Daniela Melgoza – Richard III

Q.  What are some of the recent projects that you’ve been working on?

A.  Well, we just wrapped Frank and Richard III is in post production.  They are both feature length film and Frank is about a dog.  It’s actually about a big, floppy and mangy dog that comes into a family and pretty much changes their lives.  It’s a really, really sweet story and Richard III is basically about the play.  But, it’s set in modern day so it’s going to be really cool to watch because it’s set in modern day L.A.  We actually did film here in LA and it’s about two aristocratic families; the Yorks and the Lancasters.  They are basically duking it out for power over the city of L.A. 

Q.  What can you tell us about your Richard III character?

A.  My character is Princess Elizabeth, I’m the daughter of the Queen.  Basically, I’m plotting to help the family get revenge on the Lancasters.  I am not going to give away the end, because it’s slightly different then what happens in the play.  Let’s just say, what I do, is really scandalous!  I help out my family in one of the most sacrificial ways and that’s the way it goes down in these families.  They will do anything to gain revenge and get even.  They will sacrifice anything for their families to get ahead.  It’s very well thought out and calculated and with the help of my mother we plot and scheme.

Q.  How was getting to work with director Scott Anderson on the film?

A.  Scott was wonderful!  He wrote, directed and starred in the film.  So, he’s a very smart and hard-working man.  He’s very hard-working, you have to be when you’re doing all three roles.  He really did help me take the Princess character to other levels I have never seen before in other versions ofRichard III.  It was a really, really great privilege to work with him in that sense because he helped me take the Princess to those levels.  Which, have never really been portrayed that way in either versions of the films. 

Q.  What about the role was challenging for you?

A.  I think the most challenging thing about being the Princess was that I was in a lot of scenes.  A lot of the scenes I was in were heavy and loaded.  A lot of times I only had a few words to say and those words needed to come across as every bit as powerful and emotional as anybody else’s because they were so loaded.  But, I didn’t have all of these wordy monologues or anything like that.  It was just my presence alone that had to be powerful.  I think that was the most challenging part, to have those intentions, expressions, and the face and the eyes.  Really portray that without many words.

Q.  What made you want to be a part of the movieFrank?

A.  First of all, I absolutely loved the script.  It was the sweetest, most wonderful script I had read in a long, long time.  The director is up and coming and he’s been directing a lot of cool stuff.  I really wanted to work with him and being a dog lover myself, I wanted to work a dog too.  Because, I had never really done that.  I own dogs but I had never worked with an actor dog and it was the most wonderfully funny, different experience for me.  We filmed up in Spokane, Washington, which is this beautiful state that you would never even think of.  Who goes up to Washington?  Nobody really.  It was a wonderful place and the film I think will do really well with families.  It’s a feel-good script, I absolutely loved it! 

Q.  Do you have a memorable moment from shooting the film?

A.  The dog they used kept slobbering on me, the type of dog they used are slobbery and heavy.  They slam into you, they don’t mean it, but they’re big, slobbery and messy.  Every time we’d do a scene he’d keep bumping into my leg and I was wearing black pants.  He kept slobbering these white marks on my pants and it was driving the wardrobe girl crazy.  She kept going up to me and wiping them off and my pants were soaking wet by the end of the scene.  She was like, “Oh my God, I hope this doesn’t show up in the film!”  Every time I’d be walking I’d have white marks on my pants and no one could understand why. 

Q.  Why should viewers take the time to check out the movies?

A.  You definitely should, you should take the time to check out both.  Richard III should be coming out very soon, it’s in post right now.  Well, first of all Richard III is going to be really cool.  There are a lot of Shakespeare lovers out there, already up on IMDB there have been a lot of people talking about the film.  People wanting to know when it’s coming out and how it’s going to look.  There have been so many different versions done but I think this one is going to be the coolest one.  It’s set in modern day, it has not been done that way.  Anything that is set in modern day can really be seen by anybody.  It has modern day characters, it’s got modern day actors.  The coolest thing aboutRichard III, is that even though we’re all wearing Versace and different designer clothing, we all wear swords.  We all wear swords and I get to wear a little tiara at the end.  Frank, I met the guy who did the music and it’s going to be excellent too.  I got to see some dailies, which I wasn’t supposed to do, but I kind of snuck in there and it looks really nice.

Q.  What is it about acting that makes you so passionate about it?

A.  I love acting, the one thing I love about acting is that your imagination can pretty much take you anywhere.  That’s the thing, it’s the ultimate escape, in all aspects.  It’s also really a luxury to be an actor, to say that you’re an actor and making a living off of it.  There are so many professions in this world that one can be doing.  But, to say that you’re an actor and that you’re making a living and getting a paycheck, it’s a privilege and I don’t take it lightly.  It makes me very thankful for it and I keep working hard at it.  I believe you do have to work hard at it, you can’t just turn into a great actor without working at it.  It does take work even though it’s a luxury, even though it’s a privilege, it takes work to be an actor.  I do it everyday, I go to school, I go to Stella Adler.  I’m there for the two year conservatory and I take time off when I have to go to work.  But, I’m always there learning away!