SATISFACTION: USA Network’s new provocative drama that explores modern marriage at its midpoint. Through the lens of one couple, Neil Truman (Matt Passmore) and his wife, Grace (Stephanie Szostak), this series answers the question, "What do you do when having it all is not enough?" by delving into their shocking and unconventional choices. SATISFACTION is from Universal Cable Productions (UCP) and executive producer/creator Sean Jablonski (SUITS, "Nip Tuck"). Russ Krasnoff ("Community") of Krasnoff/Foster also serves as executive producer.
STEPHANIE SZOLAK INTERVIEW FROM RECENT GLAMOUR MAGAZINE
Want to Ditch Your Career to Chase Your Dreams? Satisfaction's Stephanie Szostak on How She Did Just That—and Ended Up a Star by Megan Angelo JULY 17, 2014 My favorite thing about actress Stephanie Szostak is her subtle performance in Satisfaction, the new drama that delves fearlessly into a strained marriage and premieres on USA tonight. (You'll find yourself holding your breath for no particular reason at many points throughout the premiere.)
My second favorite thing about Szostak, though, is that she had a whole first life before she came to acting—and, especially on those days when you spend the entire 3 P.M. status meeting gripped by a What am I doing here? panic, there's nothing more inspiring than a story about changing routes to chase your dreams. (Plus, Szostak has a great tip for all of you in long-term relationships.)
Q. You were born and raised in France. What brought you to the States?
A. My dad's American, and my mom's French. I lived in France for the first 18 years of my life, then came here to go to school at the College of William and Mary. I studied marketing. I really didn't know what I wanted to do, so I thought that's what I should do—study business—because it would give me the best chance to find work.
Q. And at this point, you hadn't started acting at all yet?
A. No. We don't have drama in public schools in France. I had never taking an acting class. At William and Mary, I was on the golf team. Then [after school] I started as an assistant in the skin care department at Chanel. I had a fantastic boss, and all the fun perks—I had access to the closet with all the products. I worked there for two years, and I wasn't unhappy, but I wasn't fulfilled.
Q. So what launched you from that field onto the path of pursuing acting?
A. At work one day, we were doing a last-minute photo shoot, and the photographer needed a model. They asked me, and I thought: Well, maybe I could make money doing this while I figure out what to do. I left Chanel and worked part-time as a model and part-time in an office while I took my first acting classes. That's when I realized, This is it.
Q. That can be almost frightening—the moment you think, Oh, this is what I want to do, and I've been very far away from it till now.
Q. Yeah, you start questioning all the choices you've made up to that point. But it's also exciting—I think magic comes from those moments in which you don't really know what you're doing. I started with commercials—for shampoo, pancakes, insurance, Volvo. I did a Lux soap commercial with Sarah Jessica Parker. And I got a role in an indie film called Satellite that did well in festivals. In fact, I got an email from the director of that film today saying the screener for Satisfaction just showed up on his doorstep.
Q. Let's talk about Satisfaction, which you got after starring in, among other things, Iron-Man 3. It's about a husband and wife who have become distant from each other and who are both essentially looking to the gigolo biz to get by—your character, the wife, is using one, and the husband is flirting with being one.
A. They're trying to protect their relationship the wrong way. Instead of communicating with each other, which can be scary because you have to admit you're not happy, they're going outside the marriage to discover what makes them feel alive again.
Q. The methods are extreme, of course, but some of the relationship stuff is really relatable.
A. I've been married 18 years, same as my character. In your twenties, you have a dream, you're going somewhere—then, you get married and have children. You get caught up in the routine of life, and sometimes the dream is no longer there. The concept of the show—that we need to invest in our relationships—is universal. It takes honesty, and courage, and communication, and not checking our phones all the time.
Q. As a wife and mom and busy actress, how do you make sure you hit that goal?
A. Ten years ago, somebody told my husband and me to do this exercise together. It's called the Impossible Future. You each go into a separate room and write out your impossible future—what your life would look like, personally and professionally, if there were no obstacles, including money. Then you read each other's. It's a beautiful way to dream together and to know each other very well. We've done it again and again over the years.