|
You have worked as a model and an actress
in Spain before moving to America, correct?
That's absolutely correct. I
used to earn some money posing in adverts and worked in all sorts of
productions in Spain. It was a blast, but it was also a bit difficult as there
weren't that many projects back when I was doing that!
What have been some of your films? You can
see me in Witching and Bitching by Alex de la Iglesia, PROXIMA by the great
Carlos Atanes, a professional and a friend, The Expanse of Heaven by my friend
Karlos Alaustrey, who's on a roll right now, Roca Bon: Searching the
Sublime also by Karlos Alaustrey, Cosmética Terror by Fernando Simarro
(which is now in post production) and The Lady of the Damned Forest,by
amazing!! director George Karja. I have also acted in incredibly professional
short films like Dust and Bullets by Pablo Lapastora Martin, along with a
great cast and crew. In California, you now are producing your
own things, correct? I am! I'm investing in an English producer's projects as
I love English talent but I'm also writing my own things with the help of my
amazing friend Gabriel García Mingorance, who has done nothing but support me
ever since I got here.
Have you seen any vast differences between
the industry in the USA and Spain? Oh, well... where can start... ever
since I came here, I've been working as in Spain I'd been doing nothing for
months... it's very difficut for actors to work in Spain right now... but
there is a big market for Spanish speaking and looking actors like
myself in Los Angeles... I have done so many auditions and I feel truly
blessed. The Spanish cinema was once known for
producing horror films. Is this now on the decline? I don't think so! Look at
my friend Sergio Morcillo, all about horror... He recently directed his film You're Gonna Die Tonight. My friend Roberto Lolo also directed and
produced Mi Osito de Peluche, another horror film... it's just
that the people are very young and need to be recognised, because there is a
lot of talent and new actors and directors and producers out there. Many of the
directors like De Ossorio,
Molina and the like have died. Are there any horror directors on the
current scene who might fill their shoes? Carlos Atanes is a good example and
I'll always be forever grateful that he chose me to do Princess Io in PROXIMA,
which is not horror but Spanish sci fi. Nevertheless, Carlos has done a lot of
horror.... You don't know how many young entrepreneurs are rising in order to
fill those shoes. And here too. I already did auditions for many horror films
and I'm still waiting for news! Wish me luck!! Where did you learn acting? I studied
audiovisual communication in Madrid while I acted as well. I was in the
Complutense University drama group where we learnt a lot. While I did that, I
also went to many auditions and got jobs. I did a master's degree in TV
persenting which involved a lot of drama. I worked with a great playwright
called Paul Adkin for five years. He taught me a lot about Grotowsky,
Meyerhold and Bertold Brecht. I also studied with Fernando Piernas and Marta
Rubio and now I'm studying here in Los Angeles. What made you decide to move to the USA?
My husband and I won the Green Card Lottery and as he works in the industry as
well, we both decided that our place to be would be Los Angeles... and so far
it's working out great for us... I have already worked in a couple of
productions and my husband is currently about to start working with a producer
as a special prop maker. He's very good. (Not that he's my husband!!) Do you have any web pages where people may
find out more about you and your projects? Of course!
http://www.beatrizurzaiz.com What are your future plans? I think we
should stay here for a year or so and see how our luck goes. As I said, I'm
also studying at the Anthony Meindl's Actor's Studio (AMAW) and I'm learning a
lot and I'd like to stay here in order to learn more from what Hollywood has
to offer. From your career, do you have any
interesting stories to share with the readers? I remember a very funny one...
we were right in the middle of The Lady of the Damned Forest production and we
were all driving to our location, a beautiful forest in the north of Madrid.
We went to a gas station to check the cars' gas and I went out of the car I
was in in order to go for a walk a breathe a bit. Suddenly, I turned around
and there was no one there!! They had all left and gone without me! I had a
laughing fit but didn't know what to do... thank goodness George Karja, the
director, realised and turned around and came for me... we were all laughing
so badly and still laugh so hard every time we remember... it just makes the
people closer, you know, things like these... also, I remember when we were
shooting PROXIMA with Atanes, we were in the Minas del Río Tinto, a beautiful
extraterrestial looking place in Huelva... there was a very dangerous place
where no one could go to but it was a perfect location for the film. There was
a sign that clearly said "STAY AWAY FROM HERE ESPECIALLY WITH RAIN"
and there went all the crew... and... yes... it rained... I though they were
all so brave! I have many fond memories of PROXIMA
as it was one of my first
features and I wasn't too experienced, but Carlos Atanes and the great crew
really made me feel at ease.
 |
What about modeling? Did you go to
modeling school? I didn't! I feel that modeling is very much intuition and I
guess that I'm full of it. It's just feeling good in front of the camera. And
that's something I feel somehow. Don't ask me why, but my dad was a very good
photographer and I always insisted on him taking pictures of me when I was a
little girl! My mother keeps those pictures with her in Spain! The are like a
treasure for her! Do you anticipate returning to Spain to
do more film work any time soon? I think we might stay in Los Angeles for a
while now... I mean, we've only been here for five months and that's
nothing... I've had to change my look in order to look more Spanish (there'
was a lot of work for people who looked like me here with my old look) as I
used to be ginger haired and looked quite American, but this producer called
Stefan Jacobs told me that it would be better for me to go to the latina
sector. So I'm letting my hair grow, I dyed it dark brown and got new
pictures. Of course, that took some time so until I got my new headshots, I
had to wait a bit and after that I started submitting to latina roles, where I
have my niche. It's only now that I'm working. Also, I'd like to produce some
animated material with some ideas I have in my mind and it will take time. My
friend Gabriel whom I mentioned above is going to help me too. Do you have anything you would like to
add in this interview?
 |
Feeling lucky?
Want to
search
any of my partnershops yourself
for more, better results?
(commissions earned) |
The links below
will take you
just there!!!
|
|
 |
I'm so grateful to this country who has given my
husband and I so much in such a little space of time... it is really an
amazing nation... I hope I can only repay and give it the love it has given
us. Closing comments? Thank you so much for
the interview! I hope that next time we do an interview I can tell you that
I'm working full time on my dreams!! Which is pretty much what I'm doing now
but my husband and I need to work more and at least be able to make a full
living out of this. I'd like to go SAG in order to make that happen, but
we still have plenty of time in front of us to see our dreams come true!! Thanks
for the interview!
|
amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
find Beatriz Urzaiz at adultvideouniverse.com
