Known for her roles in Apteeker Melchior trilogy and Aurora, actor Maarja Johanna Mägi opens up about her journey to becoming an actor, overcoming shyness, Marie Antoinette, and dogs. Catch her this August on stage at Tartu Uus Teater in the musical production TAPTY1985. Laskumine orgu. Photography by Virge Viertek, styling by Kärt Hammer.
“It all came kind of naturally. I used to love playing theatre games as a kid, and that’s how I ended up in a theatre group. I just liked being there. Even when I wasn’t the lead actor in my group, I still enjoyed doing it. Maybe it was even because I didn’t get that immediate feeling of success from the start. In any case, I still loved it — and that kept me going.
My first time performing for a “larger” audience was a school play. I was originally just a little fairy who ran around the stage. But then, as it happened, the fairy queen — which was a more important role — got sick, and I had to quickly learn her part. I even had a few lines! Of course, I was super nervous. After the show, one of the teachers came up to me and said, “Well done, but next time try to speak up so we can actually hear what you're saying.” Well, I was really shy as a kid!”
“Honestly, it’s like that with every role — you start off not knowing at all how to approach it, and then you just figure it out as you go. In school, and especially during drama school, there were more and more of those roles. Each one felt completely new.”
“When you’re on stage, you can see everyone looking at you — especially in the beginning — and it’s honestly kind of terrifying. But you get used to it. It becomes a normal part of things, being on stage. Still, with every new production, that fear comes back again, just before stepping on. Being a presenter is even scarier than acting! When you’re acting, you’re stepping into a situation, a world — it makes it more graspable. But just reading a poem onstage, as yourself — that can be even more intimidating.”
“Aurora was similar challenge, similar to the feeling you get when you first perform on a big stage. You wonder: how do I reach the entire audience?
Photoshoots can be a bit like that too. In some pictures, you're yourself, in others you're someone else. In a way, even during a photoshoot you’re in a role. Like that photo where I’m wearing a fur coat — I’m definitely someone else there. I wouldn’t wear that coat in real life!
And even this interview — I’m trying to be as honest as I can and speak truthfully, but still, I want it to be interesting for the reader. So in a way, I’m playing a bit of a role here too. I’m not telling everything, and I’m also choosing slightly more interesting stories to share — to give it some value.
I guess, it’s kind of the same with some other people too. When I read interviews with friends or people I know, actors are usually pretty close to who they actually are. Socialite-type figures tend to build more of a mask — a public image. And then, when you get to know some of them, you're like, “Oh right — you’re actually a pretty normal person.””
“In theatre rehearsals, you spend a lot of time together with the whole cast, discussing things, working through scenes. It’s more collaborative. You give each other feedback, talk about scenes even when you're not in them — you’re more immersed in the whole. In film, there are tons of people doing their own thing, and you just show up for your scene. You mainly focus on that. The design team and the cinematographer have already made their choices — you don’t have as much freedom to take your character in a totally different direction. But Aurora felt different. That one was very similar to theatre — we had so many rehearsals, and everything was deeply thought through.”
“My favorite Estonian film is Röövlirahnu Martin. I was a huge fan when I was little! I was the same age as the kids in the film, and I think that’s why it really resonated. Of course, I watched American teen movies too, but they never really clicked the same way — they didn’t remind me of my life. That’s why I think Estonian youth films are really important — young audiences need something they can relate to.
Another film I really loved was Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. After watching it, I was completely obsessed with baroque and rococo style — for like five years! I really like Kirsten Dunst — she feels so un-Hollywood. Like, she just is the way she is.
I love dogs. Dogs care for their people more than cats do, I think.”