“I’m not a believer in balance,” says Stana Katic. “I know a lot of philosophers who sit by the river and discuss what the undersea world would be like. And I’ll reply, “Dive in, man, and go see it.” Swim around. “You’ll be fine.”This carpe diem mindset explains why the 33-year-old’s resumé reads like that of an MI5 agent. She has experience with fencing, scuba diving, archery, falconry, and horseback riding, as well as martial arts training.
She is fluent in Serbian, French, English, and Italian. She also studied Navy Seal knife-fighting tactics for her role as a Russian assassin in the 2008 thriller Stiletto.
Stana traces her drive and restlessness to her parents, former Yugoslavian immigrants who arrived in North America with nothing. They relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, where Stana was born, and later settled in Chicago, where they “built an empire of sorts with their furniture business,” she adds.
“They taught my five siblings and me in piano, ballet, and karate, making us well-traveled and interested about the world. There was an overall respect for the environment. “It was part of our upbringing.” That has not faded.
Stana traveled to Mongolia for a two-week vacation last summer, where she dressed traditionally, learnt a few phrases of Khalkha (the official language), slept in a yurt, and rode a camel through the Gobi Desert. She enjoyed the solitude.
“It doesn’t get a lot of tourists,” she admits. Stana’s daring trip to Central Asia encapsulates her personality: she isn’t your typical Hollywood starlet.
Her current cause is the Alternative Travel Project. “California’s supposed to be an eco-friendly state and we’re doing a rotten job of it in L.A.,” she complains. Her goal was to persuade Castle watchers and fans to leave their cars at home and pursue alternative modes of transportation.
For seven days in a month, she walked 40 minutes, rode her bike, or used public transportation to the set in a city where people rarely walk. “I was exercising while doing it.
I was also engaging with the community!” Stana claims that seeing the world through “Canadian eyeballs” influenced her nonconformist mindset. In 1997, she enrolled at the University of Toronto for international relations, economics, and pre-law.
“I thought, I could save the world,” she claims. “What’s promoted in the States is assimilation, whereas in Canada, it’s multiculturalism,” Stana says. “That mosaic mentality allows for an appreciation of an individual’s culture and history.”
She also praises Canada’s socialized health-care system and supports Obama’s initiatives to expand health-care coverage.
When it comes to the politics of her love life, she avoids the more heated themes. “I love to kiss, but I don’t tell,” she laughs. “Romance is difficult for some celebs.
“If the media discovers you’re dating Robert Pattinson, you’re screwed.” However, she admits that she is tremendously committed to meaningful and substantive partnerships. “I like the concept that if you’re with someone, it’s for the long term.”
Is she dating her co-star Nathan Fillion? She won’t say—even though the internet is buzzing about it. For now, she prefers to keep us, and her three million fans, wondering.
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