Today we’d like to introduce you to Tetiana Gaidar.
Hi Tetiana, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
When I was ten, I saw X-Files with David Duchovny and I fell in love with the idea of becoming an FBI agent. And also, I fell in love with English right away. So, I started learning English from watching the show with subtitles. My parents told me that being from Ukraine, there would be no way I could become an agent because I would end up working for the KGB, and my dream of becoming an FBI agent would never come true. So I kept studying English by watching David Duchovny with subtitles. I had this recurring dream that everyone in Ukraine would laugh at me when I told them what I wanted to become. It wasn’t just an FBI dream, I was also enamored by the skillsets of Mulder, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Dark Angel. Skillsets that make humans seem superhuman. Jessica Alba from Dark Angel inspired me to start learning martial arts.
My mom, however, wanted me to be a ballerina. I said, “Dancers make no money, Mom, and my dream is actually to be an agent.” She didn’t like my answer, we got into a big fight while walking home, and there was a Kung Fu school right there, and she dragged me inside and signed me up. She was so determined to undermine me, but it was awesome. They had swords and all sorts of weapons. And that’s when my legit martial arts training started. Before, I remember I had been sneaking into the woods to practice my aerials (cartwheels without arms) and jumps over ditches to copy Sarah Michelle Gellar. I am so thankful to my mom for enrolling me because doing martial arts taught me so much about discipline. If any of you reading this article have young children, I would suggest putting them into martial arts training.
After I was accepted to a university with my boyfriend, but before we started, there was a tragedy. I had decided to leave town for a couple of days and went to see my grandparents. I left home without saying goodbye. And the next morning, I woke up and my mom said that my boyfriend had drowned. It was a horrible accident that taught me pretty early to appreciate every minute of our lives. To always, always say I love you and goodbye to the people that we care about because we never know how long we are all going to be here.
So, as you can imagine, at 18 years old going through losing someone I loved, my first year at the university wasn’t fun. One day, a friend of mine invited me to come with her to the first hip-hop class in Ukraine. And I went with her and I fell in love with dance. And now my mom’s dream was coming true because I started dancing professionally. It wasn’t the greatest time of our lives, but dancing kept me going and gave my mom some relief. I danced every day. It really helped me to cope with the psychological trauma of losing my boyfriend. I became an excellent dancer because I was telling a story through every movement, through music… It was really beautiful how much I was able to tell without saying a word just using my body. Dance is a wonderful form of communication and healing, and it helped my mom and me to stay close.
I danced and studied so much that after the first couple of months, I was asked by my teacher to do some choreography. Soon, I ended up being invited to join the first hip-hop team in Ukraine and assisting my teacher during the, “So You Think You Can Dance” show. Later, I ended up later being in the show myself. But through all of this, that dream that started with David Duchovny and Jessica Alba kept pulling me toward America.
Getting a visa from Ukraine to the USA is hard. I applied over and over, year after year, and I was rejected. Meanwhile, all of my friends from the university managed to obtain either travel or student visas, but I didn’t give up. One day, I heard about an opportunity to go dance in Philadelphia with a singer with whom I used to work. I was super excited because I thought I could get a visa for at least a couple of months and go see LA after the performance. But unfortunately, I only got a four-day work visa. When we got to the US, we were surprised with a special visa that gave us permission to stay here for six months.
So, here I am after the concert, lying down, I can’t sleep, thinking of a move that would change my life forever, and for my whole family — as you will see later. In the morning, I had a talk with Ruslana, the singer. I told her about my dream. She was very kind to pay me in cash for the show and then changed my return tickets for LA instead of Ukraine. Once upon a time, she had had the same dream. I am still grateful to her for all of this.
So here I am, on my own, with $200 in my pocket having just landed in Los Angeles without luggage or any clothes. Not knowing what to do next, I started texting my friends on Facebook to try to find a living situation. At the same time, a friend of mine on Facebook helped me to get an old manual transmission car so I could drive. I had just gotten my driver’s license back in Ukraine so I barely knew how to drive, and I had no one here to teach me. I had to figure out everything on my own and direct my life like a movie.
Finally, here I am in LA with $200, no place to live, sleeping in my new crappy car, learning how to drive, trying to get a job, working on my visa situation so I could earn money to eat. Life was not glamorous at that time. I went through a lot of challenges, a lot of dark times, hustling tons of jobs, and doing my first U-turn on a freeway! Because I didn’t know what a freeway was yet… Blessed that nothing bad happened that day.
Not long after, the Crimea war happened and I was able to stay in U.S. longer. I got my first dance agent and then my first action film and then I began training my own stunts and fights for film, and training with Taran Butler and Keanu Reeves and Chad Stahelski and others. I finally began to meet so many people who have inspired me to pursue acting and martial arts. I got to work with Jamie Foxx on “Day Shift,” directed by JJ Perry. And then right after, I did the “Bosch: Legacy” show with Titus Welliver, where I played an assassin doing crazy gun manipulations like Keanu in John Wick.
Titus and Taran were two men who truly believed in my potential and talent and gave me a chance to prove it. I will never stop saying thank you. Don’t forget to thank people who gave you a chance once or helped you. My mom always says: Say thank you, nothing will fall from your body if you thank someone one more time, stay humble and grateful.”
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has NOT been a smooth road. As I mentioned before, my boyfriend died. That was traumatic and hard to recover from. Then I moved to LA with $200 in my pocket, barely able to speak English and being nearly homeless was very rough and scary. I couldn’t confide in my parents because they were dealing with the Crimea war in Ukraine.
And this year, flying back from training, the second I landed in LAX I got the horrific news that Kyiv where I grew up and my family has lived their entire lives was been bombed. My mom, dad, and sister… unable to get a call through to any of my family to see if they were okay was terrifying. Finally the next day, I was able to reach my family finally and they told me they had to evacuate immediately leaving everything they have ever owned behind except for whatever they could fit in their backpacks.
My family didn’t own a vehicle so they couldn’t escape the shelling right away. All transportation was sold out and overpacked with people. … Over the next four months, I spent all the savings and checks from the first show to try to get my family to the border and raise money for my dance friends in Ukraine. I am very blessed that my family is alive, but a dear friend from acting school was killed helping rescue kids to the border.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I think everything comes full circle and I think once they’ve done so many different superhero movies, that the audience is going to be thirsty for a really good storyline film like a “Good Will Hunting” or something like “L.A Confidential” and “A Good Nurse”.
And I think they’ll trend back to more realistic action in the films for a while versus hyperrealism and almost cartoon action.
Contact Info:
- Website: imdb.me/tetianagaidar
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TETIANAGAIDAR/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tetiana.gaidar
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TetianaGaidar
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/tetianagaidar
- Other: https://tetianagaidar.square.site
Image Credits
First 5 on the white background photographer is Tony Duran. Next two movie pictures with a gun in my hand photographer is Josh Ryan. Backband matrix picture is by TacGas Picture with sword is Tony Surphman. Movie posters by Franz Steiner Photography Next 3 headshot pictures, yoga and ballet by Kate Kondratieva. Black and White and in black leather jacket pictures by Josh Ryan Next two in white peerless and white blazer by Tony Duran. Last picture a Dark Angel is by Franz Steiner Photography
