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‘Treadstone' actor Gabrielle Scharnitzky reveals she only began learning Russian for her role as KGB agent Petra

“My heritage, my ancestry is Russian. But I never spoke Russian,” Scharnitzky told MEA WorldWide (MEAWW). “So I thought, well, that would close a circle, right? And I said yes,” after the show’s creator, Tim Kring, asked her to present a new audition tape in three days, in Russian

‘Treadstone’, the USA Network spinoff from Robert Ludlum's ‘Bourne’ series, is a fast-paced spy show that has fans of the universe sitting at the edge of their seats. The show revolves around the CIA’s mysterious Operation Treadstone, sleeper spies across the globe and a Cold War-era conflict between the U.S. and Russia.

On the Russian side of things, the most prominent character is Petra, a no-nonsense patriot and a member of the K.G.B. In the show’s two timelines -- the 1970s and present-day -- Petra is played by two actors.

The character’s younger version is played by Emilia Schüle. The older Petra, and definitely the more enigmatic character, is played by Gabrielle Scharnitzky. MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) recently spoke to Scharnitzky about the show and her role.

Petra is a child born in a post-Stalinist Russia and according to Scharnitzky that says a lot about her character. “After Stalin, people tried to get out of that indoctrination. So there was a spirit of freedom. And I see [Petra] in that; she believed that this is the path through which she can help Russia become grounded -- a Communist country yes, but not indoctrinated,” she said.  “As a young girl, she thought she could do that.”

But beyond how Scharnitzky describes Petra is a surprising revelation. An actor of Russian descent who was born and raised in Germany, Scharnitzky did not know how to speak in Russian.

She said that after she auditioned for ‘Treadstone’ in English and German, the show’s creator, Tim Kring, along with the show’s casting director asked her, over a Skype meeting, if she was willing to play Petra’s role in Russian. But there was only one small problem.

“My heritage, my ancestry is Russian. But I never spoke Russian,” said Scharnitzky. “So I thought, well, that would close a circle, right? And I said yes.” Kring and the others asked her to present a new tape in three days; in Russian, of course.

“I had three days to prepare for the role in Russian. I called -- at that time I had worked with a Russian pianist; we did a memorial concert for a composer who had died in Auschwitz -- I called him immediately,” she shared. “I gave him the lines via WhatsApp and he was sending them back in Russian so I could rehearse it phonetically.” 

Obviously she did a good job because Scharnitzky bagged the role. She said on the show, she had a dialect coach. “For weeks, I was just studying one word, every day, three hours!”

'Treadstone' airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on the USA Network.