Úrsula Corberó eats the camera, devours the screen (and will almost not bite you, dear reader, dear reader) with her performance in El cuerpo en llamas, a series that Netflix premieres and in which she plays Rosa Peral, the urban police officer who is the protagonist of a gruesome crime full of jealousy, sex and lies.
She is the girl who rose to popularity in Physics and Chemistry, who traveled to the stratosphere and almost settled there starring in (and narrating) the famous La casa de papel, and who now enchants with a multifaceted performance in this installment of eight episodes directed by Jorge Torregrosa.
The actress from Sant Pere de Vilamajor, 34 years old, appears on the other side of the screen a little confused by the jet lag, which passes quickly with the first questions. She naturally breaks down her efforts and achievements, the good things about finishing a job, the sadness of saying goodbye to the people on the set. Starting from scratch.
She is smiling and thoughtful. She is self-critical and theorizes about her job, fortune, the need to try impossible things and, inevitably, she talks (because she is asked) about her political father, none other than Ricardo Darín. “He is my father-in-law, I love him and he is already there, I admire him, but I can't see him only as an actor.”
After watching the series in one sitting, it's hard not to dream about his character. There is a lot of darkness, but you give it more records than a chameleon. How have you done it?
It's nice what you say... it's curious too. As an actress, one of my biggest challenges was facing something very juicy like embodying a character like that and that encouraged me to embark on the adventure. Yes, she is like a chameleon and depending on the relationship she has she behaves in one way or another. There is the idea that you believe that a character always has to behave the same. Here, that was one of my biggest fears.
In what sense?
When I saw the first episodes I didn't see this continuous change of register as positive. And they told me that it was just the opposite, that it was good. I would say that I didn't control it at all. In fact, this is one of the projects in which I have been most carried away by my gut and intuition.
It was hard?
It was an exercise of letting go, of doing what I felt at every moment because I saw that it was going in my favor, I also noticed that it was the essence of the character. This woman does what comes out of her gut. She didn't want to be tied down, especially in those scenes in which I told myself: "I'm doing something really crazy, I don't know if it's going to work or not, it could turn out very well or fatally." I like that this exercise in chameleonism is appreciated.
In terms of addiction, how much does it cost to get into a role like that and how much does it cost to leave it?
(Prolonged silence). There is mourning, but getting away from the character is easy, finish the project and that's it. It's harder for me to say goodbye to people on set. I did a lot of prior work, but until you're filming you don't find its truth no matter how much you prepare it.
When do you hit the right button?
At first it is always difficult for me to get into the character and even more so if it is new. Until you explore it, you don't have it. I have done more series than movies and that helps you experience more. At the beginning I was already aware of the convoluted psychology of the character. It was difficult for me to get in. Having so many parallel lives open at the same time was complicated…
When you see yourself on the screen, are you scared, are you amazed?
Nooo. It helps me to see myself. There are actors who don't want to go through that drink, but for me it is part of the process. At this point I am quite objective. Seeing yourself is hard, but I have learned not to be mean to myself and accept myself.
It is a first step, or a few…
Sometimes the actor can also do very detailed work and then in the editing... everything you wanted to express does not come out and it can leave you in a very vulnerable position. You have to adapt and know that not everything depends on you nor can you control everything.
What room for improvisation do you have in a series like this? And in life?
In the series little, in life everything has to be written. It's funny that you ask me about improvisation because (director) Jorge Torregrosa is filming and almost editing at the same time. He is very clear about what he has to do. Sometimes I wanted to do things that came from my soul and he told me “trust, trust.” Sometimes I need to try things that are not within my reach, escape the margins. It rarely happened to me that I had that freedom, but when I saw the result I ate my words because it worked.
A few days ago, Luis Zahera gave us two phrases to frame. One, “the ego is the devil” and the other: “This profession is a Martian, you depend on chance.”
He's right, it's a Martianada that I think is beautiful, that gives you the opportunity to break with everything and at the same time work hard. I believe that one phrase is linked to the other phrase of the ego. You have to purge yourself, the actor's work is extreme. In my case, for example, after La Casa de Papel I went to Belfast for three months to shoot a film with people who didn't speak Spanish, one was from Korea, another from the United States. It is very intense work. The challenges to adapt are decisive. You cry when you say goodbye to them and then you forget them, because you can't grieve for every series or film you make. Is very crazy. This profession is testing you all the time..
The Burning Body begins with the image of a roller coaster. Is it difficult not to live-act in that ups and downs?
I enjoy both situations. I love premieres, photocalls and the red carpet because they are like a game. There are people who tell me “how do you like it!” And I tell them that yes, I wouldn't enjoy being so silly if I didn't come home afterwards, put on my pajamas, put my bun in a bad bun (she touches her hair, she's wearing a relatively bad bun) and lie down on the couch.
The one by the other.
If I was on the red carpet all the time, then there would be pressure, it would be forced. It's funny: one day you're with all the flashes and today you're dead tired without wanting to get out of bed.
You are discreet, is it difficult?
You think I am. I don't know, objectivity eludes me...
It is still a matter of humility.
If I say that I am humble it would take away all my humility (laughs).
When you do blood tests, do you still get traces of your unforgettable character Tokio from Money Heist?
All the characters leave you something, they permeate you and mark you. They were four years of work, it was all very intense and effervescent.
There must still be people who stop it in the street and call it Tokyo...
Do you know that not anymore? They no longer call me Tokyo on the street and that makes me happy, because they know the actress beyond the character, that for me is an achievement.
At a given moment, the interview has a break, an paragraph. (The zoom date starts late and the actress is running out of time. So she pauses briefly to send a message on the phone that, as she writes, sings: “Amore, I'm 10 minutes late.” The message is actually for your personal trainer not for true love.
His partner is Chino Darín and his father-in-law Ricardo Darín…what are those meals like? What is it talking about?
Everything, nothing, like in any other family. I am very lucky to get along very well with my family and in-laws, they give me good advice and best of all, they also accept good advice. In that sense, there is a very balanced relationship. Of course there are many people who ask me what Ricardo Darín is like. And I tell them that he is my father-in-law, that I love him and that's it, I admire him, but I can't just see him as an actor.
Antonio Banderas said a bit the same thing when asked what it meant to be Tippi Heddren's son-in-law.
Yes, it is the same. He is my father-in-law.
He is 34 years old. In this oscillating profession, and as a metaphor, we propose a beach: look at the shore where you get your feet wet or point to the horizon?
Wow, how poetic. (Silence) I have quite a phobia of water (laughs). I look at the horizon, I think about what is there, what awaits me. I'm a person who has a lot of problems with bugs, with the sea... so the action superheroine goes to hell. I am Catalan, I grew up on the Costa Brava, but there was a moment when I went into the sea and I don't know...
The other day in Asteroid City, when Scarlett Johansson comes out, just close your eyes, her voice is almost everything. In El cuerpo en llamas, with you, something similar happens. Her voice is powerful, she is the narrator of La casa de Papel, in case anyone forgot.
Well we agree. What I like perhaps the most about myself as an actress is the voice. I notice that there has been a change and an evolution. I am very sensitive to adapt my voice to each situation. I have been profiling it over the years.
We agree then.
False modesty must be put aside. One always has to be aware of her strengths and those who are less so.
One of the star images of the series is you with that turtleneck sweater…
Ah, well if I bought it, it's mine!
