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In my last column I promised an interview with a young actress from the hit NBC TV Show, Medium (Mondays, 9:00-10:00 p.m., CST).. When we were in California in October we had the privilege of going on the set of this chilling drama series. We presented the creator and executive producer Glenn Gordon Caron with the Viewers Voice Award for Favorite New Series of the 2004-2005 seasons. Besides getting a tour of the set and meeting the cast of Medium, I did an interview with a very talented young actress who plays Ariel DuBois on the series, Sofia Vassilieva.

Sofia was born October 22, 1992 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and is best known for her role as Eloise based on the famed children’s book series written by the late Kay Thompson. Recently Eloise at Christmastime was aired over the holidays. Sofia also played the role of Cindy Brady in the TV movie The Brady Bunch in the White House, opposite Shelly Long, and appeared in the feature film Inhabited, opposite Malcolm McDowell.

This very talented young actress speaks French and Russian and her other talents include gymnastics, in which; in a few months of training she reached the silver level in the American Talent Opportunity program for gifted children. She also adores ice skating, swimming, diving, roller skating, biking and just playing outside with her friends.

When we first were introduced to Sofia on the set of Medium, she appeared to be just an ordinary fourteen-year-old, but after kidding around with her about having a day off from school you realized this young had a lot more going for her than most gals her age. We did the interview on the set of the Dubois’ backyard.

Sharon: Sofia tell our viewers a little a bout the character you play on Medium.

Sofia: OK, I play Ariel DuBois the oldest daughter of Allison DuBois played by Patricia Arquette. Ariel is the oldest of three children so she’s always battling with her younger sister or she’s getting along with her younger sister or she’s having something at school. She’s kind of an odd character; I mean everybody’s kind of odd in a good way.

Sharon: She has a little physic problem?

Sofia:  Yea she does, that’s one of the fun things that I get to do. Yea she has a little physic power so every once in a while I get a little bit of that. So actually its fun being her, it’s different.

Sharon: Let’s talk s little bit about you. You were telling me a bout something you did with Julie Andrews?

Sofia: I did a film with Julie Andrews called Eloise and that was at Christmas time, so I did that two maybe three years ago and then I did one of the Brady Bunch movies. There’s quite a few and I played Cindy, it’s hard to believe now because I’m really, really tall compared to then and then I did a horror movie called Inhabited which was a lot of fun. I love doing horror movies, it was fun.

Sharon: It wasn’t scary to do?

Sofia: No, I mean I think I like doing drama more because you know that everybody’s going to watch it and be totally scared and you’re like oh no, no that was fun and there are a million people back there really scared. So that’s that and I’m turning thirteen in a bout a week so that will be fun.

Sharon: Are you an only child?

Sofia: Unfortunately an only child, I always wanted brothers and sisters.

Sharon: Any pets?

Sofia: A cat and a dog. A white Maltese and a black I have no idea what. My cat is just kind of weird coloring. His parents were white and grey stripped and he just turned out black.  My cat is actually twice as big as my dog. So instead of my dog chasing my cat, it’s my cat chasing my dog. It’s interesting to watch.

Sharon: What are you interested in as far as entertainment? Do you play in any sports?

Sofia: I’m not a big sports person.

Sharon: Dancing or anything?

Sofia: Yea, I dance; I do a lot of dancing. I danced for almost nine years, ballet and then I did a little bit of gymnastics, a little bit of tap, I horse ride, I play piano, and I speak French. I take dance classes pretty much every day that I’m not here.

Sharon: What do you see in your future that you want to be some day?

Sofia: I want to be an actress. I do want to go to college. I do want to take dance seriously but I think for now I really want to stick with this.

Sharon: This show should be around for a long time.

Sofia: It should.

You can bet that this young actress will also be around for a long time. If you haven’t had a chance to watch Medium do take the time it is one of the best shows on television.

I would like to take time to mention that if you watched the TV series Night Stalker on ABC this fall and were disappointed it was canceled you can now watch it on the Sci Fi Channel. It is scheduled for a summer launch. In addition to the seven episodes that aired it will premiere three never-before-seen episodes of the supernatural drama. Just goes to show you that writing to the networks can make a difference. Hopefully FOX’s canceled Arrested Development will be picked up by another network. I’ve heard that ABC and Showtime are interest in this excellent comedy series. I still think with the proper promotion this show could be a hit.

In my next column I have an interview with Sharon Gless (Cagney and Lacey), who’s new series Thick and Thin will premiere on NBC following the Winter Olympics. Until then let your voice be heard.