Lea Drinda - Actor of the Month for March 2026

1. Has there been a Casting Director who has really championed or supported you in your career journey? 

Liza Stutzky has been an incredible person to have worked with. It is such a gift, for an actress, when a Casting Director sees more in you than the roles and characters that you have already portrayed and gives you the opportunity to step out of that comfort zone.

2. What is the project you’re most proud of, and why? 

“Sound of Falling“ made little to no compromise in order to appeal to the masses and yet managed to bring female voices and German arthouse into cinemas worldwide. I bow to that.

3. What or who inspired you to pursue acting as a career? 

I fell in love with filmmaking while working on a series called “Children of the Zoo Station” based on the book Christiane F. The director Philipp Kadelbach showed me what loving your job can look like and gave me the opportunity to explore this wonderful job.

4. What was your first IMDbPro credit and how did you feel when you saw it? 

My first IMDbPro credit was “Children of Zoo Station” and seeing my face amongst so many great artists was truly wonderful.

5. How has IMDbPro helped you either to market yourself or connect with other industry professionals? 

IMDbPro has helped me get connected outside of my local marketplace of Germany which I believe is an absolute necessity for European filmmakers for there is so much beautiful work to be done and we need each other more than ever to stay afloat and keep our art alive.

6. Any funny or memorable casting room stories you can share?  

I was invited to a casting for a series called “City of Blood” but had secretly travelled to Albania, a few days prior, to shoot a road-trip movie with a close friend of mine. I flew back to Berlin on the day of the casting and arrived an hour later than I had anticipated due to the time difference that I hadn’t completely forgotten to consider…Luckily I got to my casting on time and also got the role. Hurray!

7. If you could play any character in any movie, past or present, who would it be and why? 

I’d absolutely rock as Joan d’Arc, in my opinion. Also, any opportunity to play alongside Cate Blanchett.

8. What show or movie that you’re currently watching or have watched countless times could you nerd out about forever? What do you love about it? 

I truly loved loved loved the movie “Decision to Leave” by Park Chan-wook. The actors were so open and disarming in their play and the cinematography captured everything with such a humbling beauty and found a way to sneak into the secrets of the tale without letting you be sure of anything.