Eduard Trică, protagonist in the original series Undercover Heart, on Antena 1
Ruxandra Ion: “This is the first project in which the story is centered around a male character!”
A graduate of the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, Eduard Trică returned to Romania from the United States specifically for his role in Undercover Heart, the original series created by Ruxandra Ion. The international theater and film actor will play the lead character, Ian Secăreanu, an undercover agent working for the Romanian division of a major European anti-fraud agency. Ian’s mission is to expose the illicit dealings of one of the wealthiest and most prosperous families, whose business empire is built around real estate development.
Eduard Trică first came into contact with acting at the age of nine, without knowing at the time that it would become his path in life. At 18, he left Romania to study in the Netherlands, where he gradually built his career in the performing arts. He became an ambassador for his university and, a year later, was named “Ambassador of the Year” in the Netherlands, going on to guide thousands of Romanian students each year in making their educational choices. At the same time, he founded a student film and theater association with 41 members, where he produced short films, commercials and acting workshops. An international study program then took him to Bali and Thailand for six months, and during his final year, he was accepted to the University of Southern California (USC). In July 2017, he left for Los Angeles with just $624 in his pocket, but with a clear goal: to turn his dream of becoming an actor into reality.
In Los Angeles, Eduard continued his acting training, studying at several renowned acting studios and working with teachers who employed different approaches and techniques. It was a period during which he deepened his understanding of the acting techniques associated with the American school and began gaining experience in theater and film productions. From Los Angeles, Eduard then moved to London to study at the Unseen School of Drama, a prestigious studio in the heart of the European theater industry, where he was accepted directly into an advanced class and had the opportunity to train alongside actors he had already admired on screen. Shortly afterward, he landed the lead role in one of the world’s largest immersive theater productions, staged in the West End. After a year in London, he returned to Romania, where he played the lead role in a theater production that earned him the “Best Actor” award at a national festival. In 2021, he returned to Los Angeles, where he continued working toward his dream. In 2025, Eduard was cast in the feature film That March, filmed in Romania and Spain. That same year, he went on to take on three more roles in Romanian productions before auditioning for the lead role in the original series Undercover Heart, a project he has already been working on for more than a year.
“I went to the audition without knowing exactly where the process would take me. There were around 100 actors, and the atmosphere was very intense. After eight rounds of auditions, I was told that I had been cast as Ian Secăreanu. It was a moment I received with great joy, but also with the feeling that this was when the real work was just beginning. A character like Ian requires you to go much further than what can be seen on the surface,” Eduard reveals, adding: “Ian Secăreanu is an undercover agent who lives two lives — one personal and one built around his missions. And there is a strong contrast between the two. He is highly trained, analytical, disciplined and extremely adaptable. He is prepared to react in high-pressure situations and survive when things spiral out of control. But beyond all these qualities, Ian is a human being. Throughout the story, the obstacles he faces force him to confront his own limits, his choices and the consequences of those choices. This human dimension is what I find most interesting about him. It is not just the story of an undercover agent, but also the story of a man trying not to lose himself while living a life built on identities and secrets.”
The actor also adds: “I couldn’t figure Ian out right away. It was a process that began with the audition and continued throughout the five months of preparation before filming. I kept asking myself the same question: ‘What would it be like to live Ian’s life?’”
Ruxandra Ion, in turn, reveals: “Undercover Heart is the first project of mine in which the story is centered around a male character, so choosing the lead was essential. We needed an actor who could carry the action and suspense, but who could also reveal the vulnerability of the man behind the mission. Edi manages to bring all of these elements together, and he has a rare quality: he can convey emotion without saying a word. I was also very impressed by his discipline. Our filming schedule is extremely demanding, and for a lead actor, the work does not end after ten hours on set: at home, he has to read the upcoming episodes, learn his lines and, above all, remain connected to his character’s emotions. Edi does all of this with extraordinary dedication. I hope the audience will discover what we discovered as well: a wonderful person and an extremely talented actor!”
Director Federico Favino adds: “Working with Eduard is very interesting, and he often surprises me, especially because he also brings an international perspective, having trained in the American school. He is a very talented, dedicated actor who pays attention to every detail. As a director, this often puts me in the position of building a character together with him — a character who becomes more complex and more fascinating to watch with each passing day.”
Developed since spring 2025 and entering production at the beginning of 2026, the original series Undercover Heart will take viewers into a world of hidden identities, power games and secrets that change lives, all woven around a unique love story. At the heart of the action is an undercover agent who is given an extremely important mission. Following a devastating fire, he assumes a new identity and infiltrates one of the most influential and corrupt families in the real estate industry, with the aim of uncovering criminal connections, illegal activities, money laundering, high-level corruption and a possible connection to an international terrorist network. But his greatest challenge will not be the mission he has been tasked with completing. It will be love!
More details about the cast, storyline, characters and premiere of the series will be announced in the coming period.
