“I needed a bit of the sea”, comments a relaxed María León. She is disconnecting near Alicante after a year accumulating filming without stopping. That of El hijo zurdo (Movistar) "in Seville, in the middle of a heat wave, was very hard," she recalls, but presenting the series at the Cannes International Series Festival "is like a cool bath." “It gave me a rush of joy, of respect, of a certain modesty…”, she points out.
After more than a decade in front of the cameras, the illusion of the beginning is intact. It is something of which Lola, her character, is scarce: “She is very western, when she put me in her skin it was like wearing a father's large jacket on top. She weighed me down, she made me move slower, with more load. She shared, yes, her serenity. I am quite the opposite, very effervescent, restless, with a lot of energy, I can't stop moving…”. Lola never smiles; Maria, on the other hand, has a contagious laugh: "Laughter is my salvation," she says.
We will see her a lot. In the comedy Mentiras pasajeros, the new series from El Deseo, the producer of Agustín and Pedro Almodóvar, with Elena Anaya and Hugo Silva, among others; in Girls' Night, a story of friendship and abuse, together with Leticia Dolera, and in Close Your Eyes, by Víctor Erice.
“Sometimes I imagine that I am abandoning my baby.” As an opening phrase, she shocks.
By saying it, Lola already presents her ignorance of her as a woman and as a mother. It's like abandoning herself, because her son makes her look like in a mirror. She begins the series abandoned, annulled, paralyzed. She is not. There is an absolute lack of communication between the characters.
Like María León... what would she say to Lola?
That she is brave, because she recognizes that she is not perfect, that she is wrong and decides to give herself a chance. Getting together and walking again is not done by everyone, only those with a strong soul.
At 38 years old, she has made a lot of fictional mothers…
There are many types of mother. Mine is very anarchist. What has always prevailed at home has been love and food, the rest was up to you. That has made it easier for me to interpret them. I have made mothers who have suffered a lot for their children, and I have done everything out of love. The mother concept leads me to love, from one place or another. All mothers, the wrong ones, the confused ones... They all have love, even if they don't show it.
How would it be defined?
I have character. I am very passionate, very emotional, very enjoyable… And yes, I laugh a lot and I like it. I try never to lose that joy. But I am very sorry for everything, what I enjoy and what I suffer. And I also like to cry when I have to cry.
What is your best asset in front of and behind the camera?
empathy. With the character, to understand and defend him, and with the team, because when filming they have to fit a thousand pieces so that what you are doing can be seen. In personal matters I also tend to do this, although I know that you cannot empathize with everyone.
He has just filmed Closing Your Eyes with Víctor Erice, who returns after a 30-year hiatus...
It has been a gift. He is a man of few words, who speaks very softly and is very clear about what he wants. An 82-year-old man who is not tired, but the passion, enthusiasm and love that he feels for the cinema. He creates from aesthetics and sees everything, the light, the actor... It's pure creativity. It is a shoot that I will never forget.
Does sorority prevail over the competition between actresses?
The competition is absurd. It limits, it makes you become something poor and concrete. We are all many things; We all have something incredible and each of us can bring it to a character in many ways. We dedicate ourselves to telling stories and, luckily, there are more and more characters in which you can get muddy, tell lives that are not heroines or supermodels... Neither the ages, nor stay only with the physical, with whether or not you have boobs. Nothing matters. Only that we have stories: so we will have work to tell them in front of and behind the camera. You shouldn't waste your life comparing yourself, we all have many things to contribute.
What is a luxury for you?
That with all the people who cross me for three hours smile. Today it seems that this is a luxury.
Session credits Photographer: Andrés García Luján (Mr Pérez Management). Stylist: Florence Reveillaud. Makeup/Hair: Noemí Nohales for @Diorbeauty. Production: Emma Monreal. Creative direction: Joana Bonet
