He was born on March 20, like spring, “when everything you have planted begins to bloom and bear fruit,” he points out. That is his vital moment right now. We see her expressive, smiling, restless and curious. Everything is in place until she tells us her dream character: “I would love to be a serial killer, a psychopath, someone very different from me, with dirty hair, addiction problems… That’s when they see you more seriously as an actress, especially if you are attractive,” he says.
He moves a lot when speaking and his eyes shine under the silver highlighter applied as shadow. Her hair is very straight today, although we end up talking about curls, always unpredictable, and we share tricks to overcome her whims. It is not banality – we all know that hair is a serious thing – but because between filming and filming, parenthesis in which he does not stop learning new things, he even dares to make natural hair products for his long hair. She is excited about the premiere of Beguinas and is waiting for Hit. She also returned to her homeland, the Canary Islands, after living for a decade in Los Angeles.
Model, actress, has worked in advertising… How would she sell herself?
I like to think that I am a person who adds. I try to be happy and make the people around me happy to feed back into mine. I am very positive, although you don’t always encounter the same thing.
Canarian of British and Ghanaian origins. Are there few roles in Spain for people of color?
If I’m honest with you, before, when I wanted to start in this world, everything was much more difficult than now. Since I returned from the US, two and a half years ago, I have not had any problems. Yes, it is true that sometimes auditions come in more slowly, but there is also less competition.
Have we made adequate progress?
We have made great progress and now there are opportunities. We are more used to seeing people from all over the world and of any ethnicity and culture, so everything is more integrated. In these last 10 years we have improved a lot. There has been a brutal change. I feel much better in my own country. I feel more accepted by my people. I am happy to be back, to be able to work and support myself doing what I like.
Trained at the Royal Academy in London, at The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles, an expert in martial arts…
I like to learn new skills. I am restless, I am always exploring things. I’ve done climbing, golf, tennis… I even make my own natural recipes to make my hair grow longer and have healthier curls! If I don’t learn anything new I get bored. There’s a lot of suspended time between auditions and while you’re on set. I like to feel like I’m being productive.
It’s hard to wait for a call…
At first I didn’t do it so well. But I started when I was 13 and I went to the United States when I was 20. In the end, you are so used to waiting, to being told no and to keep waiting for the yes… That’s why I focus on learning something so as not to stress out. If something doesn’t work out, I have something else in mind, even if it’s a personal project.
Have you never gotten tired of knocking on doors?
If you are going to get tired knocking on doors, this is not your profession. Once in Los Angeles a friend told me: “If you think about it, you only need one yes.” And I said to myself: “Let’s go for the first yes. You often consider quitting, but the first yes is a push forward.
He has already gotten many yeses. Ismael, The Skin on Fire, the two seasons of Sagrada Familia….
My first big yes was Ismael, because there I was about to leave everything. I got a check and I only had funds to pay the rent in LA or come to Spain and meet the director. I left the apartment, came to see the director and he said yes. But I had to leave the apartment, because I couldn’t do both.
What would you be willing to do to adapt to a character?
To everything. To gain and lose weight (I have a healthy relationship with him), to completely change my personality and appearance… Perhaps the only thing I wouldn’t do is cut my hair. Curly hair takes so long to grow! It’s part of my image and I like it. And then it limits you for other roles. I am already limited by my skin color, I don’t want to limit myself anymore.
Today her hair is very straight…
Chance. I had it straightened for a job and, look, this way I have photos with my hair straight. I prefer it curly.
In the United States, many African-American actresses straighten their hair almost out of obligation…
I had an interview at a very important modeling agency there and they asked me to straighten my hair because the curl didn’t look good on camera. If I wanted to work with them I had to get permanent straightening. I told them no. I don’t go there. We cannot constantly try to ensure that our image does not reflect who we are.
Do you have to catch a good series to have a little financial peace of mind?
I really like series. And it is true that you are guaranteed a window of work if they work and people get to know you a little. Although you never know what people are going to like, if they are going to like your character… You go in with a full heart.
She says she wants to be a serial killer and I saw her in a musical…
I would love a musical series or movie. More than the theater, where they don’t usually pay very well. I love doing things for my art, but I also want to buy my house…
Do you listen to music to go to an audition?
No. I usually focus on the scene from the moment I leave the house. I wear headphones without sound so that no one talks to me.
What is your greatest luxury?
Sometimes I buy some Haribo strawberries and eat them all at once, but my greatest luxury is traveling with my family all together once a year.
Tell me about Beguinas, your next release.
The Beguines are considered the first feminist group in history: they did not want to get married, they did not want to depend on the church or their parents. They decided to have a life of their own, help people and survive with the town’s alms. He didn’t know anything about them before doing the series. The series takes place in the 16th century and my character, the granddaughter of a healer, arrives in Spain as an African slave and ends up in the beguinage as a doctor.
Doing something today that has anything remotely to do with feminism is still risky…
There are things I see on the news that surprise me. Maybe it’s due to lack of education or cell phone abuse… By disconnecting from each other and always being plugged into technology, we are losing a little empathy. We are going backwards.
Photographer: JuanKR. Photography assistant: Aaron Jean. Styling: Tamara Vekic. Makeup: Kley Kafé for DIOR. Hairdresser: Patrizio Niccolai. Production: Emma Monreal.
