Conversations with Paule Sydr

Today we’d like to introduce you to Paule Sydr.

Hi Paule, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I come from Ukraine originally!

When I was around 5 years old, I saw Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot, and I think that was the point when I realized that I wanted to become an actress. I absolutely didn’t know that in the future I would not only act, but also do a lot of other things in the industry. When I turned 16, I graduated high school, and by that time I was getting ready to enter acting universities. In my hometown, Odesa, there was nothing with an acting major, so I packed my stuff and left my home for Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.

Funny enough, I didn’t get into any prestigious acting universities! I thought that it was time to give up, but by some luck, I accidentally got a scholarship to an academy that I didn’t even know existed.

So that’s how my life in the entertainment industry began. And to say the least, the way acting is taught in Ukraine is tough enough. To begin with, the rooms were never warm, and we, teenagers, had to spend 8 hours a day in these rooms during winter, with temperatures around 10°F. But more importantly, the basis of Ukrainian acting education is constant bullying and disrespect, which is justified as “shaping the craft and personality.” As a result, my classmates and I developed a lot of mental health issues; personally, I developed anorexia.

Once, I had a huge argument with my head teacher over this. Not only was I called names, but I was mainly told that I was never “good enough” and that no one in Ukraine would ever let me act, since I was “mediocre.” (I don’t think I should include the other things I was called, since they were sexist and completely abusive.) I protested and said that art is always created through love, and that “if you think otherwise, you don’t understand sh*t about your subject.” I almost got expelled!

We’re not even talking about the war! Before it started, everyone at the university received a notification about the extension of winter break for one week, but our head teacher said, “If they want to become actors, they should never rest. The ones who won’t arrive in Kyiv won’t be acting in the end-of-year play.” So my classmates and I had to arrive during the break to continue rehearsing.

I arrived on 02/22/2022. We had one rehearsal on 02/23/2022, which started at 5 p.m. and ended at 9 p.m. I went home around 10:30 p.m. and fell asleep around midnight. That was the day the war started. Of course, all rehearsals were canceled after that, and I got stuck in Kyiv alone, still being a teenager.

Either way, by the end of my studies, I finally got my bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts. With all the work I put in, I ended up with a two-minute monologue in a two-hour play. Because of that, I suddenly had a lot of free time, so I decided to apply for a scholarship at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute.

I was crying when i got the invitation for a self-tape! But since I still was in Ukraine at that time, I surely didn’t have any electricity! It was a full blackout, so i didn’t have an option to record it at home. I charged my camera in a grocery store from the energy generator, and climbed the mountain to get a good lighting.

But since I was in a mountain either way, I decided that i would rather make my self-tape cinematic, than just plain. I came back home, I edited it, and I submitted it with a slate, which i also recorded not the standart way.

Then I got the interview and the next invitation for a final round, where there were only 5 participants. I submitted everything and kept waiting.

I got a response only one month later. That day, I was commuting from my godmother’s house to my home in Odesa by public transportation. It was July 31, 2024. It was extremely hot in a crowded bus, and next to me there was a woman with seven boxes of bananas to sell. I opened my email app to distract myself from the heat, and then I saw the Lee Strasberg email.

I GOT THAT SCHOLARSHIP!!!

I started to cry out of happiness, because it felt like I did release the tension I was holding inside for such a long period of time! Lady with bananas and a bus crowd wanted to help me, because they thought somethingterrible happened to me, but no one in a bus knew that I was crying because I was about to go to America for acting!

And that’s how it happened! I came to LA to study acting on 20th of september 2024, and I am here since then! I discovered the method acting for myself and understood that acting can be not harmful, but healing. I had the best teachers ever, to whom I am grateful ever since! I met fantastic peoplpe who I am making movies now with! I am going outside, breathing in the fresh air and sometimes i start tearing up just because I am happy. But it’s not the end of my story, and I know that there is gonna be a lot of more beautiful adventures.

I graduated my 1 year conservative programm on June 2025. Since I’ve arrived to LA, i’ve already been to 4 short films, 1 feature film, I am gonna appear in a TV-show later this year, and there are few upcoming projects.

The scholarship I got opened a new chapter in my life, and I think I am happier than ever.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
And absolutely, since right now I live in LA, I’m surrounded by creatives, and it feels like I’m diving more and more into the industry. But the thing I realized (which is completely obvious) is that no matter how well-trained, creative, or fast-responding you are, sometimes you can simply not be the right type for the role you’re auditioning for.

So that made me start thinking about being the one everybody not just wants, but needs in the industry. Since I used to do photography in Ukraine, I thought that capturing acting headshots might be worth a shot! I made one for my classmate, then she told her friend that I do them, then her friend told another one and another one, until some guy from school, Ricky Serrano Robles, invited me to do the poster for his Fringe show.

So I did, and I really enjoyed the result! Ricky had seven actors, a huge play, and no theatre technician for the production. So I told him I actually do theatre tech. They hired me, and at that point, I needed to figure out how to do theatre tech, as I had never done it in my life (I had only seen other guys doing it back in Ukraine).

Since the first night of the show was going to be at the Marilyn Monroe Theatre, which is located at our school, I reached out to the school’s theatre technician and asked him to guide me through the theatre’s software, since the equipment in Ukraine is way different than here in the USA (and I actually had no idea if there was any difference, since I HAD NEVER DONE THEATRE TECH IN MY ENTIRE LIFE, as I already mentioned).

He agreed, showed me everything, and left me in the booth to practice. I spent around 8 hours overall learning how to build the cues and sync them with music, and by rehearsal time I was completely ready to run the show.

After the school administration saw that I was actually thriving in tech work, they started asking me to do tech as part of the community hours required as a scholarship recipient. Through these shows, I learned way more about theatre tech than during those first 8 practice hours, and by the time I got my work permit (OPT), the school hired me as a technician for events.

After graduating, I got a few parts in short films and in a feature film, which should be out soon. Both working on Fringe productions and on movie sets led me to the idea that I could actually film my own short. I talked to screenwriters I met during my tech work and on set about writing a short film, and they gave me tips, which I used to write an experimental thriller short called Peppermint Gum.

After the script was done, I talked to some of my friends from school and offered them parts. I ordered a boom mic and a boom mic holder. With the camera and lights, I didn’t have any problems, since I was already doing headshots. I had everything — but I also wanted to act, so I needed to find a DoP.

One of my classmates, Gayathri Krishnakumar, showed me a short she had recently filmed. I was amazed! I asked her if she would be willing to help me with cinematography, and she was completely in. After that, Gaya and I have already done a bunch of other fun and creepy projects together.

It wasn’t my first short, but I think it was my first mindful project. We had a lot of fun on set! I put everything together in editing, Ricky Serrano Robles composed the theme song for it, and then I submitted the project to a few festivals.

Not only was Peppermint Gum officially selected for many festivals, it was also shown at festivals on different continents. It won “Best Short Based on Real Events” at Dreamz Catchers Festival in India, and “Best Original Story” at Reale Film Festival in Milan, Italy.

Reflecting on all of these events, I’m simply amazed by life. Because no matter what happens or when it happens, you never know where life can take you.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Peppermint Gum (2025) – directing, Acting, producing, link:
https://peppermint-gum.univer.se/

Chronobox (2024) – directing, acting, producing, link:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36175463/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_accord_2_cdt_t_5

Dead Bird (Fringe), link
https://www.hollywoodfringe.org/users/221480

And, CUT! (2026), link:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt38784905/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_accord_2_cdt_t_1

Paule Sydr (IMDb), link:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm16740378/?ref_=tt_cst_t_6

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Right now Im working on opening a production company! And I still do Theatre tech and headshots.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://paulesydr.univer.se
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paule_sydr/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@paulesydr
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/sydr_studio/?hl=en

Image Credits
Paule Sydr for all of them, I took them all