Doris Morgado – Logan

By starrymag | January 31, 2017

By: Kelly Kearney

Q) You play Maria in the new film Logan, which is part of the Wolverine trilogy. Can you tell the readers a little bit about the film and your role in it?

Doris: The film will be something the fans are really going to love. It’s character driven so I think this will be different than what we have seen before. James Mangold did such an amazing job and I really think this will be one of those trilogies that goes down in history as one of the best of all time.

Q) How were you approached about the film and what was your audition process like?

Doris: Well, the audition process was very interesting because before you really see anything there is a lot of paper work to fill out and nothing is talked about during the audition process. I think it’s great because now it’s so easy for people to get the information out there, through posting, and it really ruins it for everyone. That’s the start of it and you have to get all that information to your agent and like if your sending in a tape, even the people who put you on tape have to make sure they signed the waivers to make sure nothing gets exposed.

Q) What was it about the role of Maria that drew you to the film?

Doris: Well, growing up I had two older brothers and they were huge Marvel comics and “X-Men” fans. I remember they collected the figurines and the comic books and trading cards and I wanted to be a part of their world. I wanted to hang out with them and be the cool little sister. That’s how I became a fan of Marvel comics. When this opportunity came to me, it was an obvious no-brainer. As a child, I looked at these comic books and use to pretend I was Storm and would fight with them so to be a part of this world is something that the geek in me thought “of course I want to be a part of this!”

Q) Did you have to do any stunt work or prep work for the role of Maria?

Doris: There was quite a bit of preparation for the film. As you can see from the trailer its action packed. I won’t get into anything about what I had to do because I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone, but I will say there are a lot of great stunt guys who have been doing this for years and the action will be good and the fans will love it.

Q) Logan has a star-studded cast with Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Stephen Merchant. What did you take from working with these A-list actors?

Doris: I think it was the simplicity of their work. I think it’s always fascinating because as an actor, when you come on to a new set, you as actors have to sit around a long time in between takes and I think sometimes we tend to complicate things or maybe get a little stressed out from the excitement of being a part of something so great. I think the simplicity and the ability to work together as a unit. Everything was like a well-oiled machine. So, taking that to other films that feeling of not over complicating things, but just being in that present moment and just living that life without over thinking things. I don’t know if they dealt with that, but just watching them with that confidence, security and being like “this is what it is.” So, if they were overthinking things, they definitely never showed it. I think that’s a good thing to take with me. The simplicity and not over thinking things.

Q) Were there any memorable or fun stories from the set you can share with our readers?

Doris: Hmmmm…I wouldn’t want to get Wolverine upset at me for telling all those stories. Once the movie comes out, he will allow me to talk about those things because there were some fun moments, especially with myself but those claws are sharp! They might be retractable but they are painful and I don’t want to upset him.

Q) What is it about Logan that stands out from the rest of the X-Men and Wolverine franchise films that will make fans want to see it?

Doris: I think one of the biggest things is the movie is rated R so that in and of itself will be huge. I think that will be the biggest thing and the reason for that is the gravitas that the movie is going to bring. Like I mentioned before, it does have a very character driven storyline so that’s going to be the most authentic and unfiltered portrayal of Wolverine as a character. I think that’s going to be something that will really speak to the fans. It’s going to have a strong emotional core as well so that will be huge with the fans. Obviously, Hugh Jackman is coming back as Wolverine and Patrick Stewart is returning as Charles Xavier. So, that is always fun when you have these actors who you’ve fallen in love with come back as these characters.

Q) You’ve had the privilege of working alongside some of Hollywood’s most iconic actors such as Denzel Washington and John Travolta. Is there anyone you dream of working with that you haven’t had the opportunity to yet?

Doris: Yes, Will Smith. I love his work. Also, Vin Diesel or Jason Statham because I love action films and these strong kick ass roles. They are so good in that genre that’s one of my goals to have a kick ass action role alongside one of them. Will Smith is an amazing actor in everything he does. I also love Angelina Jolie. I love her strength that she brings to any role that she does. That great combination of strength and vulnerability she has that I’d just love to work with her or be directed by her.

Q) Do you have any advice for young people who might be thinking of getting into the television and film business? Anything you wish someone might have told you before you started out?

Doris: Yeah, my first acting coach gave me this great advice that I still try to follow to this day that is if you’re not on set you need to be in an acting class. This is something that I found has really helped me because a lot of working actors will be on set for thirteen to sixteen hours a day, six days a week so they are able to work on their craft and be directed. If you’re not on set and you are just waiting for an opportunity to present itself, when it happens and you are going up against another actor who has the ability to practice their craft regularly, who do you think will be the one who’s more comfortable and on point in their audition or performance? When he mentioned this, he compared it to Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. They’re the best of the best, but that didn’t stop them from not showing up to practice every day and practicing hard and with everything they had because practice makes perfect. So, that always stuck with me. If I’m not on set or on hiatus or the season is slow, I make it a point to work with other actors because I want to stay sharp and on point so when these opportunities do come I can handle them and be prepared. The second thing I’d say is to find a good community where you can grow as an actor and as a person. Art is just a mirror of life and if you close yourself off from experiencing it, you stop growing as a person and as an actor.

Q) You’ve done both film and television, do you prefer one over the other and why?

Doris: If I had to choose one over the other I’d choose film. I grew up watching films because my dad was a huge movie fan. My parents are divorced so every weekend my dad had us we would go to Pizza Hut for pizza, go to the arcade and play the X-Men games and then go to the movies. That was our thing. Sometimes we would watch two movies a day. I just loved the fantasy and action world of films, even though there are a lot of television shows with those action and fantasy elements to them. Growing up the experience of the theater was such a love of mine. I’d say that would be my favorite… of course I would not turn down a television series ever. I’m just throwing that out there!

Q) Like most people in your business, you use social media, specifically Twitter. Do you enjoy the instant fan feedback on your work? What are some of the upsides as well as downsides of using social media in your line of work?

Doris: I enjoy the social media aspects of my job. I like to meet new people and talk to them about what I’m doing. I always think it’s great, especially when people are inspirational to me or when they get inspired by me. When people tell me thanks and they cheer me on while I chase my dreams and I see them chasing their dreams it’s very inspiring. I think the downside is not being able to communicate with people as much as I would like to. Sometimes you get those private messages piling up and you want to respond because in my head I am thinking, “I should respond to them because they said ‘Hi’ and I should say hi back.” But it does get away from me. I’m either on set or in acting class or at the gym or working on my business so I want to invest in that [social media]. I also know that I have to work and it can get consuming once you respond to people because the next thing you know, it’s been an hour and you’re still on your phone answering people. Like wow, it is nonstop and you need to find time to put down the phone and go take care of your business. So, while it can be a problem it’s kind of a good problem to have in my line of work.

Q) When you’re not preparing for action films like Logan what do you do in your free time?

Doris: In my free time, I love to work out so when I am not on set you can find me at the gym. I try to get six days a week in if I have time or I also do some running. To me it is such a stress reliever to do that physical work out. Then, I also work with different organizations and volunteering with talking to at risk youths in Las Vegas. I have a friend who is a teacher out there so these are things I find inspiring and I try to give a little something back. I’m starting my own side business, like this entrepreneurship, just so I can always keep those creative juices flowing. I work with Rescue Train, which is a dog rescue and they raise funds to help other organizations locally in and around California. They do anything from working with pit bulls, rescues, sanctuaries for farm animals and larger animals, too. It’s a cool organization because they raise money for so many organizations. They do a yearly 5K run and even do a little doggie runway modeling for all the pets that are up for adoption.

Q) What’s something the fans would be surprised to know about you?

Doris: In love scaring my siblings a lot…probably too much now that I think of it. I have been doing this for as long as I can remember and every time we go down to Miami to visit family for the holidays you will always find me in the closet or under the bed or god knows where just to scare them because I think it’s the funniest thing to see their faces when they get scared. I don’t share that a lot because then people anticipate that I am going to scare them an it takes the fun out of it.

Q) All actors/actresses have their dream roles. Who is your dream role and why?

Doris: My dream role is some type of sci-fi action thriller. That is such a great combination of my go to movies. Maybe something in outer space or magical powers and at the same time being very kick ass and action driven. Something about space has always fascinated me. The whole traveling across galaxies with cool weapons you only see 3,000 years from now – that would be so cool. The action aspect I love because it’s a combination of me having done sports and having older brothers who pulled WWE moves on me growing up where I constantly had to fend them off. Now, I think I need to kick someone’s butt in a film and I’m ready!

Q) Do you have any upcoming projects that the fans should watch out for?

Doris: Yes, I have a couple actually. One will be coming out at the end of January, that is a web series called “Trouble Creek” and its directed and written by Stacey Black. She’ has directed for “Major Crimes” and “NCIS: New Orleans.” Her script was just amazing. It’s a horror/thriller type of script and I think the fans will really love it. There is a movie I stared in and helped produce called Misguided Savior and that’s going to be coming out soon. That film deals with gun violence with kids in school so that was something that really spoke to me with all the school violence we see. I have The Choir Director, which is based on a trilogy by bestselling author Carl Weber and he has a huge following and they made them into movies. In the summer, I’ll be working on Legacy of Spies and that will be out next year sometime.