’t want to leave. Even if I came in and had once scene and could go to bed, I just wanted to stay. There were such passionate actors on it, the crew members were dope. I remember there were a lot of night scenes and we made a joke like, “We love night shoots!” I guess it was Tony and Ryan’s third day and they didn’t know we could shoot day for night and a lot of movies do that, so they put us through the wringer in terms of a lot of night shoots, which throws the body off. But you know what? It kind of made that whole trip a high, like, “I don’t even know what’s happening but I love it!” I think that was the plan. Basically what I’m saying is I think they’re smart, maniacal men.
AMFM: Sometimes the most maniacal people make the best movies.
MA: Exactly. Also, I love them very much and just kidding!
AMFM: People love the show “You” on Netflix and apparently the fans have all kinds of theories on your character. Do people come up to you a lot and just want to talk about the show?
MA: Currently in the world, people aren’t coming up to most people [laughs], but people would come up and say “I love You” and ask me all kinds of questions and I’m like, “I can’t say anything!” but the one thing I will say is that it’s also a kind of a dream come true watching the first season and being like, “Fuck, I wanna be in a show like this!” and it was a couple of months later I got an audition for it and I was like, “No!” and then I got it and I was like, “No!” It was amazing. But that’s how it is with a lot of projects.
AMFM: Well, if you love what you do, it’s hardly work. Well, it’s still work, but it could be worse.
MA: Exactly.
AMFM: You’ve had a really cool career with great role choices so far. What advice would you give aspiring actors or actresses because you’ve made it work in a cool way?
MA: Have I? Have I made it work? No, I’m just kidding. It’s been a hard life, not to mention I have my own life struggles every day as a human being and I have to take on a lot of things on my own and it’s a hard industry when you don’t have guidance. No matter how hard my life was, it was also my saving grace. Acting was the only thing I loved so much that I didn’t let my world implode on me. I fought for that. It was what mattered to me and not in a superficial way at all. In a way that I felt like I belonged somewhere and without having to say what I went through, I could say that acting saved my life because I really do think it did. Though it’s hard – as a woman especially, it’s a hard industry to be in and there’s a lot of double standards, like I can try standing up for myself and saying different things if I get in trouble but if it was the reverse and it was a guy saying the same thing I did or stood up for himself, they don’t get the same tear-down wrath of hell that a woman does. It’s been a hard journey. It comes with a lot of bad stuff. So don’t do it unless you actually love it.
AMFM: On one of the shows I’m on, Drew Pearson Live, we always ask people their Hail Mary Moments, the moment in their life or career where they just have to go for it. What do you suppose that moment was for you?
MA: Every single day of my life. I don’t know, I feel like every single day is a fight and I don’t know if I’m going to work again. That’s how it feels. I’m probably going to work again. It’s hard to explain it. Until you get to a certain status where you’re offered all the time and you don’t have to go in and audition and that would come with a certain amount of success I guess. I don’t think there’s a single job where you can work 20 years and have that kind of experience in and still have to be at the bottom where you go in and audition like everybody else. Your experience doesn’t matter the way it would if you were in a corporation for 20 years and you were in a higher position. You know what I mean? Did I depress you by what I was saying?
AMFM: No, not at all. I’m really impressed by just how real your answers are.
MA: Yeah, I’m not very good at candy-coating things.
AMFM: We’re excited to see what you do next. What might that be?
MA: To be honest, during COVID, it’s not a lot but I have done some auditions. I have some friends that work in the DGA, the Directors Guild, and they’re all working to make changes to where acting can start back up but right now it’s not in existence so I kind of get to enjoy the freedom right now. I get to enjoy the fact that I don’t have to memorize lines and I put a lot of work and energy into my auditions. It’s amazing the stuff that I got in my life but I put my heart and soul into everything I get. It gets kind of soul exhausting and now I get to recharge and get to do my taxes, clean out my receipts, and do my laundry and I’m, like, so happy.
Volition is streaming on all platforms today.
