Aleksandra Kovacevic shot by Myron McClure
Born in Sarajevo, Aleksandra Kovacevic moved to Germany at age of one where she grew up. By the time she hit high school her passion for acting was burning with full force.
Dedicated to perfecting her craft on the stage, the talented young performer landed several starring roles in theatre productions back home in Germany before transitioning into the world of film and television several years ago.
Like Kovacevic, many of today’s most beloved film stars including Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah-Jessica Parker, Morgan Freeman, Hugh Jackman, Robert Pattinson and Anna Kendrick began their careers in the theatre as well.
Emmy nominee Terrance Mann was famously quoted saying, “Movies will make you famous; Television will make you rich; But theatre will make you good.”
When it comes to Kovacevic, this quote couldn’t ring more true. The actress, who was recently featured in the Netflix Original series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp based on the incredibly popular cult film Wet Hot American Summer, started making waves in the German entertainment community when she landed the role of Michael Neuenschwander in the production of Berltot Brecht Prize Award winning playwright Urs Widmer’s “Top Dogs” directed by George Blokus, in Cologne, Germany
In short, the story revolves around a group of managers who each oversee different departments of a major company. For the most part, each of the managers, including Kovacevic’s character Michael Neuenschwander who is referred to throughout the play as Mr. Yellow, have based their lives around their job. So, when their positions become obsolete and they each get laid off, the characters face their own individual struggles over what’s next, a rather hefty transition when all they’ve known is work.
Out of all of the managers, Kovacevic’s character’s transition is the most challenging, as he is the one most obsessed with money and materialism—and when his wife leaves him and takes his new Porsche after he’s been laid of from work, Neuenschwander falls to pieces.
What is most impressive about the production however is the way that Kovacevic portrayed her male character. Even in the early stages of her career, the actress’s attention to mannerisms and character development was impeccable, an aspect of her craft that was definitely put to the test when taking on a role of the opposite sex.
In order to get into her character, Kovacevic explained, “I observed male habits from how they walk to how they talk and their general behavior. But what really gave me the full spectrum of developing the character came from using an animal exercise, for this character I studied the eagle. Watching and reading about the eagle as well as trying to understand and transfer an animal’s thoughts into the thoughts of my character was what really helped me create Mr. Yellow.”
Before entering the international film and television industry the actress has proven the depth of her craft through many other stage productions including “The Bonds that Keep Us Together,” “Freak Show,” and “All In.”
The foundation Kovacevic laid for herself as an actress in the theatre early on is what has propelled her to the place she is an onscreen actress today. In the last few years Kovacevic has taken on a long list of leading roles in vastly different films including John Suits’ Viral, Rachel Gallagher’s Timing, Ryou Araki’s Beautiful Blind, Casey Olson’s A Fistful of Film and others.
From dramas to thrillers to comedies, the actress has proven that she can tap into her characters’ deepest emotions and bring their stories to life in a way that pulls viewers in.
In Kate Pinkston’s film Caged: How to clip your birds Wings, Kovacevic’s portrayal of Justice, a young lesbian woman in the air force, is nothing short of spectacular. While serving in the air force Justice meets Serenity, sparks fly and the two women fall in love.
Already secure in her sexuality, Justice tries to teach Serenity about courage, truth and the importance of accepting herself for who she is over the course of the film, but her new lover’s idea of what’s acceptable is so embedded within her that change proves impossible.
From her portrayal of a man who loses everything to a lesbian in the air force who has no choice but to let go of the woman she loves, actress Aleksandra Kovacevic has demonstrated the far-reaching capacity of her craft in the most captivating way.
The actress recently finished filming Hush, which is intended for the Sundance Film Festival, and she is also slated to take on the starring role of Addy in Tessa Lopez Scott’s Pole Queens.