Stephanie Andujar, a Dreamer from our Chelsea-Elliot program in New York City, appears in the Academy Award-nominated film Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire. The film tells the story of Precious, a 16-year-old girl who overcomes tremendous odds and, with the help of her friends and teachers, finds the beauty and sense of possibility that lies within.  
 
Stephanie, whose ambition since childhood has been to become an actress, impressed the director so much during her audition that she was offered the role of Rita, Precious's friend, on the spot. Stephanie sat down with us to talk about her role in the movie and how she managed to earn her college degree while filming a major motion picture.


Tell me about your role in "Precious."
Well, I play Rita.  Her full name is Rita Romero, and basically she is a former heroin addict.  She can't read, she was a prostitute since she was 12, she has HIV actually, too, and she meets Precious and all the other girls at the "Each One/Teach One" program, so she can get her GED.  Through the "Each One/Teach One" program, she meets the people that become the family that she really never had as a young Latina woman.  That's Rita in a nutshell.

Did you enjoy playing her?
Oh my God, yes.  I remember getting into the makeup and the process. I had to let my eyebrows grow out, I always tell everyone that, it was a big deal.  They had to stain my teeth, because originally in the book, Push, she has really bad teeth.  Playing a former heroin addict really affected me.  For some reason, I felt sad and happy at the same time.  It was a weird feeling. Just being in that get-up and trying to understand what it would feel like to be a former addict and to experience all these things that this character experiences - wow!  So it was definitely challenging but also it felt good.  

How did you get the part?
I have an agent who then told my manager.  They submitted my headshot for the part and I went to the audition, and I guess they liked me enough to call me back for a callback.  When I went to the second audition Lee Daniels, the director, was auditioning the girls and I was like, "Oh my God, I didn't know he was going to be here!"  Then, when I was in the middle of my audition, Lee Daniels stopped me midway and he said, "How many other girls do we have out there?  Well, I don't care, I want to get this girl in my movie, she's fantastic!"  I couldn't believe he said that.  I thought, "Directors can't just say that to actors", because there's no contract yet, nothing, it's just word of mouth.  It was surreal, to be honest.  

And how many other movies or parts have you auditioned for before this one? 
I've been acting since I was 12, and I'm 23 now - a long time.  It mainly just started out with theatre and musicals, singing, dancing, everything.  And I started attending an after-school program called the Beacon program that was at my junior high.  I learned what a monologue was, and then I attended Talent Unlimited for the performing arts and I studied drama there for four years.  My manager, would send me out for things but I really wasn't booking anything, and then, I got Law & Order: SVU in 2007.  And then that's where I'm like, OMG, I guess this is the path I'm supposed to be on.  

I watch Law & Order religiously.  What episode were you in?
Oh I played in the episode "Fight," and I was a pregnant prostitute.  I was the one who pretty much took pictures of this girl that had a frat party, and they thought it was the brothers who killed her, but it wasn't, it was my pimp.  It was ridiculous, it was so funny.

I don't remember that one.  But I'm sure I'll see it now that you're…
Yeah, it's on YouTube and everything, and I worked with Ice-T in that act too.  I'm like, "I'm not telling you who I got killed." It was crazy, but yeah, I got that part, and then literally I auditioned again for Push, now called Precious, and I got that.  I did another theatre production after it, and then I did a PSA recently, so yeah, things are coming along? I've just got to hang with it.
 
You talked about the fact that you enjoyed playing Rita.  Did you identify with her at all, or was it a stretch?  Well, we're both Puerto Rican, you know, we're both Latinas, and the likeness has helped.  But as far as the heroin, and everything else, I mean I dealt with that in my family.  My father was actually a heroin addict, and passed away in January from colon cancer.  It was difficult, because he was cleaning up.  He was there for the audition process but he didn't get to see the movie.  It was in my family and I thought, "wow, I know what it's like to be part of a family that has that problem."  Now to act like an addict, that was totally something different, and it was crazy, but you know what?  I'm an actress, and it's weird - I don't know if I can say I enjoyed playing it.

Did it help you to understand and deal with your past?
In a way, I would say yes.  Rita was definitely trying to make herself a better woman, and to have a new life besides the one that she had.  I know my father definitely wanted to make his life better too.  I mean, no one wants to stay on a drug that can kill you and make you go through all these things, and it gave me a better appreciation of why people get on drugs.  You can be quick to judge someone and say "oh, they're crackhead addicts" or this or that, but why are they in that situation?  What put them there?  That's what I learned from Rita.  Her character went through a lot.  Her mother was killed in front of her when she was young and her father wasn't there for her, and then she became a prostitute.  So many things happened to her, but she ended up coming out of it.

So, the fun part: what was it like acting with stars like Mariah Carey and Mo'Nique? 
I had scenes mostly with Paula Patton, who plays Ms. Rain, and Lenny Kravitz, who plays Nurse John.  Mariah came in a little after, she had scenes just with Mo'Nique and Gabby, the girl that plays Precious.  And Mo only had scenes with Mariah and Gabby, so it was pretty isolated as far as that.  But I met them at Sundance, and I met them at different screenings and wrap parties.  Just because they're celebrities doesn't mean they have to act a certain way - they were so cool, especially Mariah.  I mean, I knew Mo, she had to be cool (and she is), but Mariah, as far as being "the diva"... Everyone came into this movie leaving with something.  There was no way you could come into this movie and not leave with some emotional attachment to this, and I know for a fact that Mariah, and everybody, said it definitely made them think a little differently about life and about how their life is so different from their characters in this movie.  So it was definitely so exciting and an honor just to be in a movie with such a big cast, and such a well-known cast - a cast that's going to win Oscars.

What was the set like, was it what you expected, the way that it was filmed?
This was actually my first film, and I was intimidated.  I didn't know what it was going to be like.  Like I said, you're on set some days a little more than 14 hours a day, doing only one scene, and it takes so long.  And the process, I give it to the crew members.  The crew members are fantastic.  My favorite moment was when Robin Thicke, the singer that's married to Paula Patton, came on set one day for Paula's birthday with a mariachi band, and they started singing "Happy Birthday."  We were all surprised, and I was like, "whoa, you don't see this every day - Robin Thicke coming with a mariachi band."

Did he sing with them?
Yes, he sang with them.  He sang "Happy Birthday" to his wife, and there were red velvet cupcakes.  I was like, "wow, I really want to be in this industry."  It wasm fantastic.  You never know what's going to happen, but the vibes were always good.  I remember crying at the end of wrapping up the film because in this industry, sometimes you work on a movie for a while, for months, and you just become so close to everyone.  Especially with this movie.  It was draining, but draining in a good way.  This film gave something to everyone.

How did it change you, Stephanie? 
I'm always told, "enjoy the ride."  I do enjoy the ride, but you know what?  The only things that changed, I would say, are my thoughts about life.  It's hard to explain, but it hasn't changed me fully.  It's made me much happier, and it's taken me on this new journey.  I feel like I'm really fulfilling my career, a career that I got into when I was 12 years old, and now I feel like I'm actually an actress.  I can say that.  I don't have to say, "oh, well, I guess I'm an actress."  I am an actress, and it feels good to say that.  So many people I've come across, [who I've told] "yeah, I'm an actress," say to me, "oh yeah, what's your real job?"  And I'm like, "wow, what do you mean this isn't my real job?"  This is.  It feels great, and I'm much, much happier.

And what have you been doing since Precious?
I was attending Pace University.  I just graduated in May.

Congrats.  So wait, you were filming this movie and going to college?  
Yes.

How did you do that?
I know, everyone says, "how did you do that?"  I was working full-time, going to school, and then I did the movie.  I was surprised at myself.  But I'm the type that won't give up anything.  I won't say "no, I'll leave that and do this."  I wanted to accomplish so much, and I got my BA, and made my family proud.  It was a big accomplishment in my family to get a bachelor's, in business of all things.  I thought, well why don't I try business?  Maybe I can be a manager or CEO.  But when I got Law & Order, I wanted to be a full-time actress.  I just want to act now.  

Did you film in the day, and then go to school at night?  How did that even work out? 
It was hard.  I remember one day being on set for 14 hours, because we shot for a few weeks, and at this time I was going to school full-time but I passed everything.  I didn't have to worry, I made sure I caught up on everything, and they didn't know that I was filming this movie that's now becoming one of the movies of the year.  I did it any way I could.  I was like, "no, I'm taking the chance and I have to get this movie done, I have to do this.  This means my career."  And I just did it.

And you were working too?  Where were you working?
I was working at the Department of Buildings at the time.  I was a college aide there.  It was part-time but I was still working, I didn't want to lose the job either.  

So you talked a little bit about the fact that you were acting since you were 12.  What made you want to be an actress?  When did you know that this was what you wanted to do? 
Everyone always asks me this, and I just go back to my mother.  We had just moved over to  25th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues in the projects, and my grandparents live there still. It wasn't the best neighborhood sometimes.  A lot of the girls were not as welcoming as neighbors should be.  When you're the new kid, it's pretty rough, so my mom was like, "you know what?  You're going to join this after-school program at your school."  And I was like, "I don't want to do that, I just want to play at home," you know, play video games and do whatever, but she's like, "no, you're going to join, I don't care."  And then in that program, there was acting and dancing.  Now I can study choreography and choreograph moves.  I learned so much from that program, and that pretty much set my path.  I played the Scarecrow in The Wiz, and I remember I really fought for that part, too, I really wanted that.  And that's when my manager saw me perform, and I have been with her ever since then.  
 
Tell me about your life as a Dreamer.
I remember when we moved to the neighborhood and I enrolled at PS 33 - that's when I was in the 4th or 5th grade - and someone said to me, "oh, did you know you're a Dreamer?"  I didn't know what that was.  And they said, "it's a program, and they'll pretty much set you up for college and get you ready for that."  So then I started going. I went on trips and things like that with "I Have A Dream."  They really were one of the blessings in my life, because I don't know how I would have attended college if it wasn't for "I Have A Dream."  It made it possible for me, and I'm not saying that community colleges aren't the best, but I was able to attend Pace University because of "I Have A Dream".  I wouldn't have been able to attend at all, financially, at that time.  They have totally been a blessing in my life.

You mention that you majored in business.  How did you end up making that decision? 
When I went to Pace University, I was thinking about majoring in drama.  But I thought, well, I studied drama in high school and I wanted to do something different than theater, and this is when I wanted to get into the film industry.  Then I was like, "you know what?  I'm going to study business with a concentration in hotels because I really like the hotel business, and it's booming, it's different.  But then when I started out, I thought it wasn't so great, this isn't what I thought it would be.  I hated math, and then I had to start taking accounting, and I didn't know how I was going to pass everything every semester.  I surprised myself, and thought, "Wow, maybe I could be a CEO," but that's not what I want to do.  So now I have my BA in business, which is a great accomplishment and I am a full-time actress I feel good about that.

What did getting your bachelor's degree mean to you and your family?
In my family, I believe that I'm the only one with a Bachelor's.  It means a lot.  I still look at it, and can't believe that I have it.  It's huge.  Some people can't do the whole four years, and some people give up.  But I didn't, and that's what makes me feel good.  It shows my perseverance, it shows that I never give up, I just keep on going.  It's one of the biggest accomplishments ever.
    
You should be really proud of it, by the way.
I am, definitely I am.

What are your plans for the future?
To keep making box office hits.  To keep making movies like Precious.  I just hope for the best and I hope to keep being successful and keep making my family proud, because that's what it's all about in the end.  I really do all of this for my family, my family is my motivation.  I hope for the best in life, and I hope to keep being blessed, especially by people like those at "I Have A Dream."

What advice do you have for dreamers that are currently making decisions about their future, and in school?
I definitely say if they have any type of dream or ambitions, stick with it.  I know it's a cliche to say never give up, and know that you can succeed, but that is the best advice.  It's an oldie but a goodie.  That's the best thing you can ever tell someone because "no" shouldn't exist when you're trying to plan out your career.  You want to be happy in what you do, you don't want to be depressed, you don't want to get a job to just make money, that's not what it's all about.  It's about fulfilling your happiness at the same time.  And if you have something at the age of 12 that you want to do, then try to stay on it.  Don't give up, keep on pushing.  Because it pays off, especially if you have real ambitions for something.  Keep on working at it.  Dreams do come true, I'll tell you that much.  

I know it was impressive, what you were saying about being in college and working and doing the film, and I know that a lot of our Dreamers who are in college right now are battling with time management and how to do that effectively.  Do you have any tips for them? 
Your bed will always be there.  Your bed is not going anywhere.  I remember taking night classes, and those classes wouldn't even end sometimes until 9:30 or 10:00 at night.  Semesters last for only three months, and I kept telling myself, it's not going to kill me.  And I remembered that I had a class at 7:30 in the morning, and I said, it's not going to hurt, it's another 3 months, it's fine, I'll get through it.  Even if you have to cram (cramming is not recommended).  But the kind of person I am can juggle a lot of things and I don't have a problem multitasking.  I just wanted it to get done.  As long as it gets done for me, I can deal with it, and I can work it out.  I wasn't going to say, "well, I really want to finish college, I won't do this movie."  I had both passions.  I wanted to finish school and I wanted to do this movie, so I was just going to have to deal with both of them.  I would recommend just trying to pull through it and then you can sleep later.  

Your bed will always be there.  I love that.
Exactly.  You can always sleep later.  No worries.

Stephanie, thank you so much for the interview.  
No, thank you.  This was awesome.  I'm so happy, I can't wait to see it.