Hometown: Cheboksary, Russia.
Class: 2014
Major: Business and Film
HerCampus: Since you are the founder of ‘Brand’ New Talent Agency, could you tell the readers more about the organization, and how you came up with the idea?
Roman: I have always wanted to build a club from scratch and make it strive for many years after I graduate. Ever since I came to Brandeis, I’ve been looking for a good idea for a club. I had an advertising agency in mind for a while. I even went to the Student Union with it only to find out that the marketing club was essentially the same thing and it was being revived. But nothing could stop me from doing my own thing, so instead of giving up I suggested another idea – a talent agency. It really comes from my goal to become a talent agent after graduation. I would need experience representing actors and since Brandeis did not provide such opportunity, I had to create it for myself. Also, my disappointment with Brandeis filmmakers, who used the same actors over and over again for their projects, fueled my interest to bring new faces to student videos. We are still in the process of setting up, but we are off to a good start. We have already helped student directors to find talent for their projects and it worked out well so far. We welcome new actors and any of the readers interested in being represented can contact me through FaceBook or e-mail. I have two other people on my team and we are constantly looking for actors to add to our database.
HC: What are your past influences? What are the reasons as to why you chose your majors?
Roman: I’ve wanted to work in the film industry since my senior year at the international boarding school. The school is located in Wales, UK. The center of it is a 13th century castle, which is surrounded by endless fields and, well, sheep. It’s a beautiful place. I wasn’t surprised when a big film production company (Miramax) came there to shoot a movie about King John. It was released two years later and is called Ironclad. As students, we would be walking by the set every day. I actually sneaked onto the set one day and started talking to people. They were friendly and told me a bunch of things about filmmaking. I even got to meet the producer, who was kind enough to devote his lunch break to converse with me. So it was that experience that provoked my interest in film. And since I never wanted to be an actor, I loved the idea of working on production. And then I came to Brandeis, wanted to do psychology at first, but then lost interest and went back to my original intentions. Now I’m double majoring in Film and Business and I’m pretty sure I’m going to stick with it.
HC: What other activities do you normally engage in during the semester?
Roman: I am also the treasurer for the Russian club, which is self-explanatory. I manage money transactions for our events. I was an assistant stage manager for a Brandeis Theater Collective play last semester. I have two on-campus jobs. Basically, I don’t have much free time to commit to other things, so I just go with the flow. I like to attend film screenings, lectures and on-campus events. I just found out about the ice-skating club, so I’m going to check it out. I try to do everything that seems fun and gives an opportunity to meet people.
HC: What’s something interesting about yourself that normally people wouldn’t think about when first meeting you?
Roman: I have a cute stuffed animal in my dorm – it is a big hamster.