Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here. We here at AICN have covered many behind-the-scenes aspects of the magnificent new film THE ORPHANAGE, which opened wider last Friday, including interviews with screenwriter Sergio Sanchez, director Juan Antonio Bayona, and executive producer Guillermo del Toro. But I recently sat down with the woman who leads the incredible cast of of THE ORPHANAGE to some very dark places, lead actress Belén Rueda, best known to North American audiences from her role opposite Javier Bardem in 2004's THE SEA INSIDE. Rueda is best known in her native Spain for her roles on two long-running dramatic television series, but she's already shot the film SAVING GRACE, opposite Julianne Moore, set for release later this year, so I'm guessing her fame is guaranteed to grow on both sides of the Atlantic. I sat down with her last week in Chicago, and we talked about the many nuances of her ORPHANAGE character, Laura; scary movies; working with first-time filmmakers; and clothes. There's no getting around the fact that, in person, Rueda is strikingly beautiful and full of life. And her Spanish accent is sexy. More important, she's as much a fan of this film as those of us who have seen it, and that's refreshing. It was a true pleasure talking to this vibrant soul. Enjoy…
Capone: I spoke to Juan Antonio and Sergio a few weeks back, and I find it funny that, although you haven't made that many film, you still had more experience than many of the people working on this film. How do you know that you can trust so many first-timers with getting this film right?
Belen Rueda: The first thing I knew abut this film was the script, and I had at that moment many scripts, and when I read that one, I said, “Oh my goodness.” I finished the script in one sitting. The second thing I did was call my agent, and I asked him, “Who is the director?” The first meeting with Juan Antonio, the screenwriter, and Guillermo del Toro, and I could see that Guillermo del Toro was enthusiastic about the film and about the director. And after we were done talking about the script, we talked about what the director wanted to do and I liked what he wanted to do. This is a genre film, a thriller, but he wanted to tell a human story, which is the best thing because you can tell many things when you are telling the human story. Many things happen when you are telling a human story, but the more important things is what this character feels. You can tell with Juan Antonio that he is very secure and he knows what he wants to do. But when we were shooting, when we finished a sequence after the producer would tell us no more, but Juan Antonio would say, “We're going to do one more take, and you can do whatever you want.” And I think it's very important to feel that you are free to make those decisions.
Capone: So by the time you got the script, Guillermo was already involved. Did that make a difference to you in deciding to make this film?
BR: Yeah. In this dinner meeting, Guillermo del Toro was talking for a long time, and it looked like he was going to be the director [laughs]. And I asked, “Guillermo, are you going to direct this?” But he was just so enthusiastic about the script, and he also knew that Juan Antonio was a good director. I don't know why, but he knew. One time he told me, “I think Juan Antonio knows the cinema almost as much as me. Almost.”
Capone: Each time I see the film, it's like watching a different movie, especially with regards to your character. Each time I see it, Laura seems far less stable and possibly even mentally ill. It makes me think that this is less a ghost story than a profile of a woman dealing with loss. Is that something you discussed with Sergio or Juan Antonio?
BR: Yes, at first Juan Antonio told me that Laura is like Peter Pan, and I said, “No, she's like Wendy.” And it was very funny because he presented to me a little Wendy figurine, which I kept in my dressing room and I had this with me all the time. I think it's very important that the director tells you what he thinks, but it's also important you tell the director what you think. I'm a mother, I have two daughters, and I think that I can help Laura to be an adult. Because sometimes, he would say, “She's like a child.” And I'd say, “No. She loves to care and nature.” And she wants to be in that situation for her whole life, but she's not a child. And he said, “Ah, yes. That's good.” It's good when you can speak to the director and you are thinking the same way. There are little things, like when the medium leaves, I come to husband. And in rehearsals, I was crying, but in that moment I thought, No, because she wanted to stay at home. If she arrives crying, maybe her husband will tell her, “We're going.” And she doesn't want that. And when we shooting, I told him, “I'm going to arrive like nothing happened.” And if I leave then, then I believe Simon [Laura's son] is dead, and that's the moment when it breaks my heart because I don't want to believe that he's dead. You can develop the same sequence in different ways.
Capone: Your relationship with Roger Príncep, who plays your young son Simon, did you do anything with him before shooting started to make the mother-son bond seem stronger? The second part of the question would be, was it hard then to be angry with him and slap him?
BR: Oh my God! That day, when I was supposed to slap him, it was very hard for me. And at the end of the second take, he said, [her face lights up with smile] “It's okay!” but with the tears. At first, we rehearsed for two weeks together, and one day was my daughters were in Barcelona, we went to the cinema together [with Roger], and he was like my son. And when was tired, he was like “Oh, Belen, I don't want to do it.” And I'd tell him, “No, you have to do it, and we're going to finish early.” I was like his mommy. And Juan Antonio was like a friend to him. Sometimes you could see them and they were like two children. He was playing with him, but he was working with him. And sometimes it was great because sometime when we'd shoot, Roger was very different. For example, one day he was very excited and didn't want to be serious. He was smiling all the time, and we told him, “You have to be very serious and sad.” And he did not want to, because it was hot and very late and we'd been working a long time. And Juan Antonio told me, “Okay Belen, wait a minute.” He went away with Roger, and when he came back, he was crying. And I said, “It's not possible; what did you do to him?” And he said, “I told him that if he doesn't do it, then he wouldn't finish the film.” And I said, “Juan Antonio, that's not possible.” And Roger was very angry, but he told me to slap him hard, and I did and he started to cry. But in the end he said, “It's okay! Can I continue in this movie?!” I think you have to play at the same time you have to work.
Capone: You mentioned your daughters, have they seen this film?
BR: The oldest, yes, because she is 13.
Capone: What did she think?
BR: It's funny because the first time that I showed her the movie, it was a DVD of the unfinished film, not the version you can see. And I could stop it in certain places or skip certain scenes. But afterwards, she went to see it with friends from her school, and for one month she sleeps with me. “Mom, Tomas is here!” I think that for the children, it's not so good because my other daughter is eight years old, and at that age, you have many fears without a film.
Capone: Are you a fan of scary movies in general?
BR: I love these kinds of scary movies: Alfred Hitchcock. There's another film that is very, very old called THE INNOCENTS with Deborah Kerr. I love these films that are psychological thrillers, many older films but also newer films like THE OTHERS or THE SIXTH SENSE. But films like THE EXORCIST, oh my God, I can't watch. In the middle, I said, “Oh no, I can't.” I tried. When I started to work on this movie, I said “I have to see it.” The violence for me is very hard, but scares are okay.
Capone: Both Juan Antonio and Sergio mentioned the close relationship between their film and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. Did they ever talk to you about that?
BR: Yeah. When Juan Antonio told me, “You have to see it,” I said, “What? But it's not the same.” But when I was watching it, I got to the middle of the movie when Richard Dreyfuss is eating the mashed potatoes, I could understand. You can see in our movie that Laura is becoming crazy, and you can see that the family is starting to break, especially the relationship with her husband. In CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, in that moment, you can see Richard Dreyfuss change. He decides to take a path away from his family. So that's when I saw the similarities.
Capone: One of the many lasting images of THE ORPHANGE is you in that dress that the matrons of the orphanage wore. What did you think of that outfit and what did it represent to you?
BR: For me it's very important because when I wore Laura's clothes, I feel different, because I don't usually wear it. I think they are very good clothes because it they come from a time when we were in a dictatorship in Spain, and it's real. They wore these things that are very stiff and simple, and when you put it on you look more authoritarian. I think it's very important, just like the lighting, and when you see Laura like that, it's something strange, no? Something has happened to her because it's not usual.
Capone: You mentioned the distance between Laura and her husband that occurs during the course of this movie. Do you get a sense that they were growing apart before we meet them?
BR: I think they were very close at one point. But Laura decided at the beginning of the story to change the place where they are going to live, the kind of work. Even with her husband, who is always happy with the things that she decides, he's a very important character because you can see the true Laura through him. The things that Laura is seeing maybe are not true, but you can see the true things through his eyes. But it's not because he doesn't love her. He loves her so much, but she doubts whether he loves their son because he doesn't react the same way she does.
Capone: What has been the strangest audience reaction that you've seen to this film?
BR: The first time I saw it with an audience was pretty funny because when Benigna is on the ground, and I take the whistle off her neck, and she grabs me, the audience screamed, and after that they started to smile, and I thought, “Oh my God, no, don't smile.” I thought they didn't believe. I now understand that the audience was very tense, and they smiled because they were scared. Or the scene where I start to play the childhood game [where he knocks on wood], people start to speak. Now I can understand were saying, “No, please don't do it.” And I'm very fatalistic, so when I hear people talking, I think they don't like it, but after, when the door first opens, they are like, “Oooohh!” And I was like, “Yes!” [laughs]
Capone: For many people in this country, THE SEA INSIDE was really the first time we got to see you act. Can you tell me about working with Javier Bardem?
BR: It's the best thing that can happen in your life. He's a very honest actor, generous. When we were working, he needed nine hours of makeup every day. We started shooting at one o'clock in the afternoon, because he started the makeup so early. I asked him, when we have a scene together, is it possible to have you in front of me, because sometimes the actors work without the other actors across from them. And he said, “Yeah, sure.” And after we could rehearse and speak a lot about the characters, I appreciated that not all of the actors in his position do it. When he arrives on the set, he's another person. He changes. I think that he's one of the best actors, and when you see all of his movies, he's a different person in each one.
Capone: Good luck at the Goya Awards [Rueda is nominated for Best Actress for THE ORPHANAGE]. When are those?
BR: Ah, thank you. They are on February 4, I think. 3 or 4.
Capone: Thank you so much. You're extraordinary in this film.
BR: Thank you. It helps that you really seem to like the movie. It makes it easier to talk to you about it.
Capone: Like I said, three times and counting. Thanks again. Capone capone@aintitcoolmail.com
