Malena Alterio. Buenos Aires, 1974. Actress. There are roles that are so successful they can become a burden, but Belen D no one lives here Don’t stop your career. Adverse. in cinemas now mirror mirror.
- What do you see in the mirror when you look at yourself?
- It depends on the day, hour, night that has passed… I see many Malena, as in the movie, which is how we speak of the complexity of the polyhedral. I don’t have a consistent and clear line of thought, but I am in constant discussions with myself and I think we are all like that. There are times when I can’t stand it and the phases of falling in love with myself… However, in my case, this rarely happens (laughs).
- False modesty in the first answer?
- No, no, I’m serious. Sometimes it happens to me that I say: “Well, hey, look how beautiful I look, how nice, I love you so much, Malena”. And other days, most of all, when I can’t stand myself and if I can neither speak nor see myself, all the better.
- Do you like yourself when you see yourself on screen?
- no no no. never. I tolerate myself, but after a while and when a long time passes. With the first thoughts of my work I want to leave the country on an island where no one knows me. I feel like a cheater and I don’t like it. Over time, I’ve come to accept myself a little bit, and the second I see a job I’m like, “Well, it’s not even that terrible.” And now, when the years have passed, suddenly I look at it again and think: “Hey, well, I’m not that bad.”
- It’s very difficult to find actors who like you.
- Do you know what I think happens? When you go to see a film for the first time there is some expectation from it because you know the text, the script, you have lived the shoot… you have created a parallel film in your mind and when you see the end result, it is always you What you see is very different from what you see. What you had in mind and there are some things you would have done differently. It is a curious feeling. In this profession we…
- You are the daughter and younger sister of actors, you knew what you were facing…
- Yes, but the thing is I didn’t know what this profession is: the complexity, how hard it is, the troubles that sometimes come your way… My father didn’t show anything like that at home and I did it Don’t show from outside. I find it very complicated. Moreover, I did not decide to become an actress at once, it happened gradually. I signed up for Christina Rota’s school because Ernesto also signed up and I wasn’t doing very well in my studies, so it seemed like an extracurricular activity that inspired me. But, all of a sudden, they started giving me papers, I had made my career and now I had to devote myself to it. I’m not complaining, I’ve been very lucky. I am doing well and moreover, slowly. Fame didn’t fall suddenly, when I started no one lives here I had already traveled a bit. So I feel it is given to me in a nice and easy way without any big stops.
- Your father told me that he tried in every way that you are not an actor, but you paid no attention to him.
- I didn’t actively try, but I wanted it hard. He said: “Oh, please, let them have a normal career and become a doctor or a lawyer.” So at first he was not very happy that we were following in his footsteps, but now I think he is happy with the path that Ernesto and I have followed. It gives me great pleasure to be able to share a profession with them. It is a point of union and plus in our father-daughter relationship. Whenever I have any doubt or opposition, he is my oracle.
- You were earlier talking about the success of ‘Here No Zinda Hai’ and ‘La Que Se Avesina’. In a profession with such low stability, isn’t it reckless to leave a chain like this?
- An irresponsibility (laughs), but that’s what happened. no one lives hereA was amazing and I feel very proud to be related to that series. This is a social phenomenon, we are already in the third generation of fans. It’s impressive and it touched me. It’s that you won the lottery, but the thing is, it was also very intense with work and popularity. There came a time when everything hit me hard and they just offered me a lead role for Vania Angeles Gonzalez-Sinde at CDN. As highly responsible as I am, I will feel betrayed if I try to combine this and decide to park the series. That was the moment.
- Don’t you miss that safety of the chain?
- sometimes. It’s funny because, look, things have been going well for me, but still, every time I finish a project I think: “Oh, what if they don’t call me anymore?”. I still have that fear, but then I repeat to myself: “Well, if they don’t call me, I’ll fix it.” Because theater is always something that anyone can access and create.
- Did the immense popularity of a character like Belen overwhelm you?
- It was tremendous. I went from being completely anonymous to being super mega popular, not being able to get on the subway, being chased down the street… I avoided leaving school and going out in rush hours, I didn’t want to go to clubs or go out at night. Yes, I was quite impressed. It’s funny because it went through several stages. At first, I was sober, I felt the disbelief of “Wow, they asked me for a photo or an autograph”. But it kept increasing every week, the day after each chapter I produced something like a scar in my wake as I was walking down the street. Oy: “Belan, Rollin, Rollin …”. It was very brutal and got heavy, but then it went down or I adapted, I don’t know what percentage of each thing. I think now I don’t understand people’s eyes. It’s like I’m abstract. I’ve gotten into it a lot and it doesn’t attract my attention anymore or bother me that much. There are still crowds of people who miss you and are excited to see you. Which is always appreciated.
- A little food for the ego.
- Man, and more. Knowing that you are creating happiness for others is wonderful.
- Were you afraid that such a symbolic role would upset you?
- At the task level, no. A lot of good things have been coming out of me in cinema and theatre, which have nothing to do with Belan. At the level of popularity, this happens: People are near me and I can’t do anything about it. I don’t know, I always remember Chanquet (laughs). Antonio Fernandes was a great actor, he did a lot, but he is and always will be Chanquet in the collective memory of the people. Well, I’ll be Belen and I’ll have to be with him.
- There are people with great careers who don’t have such an iconic character.
- That’s right, apart from the fact that, being realistic, most of the work I’ve done since is partly due to the popularity and to my work. no one lives here, To deny it would be ungrateful. Now I’m with social networks like I know I’m not, I put my foot in and take three steps back because they haven’t convinced me, but the followers don’t follow me, they follow Belan. And they want me to tell them: “Look at other things, I’ve done more things!” (laughs). But I’m not going to fight him either. I wouldn’t have been so good at this profession without Belen now.
- With that part resolved, what do you expect from the rest of your career?
- Little virgin, little virgin, let me be as I am. Now I come from doing a very crazy project, an adaptation of a novel by Juan Jose Mills called don’t let anyone sleep Which has been an incredible experience because it has been a way of working that is very different from what I used to do. It is a pleasure that they twist you and sabotage your plans as over time the person becomes more conservative and the ability to surprise slowly diminishes. She’s a bitch. So I want such projects to come to me, to mobilize me and to mobilize the rest. it will be good.
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