Vivian Schilling

Who is Vivian Schilling?

Vivian Schilling is an American novelist, screenwriter, actress and independent filmmaker.

Born and raised in Kansas, Schilling studied at The Lee Strasberg Theater Institute and also under Stella Adler before embarking upon careers in literature and film. Most recently, Schilling completed work for Paris-based Eurocine Films as the writer, producer and director of the English adaptation of Toys in the Attic, based on the stop-motion, animated feature by Czech director Jiří Barta.

Schilling has written two novels: Quietus and Sacred Prey. The novels take place in a supernatural setting and center on themes of immortality, existentialism and religious conflict. Schilling's Sacred Prey was optioned for production as a motion picture by Warner Brothers for producers Steven Schneider and Brooklyn Weaver.

Schilling has acted in a variety of leading roles in independent films since 1986, including Savage Land and the Polish film Niemcy, a World War II drama based on the stage play by Leon Kruczkowski. In Niemcy Schilling portrays heroine Ruth Sonnenbruch, a German nightclub singer who comes to the aid of a Jewish refugee. In 2006 she portrayed feminist and author Gertrude Atherton opposite Campbell Scott's Ambrose Bierce in the film anthology Ambrose Bierce: Civil War Stories. In 2012, Schilling provided the voice of Buttercup in Toys in the Attic alongside co-stars Forest Whitaker, Joan Cusack and Cary Elwes.