{"id":2242,"date":"2013-06-07T04:11:08","date_gmt":"2013-06-07T04:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/?p=2242"},"modified":"2022-01-10T21:41:57","modified_gmt":"2022-01-10T21:41:57","slug":"june-2013-new-york-member-of-the-month-sanja-bestic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/june-2013-new-york-member-of-the-month-sanja-bestic\/","title":{"rendered":"<img src=\"\/images\/flags\/United States.gif\"> New York &#8211; Sanja Bestic"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"articles\">\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-336qya-445793cd406514ba84ace497e7b12f8b\">\n#top .avia-gallery.av-336qya-445793cd406514ba84ace497e7b12f8b .avia-gallery-thumb a{\nwidth:14.2857%;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='avia-gallery av-336qya-445793cd406514ba84ace497e7b12f8b avia_animate_when_visible  avia-builder-el-0  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  deactivate_avia_lazyload avia-gallery-animate avia-gallery-1'  itemprop=\"image\" itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" ><div class='avia-gallery-thumb'> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/interview\/2013\/06\/Motm-SanjaBestic.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/interview\/2013\/06\/Motm-SanjaBestic.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/interview\/2013\/06\/Motm-SanjaBestic-300x181.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/interview\/2013\/06\/Motm-SanjaBestic-450x272.jpg 450w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px\" data-rel='gallery-1' data-prev-img='https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/interview\/2013\/06\/Motm-SanjaBestic-495x370.jpg' class='first_thumb lightbox ' data-onclick='1' title='Motm-SanjaBestic'  itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\"  ><img class=\"wp-image-2245 avia-img-lazy-loading-not-2245\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/interview\/2013\/06\/Motm-SanjaBestic-180x180.jpg\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"  title='Motm-SanjaBestic' alt='' srcset=\"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/interview\/2013\/06\/Motm-SanjaBestic-180x180.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/interview\/2013\/06\/Motm-SanjaBestic-80x80.jpg 80w, https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/interview\/2013\/06\/Motm-SanjaBestic-36x36.jpg 36w, https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-content\/uploads\/interview\/2013\/06\/Motm-SanjaBestic-120x120.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 180px) 100vw, 180px\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>SCENE \u2013 A REHEARSAL STUDIO<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nHello Sanja<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nHello Sheri<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nSo, when did you first move to New York?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nI moved to New York in 2004, chasing a dream. I came here for school, for Bob Wilson\u2019s school on Long Island, because he was one of my idols. And, I fell in love with New York and I just decided I wanted to live here.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nAnd what challenges did you face when you first moved here and how did you resolve them?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nWell, the whole immigrant life is very challenging. In order to make it big, you need to face a lot of difficult things. In order to stay in New York as an immigrant, first. Let\u2019s say that I went through a lot, a lot of difficult things to stay here and it was worth it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nWhat was your biggest challenge?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nTo stay legally in this country so that I can go home whenever I can need to be home. So, Sheri, when did you move to NYC?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nWell, I\u2019m a little bit of a cheat because I was born here, I moved here when I was born, but I left when I was four and I was raised in England and I moved back here in 1998.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nWhy?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nOh, this is going to make me sound so wet. Well, there were two reasons. One, I felt I had gotten as far as I could get in the UK. I had just played Kathleen Turner\u2019s sister on the mainstage at Chichester and had come home to being a jobbing actor again, I had a car, I had a flat, I wasn\u2019t attached, I wasn\u2019t married, I didn\u2019t have children and everyone had always been saying, oh, you\u2019ve got a passport, you should go, you should go to New York, and I had done this job and had no other work so I though, \u2018sod it, I am going to go to New York for six months\u2019 and in the first few weeks I met the man who was going to be my future husband. And so that\u2019s why I stayed. But, the other reason \u2013 I knew I was going to meet the man who was going to be my man. It\u2019s the city of dreams, it\u2019s the city where you chase your dream and sometimes your dreams come true.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nYeah, I think, basically, always here dreams come true, it\u2019s just how hard your wish. But, I wish my story was that romantic, like yours, mine was more career, career, career.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nWell, I wish mine was more like that, too, I wish I had been more focused on my career. But, then I may not have had my wonderful family, but, I think there were sacrifices I made to my career for my relationship. I think.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nDo you think that is the case in life, that you have to do that?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nThat\u2019s a great question. I think there are choices that you make, and it depends on what you want and how badly you want it. Obviously, I wanted the relationship more than the career.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nSo, no regrets?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nThat doesn\u2019t mean no regrets. Did you experience culture shock in America?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nLiving in New York city is more different than living in any other city in the world. I think this is different from living in America because New York isn\u2019t American, New York is, is..<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nAn island off the coast of American-<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nYeah. So, it\u2019s just a separate country, separate world, separate dimension, I guess, so it wasn\u2019t much of a culture shock, I am always led by the sentence when you\u2019re in Rome, live as the Romans do, so I am a New Yorker. So, did you experience any culture shock in this country?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nWell, it\u2019s interesting because that\u2019s kind of a hard question to answer because I would say everybody in the world is familiar with a version of New York City, through film, through pictures. It is maybe the most famous city in the world, I would imagine. So, in that sense it wasn\u2019t a culture shock. The culture shock was, \u2018oh, I\u2019m really here. I\u2019m really looking at the Empire State Building, I\u2019m really here\u2019 and the shock for me, coming from London, was how friendly and welcoming people were. I made friends really quickly, and I landed in a show in the first couple of weeks of being here and the way I got seen for that show was people recommending me to other people in the downtown scene, and I had an instant group of friends right away. Oh, and the other thing was people assumed I was really smart because of my accent whereas my accent had always been a negative thing, back home. So, that was a really nice culture shock.<br \/>\nDo you feel that being an ex-pat has influenced your career choices?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nNot necessarily. I think here it\u2019s not important where you are coming from, what\u2019s important is what you have. I know that my education and my experience in theatre and film is really good and long, so I have my tools and I know exactly what I\u2019m going for, so I was ready. And, I\u2019m always ready for the higher goal. I came here with a plan and I\u2019ve accomplished a lot, probably fifty percent right now, which is a lot for the amount of time I\u2019ve spent in New York, that I\u2019m actually in New York, but I have fifty more to accomplish the higher goal that I have in the next five years, so I think I\u2019m on a good track. And, being Serbian, I\u2019m very proud of it, I\u2019m very proud of where I\u2019m from and what I\u2019m bringing with me. I\u2019m very patriotic. Identity is something very important and I\u2019m never going to lose that, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nHas your career here influenced your career at home?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nDefinitely. Because, what they say, if you can make it here you can make it everywhere, so you\u2019re more appreciated because you are fighting in this other country with tigers and wolves who are just as good as you, so it\u2019s a matter of how you train to survive. Because this is a jackal that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nIt\u2019ll eat you up?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nYeah. So, for you, same thing. So, do you think being an expat influenced your career?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nYes and no. Yes, in the sense that I, as an actress, a lot of what I do is now dictated by the fact that I was raised in England. For example, I only go out for voice-overs which need an English accent even though my first accent was an American accent and I can switch very easily. That limitation is interesting. On the other hand, it has also given me an advantage. It has meant that I have a voice-over career, that I don\u2019t think I would have had if I hadn\u2019t been an ex-pat. And I think that\u2019s the main thing. Other than that, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s made a difference like you said, I think it\u2019s really about the work that you do here. It really is a city that can open up to you but you have to really fucking pound that door, you have to kick and it\u2019s made of cast iron but you\u2019ve got to keep on pounding. And, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s influenced my career at home.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nNo?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nIn a way, my career at home folded because I had a career over here. I think over there \u2013 and here \u2013 they think of it as either or. For a while I tried to do both but it became impossible. So, Sanja Bestic, what\u2019s the biggest misconception you had about New York when you moved here.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nI don\u2019t know. Everything was better than I expected, in a way. I fell in love with New York so I don\u2019t see easily all the problems with New York, all the negative things. When some of my friends they come, and their expectations are probably higher and they see that it\u2019s dirty and smelly and this and that. And I\u2019m like, \u2018of course, twenty million people goes round Manhattan in a day it has to be smelly\u2019 but I don\u2019t see that. I see some other beauty in the city and the architecture. I love the energy. I don\u2019t know, maybe I\u2019m really applying everything I saw in the movies to my vision in New York, so I don\u2019t see negative things. I love everything about New York, every single beat, I love even arrogant New Yorkers, and I\u2019m one of them right now. I have become one of them. I love the fact that people are so focused and so into careers, and that\u2019s why we are here. We are here, all of us, different careers but all the same reason, our career. That\u2019s why New York is not kid friendly, it\u2019s why it\u2019s not pets friendly, there is no time for big families. There are no houses with mailboxes and golden retrievers. You know, it\u2019s just a city of dreams but some of other dreams, I guess. What about you? (1:44)What was your biggest misconception?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nMy biggest misconception was that it was going to be really, really tough and that everyone\u2019s really mean, and that everyone\u2019s so focused on themselves that there\u2019s no space for friendship and that was completely wrong. It\u2019s the opposite. People are really open here. People are always working on themselves. I always say New York is the city of self-help and grooming. I find people are much more open that I ever expected, much friendlier. There\u2019s an energy that makes you feel glad to be alive. Of course, not everyone feels that and there\u2019s a bunch of people on Prozac, but I find there\u2019s an openness, a willingness that is unique to this city. On the other hand, some of the worst customer service, ever. But that was my biggest misconception. Theatre companies I\u2019ve worked with here have been friendlier and willing to work, just showing up willing to work.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nBut maybe, as we\u2019re talking about this, when I was, relationship-wise watching back home Sex &amp; the city, first or second season, I thought it\u2019s not possible that you can find a guy in New York City. And, yeah, now I know. It\u2019s impossible.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nIt\u2019s possible. It is possible. Look at me, I did it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nI just want to say that Sex &amp; the City is a very good show in terms of sociology and psychology of New York City. A lot of very smart people worked on that show so what\u2019s in the script is in life in New York City.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nWhat do you miss about Serbia?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nI made a lot of choices that are very connected to my career. And a lot of those choices were very selfish. The part that I miss about Serbia is friends and family that I left. I was lucky enough to have a lot of understanding on their side and support so they didn\u2019t dismiss me from their lives, but I\u2019m very aware of my focus and some kind of, like, selfishness and being very focused on my career. I did make new friends in New York, I made a love of friends which is more like a new family which is more like in theatre. But, definitely the sacrifice is big and I miss a lot and sometimes I miss my previous life in terms of all the real friends, and deep friendships that I have there, and my family, my parents. What about you, what do you miss about England?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nI think I miss the connection. There\u2019s a familiarity and ease to do with family, to do with old friends. I miss not having to translate. I know that sounds crazy but English English is different from American English, and sometimes there\u2019s a way of joking in England-<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nHumor, yeah-<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nThat uses language in a way that is different from the way Americans use language, and it\u2019s that different way of using language that I miss. And I realized when I went back there that I don\u2019t have to translate, that it\u2019s my first \u2018language\u2019 if that makes sense. There\u2019s a whole bunch of stuff I miss. It\u2019s hard to put into words, really. Family, friends. Oh, you know what else I miss? I miss onion bhajis.<br \/>\nWhat\u2019s the best food discovery you have made as an expat?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nI am very picky with food. I don\u2019t eat a lot. But definitely my biggest discovery is Thai food. I don\u2019t like to explore more when it comes to food so Thai food is my biggest love in New York. Except for Italian food.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nWell, something I discovered \u2013 I\u2019ve gotten used to it now \u2013 but the sheer amount of food here. It just feels like every store is either a food store or a clothing store-<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nYeah.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nUnless you are on the upper west side and then there are some children\u2019s stuff thrown in there. I just remember thinking there is so much food here. And so many different kinds of food. I mean, the entire world is here. But, I grew up in London so I had a lot of those options anyway. Oh, but my best food discovery, and I\u2019m going to sound crazy now, but my favourite food right now is raw, organic food. I feel so good when I eat it. When I eat it. I just love to eat that; I feel so clean when I eat it. I got into it when I chose to lose weight for a show last month and I loved it. Now, when I eat anything else, which I do a lot of, it feels cloying in comparison. Well, thank you, Sanja.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nThank you, Sheri.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SHERI<br \/>\nAnd good luck with your show, Tesla, Sanja!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">SANJA<br \/>\nAnd good luck with your show, Tesla , Sheri!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SCENE \u2013 A REHEARSAL STUDIO SHERI Hello Sanja SANJA Hello Sheri SHERI So, when did you first move to New York? SANJA I moved to New York in 2004, chasing a dream. I came here for school, for Bob Wilson\u2019s school on Long Island, because he was one of my idols. And, I fell in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2245,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2242"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29972,"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2242\/revisions\/29972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eurocircle.com\/euro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}