The Eerie Digest, November 2010
ED- The Eerie Digest is extremely excited to present to our readers the well known actress, Sofia Milos. Sofia, You are a very familiar face on some of the most popular shows on television today. Please tell our readers about your early years in your home country of Switzerland, and what influenced you to set out a career in acting?
SM- I was to young and to shy when I lived in Switzerland to be inspired to do any on-camera work, if anything I would have thought or hoped at best for behind the camera or lens. I loved painting in those years, I still do and my whole inspiration at that time was to capture the essence and beauty of others, to shy to think of my own. It was only years later, of a modeling career that started at 15 and traveled me throughout the world that I engaged in the idea of wanting a stronger source of communication, that still had ascetics with it, but that came within. And was so with able to create greater effects than a still photograph could. My acting career started in the states on stage and then on television with my first series in “Cafe American” with NBC in 1993. Many shows followed since and I never returned to Italy, where my family still resides.
ED- Tell us about your arrival in the United and your training for your career here.
SM- In Los Angeles, I studied at the Beverly Hills Playhouse and Globe Theatre for approximately ten years under the teachings of Milton Katselas, which changed my life. My challenging past was not a justification for all I could do today and my shyness didn’t have a chance with him and today I am grateful for that.
ED- You also speak several languages. How has these helped you later in your performances?
SM- I haven’t used my languages as much as I would have liked to, although I did perform in English, in all the USA productions “CSI Miami”, “Sopranos”, “Passionada”, and many more. Also in Italian in “Lo Zio D’America”, which was the number one television film of the year and others. I just finished shooting “TATORT”, in Switzerland, which is the longest running television movie, in which I play an Italian-American cop, Abby Lanning, on an exchange program between Chicago and Lucern, starring opposite Stefan Gubser. I spoke Swiss-German, which was a fun challenge after 18 years in America.
ED- Your early years in television had seen you leap forward over many actresses in your field in such shows as ‘Over the Line’ and ‘Friends’ along with your role in twenty four episodes of ‘Cafe American’. How did these projects boost your confidence and ability with your career?
SM- Any success and achievement of something you invest yourself is going to boost one’s confidence and courage to continue and persist on this crazy route chosen, but what a great road and adventure it’s been.
ED- Your next major move had seen you on ‘Caroline in the City’ where you appeared in a minimum of twenty seven episodes. Tell us all about this show and the role that you played.
SM- I played Julia Karinsky, Malcolm Gets’ Italian hot-headed flamboyant wife with a thick Italian accent and a dry sense of humor. A great line I remember from that show that defined our relationship is when we were sitting with a therapist and Richard yells at Julia that she couldn’t just waste their money on 27 pairs of shoes! And Julia huffs back at him: “They were on sale!!!”
ED- What was your relationship with the other cast members during this time, and how did you interact with them to help each other to make the show move so smoothly?
SM- With a lot of humor. It’s a lot of fun to do a sitcom and the hours are great in compared to the excruiating hours on a one-hour drama. We had a great time together and I learned a great deal working with such a wonderful cast. I learned a great deal on all of those shows. There is no teaching like real life experiences.
ED- You moved to many roles including ‘Love Boat: The Next Wave’ and two episodes each in the well know shows ‘The Sopranos’, ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’, and ‘Thieves’. How exciting was this for you, and can you tell us about some of the other cast members in these productions?
SM- Working on the Sopranos was certainly a big turn in my career. First of all because I went from playing only comedies to only doing dramas for the next decade. The recognition that the role of Annalisa Zucca brought me, the Mafia boss that went toe to toe with Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) was going to change the infinity for the types of roles I was going to persue. In fact I played many strong, powerful, professional women that set a great example for which the greatest validation yet has come from my fans.
ED- The next important period of your life saw you in an incredible sixty-eight-episodes of the much watched ‘CSI-Miami’. This was a big step in your career. Tell us all about it and the important role that you played.
SM- A title I have been wearing since 2003, therefore for the past seven years, is of none other than detective Yelina Salas, Horatio’s sister-in-law. The success of the CSI brand is unprecedented worldwide. CSI Miami alone is seen in 183 countries, it’s crazy and wonderful. I am very lucky and grateful to be part of the CSI family for this long. It’s brought me great fortune and experience like landing the starring role of homeland security special agent Bianca LaGarda opposite James McGowan in “The Border”, a canadian show for CBC, and help to sell the show to what is today 29 countries so far. I will recurr again on CSI Miami in October with the role of Yelina Salas.
ED- Sofia, it has been a real honor, and a pleasure, to introduce someone of such great talent and beauty to all of our readers. We thank you for the time you have spent with us, and hope that you come back often so that we can keep all our readers world-wide updated with your career.