Please introduce yourself, what you do, why you do it, and what you want people to know about you.
The name’s Kova. Katerina Kova.
I’m the sweet girl-next-door by day, the killer Russian spy by night. I get to be a lot of fascinating people as an actress, and I absolutely love it!
I have a burning desire to do great work with passionate people that can change the way audiences see themselves, their possibilities, and the world.
I want to inspire others to follow their deepest desires, passions, and reignite their belief in their dreams! I truly believe that if more people would do whatever it is that they are intrinsically pulled to, we would have a much happier, kinder, more innovative, and beautiful world!
What qualities make you different and unique from everyone else in the industry?
Having grown up in both the East (Russia) and the West (Canada), I have a completely different outlook on life.
It is this beautiful amalgamation of the deep respect for all artistry, hard work and discipline, and the enjoyment of the process along the way towards reaching your dreams! I have found that being brought up with two completely different life ideologies has helped me pick the best of each and has surely enriched my life, character, and mentality.
I have also traveled extensively and have lived in many different countries pursuing unusual ways of life. For instance, I volunteered and lived in an eco-community in Costa Rica, worked as a chef on luxurious yachts in Croatia, couch-surfed everywhere from Scandinavia, to New Zealand and Japan, and operated over 360 flights in under a year as a flight attendant!
Through all of these incredible experiences, I have met so many remarkable people and have reflected deeply on the mysteries of life and the immensely different ways that people live. I am convinced that this has not only made me a much stronger actor, but also a much more interesting and interesting human being.
I am immensely grateful to have a strong foundation in many disciplines and a variety of special skills, including piano, martial arts (Tae-Kwon-Do, kick-boxing), languages (Russian, English, French, Japanese), dance (ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, hip-hop, heels, jazz-funk), the arts (painting, drawing, sculpting, photography, printmaking), sports (skiing, skating, etc.), and soft skills as well.
These have all contributed to being cast in some incredible projects, including getting to work with motion capture, stunt work, acting in multiple languages and with various accents, and using movement to enhance characters.
These skills make me an extremely diverse and adaptable actor, and I am always looking forward to learning something new or creating something innovative by combining unusual skill-sets!
I am always enthralled by what people have done, experienced, how they see the world, and what they are working on. They energize me to create more dynamic characters that reflect the all-encompassing beauty and messiness of what it means to be a human being!
Along with unearthing more emotional complexities and ways of truthful expression, I am really looking forward to using my martial arts and dance background, to work with fight choreography and action in the New Year!
Bring it on 2022, I’m so ready for you!
Describe THAT moment when you realized you wanted to do what you do now. Who did you tell first? What has it been like since that moment?
I remember it clearly! It was when my family and I were still living in Russia.
We were watching The Fifth Element, and I felt this instant connection to Leeloo and to the whole remarkable world of that film. I was six years old at that time, and I had never felt anything so strongly as my feeling of belonging, of being at home in that world.
I instantly knew that I was meant to be in it, actively creating and living in those worlds!
It wasn’t until someone (likely a relative or another adult) asked what I wanted to do when I grew up that I first said it out loud. I remember clearly stating, without an ounce of hesitation, “I will be an actress and an artist, and I want to kick bad guys’ butts!”
Low and behold, that is exactly what I ended up doing!
Many years later, I got to re-experience the tremendous sensations of awe and enchantment by seeing The Fifth Element on the big screen for the very first time during its release at the Cinesphere (world’s first permanent Imax theatre) in Toronto during a special screening.
The theatre was filled with the film’s biggest fans, and I even sat next to an ecstatic woman and her son, whom she’d named after the main character Korben Dallas, played by Bruce Willis!
It was such a wild ride meeting so many others that had been as deeply impacted by the film as me! To this day, I am blown away by the power of cinema to move people and change their lives!
I am forever grateful to be a part of it all, and I know that six-year-old me would be very proud that I never gave up on my dreams!
When you know, you know!
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to face and how did you overcome it?
Crying in front of people has actually been one of the biggest challenges for me.
For years, I have worked on having better control over my emotions, which has certainly been extremely beneficial in life. I like to deal with everything on my own, and handle emotionally difficult moments behind closed doors, as I have a belief that if you’re capable of doing it, you shouldn’t burden others with it.
This has served me well, but when I started acting, it resulted in some difficulties expressing the most vulnerable aspects in front of others, especially people that I wasn’t familiar with on as deep a level as my closest family and friends. I had to consistently practice, both in acting classes and in life, to allow that release in front of others.
With a tremendous amount of effort, it became easier and easier.
As with any other skill, you can grow with consistent effort and an understanding of your responses, mental states, and emotional triggers. I have found that certain songs trigger that specific emotional state for me best, and so before very heavy breaking-down scenes, I listen to them, on repeat, to help get me where I need to be.
If you had to pick the TOP 3 people you’d want to meet that could take your career (or business) to the next level…who would those 3 people be?
This is always such a tough one, as my list of people I’d love to work with and learn from only keeps growing and growing!
But if I had the opportunity to only work with 3 people in my life, I would definitely want it to be Keanu Reeves, Bruce Willis, and Anthony Hopkins/Helen Mirren/Glenn Close.
I know, I know, I cheated! But I’m not a fan of limits, so I don’t play by the rules. Each of these remarkable actors has deeply touched my soul with their powerful on-screen performances and off-screen personalities.
I really do hope to learn from these brilliant minds and souls one day soon!
Hello, I would really like to work with you if I had that opportunity, my dream has always been to be a great actor. Feel free to contact me at any time.
@rayaak21
rayaakcitoo21@gmail.com