By Mike McCarthy
If you don’t know Elysia Rotaru yet, come mid-October you will not only know her, but you will love her. Elysia is the new love interest of Stephen Amell’s character Oliver Queen on the hit television show Arrow. No, she isn’t replacing Emily Bett Rickards aka Felicity Smoak. Elysia is playing a former girlfriend of Oliver’s in the always loved flashback seasons in season 4.
Elysia has been around the television scene for a while, appearing on shows like Smallville, Supernatural, iZombie among others. A staple on the now CW Network, Elysia has recently branched out to producing a short film called FWD that she just wrapped on, with more in the pike. She called us from an unknown set that she can’t talk about and threatened to kill us if she told us. She told us “ I feel like a spy having to tell everyone that I can’t talk about what I am doing or where I am. All these NDA’s ( Non-Disclosure Agreements) are causing me to be incredibly secretive.”
Wingman Magazine: You were on Smallville in the past and now Arrow, the two biggest comic based shows of our time. Did you read comics at all as a child?
Elysia Rotaru: “ Yeah I was totally into comic books, but not really as a kid but in my high school years. A friend of mine and I would hunker down and read Witchblade which is what got me hooked. That led me into reading Spawn, and I really loved the gritty, raw and dark kind of writing style.
WM: Was DC or Marvel really your radar when you got into comics?
Elysia Rotaru: I started to read them as I started acting because there was a surge of that kind of entertainment that was coming to television. So, when Smallville came out I started to pick up the comics and become more familiar with the world that I would be entering. I am doing the same thing with ‘Arrow’ now, where I would love to pick up a big collection. I know it’s extremely hard, so I have been sourcing it out to friends that are big into comics and told them to find me material.
WM: Have you seen Arrow and were you a fan before you were cast?
Elysia Rotaru: Going back to what I said earlier about what I read for comics, ‘Arrow’ right now is what is really fulfilling what I loved about the comic book world on television at the moment. It is quite dark, especially Oliver’s flashbacks. It brings a different feel than what other shows like Smallville brought out before.
WM: Without revealing anything incriminating, what can you tell us about your new role?
Elysia Rotaru: It’s something that I am really excited for but can’t talk about. So it’s something that we will all have to watch together. The role was incredible to play and I can’t wait for everyone to see it when season 4 starts.
WM: Your new co-star Stephen Amell is huge into social media…will you follow his lead during the season?
Elysia Rotaru: He has been such an amazing mentor. Since day one on set, I feel like I was having ‘Social Media 101 with Stephen Amell’. He took me under his wing and was like, “ this is what we are doing, this is what we all do during the episodes.” Everytime I see and talk to him, he has some new special aspect into the world of social media. He just told me about Facebook Live and that’s an aspect that I would love to get onto as well. He is just really on top of his fans, in terms of connecting to them on a human level. The last thing we talked about was Facebook Live and he just loves that kind of interaction with his fans. And for me, that is a dream. I would love to have verified accounts one day and then be able to have more interaction with my fans on that kind of a level. It’s really humbling and definitely inspirational to be around someone like that, who does it not because it’s something you HAVE to do, but something he WANTS to do and enjoys it. It’s fantastic to be around his energy when it comes to stuff like that.
WM: Arrow has skyrocketed other actresses like Emily Bett Rickards, Caity Lotz to the next level. Do you think you are ready to be seen and loved by millions of fans on a weekly basis?
Elysia Rotaru: Yeah I think it’s something that for me personally I am ready for. A good friend of mine is on Pretty Little Liars and watching her career explode to the level of where it makes me say “ Okay, I’m ready for this and this is something that I need to prepare for.” But I say that with the undertone that it is very exciting, as opposed to “I’m not ready for it.” I am so ready for this and it’s like looking forward to that great family vacation. Even on the set that I’m on now, it’s really humbling when people are coming up saying that they saw the article about me being cast in ‘Arrow’ and they can’t wait to see it.
WM: You are in the middle of producing a horror/Comedy short? That is quite the combination, what can you tell us about it?
Elysia Rotaru: It’s a short that for the first time I am completely behind the camera on. It’s called FWD (Forward). We just wrapped and will be getting some pick ups on it shortly. We are heading into post-production now and it’s a film about those 90’s emails that we got back in the day that would say “ if you don’t forward this to a certain amount of people, something bad will happen to you.” We have taken that idea and made it into an awesome little short, with a little twist at the end. We are doing an homage to our favorite genre, horror and putting our twists and turns in it and using references from horror movies that we loved. We are working on it really hard and we want it to be ready really soon.
WM: You have done producing, acting, voice-acting. What do you like doing the most and why?
Elysia Rotaru: I think I would just love to have a continuous flow of work coming in, and to know what the next project I am hopping on to is, or what the next step might possibly be. I adore all aspects of the craft that I do. I would love to also one day direct, but I need to get more up to speed on cameras, and other language. It’s almost like speaking different languages. I love to be in the voice booth, and having cans on my head and getting bossed around. As an actor, I think I am strong at taking direction. I also love having moments with characters on film. So, I can’t really answer the question one way or another. I was on set earlier this year and I called up my voiceover agent and said “I miss the sound booth.” Once I wrapped on that project I got into the sound booth, and I called my tv agent to tell them I wanted to be back on set. It’s like mixed martial arts in a sense, where you have to study all aspects.
WM: In all of the roles you have done, which one helped you become a better actor?
Elysia Rotaru: I think I really owe that credit to all of my studying in the theatre. In terms of the technicality that I bring to the work that’s where it evolves from the most. But then again, a lot of it has to do with the projects that I have had over the last couple of years. I allowed myself to break down some barriers, but I am always learning. I am still learning what some of the acronyms on the call sheet are. Every project has different acronyms for different things. I have given myself the grace to be more active in communicating with directors, or DOP (Director of Photography) and learning what they are looking for on their side of the camera and just letting myself play. Trusting my colleagues and myself that we will put out the best product possible and make us all look great. So it’s not just one role, but whenever I am on set I try and learn something new. I always set a solid intention on every project of something I want to learn on that set or sound booth.
WM: What one role that you missed out on do you think about the most?
Elysia Rotaru: I don’t think that way, which it makes it hard to answer the question. I’m still breathing and moving forward with my career. I have always thought that whatever role was out there for me to be playing, that I would be granted access. If I don’t book a part per se`, then I know there is always a reason, and there is another door that is waiting for me to walk through. I can’t allow myself to think about the jobs that I missed out on. If the job I tested for goes to one of my friends then I always reach out and congratulate them, because that job was made for them. It gives me so much joy when a colleague of mine books a job.