So this film is, of course, based on a film which in itself is based on a book.
I just want to know when you get involved in a project
like this as reference points, do you go back and watch what's come
before and read books and stuff, or do you think it's more beneficial in a way
just to treat this as a new feature when there's a book?
I definitely think it's beneficial in my from my point of view to read it
because the novel contains the original like thought process of every character
and just the structure of the whole story and, and,
and the nuance of, you know, that world that that is created.
And and so it really enriches the back
work of, of, you know, studying the script and the character.
Definitely.
And in this case, the book is really, really well-written.
It's a great piece of literature in itself.
Yeah.
So when you first got this script in, what was it that made you think like, Yes,
I have to get involved in this?
Well, the first impression was the content of the scenes,
which would that I auditioned with were really like, intense and fun.
They seemed fun to play for an actor, you know,
because they were emotionally interesting.
So I was the first thing.
And of course, then I learned Tom
Hanks was attached to the project and I was like, I really hope I get this.
And yeah, because despite Otto's kind of grumpy demeanor and quite negative
outlook on life at times, your character always sees the good in him.
As an actress.
That must be
quite easier to access that emotion when you're dealing with Tom Hanks.
Yeah, well, in the beginning I was nervous,
you know, because you never know how you're going to react. But,
you know, when you're acting and if you're doing it for the character
and with in mind with the craft that you know and you've been doing,
it's actually easier to connect because everybody's trying.
Everybody's acting towards the same objective and trying to connect.
So and then doing it with Tom that he's just such a professional and knows
how to access to everything in one second and just put it out.
It was really beautiful, beautiful to be able to play off that
because what's he like as a collaborator?
Because I remember I interviewed him once and I walked into the room and he came to
the door, put his arm around me and walked me into the scenes.
I know it's only a small thing,
but he's everyone says he's like the nicest guy in Hollywood.
And every time you all something about him, everyone just says, Yeah, confirmed.
You know, he really is like he's
very conscious of the place that he has in.
He's an icon of our profession and he knows that's a global shared
feeling because we all grew up with his movies and he cherishes that.
He's I think he's grateful for the way people look at upon him.
And he gives back.
There's a correspondence.
So I think he does an effort to correspond always in
these acts of of closeness and generosity.
Mm hmm. Well, of course.
I mean, your character makes food for his character.
Yeah.
I just wondering, what would you cook in real life for your neighbor?
Perhaps? What would you say is your signature dish?
Well, I'm actually vegetarian and in life,
so I would share something vegetarian, you know, like a, uh.
I don't know, like, you know, I eat very I eat very simple.
I mean, I'm like, no, I'm steamed vegetables.
I'm not too.
But in Mexico, the food is such
an expression of its
cultural complexity.
The complexity that there's just it's delicious.
So to share, Pollo en Mole , I would love you know, that's something beautiful
because it's just a great taste.
And you can eat it in a taco.
You can. It'd heat it up and it's good.
Still good.
You know, it's a very malleable and and
and good as Mole the woman chocolate in it. Yes.
Yeah it's got like 30 something ingredients so one of them is
chocolates peanuts, chilies very you know it's really interesting dish
and are you friendly with like your neighbors
because I mean I've lived
I've lived for years and I don't think I've ever spoken to,
you know, if that's an English thing, we're quite bad sometimes in England.
I'll call you if your neighbors.
I'm actually pretty good now because we even have a chat.
I live in an enclosed area and we have a chat
and we kind of civilly discuss what we need to.
But of course I've had both experiences.
The bad neighbors that,
you know,
turn off the music, turn on the music
without thinking that anybody lives around them.
And then I've had lovely twice, you know, and one time, this is terrible.
I've never but I got not mugged, but I got kind of
chased, you know, I got robbed basically,
and that the people left me in the streets and they said, go back to your home,
you know, And I a taxi cab was like, Come on, don't pay me, I'll take you home.
And when I got home, one of my neighbors to a married couple told me what happened.
They got me in the van and we talked and they soothe me.
So I have like two or three experiences, beautiful experiences with neighbors.
They said that neighbors are deserving of a note.
I think they sound like they're deserving of a Mole.
I see.
I think so.
I was going to say,
because I love the driving lesson scenes in this as well,
because I can't drive, I'm going to learn quite slow.
So I wonder because I thought I'm going to be really bad.
Can you drive?
And if you can, if you got any advice to someone.
Yeah, I was I, I was late.
I started driving like, really late in life too,
because I just moved around and I was afraid of being bad.
But guess what? I wasn't as bad as I thought.
And once you learn, you lose fear of it. So
it's a good thing to do because it's nice.
It gives you a freedom too.
But also if you live in a city that you don't need to drive, it's also,
you know, just a it's a big hassle to have a car to
because I saw this film.
I said it's obviously one of those movies that has such a kind of nice
feeling to it.
And I just and I think it's one that films are quite
sort of quite uplifting, quite life affirming, and obviously you're
as an actress, you want to just house of good stories
and your gender and the choices you make are based on really great stories.
But is it nice sometimes to make something that's putting positivity
out into the world of things?
So yeah, yeah, I think so.
Because we are living in tough times
or every society is having troubles, you know, the
we feel more isolated.
Just what happened in
the pandemic is still going on, but it has been happening for some time.
You know, nuclear families are broken down.
People are more hesitant to talk to other people.
So it's good it's good to remind ourselves that we are human,
that we connect through love, and that we can connect with anyone
because we may we have the same essence and we all have that capacity
to feel fear and love and that
we need other people in our lives to help,
to love ourselves and loving other people advances us in life as well.
So so I think it's good.
It's a good thing to remind ourselves because it seems something obvious,
but we forget it.
We go living as if it's not like that.
So and I was thinking about
just going back to Tom Hanks because obviously he's like the kind of
the one actor that in America, I guess you could make a national treasure.
So everyone sort of loves like models and
they met like most things about like sort of British awkwardness.
I was wondering, is there like a mexican Tom Hanks?
Is there someone in Mexico that's got that same stature that everyone just loves?
And well, there's
an actress,
a Ofelia
that we love.
She's been acting forever.
And Ofelia and everybody
who works with her has the grace of working with her in that short films.
And she does everything.
She's a really big star, but she does small roles in student films,
big roles in TV, in cinema, and she's just loved by everyone.
And she's charming. English one.
I mean, there's Stephen Fry
You had a Stephen Fry. We all just love him.
Oh, yeah.
He's a kind of not quite the Tom Hanks equivalent,
but he's someone that we yes, that every society has the icons of.
And just very finally, you mention obviously,
It's been a very busy year for you this year wondering about kind of
does it feel like quite an exciting time for you in your career?
It does.
Of course it does.
This this really is an amazing opportunity.
It just feels like a life changer inside.
I don't know if career wise it will.
Hopefully it will.
But if it doesn't, just the experience of having done it
and having been able to work in such a just loving, crews and cast,
do you just take those things?
Those are your gifts, you know, internally as an actor.
Yeah. Thank you so much. Thanks so much.