It's been 10 years since actress Zuzanna Szadkowski played the role of Waldorf maid Dorota Kishlovsky on Gossip Girl, but even a decade on she still remembers the fun she had bringing the scheming sidekick of Blair Waldorf to life. Below, Szadkowski shares why Dorota was such a fun character, even though she wasn't living it up like the other characters living on Manhattan's Upper East Side:
I had an opportunity to be super nosy, like over-the-top enthusiastic about all of this little gossip and goings on. The romantic life of teenagers and stuff. The more I saw that, the more I was able to...develop a character that was funny and silly. . . . I always think that what made Dorota work was that she was 100% enthusiastic about every single thing she did.
Zuzanna Szadkowski speaks enthusiastically to Hello Giggles about her character on Gossip Girl, and with good reason, as the actress helped shape Dorota as a character early on in the series, when she wasn't introduced until later on in the novels. Szadkowski says early in the series she felt it was Dorota's duty to play cheerleader to Blair's antics, which may be why the character was given a more active role in the series beginning in Season 2. Though not necessarily a massive part, Dorota was always around to offer advice to Blair, and even do her bidding when necessary.
This included stunts like sneaking into the school in a full trenchcoat and glasses (while still wearing her maid's cap) to deliver contraband phones to the characters of Gossip Girl. Eventually, Dorota would get slightly more serious storylines, like getting impregnated by the Russian doorman Vanya, but Zuzanna Szadkowski maintains her favorite parts of the show were the sillier spy moments:
My favorite stuff was when I was all covert operations, when I got to have my sunglasses and my trench coat and do spy work for Blair. Those were the scenes that were the funniest, especially in the beginning.
Given her intense interest in Blair's life and the life of the teens, it was once thought that Dorota could be Gossip Girl. Of course, Blair expresses surprise by the revelation that she isn't in the series finale, and Chuck Bass actor Ed Westwick may still think that Dorota is Gossip Girl in real life. Maybe the cast can prank him and convince him it really was Dorota so he can throw an interviewer for a loop the next time he talks about the show's tenth anniversary!
Gossip Girl isn't planning a reunion anytime soon, but Blake Lively has said she'd be interested if it's done in a way that fits her current lifestyle. That's cool of her to say at least, since if another A-list movie star who auditioned back in the day managed to get the role, it seems like there'd be a slim chance right now anyone would even be discussing it due to cost alone! For more information regarding shows airing this fall season, visit our fall premiere guide.
