Rising Talent to Watch: Writer/Actor/Filmmaker Ildiko Susany Lands Her Big Break as a Staff Writer on Netflix Hit Virgin River Season 6

For immediate release – Multi-talented writer, actor, and filmmaker Ildiko Susany has landed her big break as a Staff Writer on season 6 of Netflix’s hit romance drama, Virgin River.

Ildiko started on Virgin River as the script & clearance coordinator in season 4 where she wowed the showrunner and writers with her creative pitches and in-depth knowledge of the series. This led to her writing season 5 episode 9 entitled, “Angel’s Peak” which follows engaged couple Mel and Jack discussing their future together after a devastating miscarriage. This story hit close to home for Ildiko who wrote the episode while preparing for her wedding and future family. 

Season 5 Part 1 of Virgin River dropped on Netflix on September 7, 2023, and debuted at No. 1 in the USA and Canada and No. 2 globally. It remained in Netflix’s Global Top 10 for six weeks with 1.4 million views. You can catch Virgin River’s holiday episodes when Season 5 Part 2 drops on November 30 on Netflix.

Ildiko was born in Australia and wanted to be an actor and writer since she can remember. She moved around a lot as a kid, growing up in Sydney, Melbourne, the Gold Coast Hinterlands, and Brisbane. But despite her ever-changing zip codes her creative ambitions never wavered.

Ildiko started her career as an actor and playwright in Australia performing with the Bell Shakespeare Company, Darlinghurst Theatre Company, and Redline Productions/Don’t Look Away among others. She has performed on almost every major stage in Australia including the Sydney Opera House and Arts Centre Melbourne.

Her existential dystopian play, The Day the Galaxy Inevitably Exploded and Died was shortlisted in Queensland Theatre Company’s Young Playwright’s Program and played at the Backbone Youth Arts 2High Festival and the Sydney Fringe Festival where it was nominated for the Best of Theatre Award. 

After many years working in the Australian arts industry and frustrated with the lack of diversity on screens, Ildiko wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the feature film, Marley, Someone. The story was loosely based on her experiences as a woman of color navigating her creative coming-of-age amidst casual sexism and racism in Sydney. The film won the Audience Choice Award at the Sydney Lift-Off Film Festival 2022, was a Semi-Finalist in the Toronto Independent Film Festival of Cift (November) 2021, and made the Official Selection at the Vancouver Independent Film Festival (Winter) 2021. 

In 2017, Ildiko moved to Vancouver, Canada to pursue more diverse screen roles. Since then, she has appeared in ABC’s Alaska Daily opposite Hilary Swank and directed by Tom McCarthy, as well as NBC’s Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist alongside Skylar Astin and Katie Findlay. Other credits include Lost in Space (Netflix) and Deadly Class (Syfy). Within five years, Ildiko has also worked her way up the production ladder from production assistant to line producer’s assistant, script coordinator to TV writer. 

Ildiko graduated with Distinction with a Bachelor of Theatre Arts – Acting degree from the University of Southern Queensland. She was a recipient of a Marten Bequest Traveling Scholarship where she trained at the Atlantic Acting School (NYC), The Second City (Chicago), and Bramon Garcia Braun (LA). She was also a participant in the Netflix-Banff Diversity of Voices Initiative 2021 where she pitched her dramedy series at the Banff World Media Festival. 

Now, Ildiko has her sights set on Hollywood where she hopes to work in person in the Virgin River writers’ room in LA while furthering her career prospects and networks in the film & TV industry. (Currently, Ildiko works virtually on Virgin River from her home office in Vancouver.) 

As a mixed-race artist of Japanese and Hungarian descent, Ildiko is passionate about creating and championing diverse stories and storytellers. Her dream is to one day create and show-run her own series and enjoy a sustainable career as a writer and actor. 

Ildiko divides her time between Canada and Australia. 

She is available for interviews and photos upon request. 

Please contact publicist:  Lesley Diana | lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca | 604-726-5575

Actor Agent: Kendra Naka | The Characters Talent Agency | kendra@thecharacters.com

Headshot photo credit: Noah Asanias