Pollak Learns a Tough Lesson From ‘The Marla Hanson Story’

Cheryl Pollak learned a lot about herself and women’s issues while filming “The Marla Hanson Story,” airing Monday night at 9 on NBC. Pollak stars in the fact-based drama as the New York model who suffered a razor attack in 1986 by men hired by an obsessive admirer.

“It seems there is still a huge double standard between men and women,” Pollak, 23, says. “ Ambition becomes a dirty word if you are a woman. If you start getting somewhere it’s because of your looks and feminine wiles. I hope that people get the point of the film. There is a huge need for citizens to be protected from being made a victim in the courtroom.”

Pollak, who was a regular on NBC’s short-lived musical series “Hull High,” wasn’t very familiar with Hanson’s case and was even reluctant to audition for the part. “I have a real hard time with true-life stories,” she says. “They are sensationalized.”

This project, she says, was different. “The writer is the director and he took a lot of care,” Pollak says. “It also was a chance to play a strong female character who is caring.”

Hanson and Pollak met over dinner during production. “I was nervous . . . all the things she had been through, but she really was wonderful,” Pollak says. “She told me the important thing was the story and getting across being a victim and the need for protection of victims. It’s a huge responsibility to play the character of a living person.”

Pollak began acting five years ago as a means to an end--it was a quick way of making money for her college education. “I wanted to study music,” she says. “I play the saxophone. I was talented, but I am not a musician. So I was going to get a degree and teach music.”

Her first big break also was her first job--a series of commercials for Jordache jeans. “It got a lot of notice. They played it constantly. I started auditioning and my first film was ‘My Best Friend Is a Vampire.’ ”