Nina Bergman is an actress, singer, songwriter, and model. Born in Denmark, she’s the granddaughter of Russia’s greatest actor Pavel Kadochnikov. Nina spent her early childhood traveling around Europe with her Russian Gypsy grandparents before establishing a successful career, which includes several critically acclaimed performances. We had the opportunity to speak to her about her career, projects, and more!
Nina, thanks for taking the time to speak to us about your work. You’re the granddaughter of Russia’s greatest actor Pavel Kadochnikov so is it fair to say you were exposed to the arts at an early industry?
I was exposed to the arts at a very young age because my grandfather Pavel Kadochnikov was an actor, my grandmother was an opera singer and actor, and my father is a professor at the Danish film school. So I started the arts when I was four years old. I knew that I wanted to be a performer; I started dancing. But for me, it doesn’t matter the art form. I just wanted to express myself, and acting seems to be the most versatile way to express myself and the best way to utilize myself and everything I have to give, so that is the art form that I am currently pursuing and feeling most fulfilled doing.
You received a scholarship to the musical theatre school Urdang Academy in London, attended the world-famous Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, and Studied at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Please tell us more about your expectations, experience, and the impact these experiences had on your subsequent career.
I’ve always believed that being an artist is no different than being a doctor. I treat my career very much like any other career. I study. I’m always in class, always been in class. When I first came to the United States, nobody took me seriously. So, I was forced to go to a prestigious school and get a respected education to be taken seriously in the business. And as I said before, I believe studying is a lifestyle, and I will never stop studying, and I’ll never stop learning. Once I do that, I think I should quit the business.
Aside from your grandfather Pavel Kadochnikov, who has been most influential in your career and why?
I have had many influential people and mentors throughout my career. Starting from Frank Sinatra, as a young girl I was obsessed with his career, to Shirley MacLaine I always found fascinating, those women from that time. I did play Marlene Dietrich. All the characters I’ve played have been huge inspirations for me and given me strength because a lot of them have been stronger; I learn a lot from my characters that I play. And then I’ve been fortunate to have managers like Paul Anka who helped groom me and share his knowledge. I’ve had a lot of older people that I have bumped into throughout my career that taught me, and then just trial and error. I failed a lot, haha, a lot, I would say 99% of everything I did I failed at, but I just kept going’ I never stopped. I would say failure is my biggest inspiration and teacher.
You have a significant body of work in film and television including your award-winning performance in “Assassin X”. Is there a role or performance you’re particularly proud of, if so why?
I always feel like my last work is what I’m most proud of because I keep growing and pushing myself, so it’s always my last movie or project that I finished is always the one I’m the most proud of. Also, characters that are further away from who I am I find more challenging, and I’m more proud of those. From the French resistance fighter in Hell Hath No Fury to I just became the spokesperson of a Saxx commercial where I play a gentlewoman, who is very different from me. So any character that is not me, that scares me, has inspired me a lot and stretched me; those tend to be the ones I’m more proud of.
Are there any significant moments that have shaped your appreciation and approach to working in the industry?
I feel like it is always the failures and the harder ones that teach me the most. The ones that go smoothly are not the ones I necessarily learn that much from, and the characters that are more similar to me, I don’t learn a lot from. But I would say that when I played Marlene Dietrich, or when I played Anya in The Cherry Orchard changed me a lot. Hell Hath No Fury because I had to learn to speak French; I don’t speak French. I learned a lot. I could do things I didn’t know I could do. So anything that’s challenging to me is where I get stretched and learn the most.
Your movie’ Seize the Night’ is now available on digital. Please tell us more about the movie and what audiences can expect.
Seize The Night. I am very, very proud of this movie. It was one of those, I read the script, and I instantly knew I was like, oh, this character I must play. I mean, I just related to her, and I’ve been in a rock goth band most of my life, and a lot of the wardrobe, pretty much all the wardrobe, was my own wardrobe. I have lived it, I’ve experienced it, I breathed it, and my music is in there, I just felt like that part was written for me. Luckily Gene and Pasha felt the same, and I was cast in it, and I just related so deeply. Acting-wise, of course, it was hard because of the moments, but as I said, I already lived it, and I felt her so deeply that it was just like I put on an old worn-out jacket or something that I used to wear. It just felt like I’ve been there before when I was playing her.
It was very weird, almost like a deja vu; I knew her before I even started playing her. So it was incredible, and then I always wanted to work with Gene. I’ve known about him for a while; we’re both vegan, so we are in that community, rescuing animals, so we both kind of have the same philosophy. He was a rock singer, and he comes from the same world as I do, so it was just a very beautiful experience where I felt like we were on the same page. He trusts his cast members and is good at casting, so he kind of lets us do our thing and then guides us. It was one of my favorite experiences. I’m very excited about the movie. I think it’s a very, very special movie. The way he made it look, that he created a whole world, almost like a comic book feel, like if you like The Crow and those kinds of movies, this is definitely something you want to see, and if you’re a fan of the 90s, this is definitely something you want to see. It’s just is a really beautiful story and the music, and the whole thing, it’s just one of those gems, it’s a gem, and I’m very proud of it. So go see it.
Recent projects include your starring role as “Marie” in “Hell Hath No Fury” -a Jesse V Johnson movie, playing a French resistance fighter. Please tell us more about the production. Did the COVID pandemic impact the filming schedule?
I play a French resistance fighter, I shot during the pandemic, which was one of my favorite times to shoot because the crews have to be very small; it’s a very closed set, it’s minimalistic, so a lot of people take on different jobs. But I like it because you’re more intimate; it creates a safer environment with fewer people, and everyone on that project wanted to do it because we were all so eager to work during the pandemic. It has some brilliant actors, some of whom I worked with before—Timothy V Murphy, Louis Mandylor, and Daniel Bernhardt, who I admire and respect. We got to play, and we got to dig deep, and I thought we all gave some of the best work we have done. It was an amazing experience, and I am very grateful to be working during the pandemic. So yeah, it’s another movie that I’m very proud of; go see it.
What other projects are you working on?
I just finished a movie in Canada that I can’t talk about, and I play the lead; it was probably one of the most challenging movies I’ve ever done that I’m very, very, very, proud of that’s coming out. My character’s name is Anna, and it’s directed by a French director and some of my favorite actors are in it, so I’m very proud of that, so that will come out this year. And then I have a fun little thing that you might want to check out, a commercial for Saxx underwear where I’m the spokesperson. I am the gentlewoman; a very, very fun character. I just shot five spots, so you can check that out.
Where can our readers find out more about you?
The readers can find more about me on my website ninabergman.com, my Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ninabergman/, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NinaBergmanWorld, Twitter https://twitter.com/ninabergman -it’s all right there. Thank you.
Images provided by Studio Matrix
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