Let John Ford or Frank Capra free us from questioning the designs of the Academy, but the fact that an actress with the immeasurable talent of Inma Cuesta (Valencia, 1980) has not yet received the Goya is something to demonstrate. Perhaps on Madrid's Gran Vía, a place where everything comes together in that apotheosis titled All the Names of God, which hits theaters today, Friday. Directed by Daniel Calparsoro and with a Luis Tosar touched by the gods, Cuesta plays a commander of the Civil Guard whom jihadist terrorism places before the alternative of the devil.
We interviewed Inma at a very happy moment: she has been a mother for a few months and is breastfeeding her baby while we chat in an exercise of inevitable conciliation. Her other daughter, three years old, has already started sailing. “I thank you for the compliments but you never know: we think it is a great film, spectacular in every way. But this profession is full of surprises and unexpected turns, like in this movie, and no one has the formula. In any case, if it attracts nominations and awards, they will be very welcome.”
Inma plays Pilar Montero, officer of the Anti-Terrorist Unit of the Civil Guard; a woman of character and thanks to whose firmness, the plot changes course. But we will not fall into the spoiler. The actress says that a large part of the people we will see in the action are agents and not extras. That's why the final product is so believable.
“Pilar is in a man's world and must necessarily have the personality and character to face many situations. And leadership skills. I think I have them and besides, I like it. Come on, I'm also bossy, although as much as a commander (laughs). It is a world very far from us; We are not aware of everything that the security forces do and when you get closer it is impressive and very admirable. What I like most in this profession is learning, emotional enrichment and putting myself in situations that would never happen to you in your life. I have the feeling that we become more empathetic.”
Cuesta can be a tough commander of the Civil Guard in this film and a troubled biologist in Three Too Many Weddings, a single mother in Cousins, a woman beaten by life in Águila Roja, a deceived wife in The Accident or suffer from pure fear in El Páramo . Born in Valencia, raised in Andalusia and settled in Madrid, she is able to nail the Galician accent as if she were a native of Celanova (Ourense), where The Disorder You Leave takes place: “Apart from being an actress, I am a singer, I have a good ear and I have always liked to imitate accents for the sake of play. When they told me that I would play a Galician teacher, phew, I said to myself 'I don't know what this is going to be like'. I'm brave and I go for it, but if they give me a coach to help me, the better. And so it was,” she says, downplaying an interpretation far from cliché.
Six years ago Inma became a champion of naturalness when she protested her image on the cover of a Sunday newspaper: that Photoshop patina turned her into a person she is not. “At the time it was quite shocking perhaps because no one had said it so openly. But I think it was something latent and that it happened to many of us. In fact, when I started I already saw that in the photos they were refining my arm, retouching me here and there... I didn't like it and I said to myself, why are they doing this? And without asking permission? But of course, I was just starting out, no one says anything, it's always supposed to be done… Well, when I felt determined and strong enough to be able to say enough, I did it.”
The actress reflects that although her complaint may have inspired others, current technology pushes in the opposite direction: “Depending on how you look at it, things are worse because of the filters: it is horrible and a misleading trend that does no one a favor. . I find it terrifying. I have read that in some countries it is already mandatory, especially those who achieve a lot of influence, to warn that the photo or video has a filter.”
A very coherent reflection: Inma is genuine but also the epitome of discreet life. It was thanks to a speech of thanks for the City of Alicante award that we learned that she is in love with her: the actress enjoys a stable relationship with a journalist and screenwriter with whom she already has a three-year-old daughter. “I feel very respected both by the press and by the people who come to greet me. I think it is also something that she sows, that she limits by placing plots and saying how far you can enter. That is why we have seen photos of her pregnancy but not of the happy result. “Although there are people who share their family life, I live it differently and only share things about my work, reflections or causes to which I feel committed.”
We tried to overcome the barrier by asking her about the challenge of her recent motherhood: “The most difficult thing is the work-life balance and how being a mother affects your work, how you can function; As for the rest… I have no idea yet, it's too early.”
