Adriana Barraza – Penny Dreadful: City of Angels

By starrymag | April 26, 2020

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) What are the recent projects that you have been working on?

A) I cannot be more thankful for the consistent work the last several years. Just recently I had the great pleasure of finishing the incredible first season of the new series “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels” on Showtime. Having worked with writer/creator John Logan and his team has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I also had the wonderful opportunity to work in Robert Rodriguez’s delightful new sci-fi action movie We Can Be Heroes. It will be released later this summer and I had the pleasure of playing Grandma Moreno, a very funny grandmother, with the amazing ability to be a superhero trainer. It’s a lovely film for the whole family, highlighting family values and teamwork. It was so nice to have had the experience of working with Robert and all of the talent young actors! I had so much fun on this project! I feel so lucky that I’m consistently working on such fascinating projects: From Maria Vega in “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels” to Grandma Moreno in We Can Be Heroes, both roles could not be more different. I always ask myself, could I have a better time doing anything else? Of course not! [smiles]

Q) Please tease us on what’s new and most exciting about the new season of “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels.”

A) My character Maria Vega is an amazing Mexican woman with an epic story, immense strength and is a loving mother capable of doing anything to protect her children. Maria is a woman who treads the supernatural world with great force. Our series is set in 1938 Los Angeles. It’s the story of a Mexican family, a mother and her four children, who become involved in several dark and dramatic storylines in the midst of a universal battle between La Santa Muerte and Magda, evil incarnated. The audience will have their souls on the edge of the abyss with our series; I can’t wait for everyone to see it.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the show?

A) When I received the invitation to read the script from John Logan, I was very pleasantly surprised and excited because I was already a fan not only of the original “Penny Dreadful,” but John’s play Red to name a few. All of his scripts are wonderful, so when I read “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels” and saw the complex layered character that is Maria Vega and created by John there was no question I had to be a part of the project. The dignified and faithful way in which the Mexican culture is portrayed and the extraordinary story not only of Maria but of all the well-developed characters is what really enchanted me! Later when John and I spoke and he told me how careful the treatment of the series would be, I did not hesitate to say yes. And when I knew that I would work with a cast of such excellent actors I was even more exited

Q) How was Maria Vega originally described to you?

A) She was described as a strong willed great Mexican woman with a special connection to the ancient supernatural world. She can communicate with la Santa Muerte and her environment through her nagual (ancient mythical guardian animal), which in Maria’s case is a coyote, her tutelary animal which is her alter ego and emblematizes her. You can imagine how fascinated I was.

Q) What did you find the most challenging about portraying Maria?

A) The language will always be a challenge as English is my second language. However, in any language the most challenging yet rewarding part in all my characters is the same: to be the most truthful in my interpretation so that the viewer can see in Maria’s soul and empathize with her and her successes plus relate to her and have compassion for her when she makes mistakes that sometimes can be very painful. The wonderful thing with this series was having such great directors and John’s deep critical eye to lead us to some extraordinary work.

Q) How familiar were you with your co-stars before sharing scenes with them?

A) Well, I’ve always been a fan of Nathan Lane’s work in his many movies over the years. I was so delighted to know that Natalie Dormer would be one of the protagonists of the series and I especially admire the work of Rory Kinnear. I have seen him in an array of amazing characters from Shakespeare plays, in “Black Mirror” and obviously “Penny Dreadful.” Adam Rodriguez had already played my “son” on “CSI: Miami,” so I knew it would be very pleasant to work with such a wonderful actor once again, but most importantly a beautiful person. Before starting “Penny Dreadful” I had the opportunity to see some of Daniel Zovatto’s work and had the chance to see what a wonderful young actor he is. The rest of my “children,” Johnathan Nieves and Jessica Garza, I got to know once on set and soon realized that they were a talented group of actors who always leave their heart on stage.

Q) Were you looking forward to working with anyone in particular and tell us about the experience?

A) Yes, I was very much looking forward to working with Rory Kinnear because, as I mentioned before, I was a big admirer of his work. And it’s exactly as I expected, I met an actor who is exceptionally emotionally connected and someone you could see eye to eye with and connect with him in a profound way. But, honestly, that’s how it was with all my fellow actors. This series has a great cast of deeply profound actors who all show it in their performances.

Q) This is such an intense season of “Penny Dreadful.” How did you shake off a long day of filming?

A) My acting method is completely formal, so when I hear “cut!” the character and his or her conflicts remain on the stage. Of course, our scenes were extremely well cared for so we would often film only one scene for a full working day, which was normally eight to ten hours in order to give it the quality that everyone watching the series will be able to see. But once I got home my usual routine would be to treat myself to a delicious dinner, studied for the next day, speak at great length with my husband in Miami and my daughter in Buenos Aires, watched a little television and that’s it. Discipline is of most importance to me.

Q) What can you tease were some of your favorite episodes that you filmed?

A) It’s hard to share something specific about some of my favorite episodes without a spoiler, but I can tell you that there were some episodes where even I felt scared while filming them. The mastery of our production along with the great storylines takes us, the actors, to very dark and heavy worlds. And my hope is that the audience will enjoy them as much as we did filming them.

Q) What do you think it is about this show that continues to make it so fascinating to the audience?

A) Speaking for myself as an audience lover of mystery movies, crime novels and horror, I can tell you what fascinates me about these topics and especially about “Penny Dreadful.” When I first saw an episode of the original “Penny Dreadful,” I was amazed at how it’s not only a story with characters from the dark world of terror, but the characters question themselves as human beings who are faced with evil and the choices they make. The complexity of the script shows us human beings with all their contradictions, which means that in addition to the rollercoaster of emotions they feel from terror, the audience can empathize and recognize themselves with the ethical problems each character faces. It is one of the most complete and complex series that I have ever seen and the same complete complexity is what you can expect with “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels.” When I personally talk about John Logan’s mastery it is because I firmly believe it and it’s exactly what I mean. And, of course, the quality of the production is brilliant and like no other.

Q) You’re an award-winning actress, but many people may not know you also direct. Do you have any plans to head back behind the camera in the near future?

A) Not in the foreseeable future in a professional platform. I only write and direct the short films of the students in my acting school, Adriana Barraza Acting Studio, but only for the internal work of the school. But you never know!

Q) You’ve been a part of a number of incredible projects. What have been some of your favorite pieces you’ve been a part of?

A) I’ve had the fortune to work not only in film and television but theater as well. The Adriana Barraza Acting Studio has a Black Box Theatre where I’ve had the opportunity to do various theatrical productions. One of my favorites is Eramos 4 (We Were Four), a delicious and profound tragic farce about four failed bad actors written and directed by one the directors of our school, Neher J. Briceno. In cinema, obviously Babel because it gave me the honor of being nominated for an OSCAR and the opportunity to work with amazing producers, directors and actors, both here and in Latino-America. And now in television “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels” has given me the greatest acting satisfaction. You never know what the result will be with audiences, but the work and the quality of the result was extremely gratifying for me. And I’m pretty sure audiences will feel the same way!

Q) You’re a part of social media. Why is it such an important way to connect with your fans?

A) Social media is imperative because it is the only way that we can communicate with family, fans and supporters and truly pay attention to what their thinking no matter where in the world they live. Especially now in this very difficult and painful global moment that we are all living in, networks and technology gives us the relief of being together without really being together.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of your work Adriana?

A) First of all, I humbly appreciate that they admire my work and I’m always so grateful for all of the beautiful demonstrations of support that I receive. I want to tell everyone that they CANNOT miss the incredible experience that they will have when watching “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels.” I would love to know their opinion about the series and about my work so please message me on my social media platforms and let me know your thoughts. I’ll be waiting to hear from them with all my heart.

 

 

Follow Adriana Barraza on Social Media:

FACEBOOK: @AdrianaBarrazaGonzalez

@AdrianaBarrazaActingStudio

INSTAGRAM: @adrianabarrazaoficial

TWITTER: @barrazaadriana