Aitana Sánchez-Gijón and Pedro Casablanc are very aware that they are privileged. They are part of that 8% of actors who can live exclusively from their work. “I think it has to do with the fact that we are actors who do everything, film, television and especially theater, and for me theater has been a fundamental anchor that has allowed me a continuity that at times cinema has not given me. Theater is the fixed point in my life. Not only professional, I can also say that the best characters of my career in the last 15 years have been given to me by the theater without a doubt," reflects the actress, who is at the Pavón theater in Madrid performing The Mother until May 12. and then he will tour Spain. Pedro is on tour with the play Don Ramón María del Valle-Inclán, through Ramón Gómez de la Serna, which will take him to the Poliorama this coming April 17, his birthday.
The two have found time in their busy schedules to coincide on a project that they were both excited about. They have provided voices for two plays by Mario Vargas Llosa, One Thousand Nights and One Night and Odysseus and Penelope, for Audible, Amazon's audiobook service. In the midst of promotion, they talk via video call with La Vanguardia. Aitana connects from her house, at her work table in front of an extensive library that shows how good a reader she is as a Philology graduate. Pedro has just discovered that the background of her image can be blurred and chooses a space theme.
Listening to them speak it is evident that they appreciate, respect and admire each other. “I have Pedro so integrated into my being… We are like professional brothers,” she intones. Their relationship dates back more than 35 years when they met at an acting course.
Aitana, 55, and Pedro, 60, enjoy maturity both personally and professionally. “Over the years, I have gained peace of mind. I value the good things more and the bad things affect me less. And above all, I have gained knowledge. “I enjoy work more and more,” says the actor.
For her part, the actress confesses that she has always been very anxious and that theater produces fear and anguish in her. “Now I have managed to learn to live with that part of me that produces this vertigo, tolerate it, embrace it and live it like an engine.” And she assures that with age what she has gained is the capacity for risk. “I don't mind making mistakes, I need to set challenges that challenge me. In recent years I have made bets in that sense and I have had a very good time. Especially in theater, which is where they offer me many things different from what I am and I love that,” she details.
Both remember perfectly the moment they knew they wanted to dedicate themselves to acting. Aitana was 8 years old when her mother enrolled her in a theater workshop called Maria Galleta. “There I had the revelation about this world and I knew that I wanted to dedicate myself to this.”
Pedro remembers that he already had an end-of-year party at school. “At 15 years old he was already doing almost professional theater. My grandmother was a teacher and she had many books at home; She started me reading. All the fantasy that I read in books later I wanted to put into practice. I was always attracted to bad characters... So she dressed me up as Richelieu, and maybe that's why I had to play so many bad guys afterwards... So many 'dolents'...”, explains Pedro. Aitana praises her Catalan in the film Saben quell… “I already have a few roles, you have to see The Private Life of Silvia Munt,” he recommends. The actor, who studied Fine Arts and paints in his spare time, speaks several languages.
And if as actors they feel privileged, in their role as parents they are expectant. Aitana has two children, Teo, 22, who is making her way in music with his raps, and Bruna, 20, who is studying to be an actress. “It seems natural to me, for me it is the best job in the world, it gives me enormous emotion that Bruna is so passionate; We share everything, she tells me everything she does in class... But of course, she also worries me that she can't make a living from this job. She knows it... They are very aware that we are a very privileged group and that it is not normal. And they have to learn to manage the frustration that comes with the continuous 'no', of being hardened by tests, that you are not always going to get a character or a project that you love... Learn to deal with the reality of the job, which is a lot harder than people think,” he reflects.
Pedro, who is the father of three children – Candela, 25, Pedro, 20, and Unax, 13 – shares that concern. “They know that because we have always talked about it at home. It is a difficult profession, but if you manage to make a living from it or stay in it for a while, it is wonderful, there is no better one.” In their case, all three want to follow in their footsteps. “I have had Pedro as an actor in a short that I have made as a director, now he is preparing a casting for a film. My eldest daughter has studied at the Higher School of Dramatic Arts in Malaga, and the youngest is in high school but he is already aiming, has a representative and acted in the film I'm going to have a good time.
Although they don't stop working, they also have free time and hobbies to pursue. Pedro paints, swims, takes care of her garden, watches a lot of movies, reads... Aitana is very disciplined with sports, she is a great reader and goes to the theater a lot. “And she cultivates a lot of friendships, I take care of her and I like to be taken care of. “I have a very nice network of love around me.” And Peter finishes it off: “I attest.”
