Nadia Hatta and Kristoffer Polaha reach for their goals in “A Winning Team,” a new, original movie premiering Saturday, March 18 (8 p.m. ET/PT), on Hallmark Channel. We at Survived The Shows had the pleasure of chatting with Nadia Hatta about her experience in the making of the movie and what fans can expect. Check out the full interview below!
What’s the main element in Emily’s character and the movie in general that fascinates you the most and drew you to join Winning Team?
I grew up watching World Cup with my dad, played when I was a teenager and almost chose it as a career path! Emily Chen’s life would have been my imagined alternate reality if I had not chosen to become an actor. The fact that I get to play a female World Cup Soccer champion and celebrity AS an actor is a gift and dream come true. I love the fact that Emily is a strong, successful woman who is out to win, and the story supports strong women following their dreams and being awesome!
Where are you and Emily most similar and where most different as human beings?
We are similar in SO MANY ways. I am ambitious like Emily, and I know what I want in my life and I go for it. And in my household growing up, losing is never an option- so I relate! On a deeper level, I deal with grief without reaching out to people, and it’s not easy for me to let people in. Like Emily, I protect my heart by not sharing my vulnerabilities with people and deal with things alone. I also love oat milk with coffee, and I train hard to work through my mental noise – alone. Believe it or not, I am scared of heights, too! Filming that rope course was very scary for me especially since we had to film it over and over until I actually got over being on ropes!
However, the difference is, I would never yell back at the referee or pour a drink over someone’s head out of anger or reaction especially in a professional or work environment. For the sake of everyone else’s time, and wellness, I would deal with it by having a conversation about it (I would hope so anyway…)
What’s been the biggest challenge for you in portraying Emily?
On a physical level, I had to get myself to work on my conditioning for soccer! There is a A LOT of running and sprinting involved and I wanted to make it as real as I could in the few weeks I had to prepare for the role. And when we filmed the World Cup champion scenes and I had to play with the professional women’s soccer team, I was so glad I trained … they are FAST.
On an emotional level, I felt I had problems feeling the grief but I realized it was because me as Emily, pushed it away and grief isn’t the same color for everyone. Some people cry, some people shut down and for Emily, it was thinking that winning alone would replace the hole in her heart. A lot of the anger that came out was unactualized grief which manifested in the bad behavior. She didn’t know how to just feel her vulnerabilities.
To all the fans looking forward to watching the movie, how would you describe A Winning Team in just 3 words?
Fun-tastic. Heart. Family.
What can you tease about Emily’s and Ian’s journey throughout the movie?
Definitely not love at first sight! A messy and tentative tap dance of two strong personalities with soft grieving hearts, shyly opening to the possibility of love and life beyond the past. Sometimes you have to fight yourself to allow love in!
Talking about the environment on set, how would you describe your experience while filming Winning Team and do you have any fun anecdotes to share?
This was my first Hallmark movie and I was so blessed to have such an incredible, loving cast and crew to collaborate with so closely. First of all, shout to every single person working behind the camera, without whom I would not have been able to play Emily. I am also so grateful for Kris Polaha’s wisdom and presence on set. It is always a blessing to work with strong actors with strong chops!
The scene when we looked at the stars was actually freezing cold with rain being blown towards our faces, but it didn’t matter because all that mattered was the scene, and the beautiful moment. I love the cast of my family, Niki and Raugi – our family chemistry was SO natural it really seems like we are family! Ava calls Emily “Gugu” which actually means “Auntie” in Mandarin, something we decided on before we started filming because that’s how we call our Aunties!
Honestly, I felt a lot of love and kindness on set. There are so many beautiful moments that it is impossible to list each and everyone of them on this page, from jokes, to acts of kindness that melted the snow around us. I know this will sound cheesy but our team for this movie really is “A Winning Team.”
If you could choose any other character from Winning Team, apart from Emily, that you would have loved to play, which one would it be and why?
Honestly, the casting was so great I really can’t see myself playing anyone BUT Emily. But If I absolutely had to, and I could go backwards in time, it would be Ava, her niece, who is such a resilient and emotionally intelligent young lady.
Did you take anything from set, any prop or piece of costume, to remember your experience as Emily?
I, um, might have taken MANY (if not all) of the wardrobe pieces because they were so beautifully selected by Trish in Wardrobe. Sometimes I wear those outfits just to remind me of what it was like being Emily. Props gave me the beautiful gift of a soccer ball key chain which Emily always had on her soccer bag, and now I have it on my workout bag to remember her by. I also kept my World Cup Jersey (Chicago Premier) which I hang over my chair in the living room to stare at every day. I am still waiting for the production team to send me my endorsement cardboard cutout… haha.
Throwing back to the origins of your career, how did the passion for acting come about in your life?
I have always wanted to be an actor since I was a kid; I used to copy all the commercials and shows on the television and re-perform it my own way. I made everyone be a part of all my “movies” using the family camcorder, writing the script, directing, acting, and even putting in the sounds inside. I wrote educational plays, scripts all the way through high school instead of traditional essays. I never thought it could actually be a real career until my Humanities teacher invited me to be in his play in Italy. I played three roles, all in Italian, and at the end of the play, I decided that this has to be my path. I have to go back to Italy to make a movie to make sure I pay my respects for the first time I did live theatre for an audience.
Among all the roles you’ve had the chance to play throughout your career, is there any particular role you’re most fond of?
I am deeply fond of playing Emily Chen- her arc is very similar to what I have experienced in my own life. All the roles I play will always be a part of me, but I have a deep love for Mei Chen from the Netflix series, “Away.” Mei Chen’s fight for love despite her circumstances and choosing greater humanity over herself is probably the most selfless and heartbreaking thing ever and allowed me to feel unconditional love in a deep way. Playing Mei allowed me to go into a part of myself I never knew existed and I grew a lot from living that life.
What can you tease about your next projects?
Top secret! 🙂 Maybe A Winning Team Sequel?? 🙂
If you had to give some advice to people who want to pursue an acting career, which kind of advice would you give them?
For those of you who are obsessed with acting and storytelling like I am, don’t let anyone stop you, not even yourself. Just keep working on your craft and humanity. I think being a great human being is supremely paramount in the world of storytelling. Empathy will open doors inside you that frees you from your own ego. Also, this is a very hard industry, but if you love it go for it and make sure you have the tribe in your life that keep you grounded, safe and real.
A Winning Team, starring Nadia Hatta, premieres March 18 on Hallmark. Get a preview below!
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Chiara
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