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One reason Stephanie endeared herself to the hearts of Angel fans was the undeniable chemistry between her and fellow legal conspirator, Christian Kane (Lindsey McDonald). But when the opportunity to bed, rogue demon-hunter, Wesley to the dark side, she and Alexis Denisof brought a whole new definition to the terms evil and seduction. "Oh good!" she bursts out laughing. Working opposite Alexis, differed in ways to building this new rapport and selling it on screen. Having had Christian in the past, whose character was more her counterpart, now with Wesley being so different from Lilah the challenge was exciting. "I think that that made it intriguing because I looked at it as [Wesley] as a softer soul. And it actually became deeper than I would have ever thought as well," she confides, "and the exploration of...I guess that was the moment of where you got to see the softer side of Lilah. I think she got to see it. And I think it created this magic that I hadn't expected. Because suddenly your character is a bit vulnerable and you hadn't counted on that and it just is. And that was cool."

In "Carpe Noctum" Lilah and Angel have an intimate moment

One major benefit of having a talented ensemble cast is how much of your own performance you can draw off the other person in a scene. "A lot! Admits Stephanie, "I've worked with some people who I might as well not even be there, that they can do it either way, just as well. They've got it so planned in their head. And I certainly am a people watcher, so I know what my character is doing and what my goal in the scene is. And then, of course, my reactions will be based on their actions. And then based on their action is how my reaction will be. I don't pre-plan my reactions per se. Which is what a lot of people do, which is weird." In respect to more or less rehearsal, Stephanie benefits either way. "I like it sometimes without too many because I want to surprise them in certain parts," she admits. "And if you have too much rehearsal, than they know everything you're gonna do and if you lose that surprise element. However, sometimes it's fun to do a lot of rehearsals because then it brings you to something else. But, we never get time to rehearse on Angel. Yeah, right. We get to block the scene, which is different than rehearsing the scene," she confesses laughing.

WOMEN IN FILM

Recently, the WE [Women's Entertainment] channel did a documentary on the sensual appeal of vampires called, Night Bites. It featured interviews with several leaders of vampire lore such as Anne Rice, but also included Buffy, the Vampire Slayer's executive producer Marti Noxon along with Stephanie Romanov. "They said they liked my interview so much and I was so funny that they interspersed me a lot," she recalls. The documentary focuses on the romantic appeal of the vampire, and the icon's depiction in TV and film. The romantic drawl of Dracula is undeniable, but that hasn't always been the case. Hollywood has given Dracula and Frankenstein's Monster their own allure that's made them bigger than death. "Oh, absolutely I think Hollywood's done it," agrees Stephanie. "If you look at the early film of Dracula, he was not a handsome dude," she laughs, referring to Nosferatu, "he looks like a monster. And as it developed, and then the mystique of Dracula became alluring, Hollywood made it so. But I think that our human nature is drawn to something that never dies. Because we're mortal, we face mortality. We'd love to be immortal, so I think it's what the allure is. He can't die. He can make you be one of him and you won't die. And for men and women, what do we do? Try to eat well; this is gonna make you live longer, this is gonna make you look younger. We're all looking for the fountain of youth and Dracula represents that, or vampires." And with her best Bela Lugosi accent Stephanie draws out a perfect, "Dracula." The girl's got bite!

Stephanie and Steven Culp at the premiere of Thirteen Days

There is a pretty steady flow of women driven projects lately within the film and television medias. Directors, writers, producers such as Jane Campion, Nora Ephron, and Martha Coolidge continue to lead the critically noticed field. All these women are getting to pursue these avenues more respectfully these days in the industry, but it still isn't opening more doors for the female actors. "Well, based on scripts lately, less then ever that I've seen," concurs Stephanie. "Most movies are all guys and one or two girls. So I haven't seen any change. It's actually really pathetic," she admits candidly. Even though statistics are telling us today that there are more female writers, directors, editors, and even cinematographers it still no greater than 19%. "Well, see, they say that, and sure there are more than there have been, but it's still such a miniscule amount. And what's our population? It's about 50/50? If you look at their roles in TV and in film, look at the cast, occasionally you get something that's mostly women, but hardly ever." Stephanie also agrees that the quality of scripts is still hard to come by as well. "I think just in general, for sure. How often are there a bunch of movies out and you just want to see one of them? Or really cool Independents that maybe don't get enough notice, but are really interesting. Interesting study or beautifully shot, or even if it's something. I just don't think we come across it a lot in general." Actors are doing more independent films nowadays and going out on a limb, being able to explore their "craft" with more daring roles. "Also I think they're just wanting to work, you know. And it's like you want something that you're gonna feel good about doing and they're doing a lot more of that in the independents as far as that goes, I believe," she says.

And of course, Stephanie has her own aspirations of writing, directing, and producing. "Why yes, yes I do!" she replies happily. "I'm developing a few projects right now and I'm working on another project with my producing partner that a friend of mine wrote and wants to direct. And I have shot part of a film that, well I have to finish writing it," she admits, "but I wanted to get some of the sequences when I was in London. So when I direct and write, I like to do all of it. It's just finding the time. Like I said, I love human study and there's so many ways of doing it, and if you're just an actor you're sitting back waiting for someone else to give you a job. And I'm someone who likes power." Stephanie laughs adding, "Not that I want to take yours away, I just want to have my own." And that power might land Stephanie's projects on the independent circuit, perhaps at Sundance n the near future. "I don't know, I'm hoping. I'm hoping you'll see them; I don't care how. Whether it be HBO or Showtime or maybe I can get a studio interested. Or maybe they'll be on Sundance, you just don't know. You go out there hoping for the best and see what you get."

THE FINAL CUT

But fans won't have to wait long to see Stephanie on the big screen again, opening this March/April from Lion's Gate Films is Omar Naim's The Final Cut. This feature stars at outstanding cast, featuring Robin Williams and including Mira Sorvino and James Caviezel. "It's a real cool film and I don't want to give anything away," admits Stephanie. Indeed it is, the story is set in a world where implanted microchips can record all the moments of a person life. "You can buy it," she explains. "It's saying that if technology were to have gone another way and a company had come up with this chip that you could buy, and then implant an embryo, it would film their lives. Or your great-great-grandchildren could hire someone to edit it and have this beautiful re-memory of the life that existed before them. Robin Williams plays a 'cutter', whose job is to edit these films. And then, of course, the different questions about rights and privacy and things that might come up, and different complications. It's interesting. It's intriguing - it kind of takes you on this ride with Robin as its key character." Stephanie plays Jennifer, "The wife of a lawyer who works for the company, Eye-Tech, who has this chip, who dies and I get control of his film and I hire Robin to edit it. I've got some things -- a little bit of hiding, things I want to cover up a bit, and he's known as the cutter who fixes peoples' lives. Kind of gives you a happy ending."

"I'm happier than I've ever been. My life is great. My marriage is amazing. It's good to be." ~ Stephanie on Life

Stephanie is in control again with another power woman, "Yeah, she's another tough ass," she confesses with a laugh. "And emotional. She was wild, wild. It was fun though. It was really kind of intense and Robin's so funny. It's not a funny movie, but he's so funny. He and I have similar humor and we're just bouncing back and forth; we were doing one scene and we were rehearsing it for the camera and he goes off into an Irish accent, and of course, I do a perfect Irish accent. So he and I were going back and forth the whole scene in Irish and we stop and everybody's on the floor laughing. It was funny. He was so much fun and so gracious to everyone. The whole crew is in love with him." It's a nice benefit for actors when they have an atmosphere like that to work in for months on end of shooting. "Oh, it was like a big love-fest. It was amazing," she confides, "One of the nicest things I worked on." The Final Cut was filmed in Vancouver, Canada and Stephanie is no stranger to Great White North. "Yeah, I loved it. I love Vancouver. I've worked in Toronto. The Canadians are really sweet. It's pretty up there." Canada also has a bona-fide draw for actors and studios that is hindering the Hollywood market as Stephanie explains, "A lot of times the choice is between a movie being made in Canada or not being made. Because, number one, there's the exchange rate. Our dollar is stronger than theirs. They give a big tax break, and they give you other breaks as well. So I really think we need to do something in America and in California to welcome back our filmmakers and to give them incentives, and cash incentives to make them do their movies here."

But at the end of a long 14-hour day workweek when she's looking at downtime and has a couple days off, you'll find Stephanie and Nick on their ranch. "We've got avocado groves, persimmon groves, goats, chickens, and a couple dogs. So we go around the property; we hike. I love to paint. I've been painting lately." And Stephanie also has a flair for sculpting but admits, "I haven't sculpted in a while. I miss it. And I hadn't painted in a while either. I've been very busy, but I finally sat down the other day with my girlfriend and started painting, which was so nice. I want to do it tomorrow, too." Perhaps we'll see a Romanov original at a gallery showing in the near future. "Oh gosh, wouldn't that be nice." So, with the thoughts of persimmon groves and sculpting the next classic work of art, we asked our final question; what surprises Stephanie about life these days? "Every day is a surprise," she offers with her genuine heartfelt laugh. "I'm happier than I've ever been. My life is great. My marriage is amazing. It's good to be."

Written by CoA Writer, Kristy Bratton

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CityofAngel.com would like to give our Gratitude to Stephanie Romanov for allowing us to be a part of her busy schedule and for all the laughs.

Special Thanks to Carolyn Newman for all her assistance in this interview.

If you have any comments for CityofAngel.com regarding this 'Spotlight' feature, we would love to hear from you. Just email us at: comments@CityofAngel.com