‘European roles’ and me

Anyone can be an actor; but that ‘anyone’ must have talent, malleability, heart and enough resilience to overcome some of the harsh realities of stereotyping that exists in the industry today.

I was born in Krakow and raised in Kielce, Poland. Both my parents are artists and both Kielce and Krakow are recognised as artistic cities, so growing up I was no stranger to opportunities to develop my creativity. I decided to leave home at fifteen to enrol in an acting high school in Krakow and it was here I got my first job with two professional theatre companies. Shortly after I was lucky enough to sign with acting agencies in Warsaw and Krakow and feature in a Polish television series and some award-winning films. As a young Polish girl breaking into the industry, it can be very difficult to make these first few steps without having the right connections and I learnt that it takes a lot of dedication and drive to advance in this industry.

I wanted to push myself further, so at seventeen I took another step further from my home of Kielce to live in London. I worked hard to support myself, and with my parents’ additional support and inspiration I was eventually able to complete a three-year training programme at East 15 Acting school. At the end of my training showcase I was fortunate enough to sign with a leading acting agency, and soon I was a fully-fledged member of the professional UK acting circuit.

But this is where I learned that working as a non-English actor in the UK comes with a distinct set of challenges. For most of my young life I’ve had to jump the hurdles of the industry and found that dedication, focus, training and support would help me cross most of these barriers. This time, I emerged into an industry just as rife with competition as Poland, but did so as a foreigner.

Being a ‘European actress’ in England, it’s hard not to notice the shift in casting possibilities. The greatest difficulty is the severe lack of non-English central characters in plays and films. Where are all our lead characters that represent the wonderful multiculturalism of British society? Many European actors are told to change their last name for their acting CV and ‘disguise’ themselves as English natives in order to get these castings. It’s sad but true, and until there are more European characters reflecting the Britain I know and love, we’ll keep on seeing European actors pretending to be English, on screen and off.

Because many European actors aren’t being considered for British characters, they’re limited to auditioning for ‘European roles’ which play up to western society’s more stereotypical views. The stereotype dominates the character and is not only a problem for our artists, it’s also a dangerous message to be feeding our viewers and audiences. We’re continually perpetuating old fashioned generalisations connecting where people are from to the type of person or character they are. This is ultimately just not true, and extremely non-progressive. 

That said, there are many creative production teams which are creating the type of work that shines a light on the non-English members of British society and are more open minded in their casting. It’s predominantly these people who have given me opportunities which have allowed me to work so consistently since graduating from drama school. These people are out there, and ultimately my advice to any young European actor is that although you may have to work harder to find those opportunities, when you do they are all the more satisfying. You’ll be contributing to an art scene which is celebrating its nation’s rich European fabric – by both representing it, and being inclusive of it.