CynbytheSea Interview with Hrant Alianak
(Salla Vacek)
Hrant Alianak, our group CynbytheSea is honored you have allowed us your time, and we offer you our sincerest best wishes for a happy career for you. Thank you so very much Sir.

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Q1.) I have read reviews of your plays, you seem to be enamored with the classic subjects of Americana, treated during Hollywood's classic age, from gangsters and molls as in Passion and Sin to human sentiment such as in The Walls of Africa, what authors have been your mentors and what books most influenced your work as a playwright/director?

Hrant: My early influences were the French surrealists. Both in art, plays and films. HERMAN HESSE, JEAN PAUL SARTRE and ALBERT CAMUS were important influences. Mostly however, what was primarily influential in my formative years were the american western and gangster films of the fifties and sixties. I tried to look at the classic themes of good and evil as portrayed by the movies and give it a surreal take, which would hopefully make those themes fresh and relevant again.


Q2.) Why did you choose to present the Death of Socrates? What did you feel was unique to your version of this work and what do you feel it expressed?

Hrant: Actually, it was NICK MANCUSO who adapted Plato's 'Apology' and performed it, who chose the piece and asked me to direct it. What we hoped would come of it was the theme of having moral principles and being willing to die for them, a theme we felt our jaded, affluent society has lost track of.


Q3.) I have heard of Montreal as being one of the cities in the world with the most alive theatrical scenes, with an enormous amount of theatrical troupes, I see that you are based in Toronto, better known as Canada's Hollywood, is this city just as alive theatrically?

Hrant: While Montreal is certainly a major theatre town, most of the theatre there is French and it is by no means as major as Toronto. Toronto is the largest theatre town in all of Canada and the third largest in the world in English language theatre after New York and London. The big boom started in the early seventies and i was fortunate to be part of that movement and most of the major Canadian classics have originated from here.


Q4.) If I'm not mistaken, your name is of Armenian origin, but I could not find any biographical information on you,please could you tell us a bit about yourself? Were you born in Canada?

Hrant: I am Armenian by origin. I was born in Khartoum, Sudan. My grandparents fled the homeland during the genocide by the Turks in 1915. I came to Canada in 1967, first to Montreal and since 1968 I have lived here in Toronto.


Q5.) Where did you study acting and to become a playwright/director? Do you also write Francophone plays?

Hrant: I studied acting with a great teacher, ELI RILL. He used to teach at the actors studio in New York and he moved to Toronto in the early seventies and opened a school here for about 10 years. He has since moved to L.A. to teach acting at the actors studio there. My playwriting came in a convoluted way as a means of self expression. I had my first play 'TANTRUMS' produced in 1972. It was a success and people saw me as a writer. I decided not to pursue acting even though I had studied it for 3 years. I thought that what I should do was write instead. Write and direct. I spent a year writing short plays which I directed, to gain some directing experience and have since directed all my plays as well as plays by others. My first acting job didn't come until 1980 when I performed in a movie called 'MISDEAL' also known as 'Best Revenge'. Since then, I have acted regularly and have done over a 100 films and TV shows. I also started my own theatre company, ALIANAK THEATRE PRODUCTIONS in the early nineties and I now produce plays as well, both my own and by others.


Q6.) Was there a prior role model, maybe from a book or a play) that you used to inspire yourself for your charming yet ruthless character, Salla Vacek,in La Femme Nikita?

Hrant: Not really, no. I just performed the part as I felt it.


Q7.) Have you worked again with actors from La Femme Nikita, maybe directing them in your plays?

Hrant: No, I haven't.

Thank you for answering our questions, I hope to see one of your plays one day! Good luck in your career!
Mary De Francesco ~  Rome, Italy
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Q8.) Tell us about you audition for the part on La Femme Nikita? What exactly did you have to do during the audition? And was the character part of your creation in how it was going to be portrayed?

Hrant: I don't really remember the audition very well. I don't think it was any different from other auditions I have done. This part was very well written and it is always easier to play a part that is not a stereotype. I always try to do as little as possible and feel the emotions that I think the character is going through at any given time. I think that is all one can do as an actor, to do a part properly. Have an internal life that is real and that is somehow related to one's own life. And to do it as simply as possible.


Q9.) When you are not acting, what do you do, what are your hobbies?

Hrant: Go to a lot of theatre and I read a lot.

Claudia ~ Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Q10.) What was your favorite or memorial role in film / television/ stage?

Hrant: Would say the part of SHAFFIK in the series 'MORE TEARS'.


Q11.) Was it your dream to do what you do, or did it happened by accident?

Hrant: It was always my dream. I can't do anything else and be happy.


Q12.) Had you watched La Femme Nikita before you got the part in it?

Hrant: No, I rarely watch television.

Paulina Soczewka ~ Wroclaw, Poland
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Q13.)Do you have any special events that happened while working with the cast and crew of La Femme Nikita?

Hrant: Not really. I remember the cast and crew as a warm bunch of people and I had short pleasant conversations with several people, when the time allowed. That is of course, always the problem, people are always very busy, there are deadlines and there is never any time on a set to talk. As an actor, I also prefer not to get into conversations but remain focused on the character that I'm playing. I do this by staying in my dressing room and reading.


Q14.) What type of character do you prefer to play and why?

Hrant: The bad guy is always more fun to play. I have done many of those and they're fun because they get to do outrageous things that I would never dream of doing. That is after all, part of the fantasy of acting, being characters that is unlike oneself.


Q15.) What other endeavors have taken place in your career since you filmed La Femme Nikita?

Hrant: Many different things as an actor. My being part of the ensemble company of 'NERO WOLFE' and being able to play different roles in different episodes was a particular delight.


Q16.) How many writings have you undertaken in your career and could you tell us a little about them?

Hrant: I have written 14 plays. My best known works are my gangster trilogy ,'NIGHT', 'PASSION AND SIN' and 'LUCKY STRIKE' which also played in New York and London. 'THE BLUES' has played across Canada and my most recent play 'THE WALLS OF AFRICA' won the DORA award for best production in 2002.

Thank you so much for the time you have taken to answer our questions.
Sandy Meridith ~ Kansas, USA
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Q17.) Were there any movies or theater shows that inspired you to become an actor?

Hrant: Nothing in particular. Just the idea of being able to act in films and television was the thrilling part.


Q18.) Do you have any current or future projects for TV?

Hrant: An mow 'THE RISE AND FALL OF HEIDI FLEISS' and an episode of 'THE ELEVENTH HOUR'. In the next two weeks I will be doing a part in the mini-series 'THE GRID' and also an episode of 'THIS IS WONDERLAND'.


Q19.) Did you enjoy playing on LFN and was the audition for it difficult?

Hrant: Enjoyed playing the part enormously and it remains one of my all time favorites. The audition was not very difficult, as I recall it, because the part was something I understood right away and was therefore able to do simply and honestly.

Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with us.
Dana Vrajitoru  ~ Indiana
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Q20.) When making the show of Nikita, there was a scene where you were shot. Can you explain the process of the making of this scene and the effects on your body?

Hrant: They attach a little plastic bag of stage blood on your T-shirt with a fuse attached which the special effects man controls. The effect is a small sharp poke. Most times it does not hurt.


Q21.) And as a follow up. Would they use the same sort of things on stage if gunplay was needed?

Hrant: It is an expensive proposition on stage. What I would use then is a more primitive version, where the actor controls the blood bag and punctures it himself on the cue.

Warren Stewart ~ Perth, Australia
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Mr Alianak, thank you for allowing us to ask such inquisitive questions of you. I'll try my best to behave. *smile*
Mr Alianak, I must commend you. Such talent must come naturally. I see you played in Robocop, Dirty work and Billy Madison, all great movies but it was LFN that caught my attention on you. Your part in LFN was mesmerizing, I now am going to see these movies all over again just to see you, in character. Though you've played many roles, those previously mentioned are my fav.

Q22.) Did you have any input on how your character was portrayed and killed?

Hrant: No, none. I played the part as it was written and as I was directed.


Q23.) If you never watched La Femme Nikita before you were cast, Did you watch it afterwards?

Hrant: Sometimes. As I mentioned earlier, I rarely watch television.


Q24.) Do you have a preference in character, as to being a bad guy or a good guy and why?

Hrant: The bad guys are always more interesting because they get to do outrageous things one would never dream of doing.


Q25.) Do you have an experience or fond memory you could share with us while working with the cast of LFN?

Hrant: Not really, it was a very nice group of people to work with and I enjoyed the experience of working on nikita a lot. Of course, one always enjoys working on a project when one has a great part like I did with this show.

Mr Alianak, thank you for answering our questions, I hope they weren't a burden on your schedule. All of your hard and talented work is appreciated, though not displayed enough. May God Bless you & yours today, tomorrow and always.
Susy,Texas ~ USA
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Q26.) Had you previously did any work with any actors on La Femme Nikita before you were on the show.

Hrant: ALBERTA WATSON is the only actor that I had worked with. She was in the very first movie I did, 'MISDEAL' and then we worked together again on another movie 'DESTINY TO ORDER'. Of course, we had no scenes together in NIKITA.


Q27.) If your character hadn't been killed off the show do you think you would have become more involved in your daughter Elena's life on the show?

Hrant: Yes, I think so. But then again, you should ask the writer. He would know best.


Q28.)Do you love animals? If so what pets do you have at home.

Hrant: I love animals. Cats and dogs. No, i don't have any pets right now.

Thank you Mr. Alianak for your time
Vickie Luke ~ Charleston, WV
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Q29.) In "Someone Else's Shadow" on La Femme Nikita, did you witness any goof ups, bloopers, or backstage pranks that happened during the filming of the episode you appeared in?

Hrant: Not that I recall, other than the usual part of the process errors which always happen until every one gets the scene right.


Q30.) You were born in Sudan, when did you immigrate to Canada, and what brought you closer to the West?

Hrant: I was always close to the West. When I was growing up we used to always go to Europe for our holidays and London, in particular, ended up becoming an important part of my growth and cultural input. I came to Canada with my parents in 1967 and have been living in Toronto since then. My ethnic background is Armenian.


Q31.) Tell me about your first play and what inspired your desire to write?

Hrant: My first play was 'TANTRUMS'. I think I wanted to write in a style that no one had written in before. I was experimenting with avant garde surrealist methods of expression at the time and I wanted to talk about feelings and thoughts in an obscure way, mainly because that was the only way I could express myself at that time. Or wanted to. As I am a very private sort of person, I prefer my work to connect to others viscerally. Hopefully they will recognize a feeling, a thought, an emotion and relate to it. That is all that one can do as an artist.


Q32.)Can you share with me a beautiful memory that has followed you all the days of your life?

Hrant: There have been many beautiful memories in my life as there are many in everyone's life, however miniscule or irrelevant they may be to others. The world can be a terrible, hopeless place but it can also be a spiritual paradise. It is what we make of things that makes them beautiful to us . The people we meet. The things we do. The hope that we are doing our best to make the world a better place. It is different with everyone and hard to put to words. We all try in our own way to experience good things and to share them with others. These are intangible things.

Cynthia Wilkerson ~ Texas, USA
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Your Comments:
Answering these questions has been a very pleasant thing. I am flattered that you are interested. I hope that you also have gained something from my responses to your questions. Thank you.
Hrant Alianak

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