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When Gossip Girl premiered aback in 2007, the aboriginal catechism admirers had to acknowledgment for themselves was whether they were a Blair or Serena, followed by whether they'd appetite to date Nate, Chuck, or Dan. But while all of those bodies swanned about the Upper East Side in abandoned clothes, there was one woman who saw all — Dorota, Blair's put-upon but affectionate maid. She was so complex in Blair's schemes and knew so abundant about the atrocious lives of Manhattan's aristocratic that abounding admirers eventually came to accept that Dorota was Gossip Girl. This — addle-brain active — angry out not to be the case, but Dorota charcoal a appearance that you'd absolutely appetite in your bend if you were, say, advancing for your bells to the prince of Monaco. Here, extra Zuzanna Szadkowski discusses Gossip Girl for the premiere's 10-year ceremony and explains why it was absolutely a absolution that Dorota rarely had to change out of her maid outfit.
I auditioned for it because I had a history of arena Polish maids. It was my third Polish maid in a row. The additional one I played was on the final division of The Sopranos; I played Carmela’s maid. [For Gossip Girl] they capital somebody over 60, but because I was Polish they capital to see me anyhow [even though] I was in my backward 20s. There were no curve in the aboriginal adventure for Dorota so I was improvising. It was fun and it went well, and again I got the allotment and I didn’t absolutely apperceive at the time what a abundant job it was. I had heard that the books were absolutely accepted so I was acquisitive it would be a acceptable affair but I didn’t alike apperceive if Dorota would appear aback or anytime get to say anything.
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Certainly the accord was set up from the alpha that Blair affectionate of didn’t accept a mother amount and that Dorota was there because the advice were the alone bodies around, but I didn’t absolutely alpha developing a appearance and accepting actuality to do until able-bodied into the aboriginal season. One of the things was that Leighton [Meester] as Blair was such a hit, so the added the writers started autograph about Blair and again Chuck and Blair, again Dorota, Blair's little confidante, played added and added of a role. It grew organically over time and it was advantageous that the admirers reacted able-bodied to Dorota too, because I feel like they started to address a little added fun actuality for me. By the third division I had a bells adventure and I got to accept my own babyish and everything, so again I was like, "Hey, I anticipate I’m kinda on this appearance now!"
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I alone had one! Again afterwards a brace seasons they gave me a alpha one, but it was appealing abundant aloof the one and the one headband. That chaplet fabricated it for six seasons — the chaplet is the one affair I took from the set afterwards the appearance wrapped. Once in a while I got to dress up; if there was a bells or accident again I absolutely got to go into the apparel allowance and see those guys. I aloof formed on an adventure of Search Party and the guy who designs for that appearance formed on Gossip Girl, and he was like, "Hey!" and it was like we almost remembered anniversary added because I had apparently been in the apparel allowance of Gossip Girl, like, six times.
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I did, except that I abstruse appealing bound that I was the advantageous one because my accouterments was air-conditioned comfortable. They were in these crazy aerial heels and these tight, bound dresses, and afterwards a accomplished continued day of cutting everybody was adversity and they couldn’t go to the bath calmly and all that. And I was aloof in my comfy, comfortable stuff. Aback I had my bells episode, they put clip-in extensions in my beard and I was so aflame to accept alluring hair. Again afterwards eight hours of cutting those clip-ins aching so bad on your attic and I was like, "Thank god I’m not a alluring appearance because I’m not cut out for this."
I was one of the alone casting associates who consistently watched it aback it aired, I was a fan. But about the third division somebody started aperture our scripts to the media, so they started authoritative these actual redacted scripts and sometimes you would appearance up and do a arena and you didn’t apperceive what the arena was about because they couldn’t assurance putting it out there. A lot of it was fly by the bench of your pants and we were consistently aflame to see what would appear next. The final-season acknowledge of Gossip Girl was crazy because we didn’t apperceive until we were cutting the scene. They were aloof handing us pages with big, blacked-out blocks and actuality like, "Well, we’ll get to it!" I feel like cipher knew who Gossip Girl was activity to be till the day we did it.
I absolutely did and I additionally affectionate of hoped it would be, and again I was a little aghast that it wasn’t. It was funny because in the final adventure there’s a arena area Ambassador Bloomberg says, "I anticipation it was Dorota." That was my admired thing, that the ambassador absolutely mentioned my name.
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Yeah, he did. They gave us all a archetype of the proclamation, so I absolutely accept the Gossip Girl Day announcement in my apartment. New York Burghal has consistently had its iconic appearance of the moment, and Gossip Girl was absolutely that for that time that it was on, in agreement of the actuality that it was so abundant about the appearance and the activity of the city. Aback we would shoot on the Upper East Side, the admirers of the appearance that were high-school acceptance that absolutely lived in the apple of Gossip Girl would appear see us and it was so crazy because I was like, "It’s real!" Best of our interiors were attempt on a soundstage but we had one abode on the Upper East Side that we acclimated for Blair’s kitchen and Nate’s dining room. [Once] I was cutting my Dorota outfit, sitting in that abode cat-and-mouse to go on, and their Dorota was charwoman the room. She was cutting a maid accouterments and everything. She was bedlam so abundant because she was like, "You comedy me!"
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If he did I never saw him. But I did accommodated Ryan Reynolds one time and he addled me as the nicest, best air-conditioned celebrity I’ve anytime met in person. They seemed like a absolutely abundant bout to me because they’re such balmy people. Hollywood can be [something] added than that and they’re both absolutely nice and beautiful and sweet.
I had a arena with Cyndi Lauper — it was one of my aboriginal big scenes I anytime had — and that was absolutely air-conditioned for me. But my admired actuality on the appearance who was a bedfellow brilliant was Wallace Shawn, who played Blair’s stepdad. I got to accept all these scenes with him and he absolved me bottomward the alley aback Dorota got married. I aloof got the better bang out of him, I’m such a huge fan of his. Rachel Zoe was on one adventure and that was absolutely fun because at the time I had been watching her absoluteness show, and again she came on and she had to abatement into a amber fountain. She had to be covered arch to toe in chocolate, and it was so funny to see her because she’s such a little appearance adjudicator and actuality she is accomplishing this absolutely crazy scene. She absolutely got doused. She was abolished the way they acclimated to douse bodies with fungus [on Nickelodeon].
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Oh yeah, assurance me up! I don’t brainstorm that it would but if it did I would be the aboriginal one animadversion on the door.
I’m actual abutting with Leighton because she and I spent a lot of time alive calm and we developed a absolute friendship. She’s one of the nicest things for me about accepting alike formed on the show; my accord with her is absolutely appropriate to me. She’s a abundant amateur and is funny and has abundant banana timing, and she knew a lot about alive on camera. For me it was a little newer because I’d done a lot added amphitheater afore I did the show, so alike from the alpha I abstruse a lot from her. I saw her again aback I was out in L.A. Sometimes if I’ll go about with her, those are the best fun fan sightings I’m anytime attestant to. I’m abiding she gets accustomed all the time, but aback admirers see Blair and Dorota calm it can get surreal for people.
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It happens mostly aback I accept my beard back. I like to anticipate that I’m added alluring and beautiful than Dorota in my approved life. It’s affectionate of on my slummin’ it canicule that I get accustomed more. But there’s a accomplished new crop of bodies who watch the appearance so alike admitting it’s been 10 years ago that it started, I still get high-school kids today watching it afresh. I like actuality accustomed because it makes me feel acceptable about the character, and the actuality that the admirers accepted Dorota and that I got to abound over time. It was a absolutely acceptable acquaintance in my career so every time I accommodated a fan of Gossip Girl it makes my day, actually.
Follow Eliza on Twitter and Cosmo Celeb on Facebook.
A antecedent adaptation of this column said Gossip Girl premiered in 2012. The absurdity has been corrected.
