Stephanie Izsak is an award-winning actor, writer, and director with over 20 years of experience on stage, mic, and in film and TV. Stephanie began her career in theatre, earning a BFA in
Theatre and Film Studies and three years of study at Studio 58, Canada’s top theatre conservatory. She was awarded the Sydney J. Risk Award for Excellence as a graduate and worked steadily on stages across Canada before transitioning to on-camera. We caught up with Stephanie to discuss her career and latest projects, including the Netflix series ‘Blockbuster’.
Thank you for agreeing to catch up with Occhi Magazine. Firstly, for readers who are unfamiliar with you and your work, what drew you to the industry?
I was a high-energy kid and I really loved reading and going to the theater. I was obsessed with television. When I finished high school I just felt that I wanted to pursue acting. I was encouraged by teachers. I studied theater in university and then went on to a conservatory and worked in theater professionally for years. It always felt right. I have other interests and passions, but my work as an actor and writer, and director are why I get out of bed every morning. Obviously, it’s a very tough industry to create a life in, but I do think there’s an element of that that makes it right for me. I think you have to love the chase to stick with it.
You began your career in theatre, earning a BFA in Theatre and Film Studies and three years of study at Studio 58, Canada’s top theatre conservatory. Please tell us more about your early years as a student. Are there any particular moments that shaped your appreciation of theatre?
So many. I did community theater as a kid, which gave me the bug. I loved hanging out and being friends with all of the adult actors. Then in high school, I had a teacher sit me down and tell me I should try acting professionally, and then in university, I had some really wonderful directors and mentors who gave me such respect and appreciation for the craft of acting and really started me on my professional journey. At Studio as well, which was a really tough program, I was pushed to figure out what methods worked for me. I always had the habit of working way too hard, I had to figure out how to trust myself. I still do sometimes.
You were awarded the Sydney J. Risk Award for Excellence as a graduate. How much did this impact your career opportunities and choices?
Winning that really put me forward in the professional theater community in Vancouver. They hand it out at this big gala with so many professionals in the audience, so I think it gave me name recognition.
‘Live Feed’, your first film as a writer and director won Scariest Film at its inaugural festival, Blood ‘N Guts, in 2019. Since then, you’ve has enjoyed screenings at festivals across Canada and the US. You’ve also garnered much attention with the success of your second film, ‘Consumer’. Do you prefer working in front or behind the screen?
Honestly. They offer very different challenges and I can’t put one ahead of the other. They both give me ways to express myself and my point of view. In her directing Masterclass, Jodie Foster says that she thinks directing is even more intimate and vulnerable than acting, because it’s really your internal view of the world that you’re asking an audience to sit with. I agree with that, but I love acting just as much.
Please tell us more about your latest screenplay, ‘Parabola’
Sure! Parabola is a short psychological sci-fi horror about Kate, a woman in recovery who has recently lost her husband and begins to experience episodes of sleep paralysis. I wanted to explore the ideas of grief and addiction through the lens of horror, using sleep paralysis as a stand-in for the isolation and paranoia that comes from both. I conceived the story with my director of photography and good friend Rob Zawistowski.
Audiences can see you now in the new Netflix comedy series Blockbuster, starring alongside Randall Park and Melissa Fumero. Please tell us more about the series, your role, and what we can expect.
Blockbuster was so much fun. I play Lena, whose mom owns a bait and tackle store in the same strip mall as the Blockbuster store. I’m a bit of an outsider, returning home to live with my mom, and I sort of stir things up a bit for the Blockbuster crew. The show is hilarious, really sweet, and will definitely test your film knowledge!
As an actor, director, and writer, what do you look for in a role or plot?
Oh, good question. I’m always attracted to a role or a story that explores the less savoury parts of being human. As an actor, one of the best parts is that the entire spectrum of human emotion and psychology is on the menu; we get to go places and dream into realities that we would never really go to in real life. But I also love comedy. I grew up on I Love Lucy and all of those classic sitcoms, so I love the timing and the joy of working in comedy.
What other projects are in the pipeline?
I’m working on my first feature film script called ‘White Meat’, about a woman on the run who hides out at a hog farm. I’m a bit of an animal welfare activist, so I’m excited to put something out that deals with those issues.
Where can readers find out more about you?
They can find me on Instagram at @stephanieizsak and they can follow my film Consumer at @consumerthefilm.
Photograph by Farrah Aviva and Blockbuster. (L to R) Randall Park as Timmy, Stephanie Izsak as Lena in episode 107 of Blockbuster. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022
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