2023-06-16 09:58:35
For her title role of Carmen, Melissa Barrera combines talents. Between dance and song, the Mexican actress ignite the screen – and the boards. Burning interview.
How the star actress of Scream VI finds himself headlining Benjamin Millepied’s first film?
Melissa Barrera: In fact… I don’t know! To audition, you had to send a video of yourself singing. I just gave it a shot. I didn’t hear back for six or seven months. I didn’t think about it at all, until the day I received a call: Benjamin wanted to meet me. He sent me the script, I read it and instantly loved it. There followed a new period of waiting where the production was on hiatus, I still didn’t know if I was selected for the film!
Were you aiming for the leading role?
In reality, it was the casting director who suggested my profile to Benjamin for this role. They did a lot of research on me, in particular they watched videos where I dance and sing. Then Benjamin came to pick me up. We finally met and the work could begin. Nothing was official yet and yet I was rehearsing, I was dancing, but I still couldn’t say to myself ” I will be Carmen “. For three years, intense periods of work followed, interspersed with breaks. We worked on choreographies, then we stopped suddenly, and so on until 2021.
Then it became official.
I remember it perfectly. I was in New York when the ad came out. I was officially Carmen! Again we had to wait. Between the announcement of the film and the start of filming, a lot of time passed. In fact, everything took time, it was a lot of work from a lot of people. It took patience and strong belief in this project. Me, I wanted to be. Be part of this special thing that didn’t exist yet. I’m so proud to have been chosen. Now that the film is released in theaters, I am very excited to share this beautiful story.
Were you familiar with Carmen’s story?
I’m not a Carmen professional. It’s a bit like everyone else, we know that there is an opera, we know its melody: ” Ta-ta-ta-la-la-la-la… “. This story is in the collective culture, a femme fatale with whom two men are very much in love and who end up killing her. We all know how this myth ends. But Benjamin wanted to re-adapt it, so I didn’t want to delve into the works that already existed. The role of Carmen has been taken up by so many talented actresses, from opera professionals to Beyoncé. I didn’t want to watch all this, not to be unconsciously influenced. I wanted my Carmen to be mine, to be unique.
Do you see yourself in this character?
In reality, yes. All the roles I’ve played have a bit of me in them. This is always my starting point: What do we have in common? What I share with Carmen is our story. We are surrounded by powerful women and do everything we can to preserve our lineage, our descent. It’s very visible in the film, Carmen’s mother sacrifices herself for her daughter, then her godmother will take her under her wing and help her overcome this dark period. I come from a family where women embody strength. It was easy for me to embody this power, it comes from my blood.
It’s true that Carmen embodies strength and determination, she’s impressive.
Carmen is strength! She advances in front of her carrying on her shoulders so much weight, pain. I feel like her. I rely on my self-confidence to survive in life. That’s where I started to build the character, that was the starting point. During the rehearsals I understood what was at the heart of the character, what she hides inside her. She embodies something very mature and very childish at the same time, that’s what makes her so magnetic to those close to her. All these emotions came to me when I was dancing with Paul in the desert, also with Marina Tamayo who plays my mother, this incredible flamenco dancer. It was fascinating to create this character, it has nothing to do with anything I have done before.
From the start of the film, Carmen goes through dramatic ordeals, mourning, then exile.
What she’s going through is hard, but being human is hard! We all try to get by despite the bad weather in our lives. I wanted the grief she is going through not to be too transparent. There is no right way to grieve, everyone handles things differently. Her mother let herself die to protect her, she must do her honor. She knows she can’t stay with her body, she has to pack up, go and leave everything behind. She is free in a way.
She seems marble until her destination where the floodgates finally open…
She is forced to leave everything behind, everything she knows. She buries her grief deep inside herself until she pretends nothing happened. Then reality comes back to him, all of a sudden. That scene, in the cabaret, when Masilda hugs her, that’s when it all finally comes out. I have seen these emotions happen with my loved ones. My grandmother passed away in October 2022, she was one of the most powerful women I know. I saw my way of dealing with grief, I saw my sister do it differently, then my mother who remained strong to protect us. These sufferings, I wanted to put them in my character, it’s so much more interesting to watch. It’s a gift to have to play such a character in your career, such complexity to express with little dialogue, just showing what you feel. Thank God I had the dance!
Speaking of dancing, Benjamin told me that you hadn’t taken any lessons before this film, how is that possible?
It’s the best compliment when someone asks me if I’m a professional dancer! In fact, I have already had some experience with musicals. But I never felt like a dancer, more like an actress who can move. With a lot of repetitions I can make believe that I am gifted! For Carmen, it was a lot of work, hours of rehearsal for years. When I was shooting other films, in the evenings and on the weekends, I went to practice on my own. In the desert, in Australia, I got to the point of only thinking about my character during takes, no longer thinking about my steps, only my emotions. I am very proud and grateful to Benjamin who believed in me. I sometimes asked him to simplify the steps, he replied “ I don’t change anything, you can do it “. He was right !
In recent years, you appear in many horror films, including the franchise Scream. It is very far from Carmen. Does this style appeal to you?
It’s true that I’ve done a lot of horror films in recent years, I love being covered in blood! Besides, I was filming today for a future horror movie, I still have fake blood stuck in my hair! I love horror movies, it’s very fun to shoot. But in reality, I like all styles of film, I will be in several comedies next year. I listen to my instinct, if it tells me that the film is going to be good, then I start.
Are you also a producer?
I want to integrate myself more and more into the cinema, to have several levers of creation. When you’re just an actor, you come and do your scenes and then you leave. When you produce, you commit to a project from start to finish. It is a very exciting exercise. Currently in Cannes, there is a film that I produced, The One, I’m very proud of it. I hope one day to have my production company and create stories.
And why not director?
It’s a plan yes! I really want to do it. I think I still have a lot to learn. I have to find the courage. One day I will have it and I will go behind the camera.
Interview Fanny Mazalon
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