Forget Sammy - See Kirsten

Local Commercial Personality To Star In Movie

By: Stephen Ortiz

Posted: 2/29/08

Kirsten Babich.

While her name may not be familiar, most probably know what she looks like. And most probably see her every day and don't even realize it.

From her bright, blond hair to her smile that stretches from ear to ear, Babich's glowing image graces television sets across campus daily. But she goes by a different moniker to UConn students - she's the "See Sammy Girl." She is the spokes girl for Nissan of Norwich, a local car dealership.

Babich is, like most college students, in that she enjoys shopping, eating out and traveling. She's a student at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island pursuing a degree in early childhood education with a minor in special education, is an avid member of the Special Olympics Organization and is on the school's dance team.

Growing up, she aspired to be like her older sister Cara, participating in her town's local summer theater productions at seven years old.

"My older sister always did theater and it looked like so much fun, so as soon as I met the age limit I wanted to tag along with her," Babich said. "I continued to participate in productions for my school and the community theater, culminating in playing the leading role in a statewide touring production of Hans Christen Andersen's The Little Mermaid. During the summer of '05, I was offered my first big screen role and have been expanding my resume with film and television credits since."

Most may be wondering, "What big screen role?" Why, her role in "The American Poop Movie" of course.

Originally titled "The Connecticut Poop Movie," "The American Poop Movie" is a comedy that follows the story of a college graduate named Russ who's going nowhere in life and needs to decide between leaving town or staying put. While that's fine and all, the first billed name on the imdb.com listing isn't Russ - it's Babich as Attractive Girl #1.

"I worked as a team with my partners in crime, Attractive Girls #2 and #3, and our purpose in the film was to be the oh-so-tempting jailbait," Babich said. "We lure the lead characters, who are college grads mind you, to a high school woods party. You can imagine that things got a little out of hand."

"The American Poop Movie," which was produced by California-based Road Dog Pictures, was filmed on location in Connecticut. Babich described it as "one of the funniest movies" she's ever seen, and that it will "definitely be a cult college-humor classic - very American Pie meets Animal House."

So there's more to Babich then meets the Nissan of Norwich ads, that's for sure. But what's the deal with this mysterious Charlie and his angel?

Sami Syed, the man Babich tells viewers to see in the "See Sammy" ads, is the general manager of Nissan of Norwich, the largest dealership in southeast Connecticut. Who's responsible for that? You guessed it.

"Our business has quadrupled since this ad campaign has started," Syed said. "She's done very well for us and this campaign. She is a very nice girl and she comes from a very good upbringing."

Syed then added jokingly, "The No. 1 catchy thing about those ads is her voice. Some people say her voice is so annoying that they have to come down just to try to meet her. She's all over Google chat rooms and people want to know who she is, and if they see her out at a bar, they want to buy her a drink."

Babich submitted her headshot and resume for a different audition, but the casting agency liked her look and decided that they would try her in a car ad.

"I shot one commercial the night before Christmas Eve and by New Years I was booked to shoot about eight more!," Babich said.

When asked if she ever gets recognized, she replied, "All the time! It was quite a shock to me at first, because the ads don't air here in Rhode Island where I am at school. It was such a weird experience to come home and be out to dinner with my family and have people come up and recognize me."

With one movie and a handful of commercials under her belt, Babich has plenty to look forward to in the future. On Tuesday, she was in Boston shooting the pilot episode of a new cooking show that will be pitched to a few stations, and she just recently filmed another television commercial for The Riverview, a banquet facility opening in Simsbury that should be airing in shortly.

Despite the challenges that a career in acting is known for, Babich seems to always wear her cheery disposition on her sleeve.

"I want to be the kind of actress that doesn't have to wait tables in order to pay the bills," she said. "Seriously though, I consider myself lucky to have as much success as I've had so far and hope that I can continue to flourish in this business. It's so fun at this point in my career, because I never know what's around the corner. If you asked me a month ago if I'd be working on a cooking show, I would never have believed you and neither would anyone who's ever eaten a meal I've made! New things pop up every day and it really keeps my life so interesting and exciting."

Contact Stephen Ortiz at Stephen.Ortiz@UConn.edu