Izabella Miko Is Electrifying
Photo credit: Witek Berkan
You most recently saw her in NBC’s “The Cape,” but Izabella Miko almost didn’t become an actress. Born in what was still Communist Poland to thespian parents, Izabella learned to dance at the same time that she learned to walk. At the age of 15 she was given a full scholarship to study in New York with the School of American Ballet, only to have injuries cut short her dance career.
Then, a fluke casting in a Lithuanian television movie took Izabella back to America again—this time to the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute—and roles in “Coyote Ugly,” “Bye Bye Blackbird” and HBO’s “Deadwood” shortly followed. We talked with Izabella from the Los Angeles set of “The Cape,” where she opened up about her obsessive environmentalism and non-profit EkoMiko Foundation. Part Five of Five.
EcoStiletto: What’s your worst eco-sin?
Izabella Miko: Flying. I fly to Europe four times a year. I fly a lot and I pack a lot of stuff and I always feel super guilty because I bring so much luggage. I’m really working on it. I’m actually consciously trying to pack less stuff. But I have this fear of getting stuck somewhere with no clothes.
ES: Do you offset your travel?
IM: I try to and there are all these websites that I try to use but I feel like what I’m doing with everything else is definitely going towards that.
ES: Who’s your eco-hero and why?
IM: Sebastian Copeland. I just met him. He’s extremely passionate. The extremes to which he goes to kind of get his point across and the trips he takes and what he puts his body through.
ES: Okay, what’s the biggest green change you’d like to make in your life—even if it’s impossible right now?
IM: Probably to have a car that runs on water.
ES: That would be cool.
IM: The next car I’ll get will definitely be electric. There aren’t a lot of choices yet especially in America—there are a lot more in Europe—but I saw there’s a great car coming out, the Karma Fisker, which is electric and beautiful. But it’s really, really expensive. I wish that those cars would be available for everybody—not just super rich people.
Or just not to drive at all. Just use the bicycle. I have one and I use it but obviously I can’t go to work on my bicycle. But I carpool, it gets ridiculous when my friends and I go on a hike or something we’re all squeezed into one car.
Want more? Our exclusive interview with Izabella Miko covers sexing up sustainability, one hot candle, eco-obsession, seizing the spotlight and going electric. Check back here next week!
Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff is EcoStiletto’s founder and editor. A mother of three who also blogs as Mommy Greenest, Rachel enjoys organic pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.
