Reality on a Plate with Ada Condeescu
reality on a plate is a new publishing feature series that, in response to member requests, allows individuals to dive deeper into the experiences of others before attending our events, fostering a sense of familiarity and connection.
Actress across film and theatre, Ada Condeescu moves between screen, stage and family life. From her mother’s dumpling soup to winning Best Actress in Sarajevo and slow afternoons at her house in the countryside, we talked about the roles that stay with her, the people she always returns to, and the small things that make life feel like her own.
tell us about your background — where you grew up, what food looked like at home, and the memories that shaped who you are today.
I grew up in Bucharest, moving through several different parts of this wonderfully eclectic city. We started out in Crângași, on Ceahlău Street, then moved to Bucureștii Noi, and by the time I was still in primary school, we had ended up near Piața Victoriei.
The dish I grew up with and the one that still feels most like home to me is my mother’s dumpling soup. I also spent a lot of time with my grandparents in Drobeta-Turnu Severin, and one of my strongest food memories from there is lapte de pasăre. Much later, I discovered it was actually île flottante, the classic French dessert. So I suppose I had pretty good taste from an early age.
what does your morning look like now — who wakes up first, where does coffee happen, and how long before the day properly begins
My husband is usually the first one up.
He leaves early for his office so he can start writing, while the kids [Ecaterina & Alexei] and I wake up a little later. My first coffee is very quick and slightly chaotic. I make it while getting the kids dressed, preparing breakfast, finding clothes and getting everyone out the door for school. But coffee doesn’t really end there. There’s usually a second one, which I have with Cătălin somewhere in the city, around Cotroceni or Universitate. So in a way, my morning coffee stretches over several hours. I love having coffee out in the city, whatever the season. And always black — no sugar, no milk. Just coffee, as it is.
what’s always in your fridge and cupboard
Tomato sauce, of course. Parmesan and couscous, too.
where do you actually buy food
I love shopping at Obor Market. I have a few places there that I’ve trusted for years, especially for meat and cheese. For fish, I have a large shop I always go back to because I know exactly when the fresh fish comes in, twice a week, and they also have wild-caught fish.
The truth is, though, I’m always rushing somewhere, so I’ve never managed to create a proper food-shopping ritual.
I wish I had one.
I do have Terra Felice close to home, where I buy good wine, Parmesan and sometimes pasta. I’m a great lover of everything Italian — the food, but also the ingredients themselves.
tell us about a meal you still think about — where were you, what were you eating and, more importantly, who was across the table
I immediately think of a perfect birthday lunch I had in Paris. It was July 2nd, my birthday, and I was there with Cătălin at a wonderful old restaurant with so much history; a place Maria Callas used to visit. We had an incredible seafood platter, oysters and everything that comes from the sea, with a perfectly chilled white wine that went beautifully with it.
We were sitting outside, surrounded by people and by the life of the street and everything just came together — the food, the wine, the city, the person sitting across from me. At some point, knowing that Maria Callas had sat at those same tables so many times, I almost imagined I could hear her laughter and her voice somewhere among them. Or maybe that was the wine — who knows? It’s one of those memories I know I’ll carry with me for a very long time.
when friends come over, what do you put on the table without thinking too much about it
Definitely a cold bottle of Prosecco. If friends catch me by surprise, I’ll quickly put together a big platter of Italian cheeses and charcuterie — something simple that everyone can gather around and share. But if I know even a day in advance that they’re coming, I’ll make roasted bone marrow.
who are the people you can text and simply say: “Let’s have lunch”
No planning, no special occasion needed.
looking back at everything you’ve played, across film and theatre, which roles have stayed closest to you
Every role has its own story and its own process, and I become deeply attached to each one, whether it’s theatre or film. I tend to work very intensely on a character. Sometimes the preparation comes with many sleepless nights — or nights full of dreams.
It’s difficult for me to choose between Ana, my debut role in If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle, because that film changed my life in every possible way,
and Veli in Loverboy, who, emotionally, is probably still the closest to me.
Veli was especially important because through her, I felt we could give a voice to girls who are trafficked and show how these stories can actually begin — how a young girl can end up being exploited. Together with the whole team, I think we managed to show how something that feels like love can turn into something very cruel, pulling a child away from the life she should have had.
what’s the best dinner or party a film has ever taken you to
I was 21, at the Berlin Film Festival with my first film, If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle, and suddenly our film was being screened at the same festival where Scorsese was presenting Shutter Island. I remember doing our press conference, seeing Leonardo DiCaprio doing his, and passing each other in the corridors. For a young actress there with her debut film, the whole thing felt slightly unreal. The party I remember most was in this completely wild, extraordinary space in Berlin, unlike anything I had seen before. That night I met Gael García Bernal; we talked and stayed in touch afterwards. Wim Wenders was there too, along with so many filmmakers and actors I had only ever known through their work. I remember looking around and realizing I was suddenly inside a world I had only imagined from a distance. And then, of course, there was the incredible reception the film received. That night has stayed with me ever since — visually, but also emotionally.
is there a film or a play you’ve been part of that you wish more people had seen
Definitely. It would be The Game of Life and Death in the Ash Desert by Horia Lovinescu, in an adaptation directed by Horațiu Mălăele. It was another very important moment in my life and career, because it was through this play that I began to understand what freedom on stage really means. Horațiu helped me let go of some of my seriousness and shyness, and gave me the confidence to move forward with other theatre projects. Unfortunately, the production had a very short life — powerful and intense, but far too brief.
film festivals create these slightly surreal moments where, for one night, everyone seems to end up in the same room. what’s your best “how did I end up here?” story from that world
I’ve had many wonderful experiences at the Sarajevo Film Festival over the years and met some extraordinary filmmakers there. But I’m an actress, so perhaps I’m allowed to be a little selfish with this answer. My strongest “How did I end up here?” moment has to be the year Loverboy was in competition. I remember realizing that I was going to be sitting in the same theatre as Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Michael Fassbender. Brad Pitt was an actor I had adored since I was a child, so that alone felt completely surreal. And then, incredibly, I won the Best Actress award that night.
Standing on that stage, receiving the award in front of them, thanking the jury, Cătălin Mitulescu and our entire team, I had this strange mixture of disbelief, fascination and sudden awareness: I am actually an actress. My work is being seen and recognized. And somehow it also felt like recognition for all the people and all the work that had helped shape me into the actress I was at that moment.
what does real life give you that a film set never can
Definitely the real experience of being a mother. And also the depth that relationships acquire through years of actually living them — with the person you love, with your friends. There are things that only time, intimacy and real life can give you. No film set can recreate that kind of experience.
what do your kids think you actually do for a living
My children know I’m an actress. They’ve been on set with me when it was appropriate for their age, and we watch films together and talk about what both their father and I do. They’re becoming more curious about it all the time — and they keep asking us to make films for children, an idea I’ve started to love myself. So who knows, maybe one day we will.
I think children feel safer when the emotional reality around them is clear. They’re still too young to fully understand that what happens between actors on screen belongs to a story and a character. I want them to see the real, loving relationship I have with their father and understand the difference when they’re old enough.
cinema asks you to become somebody else.
motherhood asks you to be completely yourself
I think Pirandello found the perfect title for this: One, No One and One Hundred Thousand. In a way, that’s what happens in all our lives. As much as acting asks you to become someone else, it also asks you to be completely yourself while being someone else. And motherhood works almost in reverse: it asks you to be yourself, but at the same time it comes with rules, boundaries and an enormous sense of responsibility.
I don’t think these different roles make us less authentic. They are simply different facets of who we are. I am Ada, but I am also a mother, an actress, a wife, a friend. None of these versions is false. They all belong to me; they simply require different things from me at different moments.
what does a perfect Sunday look like in your family
At our house in the countryside, just outside Bucharest. Looking at the sky, listening to the birds, doing a little work in the garden, taking an afternoon nap, and maybe having friends over. Nothing too planned — just a slow day at home.
what’s something about you and Cătălin, your husband, that hasn’t changed since the beginning — or what’s a tiny ritual the two of you have that you hope never disappears
I think there’s a kind of wordless complicity between us — very often, just a look is enough. From the beginning, we connected on a very deep level, somewhere beyond the versions of ourselves we present to the world. That bond was there almost immediately after we met, and over the years it has only grown deeper.
Of course, we’re not always on exactly the same wavelength, and sometimes one of us may be more present than the other. But somehow, underneath it all, we’re always there for each other. We always find our way back and recalibrate. I think that’s something incredibly precious between two people, and I hope it never changes.
what’s something you’ve changed your mind about recently
I’ve changed my mind about friendship, about human relationships, and about what they really mean. To look at them with fewer expectations and perhaps with more clarity; to understand what is truly there, rather than what I would like to be there.
what in your life are you a beginner at these days
Teaching myself new things — learning how to figure things out on my own, especially in areas I haven’t explored before. There’s something both challenging and exciting about stepping into new territory without necessarily having someone there to guide you.
last thing you Googled
The film I was about to present: Heart of the Beast. Apparently, Google is still part of my preparation process.
for someone who wants to see you on stage this year — where can we find you, and which plays are especially close to you right now
Unfortunately, this year At Home at the Zoo by Edward Albee will have its final performance, after three seasons at the independent ACT Theatre. It’s a production I’ve loved very much, and I feel it has somehow completed its journey.
I’m also performing in Harold Pinter’s Betrayal at ACT Theatre, directed by Silviu Debu, alongside Mihai Smarandache and Cristian Popa. It’s a play I’m very attached to, and I hope it will have a long life.
your life right now in five songs
Rosalía — “Sakura”Queen — “The Great Pretender”Elvis Presley — “Suspicious Minds”Florence + The Machine — “Dog Days Are Over”Sia — “Unstoppable”
last question: What If Things Go Well
If things go well, I see myself with an Oscar which I’ll keep at my mother’s house.
all images provided by Ada Condeescu
editor Alinz
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