Iza Miko
IZA MIKO tells GoodLifePoland about her life in LA and love for ecology, dance and acting.
Celebrities are usually late for meetings, don’t reply to the emails themselves, they walk in the shadow of their fearsome bodyguards and have truly out-of-this-world whims. But not Iza. The celebrity who doesn’t celebrate herself, even though she has all the reasons for it. Unlike other Polish actresses, she really has a career in Hollywood, besides she dances, sings, writes song lyrics and, maybe most importantly, she battles for the ecology. Charming, natural, unbelievably pretty, she talks about everything with such ease that just after first ten minutes I am under the impression that I have a conversation with someone I know very well and with whom I would like to chat many more times.
Lena Świadek: Acting, dancing, ecology. What is Iza Miko’s greatest passion?
Iza Miko: This is actually a very tough question. One thing I know for sure: I enjoy working with people a lot and whatever I decided to do for living, it needs to be connected with people. My first great passion is indisputably dancing, even though now it rather takes the back seat, because I act more than I dance. Sometimes I manage to connect these two, as it was in the case of “Love and Dance”. Now acting is on the very top of my priorities’ list together with ecology. I simply want to be useful in my life, not just to live for myself, but also for the Planet and for others. We are not in this world for our egoistic reasons, but with some kind of a mission. I feel that my task is to find it and fulfill this role. I couldn’t live in any other way, I need to act, dance, sing and this way express myself artistically.
LŚ: How did your adventure with ecology start?
IM: This is interesting. I have this maneuver tactics, I guess from my mom, to be able to save things. My mom has always cared for us, so that we had enough of everything but with a low cost of it. I can also save and now even more for the Planet then for myself. I nag my friends and encourage them to put a lot more effort in looking after the environment.
LŚ: But do you sometimes encounter reluctance in Poland because of your passion?IM: (laughing) Sometimes that’s what happens. Still this is perceived as something weird.But I was laughed at so many times, I really don’t bother. Back in my ballet school I heard I wasn’t flexible enough and that I couldn’t help it; when I started my career as an actress, I was told I had an accent, didn’t have visa or money, but I still made it happen and I achieved what I planned to. This time it will work, too.
LŚ: You divide your life between two cities: Los Angeles and Warsaw. How does Poland do in terms of ecology comparing to America?
IM: Unfortunately weak. Just yesterday I came back from Łódź, where I had enough of the view of over-packed trash bins. But there are good things, too. I always carry with me my little camera and record these little rays of hope, heralds of the better things. Like the sign I saw recently in the studio: “close the doors, because in that way you save the heat”
LŚ: You have your website: www.ekomiko.pl. What would you like to change with it in Poland?
IM: First of all it’s people’s attitudes. So they will finally want to throw away the bottle to the special trash bin. Personally, I take it very seriously and just recently I was carrying a plastic bottle with me all the way to London, because there was no recycling bin there. This might be a bit extreme example but it is really important to begin with that. I often encourage people to check on the products and find out where they are really coming from, if they are fair trade and so on. I use special products myself, like eco cleaning ones and this is because I realize how much of chemical substances the traditional ones carry with them. I think that today’s frequent cancer illnesses are mostly caused by the pollution and the products we use.
LŚ: In GoodLifePoland we write about health and ecology. We believe that healthier Planet means healthier people. How does the eco-style influence your health?
IM: I am the exemplar of good health. Basically I don’t get sick. I can’t complain about the lack of the energy, either.
LŚ: You are in great shape. What is your recipe?
IM: I try just to eat healthy, having said that I need to admit I have one obsession: sweets. I love cakes, chocolate and there is constantly a fight in me not to eat them. Every morning I start the day with a frozen strawberries shake, soya milk and a bit of Inka café, because I love the smell of coffee, plus I add some chocolate proteins, vitamins. I stuff myself with lettuce, not because I love it, but because it’s reasonable. I am not crazy about meat, but if I actually have it, I make sure what kind of farm it was produced in. I do have a problem with water though; I know it’s healthy but I don’t really like it, so I cheat by adding to it some lemon or my latest invention: frozen apple juice cubes.
LŚ: How does Iza Miko relax in her free time?
IM: (laughing) This whole free time is actually my problem. I don’t have it too much, but if I do happen to have some, I try to spend it actively: walking, cycling or dancing. Luckily, at the moment there is no admirer in my life (laughing) so my free time belongs to me.
LŚ: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
IM: I don’t plan for such far future. Simply, I live what is today. Still, I believe that there is something bigger that leads us in our lives and that this something will take me to good places.
