By Christopher A. Pape
Upon meeting Mercedes Masohn, I was enthralled. There are few times, if any, that I am in the presence of a true beauty. She is at once tall, striking and has a face that must be considered a magnet for all men.
But beyond that (and it’s a lot), she was down-to-earth, sharp, smart and sassy! Both my creative director and I loved every moment we spent with her, as we conducted our photo shoot with her. I’m so happy to introduce 666 Park Avenue’s sexy siren.
Resident
(R): Tell us what made you want to be an actress?
Mercedes Masohn (MM): When I was young, instead of playing hide and seek we would play actor/director; I was always the actress and my friends were the producer and the director. We would reenact scenes from films that we loved. I have always had the entertainment bug, but my parents are more traditional so they always encouraged great schoolwork so that was the road I took. I studied psychology and that’s where I thought I was going to live my life. When I moved to America, a modeling scout discovered me and I did that for some time as well. And I realized I could not balance work along with school. It was too many hours; I was not sleeping. So I stopped and my agent at the time said, “ You have always talked about acting why don’t you, just for fun, go out for this audition?” It was for the movie, The Break Up. I had so much fun doing it and it just went from there. I have been really lucky.
R: Tell us about 666 Park Avenue. What is it like?
MM: I’m going to plug it - it’s on ABC on Sunday at 10pm! It’s a really fun show; there is nothing else out there like it. It’s kind of sexy, like a throw back to a soap opera, but with a thriller aspect. There is a lot going on with our characters - we start figuring out a lot of things about our past. Each character comes from darkness; all of us are pretty wounded in some way or another. I think in an Agatha Christie sort of way we have all been brought together in the Drake and the building has a lot of influence over us. And Gavin Duran has a lot of influence over us too; he runs the building with his wife who is played by Vanessa Williams. They are really the puppeteers and all of us go to them wanting something. The building is the heart of all that. If you are good to it its good to you back, but if you are not you pay the price.
R: How is it to shoot in NY?
MM: I love NY. I lived here before I moved to LA so when they told me we were shooting in New York I was overjoyed. I got to come back to my old friends and my favorite restaurants; I am really comfortable here. It’s a home for me.
R: Do you think the show could have happened if it was not filmed in NY?
MM: Absolutely not! I could not imagine it anyplace else
R: What does it mean to be a New Yorker?
MM: I have always described New York as the ex-boyfriend that I still love; the one who got away. So whenever I live somewhere else like LA, LA is the new boyfriend but whenever I come back to New York I feel alive. There is something that just feeds you. Whenever I have to leave New York I get sad. Again it’s the ex-boyfriend and once you start falling in love with another boyfriend it starts calling again and you find yourself going over there for late night booty calls.
R: What do you do for fun in the city?
MM: I really love hanging out with friends. I’ll have dinner parties at my place or go to new restaurants. Every now and then we will have a drink but it’s mostly oriented around food. Thank God I’m not obese.
R: Any pets?
MM: Yes, I have a little Chihuahua named Wedgie, who is the love of my life. On Twitter, I have #WedgieWednesday and everyone likes to see him because he does the craziest little things. And he does everything with me - he sleeps with me, he watches me shower. He’s either the most loyal dog or a pervert. I have to say I am dreading the winter with him because he’s an LA dog. Everyone says you have to put boots on him but he refuses to do so!
R: How was it growing up in Sweden? Was it difficult as a person of mixed ethnicity?
MM: Being multiethnic was certainly interesting. Growing up, kids wanted to put me in a box. Everyone wanted to know what I was and in Sweden where there are a lot of fare skinned, blue eyed, blonde haired people; I was sort of the black sheep. I had a little trouble growing up but, there was this one movie with this little girl who was brown haired and eyed and she looked just like me and I loved that movie and finally felt I was part of my own culture. When I came to the states I was like wow! It’s really a melting pot; I can look just like everyone else. In acting, it can be a challenge – if they want an ethnic girl I look too Caucasian and if they want a Caucasian I look to ethnic, so sometimes I fall between the cracks.
R: What’s a typical day like on set?
MM: Set is a lot of fun, we are the goofiest group. Especially the guy who plays my husband, Robert Buckley, we are like high school girls. We just run around pulling pranks and cracking each other up. It’s like hanging out with your friends.
R: What are your career goals as an actress?
MM: Acting is my passion but I am in the middle of writing a script right now, and I really want to direct something. I am so Type A and I love the idea of breathing life into something and the idea of choosing shots and picking what each frame looks like so I hope I’ll be directing in the next five years, if I’m lucky. •
