Madeleine Stowe and Levieva share a smile off-set. (ABC via Getty Images)
Welcome to the world of Fauxmanda.
“It’s so crazy, but so much fun,” says 31-year-old Russian-born beauty Margarita Levieva, who plays Amanda Clarke, a young woman who switched identities with Emily (Emily VanCamp), her best friend from their days in juvenile hall, on the campy ABC series “Revenge.”
It’s 2 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, and Levieva is calling from a Los Angeles photo shoot to talk about the bizarre twists and turns her storyline has taken, often putting her on center stage.
Recently, a very pregnant Amanda struggled with the evil Victoria Grayson (Madeleine Stowe) and plunged — or was she pushed? — off a balcony. Following this melodramatic scenario to its sudsy conclusion, Amanda went into a coma, during which she delivered a baby boy, the son of Jack Porter (Nick Wechsler). Now her baby may be in danger. Despite these obvious problems, Amanda’s real threat comes from Mason Treadwell (Roger Bart), who has vowed to expose her false identity.
In tonight’s episode, Victoria and Conrad Grayson (Henry Czerny) are remarried and Treadwell bears down on Emily and Amanda, setting the young women on edge.
“I love all of the duplicity and intrigue,” says Levieva. “There’s real Amanda and fake Amanda. We have Amanda’s mom, who thinks I am her daughter. There is Charlotte, who thinks I am her sister. And Jack, who thinks I am his childhood love. And then Mason Treadwell returns, and he is out to get me.
“Sometimes I think, ‘Where do I begin? What do I play here?’ Amanda wakes up to this world that is her world, but not really her world at all. It’s weird.”
Even weirder, it seems, is that Levieva understands it. She knows a lot about shifting identities.
Born a Russian Jew in Leningrad in 1980, she was singled out to begin gymnastic training when she was just 3 years old. An excellent competitor, she became a member of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastic Olympic team a few years later.
“It had a massive impact on my life, “ she says. “ I was training before Perestroika, under a very Communist regime and in a government-controlled program. I worked out rigorously seven days a week. It was my identity.“
She then she had to assume a new one. When Margarita was 11 years old her mother and father fled Russia and brought her and her twin brother to live in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. “ I didn’t speak a word of English,” she says.
Lost and isolated she turned to the only thing she knew — rhythmic gymnastics. She trained for four more years, but when it was time to try out for the US championships she didn’t have the right papers; her family arrived in America illegally.
At 15, Levieva had to make a choice: pursue her Olympic dream or give up.
“I had to make a major life decision,” she says. “The only way to be in the Olympics was to go back to Russia. Do I do that, do I become a creative soul, or do I do something more practical? My mother had sacrificed so much to bring us here — I knew I had to make her proud.”
To please her mother, who had been a professor in Russia, she focused on school, became a US citizen, and eventually went to NYU where she studied economics. After graduation she became a fashion buyer — not the right fit for her.
When she got a part in an off-Broadway play her mother came backstage after the performance. “She is a woman of few words,” says Levieva, “She told me, ‘Margarita you need to do this’. All I needed was her stamp of approval.”
Levieva assumed another identity — actress.
She had a minor role opposite Matthew McConaughey in “The Lincoln Lawyer,” played Ashton Kutcher’s girlfriend in “Spread” and starred in the Fox series “Vanished.”
She may not be a star yet but she is on her way, with a ready-made bio that would be perfect for a Bond girl — a role she was considered for last year, when producers were casting “Skyfall.”
“Revenge” is her fantasy come true, Levieva says.
“When I read the pilot I thought, ‘This can’t be for network TV’!” she says. “She’s a stripper, she kills people; she’s way too juicy and way too dark to bring to life. ”
Levieva was hired for only two episodes, but returned for eight more. “I heard that they liked the darker, edgier side to me,” she says. “I’ve got a switch inside of me that goes from light to dark.”
In the Season One cliffhanger, her character had a startling revelation — Fauxmanda was pregnant with Jack’s child.
This season she is caught up in a love triangle with Emily and Jack. But somehow the women are able to bond over their love for the same man. Expect Amanda to kick some butt as she fights to save Jack from financial ruin and protect Emily and Amanda’s identity switch.
“I don’t know exactly how it will play out,” she says, “but I hope it is juicy. I want more action and I want more fights, some of my favorite scenes are the flashbacks to juvenile hall when Emily and I are fighting. And I know that when Amanda’s buttons are pushed she will absolutely retaliate.”
Twenty minutes have passed and Levieva has to change clothes for another cast photo. Before she hangs up, I ask why she thinks her character always puts herself at risk for Emily. Is there underlying sexual tension between the two women?
“It’s not about sex,” she says firmly. “It’s about family.”
“The real Emily never had unconditional love until she met real Amanda in juvenile hall. Amanda made a promise to stand by her. They are soul sisters.”
Levieva understands the bond, which is why her character is so convincing.
“I have a twin brother,” she says, “If I had to chose between family and anything else, family would always win.”