We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Loredana Daroczi. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Loredana below.

Loredana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Firstly, thank you for having me. This has to be my favourite question. It all happened when I went on a summer camp organised by the school. I was around 16 years old. During that summer camp, we had a lot of sports activities and games, and one day we had an acting game. Until then I never really came across doing any acting or improv in general. We had to think about an idea in groups and create a short acting scene. I suddenly became the leader of our group ‘me? a leader?’ very unusual as I was so shy. I remember I came up with the idea, and all I can recall from it now is that it ended with me having to pass out in the scene, and of course, I took it seriously, fully fell on the grass, and hit my head a bit but the adrenaline was so high that I didn’t even care. At that moment, throughout the whole scene, it was just me, myself, and I. It felt like I was in my world. I felt so confident and suddenly everything felt right. It was the very first moment, I fell in love with acting, the feeling was indescribable. I was still lying there on the grass and looking at the sky, telling myself ‘Here it is’, the spark I was looking for.

Suddenly I was back to reality when I heard people applauding, my friends helped me get up and everyone there was smiling. I knew with all my heart at that right moment that this was it, the connection I searched for. From then on, I knew I wanted to pursue acting professionally. I am so thankful that I went on that summer camp because just a simple game like that opened my eyes to this amazing industry. So for everyone out there, who is feeling lost or doesn’t know what they want to do in life, my advice is to go on a summer camp and maybe you will find your passion too haha.
Remembering all of this has brought me to happy tears, It felt like I was reliving the moment. A feeling that cannot be described, you would have to be there to understand it.

Loredana, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Loredana Daroczi and I am a Romanian actress. I am fluent in English, and recently I started learning Turkish because I watch a lot of Turkish TV shows and I like the language. As well, I began working on my Hungarian too so I could say that I have a keen interest in learning languages. I was born and raised in Romania in the countryside so I wasn’t surrounded by the creative industry. When I was a kid I always loved being in front of a camera, either dancing or singing so I guess there was always something there towards the creative side which I am glad that I realised later on. After that summer camp in 2017, where I realised that acting was my passion, I started to take everything more seriously and I remember I was doing a lot of improv exercises and monologues, and asking my friends to help me film stuff. Not a day was going by without me filming something. I was watching a lot of films and TV shows and while I was working on my English I was also observing how actors do what they do, how they explore these stories, and how they bring these characters from scripts to life. I was fascinated by all of this. Then an opportunity came to act in a theater play in Romania, to be in front of an audience was magical. I loved it. But despite that, I knew deep down that I was more drawn to screen acting, so slowly I started to teach myself the art of acting and prepare to get into a university in the UK. It wasn’t easy at all to get into a university in the UK to do acting as someone international, who hasn’t done acting in high school or had much experience. Later on, in 2020, I got into university, so I am grateful that my hard work and talent were recognised . On top of that, moving to another country, culture, and language, wasn’t easy as it was a big step but I knew I was ready for it. And finally, last year, in 2023 I graduated from the University of Chichester Conservatoire, United Kingdom, where I studied a 3-year course in Acting for Film. It was the best experience ever as besides the fact that I learned a lot, I have also become so much more confident as a person and actor. Looking back now, I am so proud of myself and my journey.

So far, besides a few short films and theatre plays I have been in, the most professional credit I had the chance to act in is a pilot episode ‘Watch out for the Pigeons’, done by an independent production, written by Bianca Tamas and directed by Tom Gorman. It was filmed in Romania in January 2022, a story about vampires being scared by pigeons. I had so much fun being on set, as I was surrounded by a professional crew and other Romanian actors as well. I am so grateful for the experience because it was great to be surrounded by other creatives and play such a unique and interesting character. One line my character, Olivia had that I will never forget is ”Did you know that when you buy potatoes, they are still alive?’ she was so serious, and smart but funny without trying. It was sad to say goodbye to her back then, but I will never forget those days.

I feel good about the rest of the year, as my intuition is my superpower and I always follow it and stand by it. I am a big fan of ‘The Conjuring’, ‘Insidious’, ‘Escape Room’ and ‘The Nun’ films, and my dream role has always been to act in a horror film. I have been manifesting this and I believe that sooner or later it will happen. At the moment, I am watching a lot of K-dramas too and listening to K-pop, I love BTS I must say hehe.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Uuuu…I love this question. Being an actor is the best thing because there’s a sense of freedom about it which I completely adore. I guess the most rewarding aspect of being an actor, in my opinion, is seeing the people who watched the film or TV show you have been in, feel represented, relate, or learn something from the story or character you have portrayed. That’s just amazing, making people feel something, like smile, laugh, or even cry when they watch it while escaping into the story is pure magic. I mean, we all love to go through a crying session when we watch a sad movie, right? The thing is, we also, all want to escape from the real world sometimes, so we immediately go and watch a film or a TV show. While watching it, we go through an ’emotional rollercoaster’. Then we feel everything the characters do, and if they are happy and laughing, then we are as well, We completely forget about our issues in real life, and suddenly life is almost perfect. What’s rewarding is knowing that you just managed to make someone smile or laugh hysterically through their screen, it makes me happy and proud to know that being an actor is what I have chosen to do in my life as a career. Something else I love about being an actor is being around other creatives, so much to learn from each other.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There’s a quote that inspires me every day and that will forever be stuck with me: “Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about.” — Winston Churchill. I think it’s so important to never give up on your dream, no matter what. So what if people don’t believe in you, well you shouldn’t care about that because it’s about you, not someone else, it’s all in your power to make it real. Don’t give up, be strong, and keep working until you can finally say ‘I made it!’ When I decided that I wanted to go to university in the UK and do acting, some people started laughing, some told me that I wouldn’t get in or be able to become an actress because I was an introvert. Well, I didn’t listen to them, and what they said only made me stronger and more confident in myself that I can make it and will make it. Being an introvert or extrovert shouldn’t matter at all, there are so many actors out there who were or are introverts (for example some of my favorite actors Zendaya, Emma Myers, and Tom Hanks), and they are proof that it’s indeed possible. You can do and be whoever you want to be, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

When I was a kid I was super shy, and acting provided me with what I needed, a way of expression; it was a ‘world’ where I was able to explore aspects of my personality and myself. I am so glad that I never gave up and that I fell in love with acting, When I act, I feel so free and I completely transform, it’s like magic, I am not an introvert anymore, suddenly I’m the character I have to portray. Through acting, I also found another side of myself and at the same time, it helped me become so much more confident. I’m so grateful for my journey so far as it helped me overcome most of my shyness and get out of my comfort zone too. I guess, being an introvert does help too, and can be used as an advantage because we are great listeners and observers which is perfect for an actor. Last but not least, do not forget, if you have a dream, make it happen, no matter what obstacles, or how much time it takes, do it for yourself, take the risk and create your journey, and don’t let anybody stop you :)

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loredana.daroczi/
• Other: Spotlight: https://app.spotlight.com/9813-5614-2739

Image Credits

YellowBellyPhoto
Vlad Braga