Meet Ivanna Sakhno, the 'Star Wars' actress-turned-'M3GAN 2.0' breakout

USA Today

6 hours ago

Ivanna Sakhno has seen all the 'M3GAN' memes.
But it wasn't until she auditioned for the sequel, 'M3GAN 2.0' (in theaters now), that she actually sat down and watched the 2023 slasher satire, about a presumptuous cyborg who stops at nothing to protect her young human charge (Violet McGraw).
'I tend to be quite scared of horror films, so I didn't get to see it then,' says Sakhno, 27, who plays a military-grade android named Amelia in the new movie. 'But I'm so glad that it came into my world. As soon as I read the script, I was so deeply moved by Amelia in a way that I didn't expect.'
Amelia is, in many ways, the inverse of M3GAN: 'If M3GAN is this '50s-inspired vision of perfection, Amelia is a bit rougher around the edges,' writer/director Gerard Johnstone says. Unlike M3GAN, who is 'stuck in this permanent state of adolescence, Amelia is a full-grown woman and a fighting machine.'
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Johnstone discovered Sakhno in the 'Star Wars' series 'Ahsoka,' in which she played Dark Jedi apprentice Shin Hati. 'She just had this magnetism and stillness to her that was so commanding,' he recalls. 'I was like, 'Well, that's Amelia.' '
Get to know more about the 'M3GAN 2.0' breakout:
Ivanna Sakhno is the Ukrainian actress now starring in 'M3GAN 2.0'
Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sakhno got her start acting as a young girl in Ukrainian films and commercials. She dreamed of coming to Hollywood, and 'quite early on, I realized that I had to find a way to leave my country,' Sakhno says. So at age 13, she moved in with a host family in Vancouver, Canada, where she studied English and enrolled in an acting workshop. A year later, she and her mother relocated to Los Angeles, where she attended Beverly Hills High School.
American food was a major culture shock: 'I remember the Cinnamon Toast Crunch blew my mind,' she says with a laugh. 'The first time I tasted it, my life was never the same.'
But it was also around this time, in 2014, that Russians invaded Eastern Ukraine. At school, she recalls the dissonance of 'seeing kids getting into their parents' cars – Ferraris and the most expensive cars you could imagine – and then simultaneously witnessing what was going on in my motherland. It was quite a stark difference.'
Ivanna Sakhno looked to insects in crafting her AI assassin Amelia
In the U.S., Sakhno has primarily appeared in action projects, including 'Pacific Rim: Uprising,' 'The Spy Who Dumped Me,' 'Ahsoka' and now 'M3GAN 2.0.' But the actress says that's merely a coincidence: Aside from a few childhood ballet classes, she doesn't have an athletic background.
'When you do action roles quite consistently, they kind of pile up on top of one another. There's muscle memory,' Sakhno says. 'I've learned quite a great deal about showing up for yourself through physical work and being present in your body.'
In the lead-up to filming 'M3GAN 2.0,' the rising star worked extensively with Johnstone and movement coach Luke Hawker to find Amelia's physicality. She practiced tai chi and breathwork, and closely studied nature.
'They made me feel welcome to bring my own vision of her,' Sakhno says. 'We took a bit of inspiration from insects – in particular, the praying mantis. There's a stillness, but also a precision in the way it moves.'
How the late David Lynch inspired the Hollywood newcomer
Sakhno has also dipped into other mediums outside of film: She appeared in Hulu's rom-com series 'High Fidelity' opposite Zoë Kravitz, and co-starred with Hozier in his 'Eat Your Young' music video. She's had a lifelong passion for painting, and believes she would focus on that if she weren't acting.
'I can't say I'm necessarily a great painter, but I cherish getting to learn about the present moment through painting,' she says. "Not to be too pretentious – forgive me – but I legitimately could see myself being more integrated into advocacy work. It was something I was led into through the history of my country, and like every Ukrainian, I feel dedicated to it.'
Moving forward, the up-and-comer says that 'M3GAN 2.0' has made her rethink how she uses technology: 'Amelia represents what happens when we create something powerful without fully thinking through the consequences.' She now tries to stay away from her phone as much as possible, save for her favorite transcendental meditation app.
'I try to (meditate) 20 minutes in the morning and 20 in the evening,' Sakhno explains. 'David Lynch was a great inspiration, and I started doing it after his passing. I have such great respect for him, and obviously, he's a legend in his own right. He's definitely raising the vibration for all of us collectively.'