CONNY CAMBAMBIA TALKS THIS NEVER HAPPENED

Behind the Coastline

You are reading an independently published interview-series published and carefully curated by Swedish pop-culture journalist Daniel John. Ever since its start in 2015, the core curiosity remains the same, surfing the creative currents of music, film, fashion and everything else on the pop-radar, catching the waves of culture as creative

Culture Coast TalksDaniel John

I really hope this film gets the legs it deserves around the world. I found it thoroughly terrifying and it also builds and places a lot of humor and cleverness in just the right places to make it as and fun as it is scary. What did you first think reading this screenplay?

I was surprised at how well written the plot of 'This Never Happened' was, it was so well written that I could picture all the scenes very vividly in my mind, although afterwards, I wondered how are we going to manage to create all those complex images. It is my first film, therefore, I was very excited about the challenge that it meant accepting the project, how complex the horror genre is, and that I would act in my second language. Working with Ted Campbell, an American director, and me being a Mexican actress who had always acted in Spanish meant a challenging project for me and I was a little scared, so I knew I had to do it.

Olivia is, first, introduced in the story as a friend of Matteos, Emily’s boyfriend. But things take several turns with this character. How did you go about answering the question of who Olivia really is?

To me, Olivia is a perpetrator as well as a victim. She is a girl who was in the wrong place with the wrong people. Not belonging to the same socioeconomic–class as Mateo and his friends put her in situations where she was belittled and seen as an object or as if she was worth less than others. Olivia's actions are not justified, but I think by the end of the film the audience can empathize with her and understand why she did what she did.

You really get to become unrecognisable in this role, what did that, all the make-up and prosthetics, mean for your process. While probably a bit scary to look in the mirror, do you find that very freeing as an actor to really transform that way?

The FX makeup and the prosthetics were a very difficult process for me, from the trials before filming to the last day of filming four different makeups were designed for my character Olivia. And all these makeups required many hours of daily preparation. With some of these makeups I could not eat, I could only drink liquids. I also wore a wig and gloves in some scenes, and it was quite complicated to swim like that. Regarding this process, I can say that I learned a lot about the art of being a characterizer or makeup artist and now I admire even more the actors who have gone through similar processes, such as Jim Carrey or Zoe Saldana. It takes a lot of patience to be in character for so many hours. I can also say that it was a lot of fun to scare the crew when I was in character and taking funny pictures with my fellow actors.

One does not have to be preternaturally gifted to look a bit into the past. When did your love of acting start?

I have wanted to be an actress for as long as I can remember, it is something I always knew, and I made sure to let everyone around me know. My memories are a bit vague! But I think the desire to dedicate myself to art and acting came when I was three years old and I participated in a small play at my school.

Your role as Ana in the ‘Lo que la gente cuenta’ series was in a similar space as this role. Matter of circumstance or are you a bit of a horror enthusiast?

I'm really scared of the horror genre, and I do not know why I get so many projects in this genre. Thanks to acting in 'This Never Happened' I can now watch more horror movies, but I still get scared and jump out of my seat at the movie theater, however, now I understand more how it works, and the truth is, it is a lot of fun to do it.

Do you think the right roles will always find their way to you?

I think that to be able to get a role depends on many factors, among them luck. I cannot control that factor, I can only do my job as best as I can. Which is acting. Doing a good casting, and so on. The other factors are out of my control. However, I believe that all the roles that have come to me have been for a reason. All the projects I have done are preparing me for my acting future, each character adds to my hours of training in fiction even if it is a small role, although sometimes the situations do not make sense in the present or I make mistakes, I fervently believe that all the characters that have come to me have an important purpose in my life whether personally or professionally.

Are you up to anything creatively right now?

I'm about to shoot a short film, I'm very excited because it's a comedy and that's the genre I enjoy acting in the most. I am also part of a theater company and, right now, we have a very fun cabaret show. I also do castings every week, so I hope to soon get another challenging and interesting character like Olivia.