Sascha Knopf took some knocks to become an actress. "When I was 10, I went to see an agent who told me I was too ethnic looking," she says. "She made me think I was ugly and weird, so I didn't pursue acting until college." The Long Island native graduated from high school early and attained a drama degree from NYU, but it was her exotic German Russian looks that got her a gig as the Vampirella comic book cover girl. "The fans loved me because I learned about Vampirella and was really into it," Sascha says. Her first movie role, in a cheapie called Blazin', was a different learning experience altogether. "The lead actor couldn't act and we had absolutely no chemistry," she admits. So who has the goods to ignite the screen with her? "Johnny Depp," she says. "There wouldn't be any acting involved—you might have to worry about it being pornographic!" Sascha continued busting her chops in independent fare such as The Trade, the Sopranos-esque Wannabes and the cult film Blackmale. "I find it more exciting to work on indie films because people are hungrier," Sascha says. Now she is breaking into big studio movies with a role opposite Danny DeVito and Martin Lawrence in this summer's What's the Worst That Could Happen? and a fantasy-figure turn in the Farrelly Brothers' Shallow Hal.
When she's not auditioning or working out, you can find Sascha at home with the two guys in her life—her adopted Bronx alley cats, Bill and Ted. Mister Right, her high school sweetheart, got away years ago, so she tells us she tries extra hard these days to make an impression. "These photographs were shot in February, when it was freezing cold," she says. "There were about 20 guys on the street watching, but I didn't care. I'm a bit of an exhibitionist." Sascha, who can also carry a tune, wants someday to cut an album that's sort of "pop, but folky at the same time." For now, though, she's all about acting. "I've been through a lot in my life," she confesses. "You need to draw on life experience to portray real people. And that's something I know I can do."
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